Standing Up for New Hampshire Families charted the results from four separate public opinion surveys — all indicating New Hampshire adults oppose repeal of the state’s marriage equality law by a 2-to-1 majority. ”These numbers don’t lie,” they tweet. “Across the board, NH voters oppose attempts to repeal marriage equality!”
An obvious concern with voter ID laws is that the procedures intended to prevent fraudulent voting will disenfranchise some legitimate voters.
Voter ID supporters could argue that the procedures will not, in fact, deprive any citizens of their right to vote. The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire takes a different tack with this gem, using the propaganda technique of inverting customary meanings to redefine and co-opt the word disenfranchise.
a voter ID bill is necessary to ensure that legitimate voters are not disenfranchised by votes from people who shouldn’t be voting.
George Orwell would be proud.
How fitting, that on this Presidents’ Day, the New Hampshire House is preparing to vote on a resolution George Washington described “as measures systematically and pertinaciously pursued, which must eventually dissolve the union or produce coercion.”
Much of House Resolution 25 is lifted, verbatim, from a series of resolutions secretly written by Thomas Jefferson in 1798 and adopted by Kentucky and Virginia. The language explicitly asserts states have the right to declare federal laws unconstitutional and void.
where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a nullification of the act is the rightful remedy: that every State has a natural right … to nullify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits: that without this right, they would be under the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whosoever might exercise this right of judgment for them…
For the record, the courts have repeatedly found that under the Constitution, federal law is superior to state law; the Constitution gives federal courts the power to interpret the Constitution; and states do not have the power to nullify federal law. The Civil War ended most nullification efforts — or so we thought.
HR 25 is sponsored by self-proclaimed Constitutional expert and nullification proponent Rep. Dan Itse. It was approved by the House State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee in an 8-2 vote and is on the House calendar for Wednesday’s session.
State House Democratic Leader Terie Norelli points out the obvious. These’s no lack of talk from the GOP House leadership on the topic of jobs — just a lack of action.
For the third time in the last month, House Republicans called a press conference to announce “jobs” as their top priority for the upcoming legislative session. If this prioritization sounds like news to you, it’s because the only time House Republicans actually talk about jobs is at press conferences.
House Republicans have issued 18 press releases promoting specific bills since January, covering such important topics as Transportation Security Administration searches, Arizona’s immigration law, and abortion policy. Jobs have been mentioned only twice: in press releases promoting payday loans and the repeal of insurance mandates.
“House Republicans would be wise to shift their attention away from guns, gay marriage and press conferences,” chides the former House Speaker, “and onto legislation that provides the educated work force that businesses need to create jobs.”
GOP state Rep. Lee Quandt says thousands of New Hampshire Republicans have been driven from the party by the “arrogance and self serving decisions” from Speaker Bill O’Brien and the House leadership team.
There are thousands of union Republicans that have been driven away from the party. The current make up of the Republican Party has no use for senior citizens, veterans, gays, or the working middle class. They have proven this by, not only the right to work issue; but, the myriad of other anti working class bills that they have put in.
The bad House leadership has brought down the Republican Party in NH. The arrogance and self serving decisions that are coming out of our leadership team is being hard to believe according to many active republicans that are watching what is going on. They don’t listen and have put themselves in an un-winnable situation.
While the thousands of public middle class republicans can ask, “why did you stab us in the back, what did we do to deserve this”?
When Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner testified before the Senate Budget Committee, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte was vocal in her criticism of the administration for not embracing the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction recommendations — until she was asked about the report’s proposals for raising revenue.
Geithner was responding to questions by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), and at one point turned the tables on her. He asked Ayotte if, given her “affection” for Bowles-Simpson, she would support its tax reform that raised trillions in revenue for deficit reduction.
“Are you willing to embrace the broad balance of Bowles-Simpson? Then there is a lot to talk about,” he said.
Ayotte would only say that it is up to the president to take the lead on the budget.
I think they just want us barefoot and pregnant, and I’m disgusted. The atmosphere of the whole Republican Party has been going backwards, and the moderates are lost. The religious argument is bogus, because I think they’re just using that as a political tool.
— GOP state Rep. Priscilla Lockwood, on Republican efforts to allow employers and insurers to place limits on insurance coverage for birth control.
One of Pindell’s Questions for the Weekend caught my eye:
Where is that “Turkey,” Frank Guinta, these days? Is he in New Hampshire?
A little poking around confirmed that, yes, Guinta has been in Turkey — as a guest of the Turkish Coalition of America.
The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) on Feb. 14th wrapped up its twelfth Congressional Delegation to Turkey. … The delegation, comprised of Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) and three senior Congressional staffers … visited Istanbul and Ankara during their four-day visit.
Ironically, when Guinta campaigned for office, he pledged to co-sponsor an Armenian genocide resolution, which would condemn the 1915 slaughter of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. His promise to co-sponsor the resolution, which is opposed by the TCA, secured the endorsement of the Armenian National Committee of America.
In his response to the ANCA’s 2010 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire, Guinta pledged to co-sponsor the Armenian Genocide Resolution and oppose any kind of historical commission that might be established to question this crime against humanity.
Guinta’s Turkish romance began soon after his election to the House. He joined the Caucus on US Turkish Relations & Turkish Americans, which is sponsored by the TCA, and was rewarded with a $5,000 campaign donation from Yalcin Ayasli, the New Hampshire entrepreneur who founded the TCA. Ayasli has deep pockets. During the 2008 election cycle, he and his family gave $424,050 to politicians and political organizations, making them the nation’s top individual contributors.
Guinta has also received $17,000 in PAC contributions from BAE Systems, a defense contractor with business interests in Turkey who has lobbied against an Armenian genocide resolution.
Last month, Guinta was one of 13 members of Congress to attend a reception celebrating the opening of a new office for the Turkish Coalition of America and the Turkish Cultural Foundation.
Guinta, pictured at the TCA/TCF reception with Yalcin Ayasli, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Lincoln McCurdy, TCA President.
For the record, Guinta is not a co-sponsor of U.S. House Resolution 304, the Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution, which was introduced on June 14, 2011.
2nd District congressional candidate Ann Kuster is one of Democracy for America’s “Grassroots Allstars.” The progressive grassroots organization, founded by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, endorsed the ten in an annual competition for congressional candidates challenging incumbents or seeking open seats.
More than 70,000 votes were cast for the 200 congressional candidates who entered this year’s contest. A second round of voting will select the winner, who will receive fundraising assistance and a commitment to raise $20,000 from DFA members.
In the past year, support for the New Hampshire GOP legislative agenda has plummeted, House Speaker Bill O’Brien’s favorability rating has declined, and there has been a significant drop in support for the Tea Party.
A new survey from Democratic pollster Benenson Strategy Group found likely voters oppose the agenda of Republicans in the legislature by a 51 percent to 38 percent margin. Last year at this time, voters approved of the agenda by a 49 percent to 38 percent margin. “Notably, nearly one-in-five registered New Hampshire Republicans now opposes the legislative agenda of their own party.”
House Speaker Bill O’Brien, who has championed the agenda, fared no better. As he has become better known by the electorate, O’Brien is less liked. Of the 40 percent of likely voters who could identify O’Brien in May, 2011, six percent had a favorable impression compared to 16 percent with an unfavorable impression. Today, 69 percent of voters can identify him and his net favorability rating has dropped to -14 points (15 percent positive, 29 percent negative).
Support for the Tea Party in New Hampshire continues to drop also. Today, 29 percent say they view the Tea Party favorably, compared to 50 percent who view the Tea Party unfavorably, a net 14 percent drop since the February, 2011 survey. This is consistent with an earlier Suffolk University/7 News tracking poll that also measured a “drastic shift” in Tea Party support among likely GOP primary voters.
Benenson surveyed 600 likely voters in the 2012 general election between January 30 and February 1, 2012. The margin of error is ±4.00%.
House Bill 1402 would eliminate licensing requirements for small-scale food producers that sell food products from homes, roadside stands and farmers’ markets. While licensing would still be required for producers of potentially hazardous foods, producer-distributors of raw milk and raw milk products are specifically excluded from any licensing requirements.
The editors at Food Poison Journal (who knew?) are aghast. This bill will result in more foodborne illness, they write, and should include an “injury fund that will help severely injured people deal with present and future medical costs.”
Amidst its attempts to de-regulate locally produced foods entirely, will New Hampshire legislature consider an insurance requirement? Or is insurance, too, beneath the “live free or die” mantra that is currently being taken to the extreme by a few folks in New Hampshire?
Do not think that this isn’t a problem. … Raw milk producers are the primary offenders — i.e. producing a product with known risks and not doing right by customers by having insurance in place to address medical costs, past and future, for severely injured people—and it is no enticement toward insuring a business to completely de-regulate it.
HB 1402 sailed out of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee with a 13-0 vote. It is on the consent calendar for Wednesday’s House session.
Last spring, GOP Rep. Susan Emerson accused House Speaker Bill O’Brien of yelling and swearing at her when he objected to her House budget bill amendments.
He was three inches from my face and started screaming at me that he had forbidden a Republican to put any amendments in. … The Sergeant at Arms from the Senate, who is a retired state trooper, came and stood next to me because he thought O’Brien was going to hit me.
In an interview with Kevin Landrigan last month, O’Brien flatly denied the altercation ever took place and said she made it all up.
“There were no loud voices, no abuse, no bullying. We were having a conversation, and I made clear to her the House was not going to adopt any of her amendments,” O’Brien said.
“She was emotional about it, but not because of anything I said. It pains me to this day to say Rep. Emerson has fabricated all of this,” O’Brien added.
Last week, the Senate sergeant-at-arms backed-up Emerson in testimony before the House committee investigating the incident.
Doug Wyman, who was the sergeant-at-arms for the Senate last year, corroborated Emerson’s account last week, according to members of the House Constitutional Review and Statutory Recodification Committee.
Wyman said O’Brien and Bettencourt had Emerson backed up to a wall, according to legislators at the hearing. He heard the yelling through a closed door, opened it to investigate and sent O’Brien and Bettencourt on their way, they said.
A contingent from the Alvirne High School chorus, who were singing the National Anthem that day, also witnessed the fracas. The director confirmed Emerson’s account to Rep. Lee Quandt.
I also had the chance to talk to the Alvirne choir director who re-affirmed the attack on Susan did take place.
O’Brien had accused “Democratic Party operatives and union member Republicans” of creating the “false story” to discredit his record of accomplishment. He has not responded to the accounts from the sergeant-at-arms and choir director.