Is the Free State dead? No. Calm down. But maybe stop putting all your eggs in one basketcase.
On this post-election episode of The Independents, I unpack New Hampshire’s election shakeup, what the school tax-cap vote tells us about voters’ priorities, and where liberty-minded Granite Staters go from here.
An election changes who holds office. It doesn’t erase our communities, our ability to show up, or the long-term case for New Hampshire independence.
We discuss opportunities to work across party lines on Defend the Guard, government transparency, privacy, cannabis reform, and more. I also float a proposal guaranteed to annoy somebody: could a different approach to vice and consumption taxes help reduce our reliance on property taxes? What should government stop spending money on in the first place?
Plus: why insulting voters isn’t persuasion, why online attention isn’t a substitute for building a movement, and why your next town budget meeting deserves your attention.
We’re libertarians. We’re not just Republicans. Let’s act like it.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
00:37 Is the Free State dead?
01:32 Election results and the Republican reckoning
04:24 My take on the national backlash
07:05 Insulting voters isn’t a strategy
09:02 New Hampshire has flipped before
10:38 Question 2 and the demand for tax restraint
13:38 Show up: local budgets and the State House
17:08 Where we could work with Democrats
20:41 Independence and rethinking NH’s tax structure
23:30 Cannabis, liquor stores, and vice taxes
26:12 Cutting programs and proposals for the governor
26:52 The Free State’s next chapter
What liberty issue will YOU show up for? Tell me in the comments, subscribe, and share this episode with someone who needs a little less doom and a little more agency.
I wish you peace, love, and understanding.
#TheIndependents #CarlaGericke #NewHampshire #FreeStateProject #NHPolitics #Liberty