There has been no representation of Democrats at the Deerfield Fair (NH) for the 5 years I have been living in Deerfield. I have asked the NHDP many times but finally got fed up and applied for a space myself figuring that I could round up enough people to man it 10 hours a day for 4 days. It has worked out all right. Having no experience behaving in such an public manner, we decided to set the booth up at two local old home days the previous two weeks.
Rockingham county is overwhelmingly reactionary in my experience but that was not the feature that impressed me. The people with whom I talked are literally frightened to death. On both sides. I am plenty frightened but the opposition is right at catatonic. I used to do debating and love to argue and as far as I have been able to determine, there is absolutely nothing to discuss. Whatever it costs (a particularly NH concern) whatever has to be given up (rights, privileges etc.) whatever has to be sacrificed (young people in the military, furreners (sic), illegal or legal immigrants) whatever price must be paid (3 to 20 trillion depending on who you ask), whatever must be discarded (integrity, international respect) well you know the rest. It is a price that they will gladly pay to be safe (whatever that means) from some set of amorphous threats. These people are armed and they aren't going to take whatever it might be any more.
I really had no idea. You can't argue with someone this afraid. One probably 25 year old woman with her year and a half old kid who claimed to have a college degree in international relations knew so many incorrect facts that I was flabberghasted. Anything we suggested about what had happened in Iraq or 9/11 or whatever was met with the confidence that we were all traitors intent on destroying her and her family. She wanted to know why we wanted to hurt her and her child and leave her so exposed to danger. It was very hard to take. So now, I not only have to fear my own government, be angered and embarassed by the face of America they present overseas, but my neighbors make me paranoid. What if they were to actually understand this new policy of pre-emptive attack? I sort of thought of my signs etc. as a little funny and ironic and making a point about what happens when you elect these kind of people, even if they seem well meaning and friendly in person. I am thinking more now in terms of fire insurance and bullet proof vests.