Senate Candidate Lamontagne: New Hampshire Republicans set to ‘Send a Message about People and Principles’

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: Republican Senate candidate Ovide Lamontagne, hoping to become the latest tea-party backed candidate to upset the political establishment, told us on ABC/Washington Post’s “Top Line” today that even the endorsement of Sarah Palin won’t help his opponent pull off a primary win in New Hampshire. “New Hampshire primary voters are notoriously independent; they don't want to be told by Washington, party bosses or big money people who to vote for,” Lamontagne said on “Top Line.” “They want to vote for the true conservative in this race and they are coming home to realize that I am that person — and with [the New Hampshire] Union Leader's endorsement at my back — the momentum is with us at the grassroots. And I think that we are going to send a message on Sept. 14 that it is about people and principles, not party bosses or big money, that decides elections in New Hampshire.” Lamontagne, who is facing establishment favorite Kelly Ayotte and businessman Bill Binnie in the Sept. 14 GOP primary, also broke with some major figures in his party by saying that all tax cuts passed by the federal government should be offset by spending reductions. He said he opposes a proposed $30 billion lending initiative for small businesses because it wouldn’t be adequately covered by spending cuts. “I think, first of all, that it needs to be paid for,” he said. “We need a pay-as-you-go strategy — that has been the Republican position. We can't continue to mount deficits and debt and frankly, although the intention is probably a good one, the design of this particular legislation is not going to work.” Asked if that same rule should apply to all tax cuts, he said: “I think we need to have a pay-go strategy, which means if you are going to start spending money for some new purpose, find where you are going to cut on the spending now to offset that. You have got to go back to that kind of strategy because we cannot maintain this deficit spending, and we certainly cannot sustain the mounting debt our children and grandchildren will never be able to pay for.” On another hot button issue – illegal immigration – Lamontagne said he agrees with his Republican opponents that a national language should be established. “English should be the national language. We need to have a common language to speak, and even though I have a long history as a French-Canadian immigrant — four generations of French-Canadian immigrants who are natives now in New Hampshire — we have kept our culture alive, but we still speak English, we have become Americanized. We need that common bond, both language and belief in freedom and liberty to keep this country moving in the right direction and continue to realize freedom and liberty for generations to come.” Watch the full interview with Ovide Lamontagne HERE. Also on “Top Line” today, we checked in with Christiane Amanpour, the host of ABC’s “This Week,” to preview her interview with former British prime minister Tony Blair, an extended version of which will air on her program Sunday. Watch the discussion with Christiane Amanpour HERE. -Rick Klein