An open letter to US Senate Candidate Lamontagne.

I can’t remember if I told you then, but when you ran for Governor of New Hampshire in 1996, that was the only time in my life I voted Republican. Although I have generally disagreed with everything the GOP says and/or stands for (not always the same), I knew you personally and I saw you as a genuine, sincere, honest and dedicated individual. I believed that as governor you would bring pride to New Hampshire’s Franco-Americans. I also believed that as governor, you couldn’t do much harm.

What a difference 14 years can make. You’re undoubtedly still honest and dedicated, the same devoted family man and unselfish supporter of many good causes. However, should you win next week’s Republican primary, I couldn’t vote for you – not this time. Even if I still lived in New Hampshire, I couldn’t vote for you. Even if your opponent were a convicted felon or a certified lunatic or both, I couldn’t vote for you.

The reason is rather simple. It’s not that in the current campaign you refer to yourself as the “true conservative.” (Some people might relish the contradiction in terms in that phrase.) You’ve always been a conservative fellow. After all, you’re the product of Manchester, N.H., and a Franco family.

The reason is that you’ve not only aligned yourself with the Tea Party folks, you’ve actively sought them out and licked their boots (I’m being kind here.) Read some history, Ovide. Look up the Know Nothings. The Tea Party is the most recent reincarnation of that kind of hate group, the same folks who burned an Ursuline Sisters Convent in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and a French-Canadian Catholic chapel in Lewiston, Maine, in the 19th century. It’s clear to me that the Tea Partyers are their direct descendents. Why isn’t it clear to you?

Not only have you’re proudly branded yourself the Tea Party favorite, you’ve now taken up one of their mantras: establishing English as the official language of the United States. Come on, Ovide. Think about it. That’s the same concept you loudly opposed in New Hampshire on numerous occasions back in the ‘90s. If it was bigoted and mean-spirited then, why isn’t it today – on an even larger scale? If you opposed it then, why espouse it now?

Could it be that the Tea Party is applying a certain litmus test to make sure the candidates they support march in step to their hate agenda? But, more importantly, could it be that the Franco-American identity you’ve proudly proclaimed and defended all your life has now become a liability? Have you come to believe that being a Franco might make you less American in the eyes of the bigots you hope will vote for you? I would like to think not, but I sadly suspect I am wrong.

In the final analysis, cher Ovide, I would one day like to see a respected, effective, intelligent and honest Franco-American serve this great country in the US Senate. I fear that won’t be you. Please tell me I’m wrong.