How well does Scott Brown know the ten counties of New Hampshire? The former Massachusetts senator is defending his knowledge after appearing not to know what the hell he was talking about when asked about Sullivan County, at the western edge of the state, in a Senate debate Thursday night. Observing that both candidates live on the eastern side of the state, moderator James Pindell asked them "what do you see going right in the economy in Sullivan County and what’s going wrong and please be specific." Brown got to his anti-Obamacare talking point just as fast as he could, with the following passing as his specific views on Sullivan County:
Well, you're absolutely right, geography plays a role. Along the southern border we have more jobs and more opportunity. Infrastructure and other opportunities up north are difficult. But one of the biggest opportunities is tourism. One of the biggest opportunities are ski areas and trails for snowmobiles. I support those efforts. I know Sen. Shaheen references a tourist bill.
And then Obamacare. Pindell stopped Brown as he was continuing his totally non-specific talking points, pointing out that "We're talking about Sullivan County, and I think you were talking about the North Country":
Brown: I’m talking about any place past Concord, actually, and the challenges of our state. [... blah blah Obamacare ...]
Pindell: Sullivan County is west of Concord. It’s not north of Concord, Sen. Brown. So what do you see as going well or what’s not going well there.
Brown: With respect, I've answered the question. The challenges are the same in every county in our state.
Wow, the challenges are the same everywhere. Or everywhere "past Concord," which is geographically speaking most of the state. Is Scott Brown really saying that the economic challenges are the same for
Hanover and
Lancaster?
Brown's campaign now wants to have a geographical debate because Sullivan County—being a county rather than a city—stretches both north and a little south of Concord to its west. True! But if you're from New Hampshire and you're talking about "up north," you're not talking about Sullivan County. You're just not. Maybe unless you're the kind of person for whom "any place past Concord" is an undifferentiated mass.
Brown is also defending himself by noting that he visited a ski area in Sullivan County, claiming that's why he talked about ski areas. Except that in itself betrays him, because there is not a whole hell of a lot of skiing in Sullivan County. There's some, but if you think "Sullivan County economy" and your mind immediately goes to skiing ... it looks suspiciously like that's because you happen to have visited one of the few ski areas there and it's the only thing about the county that stuck with you. Not to mention that all Brown had to do through this exchange was name a specific place in Sullivan County, be it Mt. Sunapee or the county's major population center of Claremont (the latter of which Jeanne Shaheen name-checked in her quite specific answer to the question, by the way).