Don Bolduc and the Citizen-Soldier

“We men are wretched things,” once wrote Homer.

After the last two years of coup d’etat in the College Republicans, I expected little turnout and little interest from Dartmouth students for an event featuring Republican and Senate candidate Don Bolduc. I was pleasantly surprised, then, when I joined the Zoom to find a crowd of 20 or so eagerly awaiting the former Army brigadier general. And I found myself even more enthralled when he began taking questions from the audience about his background.

A veteran of the War in Afghanistan, General Bolduc has earned five Bronze Stars (one with the “V” device, denoting valor) and two Purple Hearts. Serving in Operation Medusa during the Battle of Panjilwar in 2006, he led soldiers in battle and lived to tell the tale.

Apart from war stories, however, Bolduc proved himself throughout the meeting to be more than just a Twitter personality turned candidate spouting canned lines about “America First.” His knowledge of the issues facing the Granite State and the country was evident in each answer he gave.

On student voting in state elections, Bolduc explained his position with the passion that only a lifelong Granite Stater could have: making it clear that he did not want students without permanent ties to New Hampshire deciding policy for its residents. To Democratic attacks claiming that restrictions on student voting were “racist” or “suppressive,” he had a clear response: “This is an attempt to exploit a voter base for their benefit during elections.”

His military expertise shone through most when addressing the Biden Administration’s recent Afghanistan debacle. As a former general officer, Bolduc spoke not only to his opinion of how commanders should have directed the United States withdrawal but of how commanders’ personal and professional failings led to the disaster in the first place. An especially enlightening piece of information came when the General described Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley as a “bully,” citing personal experience.

For those not familiar, the General has been a fixture in New Hampshire politics since the 2020 Senate primary. Although Bolduc won the support of notable politicians such as Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), he failed to receive the endorsement of then-President Trump and later lost the Republican nomination to fellow Army veteran Bryant “Corky” Messner. Nevertheless, Bolduc has attracted somewhat of a Trump-y reputation in the Granite State.

Upon further examination though, this categorization seems to be little based in reality. One might call the General conservative, even by the standards of the Live Free or Die! State. But he certainly is not the extreme or unserious candidate that his opponents and critics often claim he is.

His economic views align with the historic libertarianism of the Republican Party: pursuing deregulation and “empowering private industry and entrepreneurship.” On the budget, he stresses “fiscal responsibility” and stewardship for the next generation.

As a former head of the United States Special Forces in Africa too, he has the experience and institutional knowledge of leading a large organization necessary to serve as an effective senator. After all, his public service career path carried far greater consequences for failure or negligence than most others.

In regards to COVID-19, he articulates a level-headed but unafraid stance that the rest of the Republican Party would be wise to adopt: accepting the efficacy of vaccines but questioning the necessity and ethics of mandating vaccination for the healthiest, lowest-risk groups. Vaccine freedom is a personal issue to the General. His son serves in the National Guard and is at risk of losing years’ worth of military benefits if he does not receive the COVID vaccine.

As I sat in on the College Republicans event and heard the General explain his reasoning, I realized that I sensed something different with him than I felt when hearing other politicians. At first, I assumed he had a rare, complete conviction. But I later realized that what I detected was not conviction at all but courage.

Freed of the burdens of military hierarchy, Bolduc speaks with the intensity of a man finally able to speak his mind about his country’s failing system of government and how he plans to fix it. He speaks of and lives by the words honor and service in a time when honorable, selfless men are in short supply. Some of his campaign messaging will undoubtedly receive little response from Granite Staters, such as his call to “bring God back to the public square.” But, despite running for office, the General does not seem like the type of person to fret about polling data.

The question remains if he will be able to defeat Governor Chris Sununu (if the governor runs) in the September 2022 primary and if he will, in fact, dispatch Democrat and Senator Maggie Hassan to become New Hampshire’s first Republican senator since Kelly Ayotte. I make no predictions here.

But I do say this: When General Bolduc says that he will, as senator, “hold [him]self accountable, responsible, and be transparent” and “serve [his] State and Country to the best of [his] ability,” I believe him. And as the 2022 campaign progresses, I predict many more Granite Staters than expected will believe him, as well.

In our age of mediocrity and incompetence, it is hard to imagine a world where the Greco-Roman ideal of the honorable, politically conscious citizen-soldier existed. Bolduc reminded me that heroes of that stripe indeed resided on this Earth and still do. 

Those of us who believe in the potential of our Union and of this great state should take note—and elect such men to office.

Most men today are indeed wretched. But let us make those few who are not our leaders.