I’ve just gotten off a conference call with Ovide Lamontagne, former Republican Senate candidate from New Hampshire and currently a major Republican activist in that state. Lamontagne spoke from Concord, site of Monday’s GOP presidential debate. Lamontagne has formed a PAC and has been hosting the GOP presidential candidates at his home for informal gatherings to let NH voters and activists get to know them; he is hosting Texas Rep. Ron Paul tonight. Lamontagne opened the call discussing the National Labor Relations Board’s actions against Boeing in South Carolina, where the union-dominated federal board has ruled that Boeing cannot open an aircraft assembly plant because the state is a right to work state. The Tatler has followed the NRLB’s actions closely.
Responding to questions from Matthew Boyle of the Daily Caller and myself, Mr. Lamontagne said that he wants to hear the GOP presidential candidates do two things on Monday. First, he wants to hear from them on the NRLB’s actions. Describing the NRLB’s actions as an issue of over regulation and federalism, he argued that it represents the Obama administration’s job killing agenda. He wants to hear the candidates so that voters can gauge their passion on reining the agency in, and on getting government out of the way of job creation. He also said he hopes the candidates will pledge not to mount any third party runs should they lose the primary, saying such a run would all but guarantee President Obama’s re-election. He added that the candidates should focus on the president’s policies, and not on attacking each other, during Monday’s debate.
When asked about the possible entry of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Lamontagne said neither Perry nor any of his intermediaries had reached out to him, but did seem enthusiastic about the possibility of Perry jumping in. Lamontagne said he will eventually endorse a candidate, using a range of issues to determine which he thinks will offer the best solutions to economic recovery.
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