A Primary Opportunity at Brewster Academy

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BY T. J. PALMER

NEW HAMPSHIRE IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED AS THE FIRST-IN-THE-NATION PRIMARY GIVING BREWSTER STUDENTS …

A PRIMARY OPPORTUNITY BRE WSTE R ACADE MY

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n my history class, the homework assignment in late January was a Washington Post article titled, “Everything You Need to Know About How the Presidential Primary Works.” With the New Hampshire presidential primary fast approaching on February 9, there was a lot to learn. To be honest, most U.S. high school students might just stumble on a question about how often do presidential elections occur — in what month that election takes place probably would produce a blank stare. Unfortunately, these students haven’t been taught even the most rudimentary language of politics, so to ask what a primary is would be patently unfair for most. Introducing this topic to a class, the students typically ask, “Why would the next leader of the free world even bother coming to tiny New Hampshire to campaign?”

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Of course, the reason is a home run for any teacher trying to generate student interest in the topic — New Hampshire is uniquely positioned as the first-in-the-nation primary and exerts enormous influence on the eventual outcome of the presidential race.

Candidates can be born in the New Hampshire primary such as Ronald Reagan, who acted tough in a Nashua debate and cruised to an easy victory in 1980. They can rebound here, as Bill the “Comeback Kid” Clinton discovered in Dover in 1992, but they also can die here as Edmund Muskie found out in 1972 with tears streaming down his cheeks in Manchester — or was that melting snow on his face?

The primary in New Hampshire began back in the Progressive-era exactly a hundred years ago (March 14, 1916) and so much of New Hampshire’s position in the number one slot can be chalked up to tradition. Back in those early days there wasn’t much credence placed

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1 Mia Ventola ’19 (on the left) will Hillary Clinton. 2 TJ Palmer (on the right) at a local gathering for Chris Christie. 3 Students at a Donald Trump rally in January. 4 Brewster trustee Beverly Bruce at the July Fourth parade with Mitt Romney and his grandson. 5 Jacobo Cohen Mann ’18 had a selfie moment with Bernie Sanders.

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Q&A

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WITH FUTURE VOTERS A RTU RO O L I VERO FA R I L L ’ 18 Mexico City If you had the chance to ask a candidate one question, what would it be? I would like to ask Donald Trump why is he destroying the relationship with Mexico. Being a financial genius he should be aware of the repercussions it is going to have. … I think that especially these elections are important to Mexico because of the danger Donald Trump represents to the relationship between the countries.

M O H A M ED A L KH O O R I ’ 16, Abu Dhabi You attended the events of three presidential candidates, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump. What impressions did you walk away with? Jeb’s debate was interesting, maybe because he had a small crowd and it was more focused on the people that were there. He focused more on the economy and education and making the lives of the American veterans better. Bernie’s debate was the same as Jeb’s, but his focused more on taxes and wages for middle class families. It is interesting how the candidates consider themselves by conservatives and democrats. They are similar in some way, yet they still go hard against each other. It was a shock to see how Trump kept mentioning Jeb in his debate and going hard against him.

Making fun of other candidates is arrogant. …

I’m curious to know more about people who were nominated and elected themselves to run the strongest country in the world.

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M I A VENTO L A ’1 9 Marblehead, Massachusetts Why did you get involved in a campaign? I have been a big fan of Hillary for a while. I think that right now is a very special time in history in terms of the presidential race, so I wanted to get involved right away. I registered as a volunteer and I make calls on the weekends to potential voters about Hillary, and I go canvassing when I can. I strongly believe that Hillary Clinton is the most experienced and equipped candidate.

She is one of my biggest role models, and for me it is nice to know there is someone out there working for me and my fellow young women of this generation.

JACOBO COH EN M ANN ’ 18 , Mexico City How do you participate in the political process in Mexico? Mexico has a direct democracy and the elections are not divided by states so to participate you just have to show yourself with your elector Id and vote for whomever you like.

In Mexico you can’t volunteer for someone’s campaign unless he chooses you.

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on the primary process and there wasn’t much of a connection between the rank-and-file voter and who won each party’s nomination. In 1968, the “modern” presidential nominating process was introduced and, in a nutshell, this put John Q. Public in the spotlight. This change set the political wheels in motion, giving significant political clout to the state that goes first. Winning the first primary creates tremendous political momentum for a candidate, as voters tend to jump on the “bandwagon” of what they see as a “winner.” No one wants to “waste a vote” using their ballot to vote for a candidate who doesn’t have a real shot at winning.

Thus, New Hampshire is a reliable gauge as to how a candidate will do in future primaries. There wasn’t a New Hampshire primary winner who didn’t win the presidency before Clinton broke the tradition in 1992.

Astutely, New Hampshire realized the political power of being first, while not losing sight of the millions of dollars that were pumped into the state’s economy.

To guarantee their first-in-thenation status, New Hampshire even passed a state law that stipulates the state must be first. That is why the coveted position has been protected as the New Hampshire primary has moved earlier and earlier on the calendar, gobbling up a week of the calendar for each four-year primary cycle (states who move their primaries earlier, risk losing delegates to national conventions). In 1972 it was the first Tuesday in March, then the fourth Tuesday in February, and on and on until for 2008 and 2012 the primary was held on the second Tuesday in January. Interestingly, this early-bird trend has been broken this centennial year, as the February 9 date for 2016 was the latest since the 1990s.

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STUDENTS WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A PART OF THE CAMPAIGN IN THE EARLY STAGES AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL — LISTENING TO THE CANDIDATES, THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES, AND BRINGING THEIR IDEAS AND OPINIONS INTO THE CLASSROOM TO BE DISCUSSED, CRITICIZED, AND APPLAUDED. MY FIRST PRIMARY

Having arrived at Brewster Academy back when George H.W. Bush was campaigning for president in 1987, I have to admit I really didn’t know much about presidential campaigning, the history or importance of the New Hampshire primary, or how Wolfeboro fit into the picture. I certainly shared many of the qualities of that unknowing high-schooler mentioned above; however, I was a college graduate and my occupation

did hint toward the fact I should know politics. As a life-long Red Sox fan, I won’t deny that the presence of Ted Williams at Bush’s side might have been a major factor in my bringing a handful of students to that first candidate speech. We stood in the bleachers of a gym less than a mile away from Brewster without a clue as to what to expect.

From the first moment of that event, it wasn’t hard to be swept up in the excitement of it all. The media presence was a spectacle all by itself, as well-groomed, stylish news anchors gabbed about this indicator and that indicator, while the public stood and stared. Every so often, one of these sound bite-searching sycophants grabbed someone important and you could feel that part of the crowd strain forward in a collective attempt to figure out who was being interviewed — is that the governor? a state senator? Often, it was simply the local hardware store owner but that never dampened anyone’s spirits.

We all stood shoulder-to-shoulder in packed bleachers attempting to get a glimpse of the man who could be the next president of the United States.

If my memory serves me correctly, several students were lucky enough to be interviewed on local television, offering their opinions on that first Bush event.

Beyond the actual candidate, the banners, buttons, and bumper stickers were incredibly fun to collect.

The students and I always grabbed as much of the free stuff as we could and plastered it all over my classroom and their dorm rooms. It didn’t matter that we didn’t support Paul Tsongas, Ross Perot, or Gary Hart (remember them?) — it was just fun to collect.

The candidate, the media, the possibility of being on television, and the bumper stickers all combined to turn a “who cares” mentality into excitement and learning.

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WOLFEBORO HOLDS SWAY

So, New Hampshire is special, but it turns out the little hamlet of Wolfeboro is on the political map, too, because of two presidential bids by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and this bodes well for Brewster Academy. Having lost the Republican primary to John McCain in 2008, Romney returned in 2012 to win the primary and then the nomination. Romney has deep connections to Wolfeboro given his summer home just a quarter mile from Brewster’s campus. He used Brewster’s Smith Center to prepare for his speech accepting the Republican nomination that summer. My wife Lynne and I even scrawled “Good Luck in Florida” on a giant chalkboard at the end of our driveway, and right on cue Romney and his entourage waved as they passed by on their way to the airport.

We were convinced it was the good luck charm he needed, but alas, history wrote a different story that year.

Furthering Romney’s influence in Wolfeboro is the town’s Fourth of July parade, which the Romney clan always attends. They draw candidates every year, especially near elections and this past summer was no different with both New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Marco Rubio pressing-the-flesh down Main Street.

These presidential wannabes always stop in front of Brewster’s Admissions Office and hug Romney amid locals straining for a look.

I suspect the draw to the Wolfeboro area is also from a member of Brewster’s board of trustees, Beverly Bruce, who was Romney’s state finance chair for New Hampshire in that 2012 bid for the White House.

Beverly has numerous candidates visit her “barn” in nearby Tuftonboro for meet-and-greet, photo-op, question-and-answer type events. This fall included former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Beverly graciously sat our

Brewster contingent in the front row offering postgraduate Muhamed Alkhoori from the United Arab Emirates, the opportunity to ask a great question about Bush’s view toward the Middle East. We personally talked with the candidate and took photos at the end of the event.

On the Brewster campus itself, Ohio Gov. John Kasich brought his independent-style Republicanism to a packed Pinckney Boathouse.

Toward the end of January, with the primary date a little more than a week away, Brewster students attended a Bernie Sanders’ speech in Wolfeboro at the regional high school. This launched a great class discussion the next day around senator Sanders’s belief that all state universities in America should be free.

Following that event, students attended a Donald Trump rally in nearby Farmington. With 1980s rock and roll blaring during his entrance, Trump ignited a Republican crowd with his belief in a “wall that the Mexican president would build” and the need to “keep Muslims out.”

Ironically, several of the Brewster students attending were from Mexico City and the Middle East!

Following the Iowa caucus on February 1, the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary on the ninth drew national attention again.

In all likelihood, it will mean the “beginning of the end” for many of the Republican candidates and set the stage for a showdown between a winnowed-down field of hopefuls.

On the Democratic side, will the polls prove trustworthy with their prediction of a Bernie Sanders victory over Hillary Clinton? Only time will tell as the political fog begins to lift.

Although whomever ultimately makes it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will remain undecided until November, at 80 Academy Drive, Brewster Academy students will always have the experience of being a part of the campaign in the early stages at the grass-roots level — listening to the candidates, thinking about the issues, and bringing their ideas and opinions into the Brewster classroom to be discussed, to be criticized, to be applauded. That’s engagement. That’s a primary learning opportunity. / BA / T.J. Palmer has been teaching history at Brewster since 1987. Last year he introduced the Academy's newest history class, America Since 1945.

MR. PALMER’S FAVORITE PRIMARY STORIES

My favorite primary story I’ve read (but one that doesn’t reflect the typical political acumen of a granite-stater) is the one that took place in Robie’s Country Store in Hooksett in 1975 when owner Lloyd Robie was introduced to candidate Jimmy Carter. He unabashedly replied, “Jimmy who?” Carter went on to win the New Hampshire primary, the nomination, and the presidency. ¶ In 1987, on the way to a meet-and-greet with presidential hopeful Bob Dole, Brewster students worried how they would greet Dole given the combat injuries to his hands; Dole removed any awkwardness by confidently squeezing the students’ right hands with his left. ¶ Without exception, students at these events have always been curious if they could get on television somehow. Some believe close proximity is the key and squirm and wedge their way to the stage. Others have preferred elevation and eye contact, seeking the highest point in the venue in order to make some type of mesmerizing visual connection with the candidate. At a Trump event this year, just prior to the Iowa Caucus, a Brewster student from Mexico City thought waving the Mexican flag might have been a good idea. I didn’t disagree about this flag’s potential, but in the middle of Trump’s pronouncements about border walls and deporting “illegals,” I had to put the kibosh on the idea in the name of personal safety.

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