New Hampshire's Rising Star

NH Senator Kelly Ayotte was the keynote speaker at the GOP conference in Missouri known as Reagan-Lincoln Days. Senator Ayotte is regarded as a rising star within her party, a party desperate to present itself as women friendly, despite all evidence to the contrary. 

From the Kansas City Star:

Keynote speaker Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire criticized Obama for foreign and domestic policy decisions, including problems in Ukraine and the Middle East.

“We need to take this presidency in 2016,” she told the group.

She also criticized the Affordable Care Act, referring twice to “800 million taxpayers” sent faulty notices as part of the program.

The figure was incorrect. The administration said this week it has sent out 800,000 bad notices, not 800 million.

There are roughly 320 million people in the United States.

OOPS

photo from the Nashua Telegraph

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article10793018.html#storylink=cpy

I'm Back

I’m back.

As you know, I was involved in a serious car accident in November. I had a crushed femur, 4 compression fractures in my vertebrae, and a bunch of broken ribs. This resulted in 2 surgeries, a 2-month hospital stay, and in ongoing physical therapy. I’m hoping to be walking again by spring. I’m feeling pretty fortunate – I didn’t die! I was also really lucky to learn that I have the best friends and the best support system anyone could hope for.

Enough about me. On to the legislature!

The big news so far this year was the O’Brien vs. Jasper upset vote for Speaker of the NH House. Former Speaker Bill O’Brien was so sure he was going to be Speaker again that he was boasting about it in the press. His supporters were negotiating deals on committee chair positions.

Then he lost. The libertea crowd lives in a bubble. They only talk to each other. This insularity leads them to believe that their rabid ideology is far more popular than it actually is; that they are far more popular than they really are. O’Brien made a lot of promises to be a different sort of speaker this time – one with an open door policy, and presumably one that wouldn’t close the House gallery to the people, or deny reporters access to his press conferences. Those promises fell on skeptical ears. 

On the day of the election, O’Brien tried to change the rules so that he could be king. Then he failed to get a majority in the first vote. After that, Republican Shawn Jasper entered the contest. Jasper managed to secure bi-partisan support, and finally won the speakership. O’Brien had a Rumpelstiltskin style tantrum, declared himself the real leader, and opened an office across the street from the State House to. …lead, or something. The libertea crowd has been calling conservative Republican Shawn Jasper a RINO and a (gasp!) Democrat ever since. If this sounds childish, that’s because it is.  O’Brien went to the Iowa Freedom Summit last month to mumble into a microphone and announce that he is the current Republican NH House Leader, which probably came as a surprise to Rep. Jack Flanagan who actually holds that position.

The O’Brien cabal is now doing all that it can to subvert the process. Bills that come out of committee with a unanimous or near unanimous recommendation (like a vote of 15-0 that the bill ought to pass) go on the Consent Calendar, which is a section of the House voting session that is usually pretty quickly dispatched by voice votes. Occasionally a representative will pull a bill off Consent, to try to sway his or her fellow legislators that the recommendation is wrong, and this bill deserves greater consideration. The libertea crowd has begun pulling everything off Consent in an effort to slow down the process. They know they aren’t going to change the outcome, but they can obstruct and delay, and that’s the goal.

The Speaker assigns the seating in the House chamber. Jasper sat the most obnoxious members of the libertea crowd  in the middle of what is called “Murderer’s Row” in the middle section of the chamber. Murderer’s Row is a reference to the 1920’s NY Yankees batting line up. In the case of this particular legislature, it’s a lot of angry men wedged in together, forced to climb over one another to get to the podium to speak. They heckle, make sexist remarks about women, and they plot their next moves in the obstruction and delay derby that appears to be their idea of how to best serve their constituents. Lucky for them, their constituents appear to vote solely on the basis of party affiliation, and pay no attention to how effective their state representatives actually are.

This is a budget year in the biennium, so the predictable talk about revenue and budget cuts has already begun. Given how little revenue NH raises to run the state, it’s interesting to watch the GOP try to starve the state even further. The Senate recently passed a bill to eliminate the concealed carry permit. This will create an approximate annual loss of a million dollars to the state, which bill sponsor Senator Jeb Bradley blithely dismissed as unimportant in an interview with NHPR. Given Bradley’s sudden toadying up to the gundamentalists, the lack of concern for revenue, and recent spate of mountain climbing publicity, it’s likely that Bradley has plans to run for higher office in 2016.

The bill to reduce the amount of the business profits tax from 8.5% to 7% would reduce revenue to the state by $60,000,000 in 2016. A bill to exempt businesses doing business as a proprietorship from the business enterprise tax would decrease revenue to the state by $17,100,000 in fiscal year 2016, and unknown amounts in the future, according to the fiscal note attached to the bill. Another bill to exempt proprietorships from taxation under the business profits tax would decrease state revenue by $17,025,000 in fiscal year 2016, and unknown amounts in the future. SB 6, a bill to increase the research and development tax credit against the business profits tax would decrease state general fund and education fund revenues by $500,000,000. Add in the million dollars from Jeb Bradley's gun bill and we're looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $600,000,000. 

This is fiscal irresponsibility of on an epic scale. If all of these bills pass, NH will be in a mess. It will take decades to recover.

The libertea crowd is under the impression that once they eliminate business taxes and unions, then companies will be lined up at the door to relocate to NH. This is further evidence of the bubble. NH property taxes are outrageous. We do not invest in education. Our energy costs are exorbitant, and we have the 11^th worst infrastructure in the nation. It’s clear to any company considering a move that we don’t invest in our state, so why would they?

Will the bubble burst? Stay tuned.  



Edited to fix the numbers - thanks Tony Schinella!

This was published as an op-ed in the February 20, 2015 issue of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper. 

Two Tales of Grafton

Residents of Grafton, NH had their deliberative budget session on Saturday the 7th, in preparation for their annual town meeting on March 10.


As most readers know, Grafton is home to a number of members of the Free State Project, the band of armed miscreants moving to NH with the stated intent of taking over the NH government, dismantling it, and threatening secession. Grafton was ground zero - the town that the FSP intended to take over and turn into a model community at the beginning of their invasion. It hasn't gone well. Free Staters (then and now) don't seem able to grasp that not everyone shares their vision of a glibertarian utopia - and that many of those who don't share their vision were here before the FSP arrived to liberate them. 

I found two stories covering the Grafton deliberative session. They couldn't be more different. I suggest you read them both and reach your own conclusions.

In the Union Leader, news correspondent John Koziol is desperate to portray the town moderator as a weepy woman. It's mentioned twice in his story, and once in the headline:

Effort to constrain Free State backfires, confusion brings Grafton moderator to verge of tears 

In the story, she goes from "weeping" to "seemingly weeping." Hmmm....sounds like weepful thinking on the part of the writer. 

Koziol casts Free Stater Brian Fellers as something of a budget watchdog; asking for each department to review the budget, and making a variety of motions to cut the budget. He never mentions  Fellers problem with impulse control. Last year he was found guilty of disorderly conduct after his arrest for disrupting the deliberative session.  

For an entirely different look at the Grafton deliberative session, we turn to the Valley News:

By the end of a 10 -hour deliberative session yesterday, no substantive changes had been made to the 36 articles on the warrant that Grafton residents will vote on next month. 

In some ways, the meeting resembled last year’s — an 11-hour slog that, despite Free Staters’ efforts, resulted in no cuts to the operating budget. This year, attempts to slash the budget were once again rebuffed.

I'm just not seeing the "backfire" here. 

Many see Free Staters’ focus on procedure as a ploy to drag out the meetings so other residents will become frustrated and leave, allowing those remaining to vote in changes to their liking. 

The delay, disrupt, and obstruct tactics that the residents of Grafton see at their deliberative session are the same tactics that the Free Staters and their libertea allies use in the NH legislature. In Grafton it shows contempt and disrespect for the other residents of the town. In the NH House, it shows contempt and disrespect for their colleagues in the House - and even more contempt for the  people of New Hampshire. 

Two stories about the same event - yet they couldn't be more different. 

The Valley News appears to engage in a quaint, yet time honored practice known as "reporting."

The Union Leader has long served as a stenographer for the far right. In recent years they've embraced the Free State Project, and attempted to cast them in a flattering light whenever possible. This tear-stained story is just another of those attempts. 

NH GOP Clown Car Derails in Iowa

Mr. O'Brien went to Iowa and displayed all of the charm and charisma that have made him a legend in New Hampshire:





O'Brien introduced himself to Iowa as the present Republican NH House Leader. Bet the guy who was actually elected to the position was surprised to hear that. 

http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/15128407-95/republican-faction-led-by-bill-obrien-says-they-will-set-up-shop-outside-state

Mr. O'Brien Goes to Iowa

From the website:

Citizens United and Congressman Steve King are teaming up to bring grassroots activists from across Iowa to hear directly from conservative leaders on how we can get America back on track by focusing on our core principles of pro-growth economics, social conservatism, and a strong national defense.

In other words, conservatives aren't free unless they're trampling on the rights of others. 

This looks like the usual sort of affair, with lots of talk about family values, defending Murka from brown folks, and so on. The usual speakers: Newt, Santorum, Huckabee, Palin - people who wouldn't get elected hog reeve if they lived in NH.

In fact, NH is what sets this  shindig apart from the usual wingnut gathering. 

 Our very own  -  Bill O'Brien is one of the speakers. Yes, the same O'Brien who was certain he'd  be Speaker again. 

State Representative O'Brien is beginning his second term of refusing to serve on a House committee. Apparently after his single term as Speaker, he's become too important to actually bother doing the People's business. That he isn't doing anything gives him plenty of time to go to Iowa. And by the way, who is paying his way?

The real question is why do they want him? Everyone else is a national player. The only noteworthy thing O'Brien has done of late is create a shadow government where he is king, while dividing his party.  

Was O'Brien invited before he lost the Speaker's seat, and they couldn't figure out how to tactfully uninvite him?

An admiring h/t to cartoonist Mike Marland  and another to Iowa's own  Steffen Schmidt

The Return of the Absentee Blogger

Hello Readers, 

It's been a while since I've been here. 

In November I was seriously injured in a car accident. I was in the hospital for 2 months. 

I had the best support system. My friends have been wonderful throughout the hospital stay. Some traveled great distances to visit. I was showered with cards, flowers - and love. I'm a fortunate woman.

I'm still recovering - but I'm back! 


Susan 

In the United States, in the 21st Century

Three weeks ago, the news was all Ebola, all the time. Todd Kincannon, the former Executive Director of the South Carolina Republican Party announced, “the protocol for a positive Ebola test should be immediate humane execution and sanitization of the whole are. That will save lives.” The President was labeled inept and weak at handling the crisis! We needed more leadership! Retread Congressman-elect Frank Guinta insisted that there needed to be a travel ban. Congressman Steve Stockman of Texas accused Obama of unleashing Ebola on Murka to seize more power. Louie Gohmert (whose continual reelection is proof that we shouldn’t wait for Texas to secede, we should just go ahead and build a wall around the state) claimed that Ebola is “the Democrats war on women.” Women are nurses, you see. 

Corrupt blowhard and birther Donald Trump blamed Obama for Ebola, referred to him as “Barry Sotoro,” and called for his resignation. This, dear readers, is the same Donald Trump who was chosen by the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications as the keynote speaker at their First Amendment Awards dinner. The award was given posthumously to James Foley. James Foley was a reporter who lost his life in pursuit of reporting from dangerous areas of our world. Choosing Trump as the keynote speaker at an event honoring this brave man is a level of tone deafness that surprises even me, coming from the Loeb/McQuaid crowd. This can only be described as an obscenity. Trump used the opportunity to bloviate about Obama. He’s still bleating about the need for Ebola quarantines. The one true thing he said was to James Foley’s parents, “Your son was far greater than I, and far greater than I will ever be.”

Obama was even criticized for not having a Surgeon General. The reason we don’t have one is Rand Paul. The President’s choice for Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murphy regards gun proliferation and violence as a health problem. Senator Paul, Republican of the NRA district, placed a hold on Dr. Murphy’s nomination.

There have been 4 cases of Ebola in the United States. One man died.

New Congresswoman and juggler of hog testicles, Joni Ernst of Iowa was at an event the other day talking about Ebola. Reporter Charlie Pierce pointed out that there was (on that day) a single case of Ebola in the United States. Ernst’s response? “That’s your opinion,” she said. Buckle up kids. The next 2 years are going to be a bumpy ride.

There are zero cases of Ebola in the United States. That was accomplished without travel bans or humane executions. Now that there isn’t a low information electorate to whip into a frenzy of fear, we won’t hear much more about it. It’s not as if we actually care about sick people in Africa.

In other news, a whole lot of bizarre was just elected to legislatures across the land.

In Colorado, Tea Party Pastor Gordon Klingenschmitt was just elected to the state legislature, with 70 percent of the vote. Klingenschmitt claims to have performed numerous exorcisms on gay people. Gay people “want your soul,” he says. He also claims to have performed an exorcism on President Obama, to rid him of the demons of tyranny. How disappointed Klingenschmitt must be that Obama is still black.

This guy was elected by a huge percentage. In the United States in the 21^st century.

In Georgia, newly elected Congressman Jody Hice is worried about lunar eclipses. It seems that the religious right thinks that lunar eclipses are signs of God’s impending judgment against Murka for the sins of gay equality and abortion. Jody Hice has a talk radio show, and told his listeners that the appearance of blood moons “has preceded world changing, shaking type events.” In another era, living in a cave, Hice would have been advocating blood sacrifices to the gods to appease them. In the 21^st century, he was elected to the US House of Representatives.

New Wisconsin Congressman Glenn Grothman once warned that sex education classes are a secret plot to turn kids gay. He’s also said that money is more important for men than women, that days off from work are “a little ridiculous,” that Kwanzaa is a conspiracy promoted by white people, and that people on food stamps don’t act poor enough. In the 21^st century, this man was elected to Congress.

New Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke told a Republican group that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is “the antichrist.” Naturally when he was called out for his comment, he claimed he was joking.

Joni Ernst isn’t just an expert on Ebola. She told Iowans last year that Agenda 21 agents were likely to start moving people off their agricultural land and sending them to the cities, after which their land would be confiscated. Agenda 21 is a non-binding treaty on sustainable development that was written over 20 years ago. Ted Cruz predicts Agenda 21 will bring an end to paved roads and golf courses. Both of these people are elected members of the US Congress, in the 21^st century.

Ben Carson, a columnist at World Nut Daily is gearing up for a presidential run. He recently announced that he would cut back on voter fraud by undocumented workers by revoking their citizenship and deporting them.

Here in NH, the electorate has apparently determined that we need to revisit the 2011-2012 legislative debacle. The humiliation and destruction visited upon the state during those years was apparently easily forgotten, so now we have some retreads being sent back, along with a bumper crop of Free Staters and other dubious characters.

With the Republicans in control of the NH House, the position of Speaker is being hotly contested, and the rumors are rampant. Bill O’Brien wants desperately to return to his position as Official Petty Tyrant, and has reportedly sent out a hatchet man to threaten, cajole, and bribe various members to support him, with promises of committee chairmanships. The Tea Party-John Bircher- Free Stater crowd loves O’Brien. He’s unencumbered by truth or ethics.

On the other side of the GOP, Senator Kelly Ayotte, former governors John Sununu and Steve Merrill, former Congressman Charlie Bass, and former Speakers Doug Scamman and Donna Sytek are all urging House members to support Rep. Gene Chandler as Speaker. The decision will be made next week.

An O’Brien Speakership on the cusp of the First in the Nation Primary can only be a disaster for the NH Republican Party. That he’s even being considered for the position should frighten any thinking person.

“This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.”  ~ Charlie Pierce

 © sbruce 2014

published as an op-ed in the Conway Daily Sun on November 14, 2014

Bill O'Brien - Unencumbered by Honesty or Ethics

This screengrab is from State Rep. William O'Brien's Facebook Page

O'Brien is lying. The bill has NEVER been to the House floor for a final vote. Note the link at the bottom of his post. It takes you to the text of the bill,  not to the status of the bill. Allow me to assist you:

As you can see, in March the bill came out of committee with a 12-1 recommendation that it be sent to interim study. The House adopted the committee recommendation, on a roll call vote. The roll call was 174 to 105. The bill has never been up for the vote that O'Brien claims. The bill was NOT defeated, it's still in interim study, for crissake. 

O'Brien deliberately lied. He lied to his minions, and based on his chortling, he was almost certainly in league with Corey Lewandowski in creating and sending out these dishonest and possibly illegal fliers. 

Packing NH's Sleazy Mailers: The Plot Thickens

NH State Representative Robert Cushing has filed a complaint with the AG regarding the last minute sleazy attack mailers that went out the weekend before the midterm elections. 

Packing NH:
Another Shady Group Funding Attacks

Another Ace in the Hoell

And
Last Minute Attacks by Shady Non-Profit Affiliated with Americans for Prosperity

Packing NH's initial filing with the Secretary of State stated that they would not be making independent expenditures during the upcoming election. 

They lied. 

They sent out dishonest SCARE postcards (with really shoddy graphics) targeting Representatives Renny Cushing, Ed Butler, and Steve Shurtleff. 

Packing NH consists of State Representative JR Hoell of Dunbarton and Susan Olsen of Weare. 


The plot thickens:

As you can see from this independent expenditure report, Packing NH used Marantha Printing, at 523 Mason Road in Milford, NH. 

That's the home address of newly minted former Executive Councilor David Wheeler.

UPDATE:

Turns out there is no such business registered with the Sec. of State:

#Free Pindell

During a media shitstorm a few years ago, when Jack Kimball, Kevin Smith, and other Republicans were loudly calling for my head - James Pindell was the only reporter in the state who actually called me to get my comments. Every other reporter just wrote up the wingnut version of the story. 

WMUR ranked third in the US for running US Senate related ads this year. Over 10,000 of them. It's no wonder there are marble floors in the WMUR lobby. They have a very lucrative monopoly which serves to benefit 2 entities: WMUR and the GOP. I've spent the last two years at the State House watching Josh McElveen pander shamelessly to the GOP - running straight to JR Hoell of all people, nearly every time he entered the House chamber. He never speaks to a Democrat unless he absolutely has to. He doesn't even bother with a pretense of fairness. 

Reporters all over the country are being silenced by Big Money. Dave McKinney recently resigned from the Chicago Sun Times because management caved to the Rauner campaign and made it impossible for McKinney to do his job. Rauner is now mayor of Chicago, and there will be fewer reporters covering him. That's how it's going everywhere. The Telegraph ditched State House Reporter Kevin Landrigan. There are 3 AP stringers in NH - down from 12. This biennium there will be only 2 seasoned reporters at the NH State House - Garry Rayno and Josh Rogers. 

I don't think that James should be fired for making Scott Brown uncomfortable. I don't think James should be fired because of the influence of Big Money. 

Furthermore, WMUR is broadcasting over our public airwaves. They should be held accountable. 

Cop Killing With Cantwell

This is Chris Cantwell. This is his Halloween costume, worn at a recent Free State Project convention in Keene. 

He moved to NH as part of the Free State Project, the armed band of miscreants that are moving, en masse, to colonize NH, take over and dismantle our state government, then threaten secession. 

Cantwell wants to kill cops. Well, not really - he wants to "inspire" other people into killing cops. Cantwell lacks the courage of his convictions. He doesn't want to go to prison, because he's too important. The lesser folk should do his dirty work for him. It's all part of his desire to violently overthrow the US government.

The FSP publicly kicked him out in 2013, but that was all for show. He's still part of the cult, living in Keene (at the behest of the Free Keene cult leader Ian Bernard) across the street from the Church of the Free Load. Cantwell was on the CopBlock panel at the recent convention in Keene. We are asked to believe CopBlock has good, nonviolent intentions, yet Cantwell was part of the panel. One of these things is not like the other. 


I've written about Cantwell before:

Free Stater Blames Brentwood Cop for His Own Death

Cop Killers Love CopBlock

CopBlock Backpedaling Furiously

Big Turd Lands in Free State Punchbowl

He's eulogized a number of cop killers. The latest is Eric Frein, who killed one cop and wounded another, then hid out in the Poconos for almost 2 months. Frein was recently captured, and Cantwell waxes on about what Frein should have done:


I can’t help but think that his efforts would have been better spent moving to New Hampshire, and joining a community of people who also see law enforcement as a threat to their safety. He could have trained others to shoot, and survive. Instead of laying down his own life for the cause at such a young age, he could have been a force multiplier for all of us.

Yeah, I'm sure we all agree that it's a real shame Frein didn't move to NH. 

By the way - we're always told that Free Staters are peace loving folk. How does talk of "force multipliers" fit in with that peace loving stuff? Wouldn't you need "force multipliers" if you were planning an armed takeover? 

The only reason I’m alive is because I saw an alternative. I saw a way to do more for the cause of liberty by staying alive, than I could by dying. I can’t help but think the world would soon be a better place if people like Eric Frein, Jerad and Amanda Miller, Justin Bourque, Paul Ciancia, Tim McVeigh, and others, had seen that alternative too. What I wouldn’t give to today be surrounded by such brave warriors…

Jerad and Amanda Miller killed 2 cops and a bystander. Justin Bourque killed 3 RCMP officers and wounded 2 others. Paul Ciancia killed a TSA agent, wounded 2 other agents and a teacher. Heroic might not be the term you'd use to describe these folks. 

Cantwell refers to Timothy McVeigh as a "brave warrior." In 1995, Timothy McVeigh blew up the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and wounding 450 others. Nineteen of those killed were children - children that were in the day care center on the second floor. 

A man who blows up 19 children is not a "brave warrior." That Cantwell and his acolytes can justify that act, and treat McVeigh as some sort of hero is monstrous. 

The Free Staters love to tell us they come in peace. People who come in peace don't come armed to the teeth. People who come in peace don't bring guys like Chris Cantwell. 

FSP President Carla Gericke's cries of outrage reached the ionosphere last year when the FSP were called potential domestic terrorists in an application for an armed vehicle filed by the Concord PD.

Were the Concord PD  wrong? 

"We call them ‘libertarians” because ‘sociopath’ is such an ugly word." ~ TBogg

Another Ace in the Hoell

Representative Renny Cushing wasn't the only recipient of the largesse of our  friends at Packing NH. 
You remember Packing NH - the PAC that filed paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office saying they weren't going to be making any independent expenditures. They lied.

This is the card that went out in Ed Butler's district. You can almost hear the SCARE VOICE: Democrat Ed Butler brought his New York City ways to New Hampshire.....

This is coming to you from JR Hoell - who brought his Hoboken, New Jersey ways to New Hampshire at the same time Ed moved here. 

The "more tax" stuff is just nonsense. When the libertea crowd cuts revenue sources to our state - they can thump their chests about THE BUDGET - but they never tell the whole story. When revenue streams are cut, your property taxes go up. 

Here's the real arrant nonsense. Ed isn't serving in the US Congress - he's in the NH state legislature. He didn't impose Obamacare on anyone - it's a federal law. 

Expanded Medicaid is going to end in NH when it stops being funded by the Feds. Another libertea lie from Representative Hoell. 

As for the ratings: The NH Firearms Coalition is a bunch of wingnut gundamentalists. The NH Liberty Alliance was started by the Free State Project - the armed miscreants who are moving to NH en masse to take over and dismantle our state government, then threaten to secede. JR is closely allied with the Free Stater crowd. NH Families for Education is a group that seems intent on eliminating public education, and the NH Federation of Small Businesses is the local affiliate for a lobbying group based in Tennessee. Joe Average doesn't give a squirt about any of these groups. 

But, Hoell and Co. count on the fact that most voters are just going to read this nonsense about TAXES and CIVIL RIGHTS, OMG, OMG, OMG!! and react emotionally. They sent this out at the 11th hour so that someone like me wouldn't be able to do the research and call them out on their lies.  They have to lie to win. 

That's the kind of integrity that the homie from Hoboken brought to NH. 

Another Shady Group Funding Attacks

This last minute FEAR attack comes from a group called Packing NH, whose mission claims to be support for Second Amendment candidates. This group was formed by JR Hoell, a NH State Rep from Dunbarton, and Susan Olsen, a gundamentalist from Weare. Apparently there is a terrible threat to NH gun ownership - so much so that the gazillion other gun groups in NH weren't sufficient. We needed one more. 

As you can see by the cheesy postcard, the mission seems to have veered from supporting Second Amendment candidates, to attacking legislators they don't like. Packing NH's stance on guns is too radical for most NH residents, so they're attacking from a different angle, to divert attention from themselves. Most people think background checks are a good idea. Not Packing NH. 

These cards were sent out attacking Representatives Robert Cushing, Ed Butler, and Steve Shurtleff. They hate Ed Butler because he  thinks background checks on gun buyers are a good idea. They hate Steve Shurtleff because he's a former US Marshall who apparently doesn't believe every citizen should  have a rocket launcher in their pocket. They hate Renny because he's respected on both sides of the aisle, and impervious to their whimpering about guns. If they can get somewhere with getting these guys voted out, it sends a message to anyone else who might threaten their rights to GUNZ, GUNZ, and MOAR GUNZ! Because clearly, MOAR GUNZ is the solution to all of NH's problems. 


It's almost funny if you think about how scared these people are. They live in one of the safest states in the nation, but they're scared spitless to leave their homes without a personal arsenal. 

 Packing NH is a PAC registered in June with the Secretary of State. It seems they weren't exactly honest in their filing:

As you can see, they claimed on their paperwork that the PAC would not be making independent expenditures. As you can see, there was another box to check. If they had checked the box that reflects what they're actually doing, I couldn't call them sleazy and dishonest. 

To their credit - the PAC has filed subsequent reports noting their donations. They have not filed any reports (including the October 29 filing) that listed expenditures. 

To summarize: Gundamentalists form PAC to support their fellow gun nuts running for office. In their filing, they say they will make no independent expenditures. They report their donations. They report no expenditures. Yet attack postcards go out under the name of this PAC - postcards that don't address the Second Amendment, which is allegedly their reason for being. 

Sleazy and dishonest? You decide. 


UPDATE:
They have filed a report of their expenditures  with the Secretary of State. 


Secretary of State Election Division

Last Minute Attacks by Shady Non-Profit Affiliated with Americans for Prosperity

This is one of the mailers that has just gone out attacking NH State Representative Robert (Renny) Cushing. Note the stereotyping, the use of FEAR language (WELFARE CARDS!) and of course the incredibly sexist stereotype of a conservative view of what a low income woman looks like. 

There's also something else noteworthy about this mailer. It references HB 1213, a bill that was held over by the legislature for interim study. The House voted in March to send it to interim study. The roll call vote was 175 to 105. (Some fairly reactionary Republicans voted to send it to interim study.)

There have been a number of subcommittee work sessions on the bill, and it's slated to be brought back to the House floor.  This is a craven scare attack on a legislator that is considered a threat. 

That brings us to Part 2. This mailer was paid for by the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition. Who is the NHAC? It is a group originally formed in 1998, aimed at protecting the so-called NH advantage. The founders:

George Lovejoy - Barrington
Roy Stewart - Bedford
Thomas Colburn - Pembroke
Judith Thayer - Manchester
Siobhan Tautkus - Manchester
Bryan Gould - Concord
Diane Gilbert - Epping
Jim Root - Bristol
Ovide Lamontagne - Manchester


They filed only one annual report with the Secretary of State, and that was in 2000. It listed Lovejoy as the president. The non-profit was dissolved/suspended in 2006, and formally dissolved with the IRS in 2011. It was brought back to life later that year by these folks:

Corey Lewandowski - Salem
Ed Sibeleski - Salem
Diane Wolfgang - Windham
Richard Morin - Salem
Matthew Worthen - Hampstead

Corey Lewandowski is employed by Americans for Prosperity - the Koch funded group that is allied with the far right, the John Birch Society, and the Free State Project in NH.

The NH Advantage Coalition has never filed an annual report with the Secretary of State. NH Secretary of State Corporate Search.

In 2012 NHAC received money from AFP.  Americans for Prosperity dutifully reported the $20,000, as you can see by scrolling down to page 24. Note there is no tax ID number  for the NHAC listed on the paperwork.

NHAC also got money from Grover Norquist's group, Americans for Tax Reform in 2012. NHAC was given $15,000 to fight for "right to work" legislation. The group used the tax ID number from the defunct original corporation that was dissolved with the IRS.

It sure does look as if on top of never filing annual reports with the Sec. of State, the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition is accepting money with an invalid tax ID number. 

This group is obviously scared witless by a decent and principled legislator - so much that they'll lie and commit tax fraud to try to take him down. 

It's Almost Over

It’s almost over. A few more political ads ought to help us choose what candidates to vote for. Is there really anyone left who is undecided? Nationwide, over $4 billion is being spent on the midterm elections. Good thing we don’t have anything important we could be spending $4 billion on. The corporate taps are open wide and the dark money is flowing.

Thanks to all that money, we know that Scott Brown knows only one number. 99. We know that he’s attempting to whip white NH into a frenzy about immigration and Ebola. The fear is supposed to divert you from paying attention to why he’s here. He’s here because he lost his Senate seat in Massachusetts, and he’d like to use NH as a springboard to higher office. I’ve been to debates and forums where Brown spoke, and his ground support is thin. What can anyone say about him? He’s never done anything in NH except vacation and run for office. Brown grew up in Massachusetts, went to school there, was married and had a family there, had a career there, got into politics there. If Elizabeth Warren hadn’t beaten him, he’d still be there. The first time Scott Brown casts a vote here it will be for himself.

This is a man who has repeatedly refused to speak with members of the press, going so far as to hide in a bathroom to avoid a reporter. As you ponder his name on your ballot ask yourself this: Should New Hampshire’s US Senate seat be a consolation prize for a guy whose ambition is the only reason he’s here?

Thanks to all the money, we know that Frank Guinta blames Carol Shea-Porter for everything except his toilet training. At the WMUR debate, he was unable to answer even what was presented as a yes or no question without trying to complain about our Congresswoman. He nattered on endlessly about all of the job fairs he had during his single term. I went to 2 of them. The Conway fair was held 2 weeks after a real job fair. The one staged by Guinta was a photo op, and sadly for him, not a single photographer showed up. No one found a job that day, or at any of the other job fairs. If anyone had, they’d be trotted out for display at every opportunity. Frank’s forgotten bank account (the one with the half million he donated to his campaign in 2010) is still being investigated by the FEC. When he ran in 2010, Guinta wailed ceaselessly about CSP’s alleged abuses of the Congressional franking system. He went on to become the number one franking abuser of the 2011-12 Congress.

Guinta learned nothing from being defeated. He still hates gummint, but thinks you should send him back to be part of it. He’s tried to present himself as an independent, bipartisan thinking kind of guy, but that’s not borne out by his voting record, which showed him marching along in party lockstep 96% of the time. Guinta wants to turn the Social Security trust fund over to Wall St. He wants to repeal Obamacare, returning us to those halcyon days of the pre-existing condition, and high cost/high deductable plans that don’t cover much of anything. He is all wound up about Ebola, but doesn’t seem to grasp that public health is a security issue. We should be working to rebuild our once robust public health system.

After listening to a lot of Guinta, it’s clear that he doesn’t have any ideas or plans to move us forward. Frank has only one setting on his gearshift, and that’s reverse.

I was sorry to miss the recent local candidate’s forum, but the write-up in the paper provided such perfect illustration that I could almost hear Frank McCarthy bellowing out his misinformation. Frank is full of “facts,” like the nonsense he spewed about marijuana.  The marijuana law in Colorado does not give free pot to welfare recipients and tens of thousands of potheads are not moving to Colorado. This bellicose purveyor of foolishness should not be given a return ticket to Concord. 

NH is the seventh wealthiest state in the nation, yet we have the 11^th worst infrastructure. Vermont has just about finished wiring their whole state for high-speed internet access. NH has a commission that is still gathering information before acting. Our infrastructure problems, combined with our unwillingness to fund education are the root causes of our economic stagnation. Yet still we hear the same slogans that got us into the mess we’re in taken as some sort of gospel: “NH doesn’t have a revenue problem, NH has a spending problem.” That’s true in the sense that NH is unwilling to raise sufficient revenue to fund our state properly. That’s why we have hundreds of bridges on a red list for structural impairment. Representative Chandler seemed quite comfortable with the fact that we raise insufficient revenue to do the work that desperately needs to be done. Carl Thibodeau is spouting the same old drivel about how to turn the economy around. Union busting won’t magically give NH a 21^st century infrastructure.  Also, guy who dons a Santa suit and stands outside the polls insulting voters might be seen as lacking sufficient gravitas for serving in even our volunteer legislature.

Judging from the reporting on this forum, guns and MOAR GUNZ are the most important issue facing NH. The same people who are desperate to make voting as difficult as possible are living in desperate, scrotum-shriveling fear that gun buyers should have to go through background checks. Mark Hounsell doesn’t seem to think domestic abusers should lose their gun rights. Domestic violence is a leading cause of death in NH. Over 50% of the murders committed in NH between 2001-2010 were related to domestic violence, and over 90 percent of the murder-suicides. Instead of worrying about beheadings in Conway village, Mark would do well to contact Starting Point to learn about domestic violence in NH.

It’s almost over. The calls, the mailers, the surveys will stop for a few months. For now there are still a few days left to research candidates so that we all make informed decisions on Tuesday when we cast our ballots.

In Addition:

This was sent to me by Mark Hounsell:

"If a person is found to be a felon for action as a domestic abuser, based on a conviction in a court of law, that person should loose they right to carry a firearm." - You are free to quote me on this."

This was published as an op-ed in the October 31 issue of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper. 

©sbruce 2014