Smith Kicks Off Comeback Attempt in New Hampshire

Former Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) “is ready for a comeback, and he’s using a familiar set of Republican ideas – shrink government, repeal Obamacare – to make his case. But, as a politician who’s been out of government for a dozen years, he’s also presenting himself as a political outsider who can take on Washington,” the Concord Monitor reports.

Said Smith: “Washington is broken, out of control, and I’m prepared – that’s why I’m here – to make whatever personal sacrifices it may take to wrest it from the insiders, from the establishment of both political parties, to put it back into the hands of the people.”

“Smith left elected office in 2003 on rocky footing with many state Republicans. In 2000, he ran for president under three different banners and at one point denounced the Republican Party for its lack of principle on the Senate floor… He moved to Florida but kept his home in Tuftonboro. Down south, he filed to run for Senate in 2004 and 2010, but said yesterday that neither of those were serious runs. Smith endorsed Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race, a move he’s since apologized for and called a mistake.”