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 “The people of Boscawen have the right to ask him to resign if they believe he can no longer represent them.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.
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