GOP Preaches Responsibility, Eliminates Family Planning

Under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, a mother receiving public assistance is granted, on average, an additional $72.50 a month for the birth of a child. Last year, House Speaker Bill O’Brien threw his weight behind House Bill 1658, which would bar the increase.

“We’re going to require people to make responsible decisions. If you don’t have enough money to take care of the family you have, you don’t have more children,” O’Brien said.

In testimony before the House Finance Committee this week, sponsor Rep. Neal Kurk elaborated.

“I think it’s bad public policy for the state to make a payment to an individual that is an unnecessary payment when it is within the individual’s control to avoid the problem for the state,” Kurk said.

“When I try to help somebody in a private charitable venture I don’t expect them to do things that will make it more expensive for me to help them. I just will not give money to that kind of a charity or that kind of a person.

In other news, the House passed a bill that would eliminate all funding for basic, preventive health care services — including family planning — for over 16,000 New Hampshire women, men, and families who receive services from Planned Parenthood and other health facilities that offer full reproductive health care.

That Was Then, This Is Now: O’Brien’s Selective Outrage

Last year, the New Hampshire Democratic Party was fined for violating the state election law that requires prerecorded political messages to disclose who paid for the call. State House Speaker Bill O’Brien was outraged and called for Chairman Ray Buckley’s ouster.

“New Hampshire has never stood for Boston-style or Chicago-style, dirty politics like this,” O’Brien said in an interview…

“Unless the Democratic Party takes concrete steps to prevent this from happening again such as removing their chairman, removing their current leadership and move into the mainstream of New Hampshire politics, those are the type of issues through a subsequent civil suit that we feel almost compelled to ask,” O’Brien said in the interview.

Last week, a firm conducting a push poll on behalf of Frank Guinta’s 2010 congressional campaign was fined for making the calls without the required disclosures. O’Brien’s response? Crickets…

h/t: Jeff Feingold

Quote of the Day: Let Despotism Rule

The tragedy is that Republicans won so many seats in 2010 that O’Brien and company have come to believe that they can do absolutely anything they choose. To hell with the spirit of compromise. To hell with the Constitution. Let despotism rule. That’s the modus operandi for Speaker O’Brien…

— GOP state Rep. Steve Vaillancourt

Landrigan: Union Busting Bills Will Benefit Democrats

Kevin Landrigan says there was an “overwhelming torrent of opposition” to the “union busting” bills being debated in the House last week. It has invigorated labor, he says, and has increased the chance for Democrats to take back more legislative seats in November.

These anti-union laws aren’t going to become law. Why? Governor John Lynch is going to veto them. He’s  not going to allow the last year of his career to be colored by a lot of anti-labor legislation.

I don’t believe, in the House in particular, there’s going to be the two-thirds majority needed to override that veto … but there’s going to be a lot of debate and another fight on anti-union legislation.

I think it is firing up organized labor. I think that’s important because, with a presidential election, the chance for the pendulum swinging back and for Democrats to take back some legislative seats is going to increase as a result of this anti-union effort.

Union Leader: Health Care Compact Law a “Frivolity”

Like a broken clock that’s right twice a day, the Union Leader made the right call on House Bill 1560. The legislation proposes a novel end-run around the federal health care law by creating an interstate health care compact that would replace all federal health care programs — including Medicare and Medicaid — with block grants.

Supporters of the proposal claim it would give New Hampshire the “authority to enact state laws that supersede any and all federal laws regarding health care” within the state. They suffer from “delusions of grandeur,” writes the Union Leader.

HB 1560 declares that states in the compact have a “right” to direct payments “funded by Congress as mandatory spending” to implement, presumably, their own health care laws. The idea that Congress would approve a multi-state compact that lets states ignore federal laws but keep all money intended to implement those laws is preposterous. This bill is a frivolity upon which legislators should not waste their time.

GOP Rep Accuses Speaker O’Brien of Ethics Violations

In an open letter to the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, GOP state Rep. Steve Vaillancourt asks if Speaker Bill O’Brien “and his minions” violated two provisions of the New Hampshire General Court Ethics Guidelines involving coercion and lack of openness.

The first provision Vaillancourt cites is the Principle On Independent Objective Judgment which states, “Legislators should employ independent objective judgment in performing their duties, deciding all matters on merits free from conflicts of interest and both real and apparent improper influences.”

To me, this means that all legislators must put the interests of the Constitution and the people who elected us ahead of party interests. To me, this means that bullying, coercion, or intimidation by party leaders to change votes would constitute a conflict of interest. [emphasis added]

Vaillancourt details several instances of O’Brien’s coercion and intimidation, the most recent which occurred during the debate over the House redistricting plan.

In an absolute stunning development, an amendment … passed by a margin of 170-153. This was not what the Speaker and Republican leadership wanted, so the Speaker immediately called a recess for a caucus. While I don’t feel at liberty to detail what went on in the caucus, in my opinion there was blatant intimidation, coercion, arm twisting, whatever word or phrase you might choose to use. …

I ask for your clarification as to how much coercion is allowed before it would be in violation of the ethics provision I noted here. Clearly, as we learn in testimony from the Emerson bill, intimidation has been at record level this year. It seems to me that the Speaker and his minions and those who have failed to employ independent objective judgment are guilty of ethics violations many times over, but then I’m not a lawyer.

The second ethics provision Vaillancourt cites is the Principle of Accountability which reads, “Legislators should assure that government is conducted openly, equitably and honorably in a manner that permits the citizenry to make informed judgments and hold government officials accountable.”

Others have charged, and I am beginning to agree, that most of the House redistricting process was not “conducted openly”. … An investigation, sadly, would likely show that much of the redistricting work was done behind closed doors by non-elected officials. … Clearly, others were secretly involved. Clearly, these others ignored what little public input there was. The question is how much secrecy is allowed before violation of Section III occurs. Certainly, words have meaning, and if meaning is to be followed, can such secrecy be acceptable?

Free State Wet Dream: No Speed Limits!

If Free Stater Rep. Andrew Manuse and his partner-in-crime Rep. George Lambert have their way, you will be able to legally drive as fast as you want to in New Hampshire — as long as you don’t crash!

That’s right, under House Bill 1696, you could only be charged with speeding if the offense resulted in property damage or personal injury.

One wonders where they will apply this logic next. How about driving while intoxicated? After all, drunk drivers don’t hurt anyone if they manage to drive without actually hitting something or someone.

Oh wait, they’ve already thought of that. House Bill 1452, also sponsored by Lambert, would prohibit sobriety checkpoints.

But why stop there? House Bill 1531, sponsored by Manuse and Lambert, limits the definition of a crime to an act with a victim. The victim being a “person who suffers direct or threatened physical, emotional, psychological, or financial harm” from the act.

Barker and Bosse Agree on Income Tax Amendment

Dean Barker, founder of the state’s leading progressive blog, and Grant Bosse, lead investigator for a free-market think tank, rarely agree — on anything. So it’s notable that they both made the same point about the proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit an income tax: it has more to do with influencing the November elections than about how we fund state government.

Barker: So today the Republican supermajority House voted to enshrine the prohibition of raising revenue through income into New Hampshire’s state constitution. I have a bridge I’d like to sell to anyone who doesn’t think this is an obvious, partisan, Get-Out-The-Vote move.

Bosse: Putting CACR 13 on the ballot this fall likely won’t keep New Hampshire from ever adopting an income tax. But it will ensure that every candidate for office will be talking about the income tax. And most voters will have the income tax on their minds when they go to the polls.

Anti-Marriage Group Pledges $250K on Legislative Races

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) announced it will spend $250,000 on New Hampshire legislative races in support of the effort to repeal the state’s law legalizing same-sex marriage.

Next month, the House is expected to vote on House Bill 437, which would prohibit same-sex marriage. NOM president Brian Brown threatened to oppose any lawmaker who votes against the bill.

“A vote for HB 437 is a vote for traditional marriage. We will consider a vote against the legislation a vote for same-sex marriage, and we will hold legislators accountable. NOM will support those who support marriage and will work with local New Hampshire organizations to recruit pro-traditional marriage candidates to run against those who vote against HB 437 and fund them.”

Brown took responsibility for the outsize Republican gains in 2010 and made the dubious claim that they were a direct result of the legislative vote to allow same-sex marriage.

“In 2010 NOM was a significant player in New Hampshire and spent over $1 million in the last election. … Aside from helping defeat Bill Binnie, we worked with grassroots organizations to help flip the state legislature after liberal democrats legalized same-sex marriage in 2009. NOM sent mailers and launched phone calls in 119 house races, and our endorsed candidates won all of them.”

Public opinion surveys have found New Hampshire voters oppose repeal of same-sex marriage by overwhelming margins.

Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation

Testifying in favor of House Bill 1645, which would prohibit public employees from participating in collective bargaining, state Rep. Andrew Manuse (R-Derry) argued that allowing public sector employees to bargain collectively gives them an unfair negotiating position that has lead to higher compensation than they would receive in the private sector.

[P]ublic sector unions are contrary to the public good because they give state workers an unfair seat at the table of government, leaving taxpayers out in the cold. This has led to regular salary and benefit increases in the public sector, even when the economy is tanking. This has also led to a public sector employee base that earns more than their private sector counterparts. [emphasis added]

This is simply not true.

In 2010, researchers for The Center for State and Local Government Excellence collected data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and categorized workers based on the characteristics that help determine earnings: education, training, experience, job location and occupation. They compared similar employees and isolated the effect of public or private sector employment.

The resulting report, “Out of Balance? Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation Over 20 Years,” found:

• State employees earn 11 percent less, and local workers earn 12 percent less, than comparable private sector workers.

• Over the last 20 years, the earnings for state and local employees have generally declined relative to comparable private sector employees.

• Benefits comprise a greater share of compensation in the public sector, but even after accounting for benefits, state and local employees have lower total compensation than their private sector counterparts.

• Total compensation, including benefits, is 6.8 percent lower for state employees and 7.4 percent lower for local workers, compared with comparable private sector employees.

Quote of the Day: Petty Political Gain

The Constitution is a statement of principles and rights, and the architecture of our form of government. O’Brien and Bettencourt are using a document that our forefathers fought a revolution for [for] petty political gain.

— Kathy Sullivan, DNC member and former state party chair, on House passage of CACR 13, a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit new taxes on income.

What did the Speaker Know and When Did He Know It?

Did state House Speaker Bill O’Brien have advance knowledge that James O’Keefe would be sending his associates to obtain New Hampshire primary ballots using the names of deceased voters? Did he get a sneak preview of the video before it was made public? Writing in The Lobby, the anonymous “Mr. Snitch” suggests he did.

Bully’s sure been busy now that the session is in full swing. So busy, in fact, you’d think he wouldn’t have the time to act as a production consultant with James O’Keefe, conservative activist, pretend journalist and Mama’s Boy (what else do you call a 27-year-old male son who still lives at home, nicely ensconced in Mom-and-Pop’s North Jersey manse, Snitcherinos?)

Turns out Jimmy the Jerk, a convicted felon BTW, gave Bully a heads up on his little voter fraud skit. Explains why Bully was all set with his righteous indignation sound bites for Channel 9 after the video magically appeared.