A Year of Free Political Advertising for Sununu

 

Governor Sununu has been giving weekly press conferences during the pandemic. Not because he's an epidemiologist, a doctor, or a scientist. Not because he's an expert in matters of public health. He's been giving them because he's a politician who seized the moment to advertise himself on the public airwaves (WMUR aka WGOP), for free. 

In our neighboring state of Maine, the weekly Covid updates come from Maine CDC Director, Dr. Nirav Shah. Dr. Shah is so popular that he has a Facebook fan page - and a chocolate bar named after him. 

The weekly Covid updates are not used as free political advertising for Maine Governor Janet Mills.  

Did all this free advertising have an impact on the NH state elections? Absolutely. But don't take my word for it - here's what the (unfortunately) elected Executive Councilor Joe Kenney had to say in the Union Leader: 

Kenney said he was one of many who benefitted from Gov. Chris Sununu, who became a TV star by virtue of his weekly briefings on COVID-19.

Even Joe Kenney gets it - and he's no rocket scientist. 

Despite lacking any sort of expertise, Sununu got a free platform every week, to stand before fawning journalists who seldom asked any difficult questions,  including the most basic one of all, "Isn't this free political advertising, Governor?"

The Big White Tent of the NH GOP

Photo from the Union Leader

Former NH State Rep. Robert Forsythe was arrested for assault and domestic violence. We learned about the arrest two months later, on August 26. The NH House Minority Leader had this to say:

“Domestic violence and assault are unacceptable and wrong and have no place in our society,” Hinch said. “Rep. Fosythe is the only person who can put pen to paper, and sign a resignation letter. The people of Boscawen have the right to ask him to resign if they believe he can no longer represent them. They also have the ability to vote for alternative candidates, including write-ins, if they believe they no longer want Rep. Forsythe to represent them in Concord. 

This translates as: domestic violence is bad, but we aren't going to ask him to resign. 

Later that same day, the governor released this statement:

“Sexual and domestic violence will not be tolerated in New Hampshire,” Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. “Robert Forsythe must resign. Immediately."

That didn't even take 24 hours. The very next day, Forsythe resigned. 

On Friday, December 11, we learned that newly sworn in, freshman State Rep. Dawn Johnson was posting material from the neo-nazi website, Daily Stormer, on Facebook and Twitter. It took nearly 4 days for Governor Sununu to rouse himself long enough to make a statement:

 “Regardless of political party, we must condemn anti-Semitism and racism in all forms. These comments are repugnant and appalling,” Sununu said.

Note - he didn't even bring up resignation. It seems that sexual and domestic violence will not be tolerated in NH, but anti-Semitism and racism will. The second thing I notice is the sad attempt at both siderism. "Regardless of political party," is a big, steaming pantload, considering that the neo-nazi call is coming from inside his House. 

Representative Johnson has been quite clear that she has no intention of resigning. She's being represented by newly minted State Rep. Norm Silber, who was just sworn in for his second freshman term in the legislature. 

Let's take a brief side trip into the land of Silber. In 2017, during his first freshman term in the legislature,  he thought it was very amusing to try to defend Brett "kegstand" Kavanaugh from accusations of sexual assault by comparing his actions to playing spin-the-bottle. I wrote about Silber's rudeness to a voter in 2017; Silber Service, Tarnished. In addition to defending his neo-nazi colleague, he's also questioned Dick Hinch's autopsy report. Naturally, Silber and Johnson are both maskholes. 

Getting back to Silber's defense of his neo-nazi colleague -  in a letter to the Laconia Daily Sun, Silber offered up this excuse for Johnson's actions:

The internet can be a very dangerous place for adults as well as children. Just as it is easy for children to be lured into illicit sexual encounters or worse through the internet, so can adults inadvertently fall into terrible situations far beyond their intentions through the internet and email.

How many times have you mistakenly hit the “reply all” key in an email when you only wanted to respond to a single individual? How many times have you inadvertently clicked on a link, thinking it would lead you to one thing when it turned out to be quite different? How many times have we seen posts of fake photos that have been created or altered electronically solely to embarrass someone?

Dawn’s present situation is the second example of someone I know from the Lakes Region who posted or forwarded an internet link to a story that they thought in good faith was legitimate but that turned out to be of an anti-Semitic or racist origin. But I know that neither of those women are anti-Semites, racists, or haters.

That's a big helping of word salad with a side of florid dressing. It's also a bunch of hooey. No one finds themselves at the Daily Stormer by accident. A simple Google search doesn't take you there. As I discovered, you have to know where you're going, or do a deeper search.  

Johnson  posted a conspiracy theory from a neo-nazi website. That theory came with anti-Semitic and racist cartoons.  Silber is focusing on what the media has focused on, the source of the material. Johnson has "apologized" for the source. She has never tried to disavow the content. 

Roger Carroll of the Laconia Sun is the only reporter in the state who acknowledges this: 

Johnson apologized on her Facebook page for the source of the message – the Daily Stormer – but it was not clear that she disavowed the content of the post.

Be sure to read his story - it describes the material that Johnson posted, in great detail. 

Johnson has deleted her Facebook and Twitter accounts. I'm betting she's still plenty busy on Parler. 

To summarize, Johnson isn't going to resign. The Governor, who had no tolerance for domestic violence, has plenty of tolerance for neo-nazis. He's not going to call for her to resign. And when you come right down to it, how can he? This is what the Republican Party is now. These are his people. 

It's up to the rest of us to make them eat this, every single day for the next 2 years. 

A Tutorial for the NH Media on the Meaning of the Word Apology

This was October. Apparently a place opened up in the NH legislature. 

A Tutorial for the NH Media on the Meaning of the Word Apology

 Let us begin with a definition, paying particular attention to #1: 

Webster's defines an apology as an admission of error or discourtesy accompanied by an expression of regret. Hold that thought, we'll be coming back to it. 

On December 11, we learned that newly sworn in Republican State Representative Dawn Johnson from Laconia had posted an anti-Semitic theory (complete with pictures) on social media. The material she posted came from the Daily Stormer, a white nationalist/neo-nazi website. Rep. Johnson posted on Twitter, and tried to post on Facebook but her post was blocked, which she complained about on Facebook. (Johnson has since closed her mainstream social media accounts.) 

William Tucker, aka Miscellany Blue saw Johnson posting material from the Daily Stormer, and tweeted about it. NH is a small state, and the story spread quickly on social media. People began calling for her resignation. She's also on the school board in Laconia, which generated even more outrage. 

The story was covered by InDepthNH.org. Their story was picked up by Concord Patch and the Laconia Daily Sun. This was the headline:

From the InDepth story:

"In an apology posted to her social media accounts, Johnson apologized for sharing an article from the Neo-Nazi website, saying she was unaware of the source of the article.

“I have removed the report as it came from a source I do not agree with and thanks to a couple of people who showed me,” Johnson wrote."

The Union Leader  had a few paragraphs about the story in the State House Dome column, with the heading "New rep sorry."

From the UL story: 

“I want to apologize for a post I did the other day. I have removed the report as it came from a source I do not agree with and thanks to a couple of people (who) showed me,” Johnson wrote.

”I apologize again and will in the future look at the source closer before sharing content. God Bless and Happy Friday!”

As we learned above, an apology is an admission of error or discourtesy accompanied by an expression of regret.

Rep. Johnson expresses regret for posting "from a source she does not agree with." She does not, however, express regret for the CONTENT of what she posted.  This is not an apology. It's a weasely attempt at ass covering. 

Johnson got caught posting anti-semitic garbage from the Daily Stormer. (During Hanukkah!) She didn't accidentally fall on her keyboard, click on the Daily Stormer site and repost their material by accident. She went to that site on purpose, and reposted material that she agrees with. 

There is no way for her to apologize for that. What can she say, "Sorry I'm an anti-Semite, but I'll try to do better?" Instead, she made up a lame excuse, and the NH media was all too eager to accept it as an apology. Why? 

Because reporting it for what it is might upset people. Republican people, especially, and the NH media is always afraid to do that. 

The NHGOP Twitter account has been silent since December 11. So has the Twitter account of Governor Sununu. 

The NH Republicans want this to go away, so that they don't have to ask for her resignation. They'd rather keep a known white supremacist in the legislature than lose the seat, even when they have a 26 seat majority. 

The Branch Covidians of NH

 

Part Two is so that you can see the date stamp:

Then Chris Maidment made sure to let us know who is behind all of this:

For anyone who has been wondering about these groups, we see now that they're pretty much one in the same. 

Former State Rep. Joe Hoell attempted snark:

That tweet had a pretty short half life in light of today's revelation:

It sure would be sad if some of the infected were at the Covid Policy Summit. 

This would all be more amusing if December 2 weren't Organization Day for NH legislators. The NH GOP had no intention of letting the Democrats know anything about this super spreader event. They found out because the story was in the media. 

House Minority Leader Hinch is quite pissy about having been caught out.  NHPR

"In a statement, House Republican Leader Dick Hinch said he would not share details on the cases, including the number of lawmakers who tested positive, because “we’re dealing with private and personal health information.”

And

"He said Republican House leadership is working with state health officials to notify people who may have been exposed to the virus. As for Wednesday’s scheduled Organization Day, Hinch said, “we have a very small number of people affected and we have no reason to believe that the folks who tested positive will attempt to attend the event.”

Then there was this:

“We are less than 24 hours from Organization Day and the Republican Leadership in the House purposefully neglected to tell the Speaker’s office or their Democratic colleagues of an outbreak within their caucus,” Shurtleff said in a statement. “We were with Republican Leadership just yesterday for Organization Day and the COVID-19 outbreak was not mentioned to anyone.”

That translates as, "NO, we aren't going to tell you how many were infected, or who they are. We don't think they'll show up for Organization Day - but they might. And no, we weren't planning to tell anyone about it." 

Shouldn't everyone who was there be self quarantining for 14 days? That would, by the way, include Dick Hinch, who was at the event. An elderly, unmasked man, at a super spreader event. Can I be the one to shove the swab up his nose? 

One further note from the anus brigade: 

AFP-NH Koch mouthpiece Greg Moore would like to encourage all the sick reps to attend Organization Day. 

There are days, and today is definitely one of them, when I ask myself, what the fuck is wrong with these people? 

Governor Sununu Endorsed a Secessionist!

 

This is Carla Gericke, who is running for the New Hampshire State Senate, with Governor Sununu. 

This is Carla's job. She's the President of the Foundation for NH Independence, an organization dedicated to secession. Before that, she was the president of the Free State Project, a group whose stated mission is to take over and dismantle the NH state government, then threaten secession. 

You may be seeing a pattern... 

This is Carla on April 18 in front of the NH State House, posing with some Boogalooers who are part of the New England Minutemen militia. (Photo by @granitepolitics) 

On April 18, a group called Reopen NH had a rally to protest Governor Sununu's handling of the pandemic. 

As you can see in this photo, Carla is a part of the "Tyranny Response Team." The tyrant in question? Governor Sununu. 

 One would think that the governor endorsing a secessionist would be a big, honking news story, especially a secessionist who has called him a tyrant!  

One would be wrong. 

The incurious NH media continues to tenderly protect and cosset our governor.  

Why Do You Keep Lying To Us, Bill Gardner?

                       

This was one of the first tweets I saw this morning when I logged in to Twitter. Once again, our Secretary of State proclaiming that "NH is the easiest state in the country to vote in." 

https://www.fosters.com/news/20201009/secretary-of-state-bill-gardner-confident-nh-is-ready-for-nov-3-election-rsquounlike-any-otherrsquo

He says it all the time. 

Bill Gardner is the NH Secretary of State. He has access to all kinds of information about voting in NH and the rest of the country. He has access to far more information than a humble blogger like me has. 

Yet, despite my lack of access, I know, by doing a simple Google search, that NH is NOT the easiest state to vote in. It's not even in the top 10 of the easiest states to vote in. 

This map is from a comprehensive voter guide put together by Molly Olmstead and Mark Joseph Stern for Slate. As you can see, NH is considered "moderately difficult," not "easiest state to vote in." 

A 2018 study done by Northern Illinois University found that the 10 easiest states to vote in were:

1. Oregon 
2. Colorado 
3. California 
4. North Dakota 
5. Iowa 
6. Maine
7. Utah 
8. Massachusetts 
9. Maryland 
10. New Jersey
    
    Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/article220534340.html#storylink=cpy

I don't see New Hampshire in there either. I do, however, see Oregon at the top of the list. 

If I know this, so does Bill Gardner. That's why I'm asking why he's lying. And I'm asking the incurious NH media, who all operate on a GOP default setting, why they don't ever ask him about this. Why isn't anyone else asking him why he's lying to us? 

Links to a few stories where Gardner proclaims NH is the easiest state to vote in. 

http://indepthnh.org/2020/09/09/gardner-looks-to-november-and-future-elections/

https://www.courthousenews.com/nh-secretary-of-state-gardner-re-elected-to-22nd-term/

https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-primary-source-gardner-praises-end-to-eight-year-ordeal-over-nh-voting-requirements/32678478

Why is NH AG Gordon MacDonald Working With James O'Keefe?

This is James O'Keefe dressed up in his nana's fur coat for his very first "sting," when he was pretending to be a pimp - and fooling no one. 

I don't know why James O'Keefe, the fraudulent fraud "investigator" has a hard on for NH, but he does. He's been trying to prove that there's widespread voter fraud in NH for years now, and has succeeded in stepping on his dick every time. 

In 2012, Jimmy and his Fraudulent Squad tried to prove that folks were rigging elections by voting as dead people. They came pretty close to casting those votes themselves, which meant Jimmy had to stay away from NH for a while, because then AG  Michael Delaney was investigating him. One of the names of the dead they tried to use to  make their case with was a veteran who had died a mere 10 days before. The man's family were not happy with Jimmy and his Fraudulent Squad. 

He has a lot of support here. The wingnut libertea groups in NH love Jimmy, even though he's always revealed to be peddling doctored videos and other tarted up nonsense - they think he's an "investigative journalist." Jimmy always has his grifter hand out, and they are likely donors. NH libertea groups want to prevent as many people as they can from voting, so Jimmy's their hero, flying in, making noise, and in time the noise turns out to be a nothingburger. 

I first read of O'Keefe's latest NH scheme in this September 8 Patch story :

The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office is making structural reforms concerning voter fraud cases after the discovery that investigators appear to have been sitting on voter fraud evidence for more than eight months.

Attorney General Gordon MacDonald made the announcement during an interview with James O'Keefe III of Project Veritas Sept. 4 after the organization questioned staffers from the Election Law Unit in August about the lack of action against a double voting suspect from 2016 — even though investigators had evidence about the case for nearly a year.

It seems our very partisan NH AG is taking orders from the Fraudulent Squad at Project Veritas. (The whole story reads as if it was dictated by James O'Keefe.) They found evidence of a man who voted twice, in what is presented as a sinister and deceptive plot where the man dressed up as a woman to defraud the system. 

Then read this story at Jezebel.com

This ain't no victory. Project Veritas made a big "sting" off a guy who has obvious mental health problems, and  is barely getting by financially, and is likely to lose his job because of them. 

Vincent Marzello is worried he’ll lose his fast-food job. After Veritas showed up at his workplace, the owners asked if they could do a background check; with his arrest and subsequent publicity on television and the front page of the local paper, his boss has implied that if customers start coming in to gawk at the guy who voted twice, Marzello could be out of a job. After his arrest, he said he had 85 cents in his checking account—not even enough to pay the $40 dollars usually required to leave jail.

What a triumph - for the bigoted, transphobic Fraudulent Squad - and the NH AG's office. How proud they must be to have rooted out this criminal element! This is a shameful story of harassing a confused man who needs professional help.  The AG should have told O'Keefe to fuck right off with this. 

Gordon MacDonald is the NH Attorney General. Despite his lack of judicial experience, Governor Chris Sununu wanted to put MacDonald on the NH Supreme Court as the Chief Justice. In a very contentious fight, the Executive Council voted no. The governor has been clear that if he is re-elected, he'll be re-nominating the anti-choice/pro-voter suppression MacDonald. 

We know that MacDonald is essentially working for Veritas at this point. Who else is Veritas tight with? It turns out that O'Keefe is buddies with the Proud Boys - the violent, right wing racist group that the president so kindly mentioned at the debate. 

This piece in The New Republic connects all the Veritas dots to the Proud Boys. In 2017, O'Keefe was honored as Proud Boy of the month in their magazine. He's buddies with Proud boy founder Gavin McInnes and white supremacist Stefan Molyneaux, who has been a featured speaker at some Free State Project events here in NH. 

These are some Proud Boys. I might have gone with a name that didn't suggest a toddler meeting his toilet training goals - but what do I know? 

James O'Keefe, friend of white supremacists,  is who our NH AG is taking marching orders from, at a time when hate groups are establishing themselves in NH, including the Proud Boys. 

It's more imperative than ever that Chris Sununu is voted out. Gordon MacDonald should not be on the NH Supreme Court -  he shouldn't be the NH AG. 

Dangerous Freedom!

 

Oh dear. I've been blocked on Twitter by the Free State Project - the armed miscreants who want to take over the NH state government, dismantle it, and threaten secession. Regular readers are aware that I've been writing about them for years now. I've also been harassed by them on a regular basis. 

Yup. Blocked by the very people who claim they PREFER DANGEROUS FREEDOM. 

Here's what happened:

Followed by:

In typical FSP fashion, they declare a victory - then block the person whose voice is apparently just a little too dangerous. 

They don't want to be reminded that Free Stater Muni Savyon murdered his son and then killed himself. They don't want to be reminded that Free Stater Attorney Brandon Ross embezzled $93, 000 from the trust fund of a special needs child. Who can blame them? That's SO sleazy. Free Stater Ian Freeman believes that children can consent to have sex with adults, Eric Schleien got handsy with a minor, Mark Warden once stated in a hearing at the State House that some people like to be in abusive relationships, Michael Sylvia - upon hearing that a sheriff's deputy had raped a prisoner he was transporting - commented that the deputy had too much time on his hands. And of course we all know about Cantwell. It's gotta be hard to hear - even for people who PREFER DANGEROUS FREEDOM! 

Nothing says winning like blocking! 

Thanks, Free State Project - I'm delighted to be such a threat to DANGEROUS FREEDUMB! 

NH House Republicans: An Endless Conga Line of Bad Behavior

 

         Republican legislators outside Whittemore Hall on Veto Day. Masks are required on campus. 

The Republicans of the NH state legislature have provided us with a lot of embarrassing behavior in recent weeks. 

Late in August, Representative Robert Forsythe of Boscowen was arrested for assaulting a pregnant woman. The first instinct of House leadership? No - it was not to ask him to resign. It was to cover for him and protect him. 

https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/dick-hinch-nh-house-minority-weasel.html

The governor wasn't interested in protecting Forsythe, and called for his resignation. 

https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/forsythe-resigns-hinch-sings-new-tune.html

A week later, another Republican state rep posted on social media that seeing a Black Lives Matter sign on a lawn was permission to burn and loot the house. 

https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/09/nh-state-rep-advocates-burning-and.html

What happened this time? Nothing. The story was an international embarrassment, but he was not asked to resign. House Minority Leader Dick Hinch protected Spillane. The governor protected Spillane. This man who has a history of offensive and criminal behavior was apparently deemed worthy of the protection of his party. 

This week, the House and Senate were both in session on September 16. Known as Veto Day, it was a chance for both bodies to overturn Governor Sununu's vetoes on 22 bills. Last year he vetoed 57 bills. This isn't governing. This is Sununu attempting to create a partisan wave that he can surf to DC on. 

Veto Day was held at the UNH Whittemore Center's hockey arena, a space sufficiently large enough for the 400 member House to meet while also physically distancing.  As you can see in the photo above, a coterie of Republican legislators stands outside the Whittemore Center, not wearing masks. 

The House Republicans were rambunctious. They had their marching orders - vote to sustain every veto. And if any of them were potentially swayed by the arguments in favor of humane legislation, GOP floor captain Al Baldasaro was madly waving his red hankie. (The House electronic voting system has 2 buttons, green for yea and red for nay.) Elderly frat boy Rep. Chris True dyed his hair red for the occasion.  

I took this screenshot while watching the session online. 

There was cheering, jeering, and booing. The freedumb section, where the Republicans who refuse to wear masks sit was well populated. One media outlet was brave enough to name (though they have no shame) them. The list of all 47 is at InDepthNH

Apparently it was also beer guzzlin' party time for the freedumb lovers. UNH security found a bunch of empties in the trash can near the libertea lads and lasses. Speaker Shurtleff was furious when he announced it near the end of the day. 

Ethan DeWitt of the Concord Monitor has a report on the events of the day, including the big old temper tantrum that Rep. Al Baldasaro had before storming out of the stadium. 

The sad truth? Republicans don't care. They know that they aren't going to be held accountable by anyone. They know the media will gloss over it. They know Hinch will cover for them. They know the state party won't say boo about it. They also know that our Trump loving governor won't do a damn thing - after all, they just voted in lockstep to sustain his vetoes. This kind of behavior doesn't just trickle down from the top (Trump) it's a veritable tsunami of repellent, undignified actions - with no fear of the consequences. 

Regular readers are weary of hearing me say that the default setting for ALL NH media is GOP. 

What does this look like? 

WMUR: 

New Hampshire's House speaker has apologized to University of New Hampshire leadership for the behavior of some legislators after this week's session.

SOME legislators?  We have the list. We know they were REPUBLICAN legislators. WMUR (aka WGOP) would never point that out. 

 NHPR

During Wednesday’s legislative session at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore Center, a handful of state representatives drank beer and did not wear masks outside of the center, despite the town of Durham’s mask mandate.

Again - we know who they are. But their political affiliation and their names are left out of the story. 

If those had been Democrats, their names and photos would be up on WMUR, who would also have sound trucks parked in front of each of their houses. If those had been Democrats, NHPR would say so. 

And of course the Union Leader - the NH GOP daily broadsheet also avoided naming names or mentioning party affiliation. 

NH Republicans are enabled by the media, by House leadership, by NH GOP leadership, and by Trump lovin' Governor Sununu. Don't expect any fallout from any of this. Expect more of the same, in an endless cycle. 

From the General Court Handbook:

In the absence of ethics rules and enforcement mechanisms, this is meaningless. The honor system has been thoroughly corrupted by the dishonorable. 

NH State Rep Advocates Burning and Looting

State Representative James Spillane after his arrest for DUI in 2017. (Still wearing his giant NH House name badge.) 



It was only a week ago that a NH House Republican made national news. Last week State Representative Robert Forsyth was charged with felony domestic violence. House Minority Leader Dick Hinch did his best to protect Forsythe, but after the governor called on Forsythe to resign, there was no saving him. Forsythe resigned. 

When NH House Republicans make national news, it's never because they've done something that is a credit to their office or the state. 

This week, a different NH House Republican is making national news. Rep. James Spillane seems to generate a newsworthy event every year. This year, it's about Black Lives Matter. From Josh Rogers at NHPR:

The New Hampshire Department of Justice is investigating Rep. James Spillane over a Facebook post in which the Deerfield lawmaker advocated for burning and looting houses displaying Black Lives Matter signs.

“Public Service Announcement,” Spillane wrote in the post from earlier this week. “If you see a BLM sign on a lawn, it’s the same as having a porch light on at Halloween. You are free to burn and loot that house.” As of Thursday afternoon, the post appears to have been deleted from Spillane’s page.

Predictably, the House Minority Leader defends his wayward lad:

House Minority Leader Dick Hinch says the language in Deerfield Rep. James Spillane’s now-deleted post was inexcusable, but Hinch told WMUR he also trusts Spillane ”meant no harm.”

Last year Spillane made the news for tweeting out a photo of a squirrel he shot with a .50 caliber muzzleloader. As one might expect, the photo was quite gory, and Spillane was quite boastful. 

Dave Solomon at the Union Leader: 

Twitter immediately exploded with outrage that caught the attention of Fish and Game officers, who paid Spillane a visit last week and issued a warning, as reported in Thursday’s New Hampshire Union Leader.

“In light of the warning Rep. Spillane received from the Fish and Game Department due to his recent conduct we felt it was inappropriate for him to remain on the Fish and Game Committee and have removed him from his committee position,” Shurtleff announced in a statement released on Friday afternoon.

The move drew immediate criticism from House Republican leader Rep. Dick Hinch, R-Merrimack.

“Removing Rep. Spillane from the Fish and Game committee for a minor infraction is heavy-handed and I’m disappointed that the Speaker chose to take this action,” he said.

As always, Spillane's first instinct is to behave badly. As always, Dick Hinch's first instinct is to cosset Spillane, and protect him. He wasn't upset with Spillane  - he was upset with the Speaker for taking away Spillane's committee assignment. 

In 2017, Spillane was arrested for DUI. Alyssa Dandrea for the Concord Monitor:

A Deerfield state representative convicted of drunken driving in 2010 is facing new charges in Pembroke.

James Spillane, a third-term Republican legislator, was arrested May 4 and charged with two counts of driving while intoxicated. He also faces open container and yellow line violations.

This wasn't Spillane's first rodeo. His first DUI arrest included strangling his wife and the confiscation of 20 guns from his house. Miscellany Blue .

One wonders why Hinch is so desperate to keep this loose cannon in the House, when he reflects so badly on the legislature and the state. Then one remembers that this kind of thing seldom results in any consequences for House Republicans. Governor Sununu has NOT spoken up to suggest Spillane resign. Domestic violence is bad, but casual racism and violence? No big deal. After all, Hinch trusts that he meant no harm. 

Spillane's second DUI came after a jolly afternoon of drinking with some of his fellow legislators, including the former rape-resentative Robert "Red Pill" Fisher. 

Take Off Your NH House Name Badge Before You Go Drinkin'

Forsythe Resigns, Hinch Sings New Tune

Robert Forsythe in 2014


It was only yesterday that the story of NH State Rep. Robert Forsythe broke. He's been charged with felony domestic abuse for choking a pregnant partner. The whole sordid story of his arrest was reported by the Concord Monitor

This was the NH House Minority Leader's reaction to the arrest yesterday:

House Republican Leader Dick Hinch condemned the alleged behavior, saying “domestic violence and assault are unacceptable and wrong and have no place in our society,” but he stopped short of calling on Forsythe to resign.

“Rep. Forsythe is the only person who can put pen to paper, and sign a resignation letter,” Hinch said. “The people of Boscawen have the right to ask him to resign if they believe he can no longer represent them. They also have the ability to vote for alternative candidates, including write-ins, if they believe they no longer want Rep. Forsythe to represent them in Concord.”

I noted the difference in Hinch's reaction to the arrest of a fellow Republican and the arrest of a Democrat on domestic violence charges in a blog post yesterday.

Poor Hinch. After all that waffling, Governor Sununu came right out and called for Forsythe's resignation. 

Today, the Monitor reports that Forsythe has resigned:

In a phone call Wednesday, Forsythe, 38, said he had chosen to step down after consulting with fellow representatives and Rep. Dick Hinch, the House Republican Leader...

Hinch confirmed the resignation in his own statement Wednesday afternoon.

“I spoke with Rep. Forsythe this morning and encouraged him to resign from the House, which he has now done,” Hinch stated. “He faces very serious charges that he will need to answer to in a court of law. Domestic violence and assault are unacceptable and wrong and have no place in our society.”

What a difference a day makes, eh Hinchy?

Forsythe was running unopposed in his district. He told the Monitor that the charges against him won't hold up in court.  This isn't his first run-in with the law,  in 2019 he was charged with violating a protective order. Forsythe sponsored a bill this year which seems intended to weaken protective orders and protect abusers. It would excuse a defendant for violating an order if it could be proven that the plaintiff requested the contact. The bill was  killed by the House. It doesn't take Dick Tracy to see what that was all about. 

We know he has engaged in violence against women and he loves guns.  This is the kind of profile that should be taken with the utmost seriousness. It's the same profile of nearly every domestic terrorist/mass shooter. 

House Minority Leader Dick Hinch's first reaction was to protect him. Just as he attempted to protect Robert "Red Pill" Fisher. Hinch wasn't shy about demanding that State Rep. Sherry Frost should resign because she used the word "fuck" on her personal Facebook page. The difference? Frost is a Democrat. 

The NH GOP has a man problem. When training on domestic violence and harassment was mandated by leadership (the kind of training any professional has to go through in the workplace) a number of the Republican men (and one of the women) refused to go through the training. GOP legislators Kyle Tasker, Eric Schleien, and James Spillane have all been arrested on charges related to illegal conduct with women. Tasker is in prison, Schleien moved out of state, but Spillane, who was once arrested for trying to strangle his wife, is still a representative. 

Forsythe is gone. Dick Hinch should be ousted as well. His idea of leadership is covering for people who aren't fit to hold elected office. Protecting abusers should not be tolerated. It sure is hard to make a strong case for that though, given who is at the very top of the GOP ticket.