2013: A Year in NH GOP Shame

A brief overview of embarrassing commentary by NH GOP legislators. (Not intended to be comprehensive.)

January: 

Rep. William O’Brien, speaking at a “right to work” hearing:

“New Hampshire wages are artificially high, a symptom of stagnation.”

February: 

Rep. Donald LeBrun in a committee hearing (Health and Human Services) was quoted as saying: “Rather than spend money on people with disabilities we have another choice, Voluntary Euthanasia….”

h/t Tuck at Miscellany Blue

March: 

Rep. JR Hoell speaking on one of last session’s gazillion gun bills: “Maybe Democrats want a young mother to allow her children to be murdered as she runs under a table to hide instead of take a weapon from her purse and save her most precious loved ones?”

h/t to Tuck at Miscellany Blue

April:

Rep. Peter Hansen, posting on the House internal email system for legislators gave his opinion on what was missing from the debate on the stand your ground bill:  “Why children and vagina's of course.”

Rep. Romeo Danais used the House internal email system to compare feeding poor children to feeding wild animals – twice in the same day.

Rep. Al Baldasaro testifying before a committee hearing on a bill to phase out lead sinkers and jigs – because they’re killing the  loon population:

“If you take a look at other areas, uh, what’s going on around the country under Agenda 21, this isn’t get – the nose is already under the tent. This now is pushing the foot under the tent, to slowly get the fishermen off the lake. That’s what this is gonna do.”

Rep. Stella Tremblay gave her opinion on the Boston Marathon bombings on Glenn Beck’s website: “Just as you said would happen. Top Down, Bottom UP. The Boston Marathon was a Black Ops “terrorist” attack.”

Miscellany Blue

susan the bruce

May:

Rep. Jane Cormier, in a lengthy floor speech on SB11, a bill to allow municipalities to work together on financing and building water and sewer projects: “The EPA now considers rainwater a pollutant.”

June:

Rep. William O’Brien gives a speech from the floor, describing the budget that was just passed as “his legacy.” 

He had also just voted against the budget.

July:

Senator Andy Sanborn:

Sanborn, R-Bedford, was the guest host of the afternoon radio show on WTPL-FM in Concord Tuesday afternoon. During one segment he was talking to former State Sen. Ray White, also a Bedford Republican, about the new national health care law. Sanborn has been vocal opponent of the law.

At one point Sanborn said the new law "is barreling down on us like a jet landing into San Francisco. It’s (laughter) it should make people really concerned."

After the program Sanborn didn't recall the remark, but after hearing the audio of the program said he apologizes for it.

"It was my mistake. If I offended anyone I am sorry," Sanborn said.

Two people were killed and 168 injured in a plane crash in San Francisco just 2 days before Sanborn was yucking it up on air.

August: 

Rep. William O’Brien, at an Americans for Prosperity rally against the ACA:

And what is Obamacare? It is a law as destructive to personal and individual liberty as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 that allowed slave owners to come to New Hampshire and seize African Americans and use the federal courts to take them back to slave states.

h/t to Tuck at Miscellany Blue

September:

Rep. Al Baldasaro retweeted something posted by his friends at Americans for Prosperity: “RT if you want to be exempt from #Obamacare like members of Congress! Yes!”  Sadly for Al, that proved to be a falsehood.

h/t to Tuck at Miscellany Blue

October:

Former Rep. Pete Silva  tripped over his racism during a particularly ugly special election battle. Silva was trying to regain his former House seat. He said that on the day of the primary election "I thought I was in New Delhi." His opponent is Latha Mangipudi, who is of Indian descent. His further comment about how Indian voters would be "coming out of the woodwork" to vote for Mangipudi seemed, to many, to carry the unappealing aroma of racism.

November:

Representatives Laurie Sanborn and Neal Kurk on the subject of expanding Medicaid:

Is it fair that eligibility for expanded Medicaid is based on income only and not assets, so that a 50-year old who lives on a yacht and has a very low income qualifies for free health insurance?

December:

Rep. JR Hoell was the gift that kept on giving in December. First, from an interview he did on wingnut radio:

“We’re not here to threaten anybody. We’re here standing on our soapbox as opposed to standing with our ammo box in hand to make a point politically. The message needs to get out that Scott Brown does not represent New Hampshire.

If things continue the way they are, there may be a day or a time where firearms and ammo are necessary. It happened in the Revolutionary War. I’d like to think we’re not there yet, but as things continue to unravel, that may be the next step.

h/t to Tuck at Miscellany Blue

This lead to more tantrums:

“Regardless of where Brown lives, he BROKE his oath of office by stating he wanted to ban certain semi-automatic rifles.

Brown does not support NH values!

(BTW, he has taken an oath to up hold the constitution on at least 3 separate occasions: Swearing in as a National Guard member, MA legislature and US Senate)”

And finally, this little gem from the NSFW files.

The wheels are coming  off the GOP clown car, kids. Stay tuned, and Happy New Year to all of my readers.


PS: Thank you Tuck. Not only could I not do this without you, it would be so much less fun. 

Obstructionist Theater

The New Hampshire legislature is a mirror, reflecting what goes on in Washington. In Washington, petty obstructionism is the order of the day. The same is true in the People’s House here in the Granite State.

The loon and lead sinker bill is a good example. SB 89 was aimed at ending the use of lead sinkers and jigs weighing an ounce or less. These lead sinkers are the leading cause of death in the adult loon population. They’re also littering the bottoms of our lakes and ponds. We don’t use lead in water pipes any more, or in paint because now we know that lead is bad.  The wrangling over this bill went on for well over an hour, because the liberty crowd is convinced that this bill has something to do with Agenda 21. Rep. Al Baldasaro opined in April that this was a UN attempt at getting fisherman off the lake. After enduring what one can only assume was copious public and private ridicule, he’d changed his tune by session day, and told media that this was just a “feel good bill.”

Rep. Burt of Goffstown openly mocked the concerns of those who supported the bill, dismissing the idea that lead was dangerous. The loonkillers lost, and the bill passed on a roll call vote (yep, they wanted this enshrined in the public record) of 225-142. You can look up your representative’s votes on the House website. This whole process took nearly 2 hours – and the loonkillers lost, big time. What else can we call this but obstructionist theater?

The big vote last week was on SB 152, the casino bill. That debate lasted for a little over 4 hours, but that debate was justified. The result of the vote was destined to have a big impact on the state no matter which way it came down. We all now know that the House voted down the bill. The why of it isn’t being honestly being told. All of the NH media seems united in presenting this as legislators being either for or against gambling. No nuance need be discussed. While sitting through the committee vote, and then the 4-hour debate on the House floor, I heard plenty of nuance expressed. The real problem with the bill is that it was bad. Many representatives who support expanded gambling voted against it because it was a raw deal for the state.

SB 152 ensured that NH would get 30% of the take from the machines of Millennium Gaming, the gaming corporation that the state is courting. In 2012, a similar bill gave NH 49% of the take. In 2008 it was 50%, and in 2004 it was 55%. Pennsylvania gets 55%. Thirty percent was a great deal for Millennium – but not so great for the state. Millennium was also given the opportunity to write the regulations governing the casino. Putting the fox in charge of the henhouse has never been successful, but our state senators were keen on trying.

A commission authorized by Governor Lynch a few years back found that the regulations for a casino should be in place before any negotiations with a company began. There was money put in the budget to put that regulatory infrastructure into place. It was never done. The idea of letting the casino write the regulations defies all common sense. The bill was voted down on a vote of 199-164. A motion to reconsider failed on a vote of 212 – 152.

There were nearly a dozen bills that were unheard in last week’s session, and so were brought forward this week. The NH Liberty Alliance (essentially a front for the Free State Project) hands out gold (naturally) sheets to folks heading in to Representatives Hall. These sheets give the Liberty perspective on bills, and generally provide a blueprint for how much obstructionism to expect on any given bill.

SB 96, a bill aimed at curbing vexatious litigants (nuisance lawsuits) was deemed Anti-Liberty. Given the Free State Project’s propensity for filing nuisance lawsuits, this came as no surprise. In Randia we will all be able to sue each other all the time. Gold! Austria! The bill passed, despite the protestations of the residents of Libertopia.

SB 100, was a bill to allow employers to stop issuing paper checks, and give wages on cards – like debit cards. The problem here is that those cards (issued by companies like Visa) have fees associated with them. This is a mode of payment that is reserved almost entirely for low wage workers. Carl Nelson does not get his paycheck in the form of a plastic card with user fees attached. This benefits employers at the expense of employees. It also benefits banks and credit card companies, all who want a piece of the low wage pie at the expense of workers. Shameful. The bill was defeated on a vote of 235 -93.

The most interesting fight of the day was over SB 11, a bill allowing municipalities to work together on water and sewer infrastructure projects. Sounds sensible, right? What you don’t know is that this is a sneak attempt by the UN to achieve global domination through your toilet. The John Birch Society and other wearers of tinfoil berets decided this bill (written to aid Stratham and Exeter in particular) was part of the nefarious Agenda 21. This is a bill that came out of committee with a recommendation of ought to pass on vote of 18-0. Normally it would have been put on the consent calendar, but this legislature isn’t exactly normal. All who were present donned their sunglasses to block the glare of 100 tinfoil berets.

A motion to table the bill failed. Rep. Jane Cormier of Alton gave a one-woman filibuster against the bill that included all manner of bizarre assertions (well stealing, property takeovers) including her belief that “the EPA now considers rainwater a pollutant.” A move to recommit the bill (send it back to the same committee that unanimously passed it) failed.

Rep. Abrami (Republican from Stratham) finally had the chance to speak, and pointed out that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hadn’t visited Stratham, and that the bill had nothing to do with Agenda 21. He also said, “I’m a conservative guy. You think I’d stand up here and allow the state to steal our wells?” The bill was finally passed on a roll call vote of 254 -74, after all that posturing and bloviating. With each vote (table, recommit, final vote) the tinfoil crowd lost votes. Their goal isn’t winning – they know better. Their goal is posturing and obstructing. Just like Congress.

© sbruce 2013 

Published as a regular biweekly column in the Conway Daily Sun Newspaper.