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.

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.