Fuck no.

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Hell yes!

Lol thinking he’d win a GOP primary. 😂

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He will bend whichever way the wind blows. Will end up a total Republican shill.

Agree with both of you here. He’s the lesser evil, but still a total tool.

I’m not certain he’d win the NH primary, which means that unless he’s ready to retire from politics and go corporate, he should not do this. He can be Governor for Life if he chooses, so picking a national ass kicking would be a very strange choice.

He’s way too sane to be a Republican candidate for a base that has become radicalised by right wing media and Fox News

His position on cannabis legalization shows he is just one of "them". And he is not exactly an inspiring leader. Gonna be a pass.

Yuck

I'm honestly not a fan of him but he does seem to be a "moderate" choice by the standards of the contemporary Republican party

NH Democrats endorse this enthusiastically!

The only reason he is against it is because he wants to regulated it like the state liquor stores. Can’t do that unless it’s federally legal

That's not a good reason to ignore a majority of constituents.

For all the reasons to be against legalization this is probably the best one. It makes a lot of sense to have state owned dispensaries- will bring in a lot of extra revenue from other states.

The best reason still isn't a good one.

The solution there is a half trigger law, half immediate law. Legalize possession, restrict sales to the state, but don't start selling until federally legal. In the meantime, be lax in enforcement of the sales prohibition.

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Can you elaborate why it’s a problem to wait for legalization?

Weed is decriminalized in NH and most of our citizens live close to the MA or ME borders. So having access to weed isn’t an issue, and you aren’t going to get arrested for it. So how does changing things right now affect a majority of people?

If they legalize it now, it won’t be able to be sold at state owned stores since it’s still illegal federally. That means the state either loses out on all that potential out of state revenue, or the private sector takes it over only to be replaced by the state in the future.

Neither of those seem like great options to me considering there’s no issue with obtaining or having weed currently.

The man may or may not br a shitty politician, but he's a good talker and very friendly. I happen to run unto him two years ago at the Deerfield fair and we had a talk about his call ins to Greg Hill when he was on WAAF. Very easy person to like face to face.

Spend the rest of dads money ..

And if you do let the private sector in on it, it will make it extremely hard to then take that away and make it state run later on.

Not a bad politician for the state (as politicians go), but he should probably stop bragging about New Hampshire and speaking about it as if everyone knows. Many Americans don't know who he is, nor what/where New Hampshire is.

There's no guarantee it will work as well as liquor stores since production and distribution don't work the same. Prices are more variable and there's more local production so there's no Coors or Jack Daniels that we can always sell for cheaper.

In the absence of national brands, people are building loyalty to stores instead. Some of them even have loyalty programs and give away weed when you hit a certain mark. The longer we wait, the stronger the loyalty.

The state can still tax weed sales just like every other state. We are actively losing out on that revenue. It doesn't make sense to keep waiting on the basis that it might generate more revenue for the state.

It robs local entrepreneurs of the chance to open a dispensary and start a business. I would rather see the economic benefit go to people than government.

I've also never seen a quote or official statement that this is why they are waiting. Reddit seems pretty convinced, but idk.

He’s clearly not a MAGA firebrand like others seeking the GOP nomination. I suppose it will be interesting to see how he does compared with other candidates who are jockeying to be more extreme than Trump is. Either way, it will say a lot about the state of the GOP as it stands going into the 2024 election.

I had a conversation with him 3 years ago now. I don't work in politics at all, was showing him some outdoor rec stuff and how to get folks outdoors etc... During our conversation I found myself nodding along, agreeing with things he said and totally being engaged. After he left I shook myself and realized he didn't actually say anything of substance and that I had been totally fluffed. All that to say I agree, the guy is great on a personal level

His position is "the state will legalize when the federal government does"

Same reaspn the Dems won't do it

He doesn't need to "go" corporate. He already owns a large chunk of the ski industry, and is a real estate developer in his own right.

That may be his reason on paper but the real reason is the law enforcement lobbies own the man and when they say jump he says how high

>It robs local entrepreneurs of the chance to open a dispensary and start a business. I would rather see the economic benefit go to people than government.

I do want to point out that large conglomerates have taken over the business in many other states. It sounds nice to keep things local for smaller merchants, but without any laws in place they’ll inevitably be driven out by much larger companies.

DeSantis is the only real choice for the republican party. Trumps time has come and gone. The rest are just going to mudy the water

No, it won’t. Cannabis isn’t liquor where the product is the same across states and the differentiator is price. Maine has some of the best bud in New England right now and NH is too far behind to compete with their market cap.

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Who do you think are the most likely Democrat candidates for governor in '24?

Yep, but the NHGOP has no bench. His 13 year old son might be the next republican that can win a statewide race.

Why does the state have to be the only ones selling it? Makes no sense that they get that much control.

That doesn't make it any better...

If I have to vote Republican, this is who I’d pick.

I’d rather not have to choose between two senior citizens in 2024.

You do not get to order for the whole table then leave the restaurant.

Edelblut, Jason Osborne, maybe the Mayor of Keene.

Generates a lot of money in taxes without raising taxes that affect everyone (ex: property tax).

There's room for both. IME in Mass, Maine, and Colorado there are both large chains and independent stores (just like every other business). Besides, that's still not a compelling reason to have a state monopoly. That's just picking who gets control.

Was more interested in the Democrat field. I don't think the candidates have been great the last 2 cycles - interested to see who puts their name out there in a more competitive race.

Chris: 2024 A SuNewNew future for America

No idea. But without Sununu in the race you’ll see more Democrats get in the race.

Is MA “losing out on revenue” by selling it privately and taxing it? No they are not. It’s a pathetic excuse for the NH governments desire to monopolize marijuana.

>he called for Republicans to return to “believing in individual responsibility”

LMAO thanks for the good laugh

If he thinks he has a remote chance then he clearly doesn’t understand his own party’s base

Lol. Look up what Charlie Baker is going to be making in the most non-corporate corporate job for an ex-Governor. Then remember he’s getting NIL percentages.

The difference between NH big business and actual big business is… pretty, pretty, pretty big.

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Subjective vs. objective.

There's a lot of things that are more important than your desire to smoke weed under a different legal status. It's already decriminalized... so go buy it and smoke it.

Meanwhile... the rest of us adults have already figured out that roads, schools, medical care, and a million other social services are more important than you being able to stroll into a NH dispensary.

It's not like you're in the middle of Texas, and need to drive for 6 hours to get to the nearest state border.. Hop in a car and go to ME, MA, or VT... or grow it like the rest of us.

I don't remember comparing or contrasting Chris Sununu to anybody, let alone Charlie Baker.

Nope, you suggested that Chris’s NH business interests are in some way comparable to the money he could make by going “corporate”.

That’s a big mistaken comparison you made. I brought up Charlie as someone who is an ex-Governor gone corporate making a ridiculous amount of money. I could have referenced Deval Patrick or any number of ex-politicians who’ve “gone corporate” and get paid more than the owner of a ski resort in NH.

No, he said so himself that he is a Trump guy through and through. Those words came out of his mouth on purpose.

Sure, I'm okay with whatever nuance you want to touchdown-dance on.

You seem like somebody who likes to argue pedantry, and I'm not into that sort of thing.

I see no difference between being a pro-business, Republican, Waterville Valley (a corporation) owning multi millionaire, and going "corporate". Quite literally their ideologies are one in the same.

Take care.

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What did DeSantis do to earn the title DeSatan? Also, are you a child? Drumpf? Really?

Drive to MA.

Have you seen how many vetos he has under his belt? He’s always willing to ignore the majority of his constituents.

Oof, this comment is embarrassing.

Honestly I bet his real goal is to land a spot in the next Republican president’s cabinet, at least if it’s someone other than Trump. He just wants to get a bit of national visibility to be taken more seriously for that

I agree. I also think a presidential run would be a way for him to gain more national visibility for a possible future run. Just can’t wait to watch the moderate (ish) establishment conservative Sununu rip the mask off and morph into a Trump brown nosing shill.

I'm not quite sure what your point is. The status quo works fine for me, but we could be bringing in more revenue (and supporting local businesses) by making a change that has massive public support.

Adults in other states have figured out how to sell and tax weed without a state monopoly on sales. I think holding out for federal changes is just giving money to other states; money that could be improving our roads, schools, etc. right now.

-gestures broadly at all of FL-

ME is closer for me.

There seems to be an overused rallying cry to legalize NH weed, as if it will solve the problems plaguing the state, or somehow make everyone happy.

Or, "I don't like (insert individual) because they won't let me smoke weed".

It's lame, and unproductive.

He could’ve taken the senate seat if he just wanted national exposure.

You brought it up. Legalizing and taxing weed will bring in revenue (hopefully we agree on that much) so the question is then which system will be the most effective. I think private ownership is better (in part because it can be implemented now), you appear to be on the side of eventual state ownership.

Dismissing the debate with hyperbole and arguments that I never made is lame and unproductive.

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Fat chance unless he's willing to switch parties real quick.

Florida seems to be doing pretty well… idk what you’re getting at here.

He isn’t though. He just said that because he has no back bone. Honestly not sure which is worst.

What a joke. Sununu doesn't have a chance!

Except it isn’t even his reason on paper. His reason on paper will always be pivoting to the opioid crisis for a random nonsequitor about how hard it is hitting the state and how that means weed should remain recreationally illegal here. There is zero evidence he has given any thought to some sort of plan of selling it in liquor stores.

What's your metric for doing well? Amount of books banned from the public school system?

And let us grow in the meantime!

He's charismatic as fuck, and honestly, based on his performance in the state elections, is at the very least palatable enough to moderates to pull lots of moderate votes.

This is reddit. DeSantis bad because Florida bad because DeSantis bad. That's all you need to know.

People call him out on this as if we didn't have a Democrat governor for 4 years who adamantly refused to legalize it because she wanted her donation from the cops.

Sununu has done more to relax the laws around cannabis in this state than any other governor we've had from either party.

I mean, it's not the worst slogan I've seen.

If he ran in the presidential race, he'd absolutely clean house in the primary. He's already insanely popular in the state. I don't think he CAN lose a statewide election that he runs in, and especially not one for his own party.

Whether or not he'd get his ass kicked elsewhere I don't know. But he's probably got some of the best moderate appeal of any GOP state governor.

Books are banned from public school systems in every state. It doesn’t mean the kids can’t buy and read them it just means they’re not being part of the school part of it. Grow up lol

So you're ok with banning books from school, gotcha. Thanks for clarifying your position.

From public school? Absolutely I am.

Disagree. What’s his lane? Maga isn’t voting for him. Moderates who care about education or abortion aren’t. And they basically competing for that small sliver that is outside there with others.

I’d be surprised, even in nh, if he polls above 5-6%

That’s a good point actually.

Oh I hope osbourne runs. You want a path for dems winning 60% of the vote - that’s it.

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He thinks photo ops is governing. That is what he’s been doing for his entire stint as governor. What an Ahole.

> nor what/where New Hampshire is.

it's in Boston, duh everyone knows that

Looks like I won't be going to Waterville Valley anymore.

His performance in state-level elections would suggest otherwise. MAGA does vote for him, as do a lot of moderates. Real-life moderates, not Reddit "moderates" don't generally have a problem with the type of abortion legislation he's supported, and education is rapidly changing, look at Youngkin in Virginia and even DeSantis' "don't say gay" bill is fairly popular nationally.

If you think Sununu isn't capable of appealing to moderates and MAGA, you're wrong. He can and already does, as every election he's run in in the state shows.

👎🏻

Not a chance he runs.

But he's not against any competition so how well he does is really pretty worthless. Who cares if he can edge out the Colin Van Osterns and beat up the Dan Feltes of the world. This guy barely beat Edelblut.

Whether he has a path in a crowded primary or a general is dramatically different than whether he can win, as an incumbent in a political dynasty, against the drek the NH dems are throwing.

I'd love to lay some odds on Sununu's 2024 polling. Looks like most sites have Trump and Desantis taking about 80% right now.

Sununu's path is hoping that at least 1 of them doesn't run. Unless that happens, he has about as much a chance as being the gop candidate as I do. I mean he doesn't even have money in the area code of these two, and we're just assuming that NH still has the first primary. If it gets flexed into 3rd/4th, then his chances go from like 2% to 0%.

I'm not the biggest fan of Sununu, but I do respect him, one of the few Republicans in office I respect. But there is a big difference between Republicans up north, and Republicans down south, and I think he'd get is ass handed to him on a silver platter.

Jeb!

I've met all the members of the Sununu family on several occasions and Chris is the only one who isn't an awkward asshole.

Wonder if this is why they're trying to kill the NH primary.

Waterville valley is hardly a big chunk of the ski industry....quite the exaggeration.

It’s the exclamation point that makes it. lol

Is he some incredible speaker or something? I don't pay too close attention to NH politics, but I had never heard of him until moving here a couple years ago.

Agreed. I don't think he's enough of a national name for people to pay close attention to him.

Good. Get him tf out of here.

Please clap.