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>> Get back to me when Texas gets rid of their sales taxes, motorcycle helmet and seatbelt laws, etc.

Many conservatives in this country are arguing for the abolition of the IRS, and institution of a national sales tax. You will hear FEW conservatives argue for the abolotion of taxes altoghether.

Texas doesn’t have an income tax ... but, being significantly larger in size and population than New Hampshire, Texas does have legitimate governmental responsibilities to fund.

- Texas is 262,000 sq. miles ... New Hampshire is 9,300 sq. miles (i.e. TX is 28 times bigger than NH).
- Texas has a population of 21 million, New Hampshire has a population of 1.23 million. (there are more than 4 times that many people in the Houston Area alone).

Hell ... the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metropolitan Area is 9,249 sq. mi. (roughly the size of NH - and that doesn’t include Houston, San Antonio, Austin, or all the open land in between). We’ve probably got farms out here that are bigger than New Hampshire. As you might imagine, the costs of running a State that is larger than a central Texas farm is significant.

Taxation, itself, is not inherently liberal - the government has legitimate responsibilities which it must fund. And, seeing as Texas is larger than most countries - those costs require a sales tax.

As for your argument about motorcycle helmets and seatbelt laws ... yes, I am against those laws. But, I find it difficult to focus on such minor laws when the NH Statewide congressional delegation is Carol Shea Porter (D), and Paul Hodes (D), and the governor is John Lynch (D).

CAROL SHEA PORTER, from Wikipedia
“Shea-Porter is a strong supporter of a timetable for troop withdrawals. She also supports rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to pay for additional social spending, and supports increasing the minimum wage. Regarding healthcare, Shea-Porter supports a change in the new Medicare Part D drug benefit to allow the government to negotiate prices for prescription drugs.”
(according to “ontheissues.org”)
- anti-school vouchers; is in favor of “Medicare for all”; voted to increase the minimum wage; voted to dis-allow employer interference in unions; accused Republicans of supporting the richest 1%; voted to withdraw troops from Iraq in 90-days.

PAUL HODES (according to “ontheissues.org”)
- Pro-abortion, pro-estate tax, pro-homosexual unions, supports affirmative action, pro-dividend tax, supports a “Manhattan Project” on Global Warming, supports “universal access to quality healthcare”, voted yes to increase minimum wage, voted yes on restriction of employer interference in unions,
- voted to withdraw troops from Iraq in 90-days, voted to withdraw NH National Guard from Iraq.

Texas, on the other hand ... has a Republican Governor, Republican State House and Senate (in fact, no Democrat has won a Statewide office in Texas since 1994). As for U.S. Congress ... Republicans hold 20 out of 32 seats, and both Senate Seats.

In Presidential elections ... in 2004, Texas supported George W. Bush ... New Hampshire supported John Kerry. In 1996, Texas supported Bob Dole ... New Hampshire supported Bill Clinton. In 1992, Texas supported George Bush, NH supported Bill Clinton.

Somehow, given the way NH has voted in statewide and national elections over the last 10 years ... and regardless of the absence of seatbelt laws in NH ... I have a hard time seeing a burgeoning pool of conservatism in New Hampshire.