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. 

NH Republican Rants about "Those People"

A former Republican state representative stopped by my blog to comment on this column that I wrote for the Conway Daily Sun newspaper.  Steven J. Connolly writes for the septic tank  known as NH Insider.  He defends the xenophobic remarks made by Pete Silva, who ran against Latha Mangipudi in a special election for a vacant NH House seat in Nashua. I suspect those remarks cost Silva the election. The whole exchange between us is worth reading. (you can read them on the link above)

This is the most unpalatable of his comments:

"Since you seem to have the inside track, perhaps you could share it with me." 
I do have the inside track. Having served two terms in the NH House myself and being active in NH politics since 1987. 
In terms of your 'endorsements' you might not have been holding a sign, but you've endorsed Rep. Latha Mangipudi or at least you were there in principle. 
Have you been to India Ms. Bruce? This is a country that is like a train wreck. This is a country that refuses to help itself. And other than bringing their cultures, their values and their ideas to the U.S. what do these individuals from India bring to New Hampshire and the NH House? 
Former Rep. Silva's comment about "New Delihi" is likely accurate. Instead of assimilating to values that have existed since the 1700s these people have chosen to remake and rebrand NH into how THEY want it. Including using economic models, values and ideas that fail and continue to fail in their own countries. 
Socialism is an economic model that has continually demonstrate that it can't work over time. Yet it is one that yourself and other continue to espouse and promote and an a direction that will tax and spend New Hampshire into oblivion. 

This is just ugliness. Rep. Mangipudi is a US citizen, which makes her one of us. She's one of the many flavors of the melting pot that is the United States. 

After Connolly came by to leave that fetid offering in my comment section, I did some research on Latha Mangipudi. She's lived in Nashua since 1989. Her kids went to Nashua public schools. When she came to the US she had a Masters degree in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. She has worked toward a PhD in Behavior Neuro-Sciences at BU. She's interested in education, health and human services, and encouraging community involvement. I've never met Rep. Mangipudi, but she sounds like an asset to her community and to our state. 

It's also worth pointing out how quickly we forget. At one time, people with surnames like Connolly were regarded as THOSE PEOPLE. 

PS:
Hey Steven Connolly what about this guy? You paleocons were eager to trot out Marion Noronha the immigrant from India who built his whole business all by himself with no gummint help....well, except for the help he got. Gonna tell him to go back to New Delhi? What about Bobby Jindal?

Elections and Eulogies

New Hampshire cities had municipal elections last week. After the Great Bearcat Media Event in Concord, a number of Free Staters decided to run for the City Council. Given that the Bearcat was a done deal, running on the anti-Bearcat platform wasn’t the best strategy. Most revealed a woeful ignorance of what the job entailed. They all lost.

City and town elections should be nonpartisan – they should be about electing the best person for the job. The key word there is “should.” We all know that partisan politics and ideology sometimes creep in. Former state Republican Party Chairperson, Fergus Cullen, ran for the Dover City Council. Despite billing himself as a humble small businessman (he failed to disclose that he’s the executive director of a far right think tank in Connecticut) he lost. Badly. Cullen has written about the dangers inherent in what the NH Republican Party has become, and now he’s experienced what he predicted.

In addition to the municipal elections, Nashua had a special election in Ward 8 for a state representative. It was an ugly business. Republican Peter Silva (former House Majority leader) had some unattractive things to say about his opposing candidate, Latha Mangipudi. Speaking to the Nashua City Republican Committee, Silva remarked that upon coming out of the polls on primary day, “I thought I was in New Delhi,” referring to the large turnout of Indian American voters. He told his fellow Republicans  “they’d be coming out of the woodwork” to vote for Mangipudi. That effort to rebrand the GOP to be friendlier to women and minorities sure is coming along nicely. Silva refused to apologize, whined about political correctness, and generally dug himself a deeper hole every time he opened his mouth. He lost.

That wasn’t the end of the ugliness in Ward 8. Inside the polling place, Karen Thoman, Secretary of the City Republican Committee was videotaping voters. Apparently she had permission from the City Clerk, who ran it by unnamed “state officials.” (One hopes that this is being investigated.) As one would expect, there was some backlash from angry voters. At least one called her a Nazi. She piously defended herself by stating that she didn’t videotape children. She has standards!  That this videotaping took place ONLY in Ward 8 underscores the sheer nastiness of this special election. The day will come when Republicans want minority votes. (HINT: this isn’t the way to get them.) This kind of conduct only serves to continue the erosion of confidence in our electoral system.

Alcoa stock prices have been on the rise this week, thanks to former state GOP Chairman Jack Kimball. Kimball sent out an email to 50 of his pals warning them that the UN was invading NH. Apparently his daughter saw a convoy of about 50 trucks on the highway. From the email: “It consisted of a wide range of military vehicles, many of them white and nondescript and unmarked." He said they later saw another group of around 10 to 12 18-wheelers, also nondescript and driven by military personnel,” Kimball told the Portsmouth Patch, “We’re on the watch for stuff like this.” The fact that white UN trucks have UN painted on them in big black letters was lost on Mr. Kimball. Turns out, those frightening white trucks belonged to medics from NH, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island National Guard units, who had been in Maine conducting training exercises. Ooops. Jack had to send out a retraction to his followers.

Kimball also told Patch, "We're all concerned about what's going on with Obama. We've all been talking about what's happening. We've got Chinese troops arriving in Hawaii... and Kansas. There’s a lot of things going on that are very suspicious. There are a lot of people that are very vigilant.

“We” appears to be Kimball’s fellow members of the shiny haberdashery club. Some cursory research reveals that the Chinese troops in Hawaii are there taking part in disaster relief exercises. They’re simulating post-earthquake relief operations. This sort of exchange is an annual exercise that is part of a security cooperation agreement established in 1998. I can find no reputable sources confirming the invasion of Kansas by Chinese troops. Perhaps they’re sneaking in, undercover, in UN trucks.

In other news, NH has lot a couple of the good guys to cancer in the last 2 weeks. Marty Capodice died at home in Concord. Marty was a retired research analyst with the NH Employment Security Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau. He was also a long time house manager at the Capital Center for the Arts. Marty was married to Arnie Arnesen, who can be heard discussing national politics and events on radio in at least 4 states. Marty was a truly happy man – he loved his family, his friends, and his community. He could convince even the most Eeyore amongst us (me) that they could do anything, give them a bear hug, and send them on their way, feeling as if maybe Marty was right. A big loss.

District 1 Executive Councilor Ray Burton died this week. Ray served the North Country in that capacity for 35 years. Since the council districts are based on population, Ray’s district covered 2/3 of the state. It’s a stupidly huge district, but Ray managed to be everywhere at once, handing out combs and remembering the names and faces of everyone he ever met. Ray was a staunch advocate for the oft-forgotten northern part of our state. He was a Republican, but not an ideologue, and he always returned my phone calls. It has also been mildly amusing to watch all of the people who were howling for his resignation 8 years ago offering up accolades now that he’s gone. As a tribute to Ray, I hope we can all agree that no one else can do what he did. District One should be divided into at least 2 parts. Ray had decades to figure it out, something the next person will not. Creating 2 manageable districts would keep the Council at an odd number (no tie votes), and ensure quality representation for the biggest part of the state.

Overt Racism and Other Ugliness Fail in Nashua's Ward 8

They tried. In Nashua's Ward 8 special NH House election, the Republicans tried everything they could to get that seat back for former House Majority Leader Pete Silva. Pete himself tried, too. It turns out that the voters of Ward 8 weren't impressed with overt racism. Silva commented that it looked like "New Delhi" outside the polls on the day of the primary. That "they'd be coming out of the woodwork" to vote for his opponent, Latha Mangipudi. Silva not only refused to apologize, he ramped it up, decrying "political correctness." 

Last week I wrote:

Silva's refusal to apologize was stupid. By refusing, he's kept this story alive far longer than it needed to be. Unless he thinks he's going to win BECAUSE of those comments, the refusal to apologize is a big tactical error. Someday the NH GOP is going to want the immigrant community's votes. This isn't the way to get 'em. 

I wasn't wrong. 

Pete Silva lost.  And so did the Republican Party, BECAUSE they tried everything. The racist commentary wasn't all they tried.

Somegopone put out ugly fliers: Nashua Patch.

Racism and fliers weren't all though. From the Nashua Telegraph:

A few rumblings of controversy were heard on Election Day at Ward 8, when at least two voters took issue with being videotaped inside the polling place at Bicentennial Elementary School.

Karen Thoman, who tended a small video camera mounted on a tabletop tripod behind where the ballot clerks were seated, said, “One called me a Nazi.”

It’s all perfectly legal and permissible, Thoman said, producing paperwork as confirmation. “The only restriction is I don’t record children. That’s easy, because there’s no school today,” she said.

Anderson, the ward moderator, said Thoman had the OK because she got written permission from city clerk Paul Bergeron, who ran it by state officials early Tuesday.

Outside the school, GOP city committee member Ed Stebbins indicated the video camera idea was supported by the committee, but Thoman said she wasn’t part of an organized initiative.

“I’m not working for anyone; it’s just a project I wanted to do on my own,” said Thoman, who is currently the secretary of the GOP city committee.

She said the only other person involved was her husband, who spelled her from time to time. Her reason for recording voters, Thoman said, was “to see the process, that’s all.”

Apparently the Republicans decided to attempt to intimidate the brown skinned voters of Ward 8 with a video camera. Who were the "state officials" that approved this nasty bit of business? If anyone thinks that Thoman was doing this on her own, I've got a bridge in New Delhi for sale. 

That Pesky Political Correctness

It's 10 days till the special election for the NH House in Nashua. As I've pointed out, there has been some controversy surrounding remarks made by candidate Pete Silva. 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. Silva, and the NH GOP have been quite aggrieved since the story aired, bemoaning "political correctness." 

It has been my experience that people who complain bitterly about political correctness are people who miss the good old days of racial/ethnic, homophobic, or misogynistic slurs. Back when a broad was a broad, a fag was a fag, and a nigger, a kike, or a spic knew their place. Forgive me if I don't miss those days. Feel free to call me a bleeding heart - I just don't think we need to speak to each other with that kind of contempt and disrespect. 

In the Nashua Patch, Silva offers up some unrepentant attempts at justification:

"I'm standing by what I said, because people are turning it into something it isn't. If there had been a huge turnout of Italian voters, and someone said, 'It looks like Little Italy,' I wouldn't have a problem with that.

How generous. He might, however, have a problem if someone said "look at all the dagos, greaseballs, guineas, and wops crawling out of the Sicilian woodwork." I'm betting his disgust with political correctness might be tested by the use of ethnic slurs that apply to HIS background. 

Those words show contempt and a lack of respect. The same kind he displayed when speaking of Ms. Mangipudi and the voters in her district. 

His comments are inexcusable. 

There were 50 to 60 people there who heard what I said. I was a Majority Leader – I know how to speak in a group of people, and I wasn't trying to be guarded, because what I said was harmless," Silva said.

Silva was the House Majority Leader under former Speaker O'Brien. He was part of the O'Brien leadership team.  That alone should instill some fear into the voters of Nashua. That he thinks he knows how to speak in front of a group of people is certainly worrisome. Silva's refusal to apologize was stupid. By refusing, he's kept this story alive far longer than it needed to be. Unless he thinks he's going to win BECAUSE of those comments, the refusal to apologize is a big tactical error. Someday the NH GOP is going to want the immigrant community's votes. This isn't the way to get 'em. 

No Silva Lining for this Racist

Former NH State Representative Peter Silva is trying to win back his old seat in a November 5 special election that will be held in Nashua. Silva is a Republican. His opponent in the race is Latha Mangipudi, a Democrat of Indian descent. 

Pete Silva spoke at a Nashua Republican City Committee forum for Board of Alderman candidates. From the  Nashua Telegraph:

In what he later called an attempt to convince Republican voters to take the upcoming election seriously, Silva predicted Mangipudi could benefit from a large turnout of Indian voters, saying “they’ll be coming out of the woodwork” on voting day, Nov. 5.

Silva referenced the Sept. 17 primary, in which Mangipudi and Carl Andrade faced off for the Democratic nomination. “I thought I was in New Delhi,” he said, emphasizing the large turnout of Indian voters at the ward polling place, Bicentennial Elementary School.

Ward 8 has a large population of residents that are of Asian and Indian descent. Apparently Silva's not courting their votes. 

Silva insists his comments were aimed at rallying Republicans to not take the Nov. 5 election lightly. “The fact is, if (Republicans) are gong to take this election lackadaisically, then we’re going to lose. My comments were made to make people aware there’s a tide against us this time.”

And he was offering no apologies.

That sounds honest to me. He was using racist commentary to gin up the fears of his fellow Republicans to get them to go out and vote for him. The fear of the "tide" of scary brown folks. At least he's not pretending to be anything other than what he is. Racist. 

Naturally, there were people who called Silva out for his comments. He remains unrepentant:

Silva accused his detractors of “political correctness” and for spinning reality.

“It’s amazing how people can spin things. Fifty or 60 people (at the forum) heard this in context. This politically correct stuff has got to go,” he said.

One can't help but wonder - what kind of context could have justified his comments. If they'd all been wearing white robes and pointy hoods maybe? 

Photo from Carol Robidoux at Nashua Patch. Silva was a Perry supporter - which makes him even more mockworthy.