April 2008 Archives

from Chuck Muth - Muth's Truths.....heh!

The Ron Paul people showed up for the neighborhood precinct meetings on January 19th. For that reason, Ron Paul came in second to Mitt Romney, and bested eventual GOP presidential nominee John McCain. Many of those folks were elected to attend their county conventions, who were then elected to attend this weekend’s state convention, all in the hope of being elected to attend the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis later this summer.

That’s how the process works. The Ron Paul people followed the rules and did exactly what you’re supposed to do. Bully for them.

What most folks don’t fully understand is that a party convention has the power to do pretty much anything it wants regardless of what party leaders want, or even its Central Committee. If enough people with an agenda go through the months-long process, get and stay organized, and show up at the state convention, they can, literally, take over the party. The Ron Paul folks effectively did that yesterday.

“(The Ron Paul) contingent came to the state convention prepared for battle,” writes Reno Gazette-Journal reporter Anjeanette Damon this morning. “They had a row of printers to print ballots for their supporters to the national convention. They set up a communications network using text messages to cell phones to make sure everyone voted correctly on motions that would benefit their effort. And they scoured the rules for opportunities to level the playing field.”

Folks, that’s an impressive use of grassroots guerilla organizing tactics making the most of modern technology. Whether you’re a Ron Paul fan or not, you can’t help but give those folks a hat tip from a purely tactical standpoint.

“The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought,” advises the great Chinese military genius Sun Tzu. “The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand.”

It appears the Ron Paul army made a lot of calculations and the GOP establishment few. As one convention delegate wrote to me, “The Republican leaders screwed up.  They should have been better prepared.  They have no radar for the base and for those who were coming.”

Hmm, better organized, better motivated, and a better use of technology....hmmmm.

Spending cap initiative

A conservative group is coordinating efforts in four cities to cap municipal spending at the rate of the consumer price index beginning in 2010.

The New Hampshire Advantage Coalition is working with activists in Manchester, Concord, Merrimack and Rochester to put proposed changes to those communities' municipal charters on the ballot in November.

Coalition chairman Mike Biundo said the effort was sparked by "legislative overspending" last year and by the recent initiative by the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition "to strip away our (anti-broad base tax) pledge and strip away what New Hampshire is, a low-tax, low-spending state."

Biundo said that by tomorrow, language for charter amendments will be filed in the four municipalities. He said plans call for similar filings shortly in Londonderry, Conway, Portsmouth, Keene, Somersworth, Lebanon and Bedford.

"When you add up the 11 communities, this is over 30 percent of the electorate in the state," he said.

Biundo said state law requires the proposed petitions for the charter amendments to be reviewed by the Attorney General's Office and Department of Revenue Administration. He said that when the language is approved, organizers will have 60 days to gather petitions signed by at least 20 percent of the number of local residents who voted in the last municipal elections.

Biundo said his coalition has hired former Ron Paul field director Jared Chicoine and brought back former coalition executive director Tammy Simmons. He claims that such an effort "has never been done before on this scale in this state."

Calling all Republican Men and Women!
$75 per person provides: Campaign School Manual and Lunch.
 
What are the workshops being offered?

• Management
• Media
• Strategy
• Get-out-the-vote techniques
• Opposition Research
• Fundraising

Register Now! or call Christine Peters (673-0959)

(Note: the link given to me is broken - looks like their site is messed up)

National Campaign Consultants join NFRW and NHFRW to sponsor this campaign school

I hope that you all had the opportunity to read the op-ed piece published this week in the Union Leader (Wed., 4/23). (see it after the jump) It was written by Charles Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy in Concord. The essay titled, “Some thoughts on being an island in a sea of socialism,” clearly captures what we as Republicans have been confronted with since the Democrats took control of the legislature less than two years ago. Since that time, we have not only witnessed the state’s first $10 Billion budget—thanks to a 17.5% increase in spending—but we have also seen the further erosion of the New Hampshire Advantage that we have enjoyed within the region through inceased taxes and fees. As Mr. Arlinghaus pointed out, “government is getting larger but it’s also getting more intrusive.” If you have not yet read his piece, I urge you to do so.

It will be our job, over the weeks and months leading up to the fall election, to educate the voters of our state as to exactly what has been going on at the State House in Concord. We need to point out exactly why their taxes have increased, why fees have gone up, and why we are facing a potential $260M deficit in state government!

In order to regain control of the New Hampshire House, and begin the task of repairing the damage done by the Democrats, we must:

(1) present qualified candidates to the voter; and
(2) make sure those candidates candidates are well versed on the facts.

If you know of someone in your district who would make a strong candidate, please have them contact both our office and the State Republican Party headquarters. If you are an incumbent and have made a decision as to whether nor not you intend to run for office again, please let us know. Paul Smith in our office has been compiling a list so we know in which districts we need to recruit additional candidates.

You will also notice an announcement in this newsletter about a Republican Campaign School that will be held in Nashua on May 17th. Over the next few months we will try and keep you informed of any program that may be helpful to candidates planning their campaign. To that end, we have recently been including campaign tips along with our Republican Report and we plan to continue this practice. I would like to thank Rep. Ken Weyler for helping to compile much of the information that we are sending out. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let us know and we will share them with the entire caucus.

Finally, I would like to thank the members of our caucus for supporting the motion to withdraw, without debate, the Bill of Address to remove Superior Court justice Patricia Coffee from office. With the resignation of Judge Coffey this week, the committee felt that a motion

to withdraw was in the best interest of the State of New Hampshire. It has been tabled, however should it be necessary it could be brought back again this session, but that is highly unlikely.

Our Republican caucus will be held at 11:30 AM on Wednesday in Rooms 305-307 of the LOB. This will give us a chance to go over the issues prior to lunch. If you have any concerns with legislation coming to the floor on Wednesday, please bring them to the caucus. We also invite all of you to join us for our Republican Caucus Spring Social following the House session on Wednesday at the Upham-Walker House. Food and beverages will be served and it will be a great opportunity for us to get together in a relaxed atmosphere following a long winter. I hope to see you all there!

During the past week, leadership has signed-in, testified and taken a position on a number of bills being heard in committee. Here is a complete list of those bills:


SB 530—relative to kindergarten aid. (testified in opposition and offered an amendment)
SB 539—relative to the cost of an adequate education and provision of fiscal capacity disparity aid. (oppose)


SB 317—relative to the retail sale of tobacco products. (oppose)
SB 519—imposing a per diem fine on dam owners and operators for failure to repair damage. (oppose)

CALLING ALL CANDIDATES

The filing period for state, federal, and county offices opens six weeks from tomorrow and runs June 4 – 13. The political environment for NH Republicans is much-improved compared to 2006. John McCain is going to run strong at the top of the NH ticket, guaranteeing that our state candidates will be evaluated on their own merits this year. Republicans will see a net gain in seats this year. The only question is how many will we win back – and will you be among the winners? If you are interested in running for office this year or want more information about what offices are available and what it takes to run, to win, and to serve, please contact Mike Hamilton at 225-9341 or email

STAFFING UPDATES

Here at NH GOP headquarters, our staff are Mike Hamilton, Executive Director, Pete Flynn, Finance Director, Tom DeRosa, Political Director. We expect to add more staff soon as the coordinated Victory effort takes shape. Stay tuned.

120 CLUB

Join the NH GOP 120 Club and help us make New Hampshire a solid Red State. For $10 a month you can help fund our candidate recruitment and our “Get Out The Vote” effort in November. Your contribution can make a big difference. Please click here for more information.

JEANNE SHAHEEN, FLIP-FLOP QUEEN (this week’s example)

Last fall Shaheen Proposed Rolling Back The 2001 Tax Cuts. “‘Nationally, we've got to do something, not just about costs, but about the 47 million who are uninsured and underinsured,’ said Shaheen adding that rolling back the bush tax cuts of those who earn more that $200,000 per year would pay for about half of that expense.” (Gail Ober, “In Laconia: Shaheen Meets With Leaders,” The Laconia Citizen , November 30, 2007) However, earlier Shaheen Said She Would Have Voted In Favor Of The Tax Cuts If She Had Been In The Senate. Shaheen: “One is on the Bush tax cut, where I said that I would have voted for the Bush tax cut had I been in the Senate.” (Harry R. Weber, “Leadership, Abortion, Taxes, Independence, Education,” Associated Press , October 26, 2002)

NH POLITICAL LIBRARY

The NH Political Library’s annual Awards Dinner is Wednesday, April 30 at 5:00 p.m. at the Center of NH Radisson in Manchester. Honorees are former US Senator Bill Bradley, former Governor Mitt Romney, CNN’s Candy Crowley, and former Governor Walter Peterson. Tickets are $150. For more info, call Celina Hurley at 225-4617 x11 or register online.

EVENT HONORING SENATOR WARREN RUDMAN

On May 13, Americans for Campaign Reform is holding a fundraising dinner honoring former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman. Keynote speakers are former Senators Howard Baker and Nancy Kassebaum Baker. The event is at 6:00 p.m. at CR Sparks in Bedford. Tickets are $50 each. For more info, call 227-0626.

CAMPAIGN SCHOOL

The National Federation of Republican Women is holding an all-day campaign school on May 17 in Nashua. The school is open to men as well as women! For more info, contact NH NFRW Chairwoman Christine Peters at 673-0959 and go check it out

We saw the political railroad at full steam here in NH as the newly annointed Dems rammed through and ran the table to enact civil union legislation in all but record time right after the election.  Not a whisper of this issue appeared during the campaign; after the election, it  became a whirlwind.

Well, it happens in other places, too!  And sometimes, instead of the tornado, the political process becomes a glacier:

Those who remember almost any recent election will likely stop to read that headline again. After all, isn’t it the Democrats who have been making the claim every other year that their voters have been disenfranchised?

[snip]

Since 2004, SJR 127 has been introduced into the Tennessee Senate and passed by a wide majority each time. Each time it has gone to the Tennessee House where it has died in Committee, the Public Health and Family Assistance Subcommittee of Health and Human Resources Committee to be precise. It was the same earlier this year. On a party line vote, the Subcommittee refused to allow SJR 127 to come out of committee to the full House where it would pass and then be put on the ballot in 2010 for all Tennesseans to vote on. Six committee members, all Democrats, are preventing six million Tennesseans from having their say. Talk about disenfranchising voters!

The resolution these six anti-democracy Democrats are keeping from appearing on the ballot is as follows:

Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.

[snip]

In 2008, in the United States of America, who could oppose letting the people vote on such an important issue and have a say in the way things are done in their state? Who, indeed? It is the Democrats who oppose such a thing! It is the Democrats who insist the people be forbidden from voting on the matter!

Once again, the phrase of "elections count" rings true.  In this case, as in MA where legislators refuse to allow a ballot measure to reach their constituents on gay marriage for a wider vote, we see Dems acting badly and refusing to allow the full flower of democracy to spread its petals.

Again, we hear so often from Dems that Republicans freeze out their voters.  In this case, the Democrats are freezing out ALL the voters.

Sad...
(cross posted at GraniteGrok)

Sure, LET'S use the taxpayers as an ATM machine!  After all, it's THEIR money (not ours!)!  NH Advantage, what's that?

It is becoming quite clear that the Democrats have seriously overreached in this year's budget, especially in the area of revenue forcasting.  They decry that the national and local economies are to blame: "that's why revenues are down!".

Er, not so fast.  While revenues have not met expections, actual revenues are up year over year.  Hear that?  Actual revenues are up.  This small, simple fact gives lie to the Democrats claim that the NH economy has tanked; the only thing that has tanked is their revenue projections!

So, do they admit that overreach?  Do they admit that perhaps the glasses they wore at the time had a tad more tinge of rose in them than warranted?  Of COURSE not!

So, what is their sole way to fix their self-induced problem?  Of COURSE - let's raise taxes and fees (never "how do we protect the taxpayers" and perhaps ramp down the cost of government).  Here's a prelim list:

Increased Taxes and Fees this Session

• HB 1309—A new tax on cigars that will adversely affect sales along the NH border.
  

• HB 1426—Motor fuel imported into NH will be taxed higher and dedicated to a cleanup fund that DES testified, “does not need money right now.”
  

• HB 1594—Establishes new fees that will be levied on the backs of small business owners in NH.
  

• HB 1286—Requires mortgage originators to pay a $100 licensing fee and a $100 renewal fee.
  

• HB 1414—Increases the bail commissioners fee by $15 per day.
  

• HB 1360—House Democrats defeated a bill that would have repealed the civil court filing fee that they adopted last year. Adding a fee of $25 for filing any civil case is just another step in preventing our citizens from seeking redress and is yet another example of the mismanagement of the budget.
  

• HB 1547—House Democrats refused another attempt to repeal the fee charged to the Register of Deeds in an attempt to fund LCHIP by using a method that is harmful to citizens experiencing an already fledging real estate market.
  

• SB 528—Created a $5 incentive for recycling mercury thermostats that would be paid by manufacturers and passed along to the consumer.
  

• SB 519—Imposes a per diem fine on dam owners and operators for failure to repair damage.
  

• SB 317—Raises the tobacco license fee—once again hurting small business and chipping away at the New Hampshire Advantage.

During the past week, leadership has signed-in, testified and taken a position on a number of bills being heard in committee. Here is a complete list of those bills:


SB 342—establishing a mechanism for expediting relief from municipal actions which deny, impede, or delay
qualified proposals for workforce housing. (oppose)
SB 421—relative to workforce housing. (oppose)



HB 1472—relative to workforce housing. (oppose)

A message from the Deputy Republican Leader.....

Democrats in the House are slowly discovering that artificially increasing revenue projections to accommodate their 17.5% spending increase in the budget has been a recipe for the largest financial crisis in state history. Their “spend like crazy and then inflate the revenue projections” method has put us on the doorstep of a $260M shortfall and brought us closer to what Democrats have been angling for all along, a broad based tax.

In fact, less than a week after the governor’s agency heads told the House Ways & Means committee that they were finally in agreement with Rep. Norm Major’s revenue projections, House Democrats ignored the warnings, and passed two education bills that will undoubtedly increase spending even further.

SB530, the kindergarten aid bill, is going to increase education spending by an additional $20M, with no projected increase in kindergarten attendance in the state. It also mandates that the 12 communities which do not currently offer kindergarten submit detailed plans by September, 2009, regardless of whether the taxpayers in those communities have agreed to implement the programs. Then they passed SB 539, relative to costing an adequate education that will cost the state nearly $1 Billion a year over the next biennium, and will bind the hands of future legislatures. The bill adds unreasonable levels to the costing formula, including increased teacher and staff salaries, materials, technology, transportation, and arbitrarily inflated additional aid based upon free and reduced lunch students—all factors that increase the average costs by more than $100 Million!

And, despite the fact that this Democrat-controlled House passed the largest spending increase in twenty years, they continue to refer to this crisis as a “revenue” problem when in fact it is clearly a “spending” problem. In fact, revenues have actually increased by more than $40M over last year, through March 31. Unfortunately, however, they were quickly gobbled up by an overexuberant spending spree in the very first year of the biennium.

But instead of cutting spending, Democrats have chosen an alternative: balance the budget by passing additional taxes and fees onto the citizens of New Hampshire—and the voters are finally starting to take notice. For your use in writing letters and op-eds, we have listed just a few of the increased taxes and fees that they have passed during this session alone.

What will be their solution? The hole is certainly far too deep to make up the deficit with spending cuts alone

during the second year of the biennium. The damage has already been done. House Democrats who insisted a year ago that Rep. Major was “crying wolf” when he talked of the Perfect Storm and warned of “overexuberant” revenues, are finally waking up to the grim reality that they should have paid attention.

And now, while Democrats are scrambling, in search of a revenue source that will handle such a large deficit, the hole gets deeper and the road to a broad based tax gets closer.

Over the final few weeks of the session, we as Republicans must stick together in waging the fight against further taxing and spending. I urge you to attend our

Republican caucuses held prior to each Session and as, always, we in leadership welcome your thoughts and comments about any issue that is important to you and your constituents.

-Dave

At its monthly meeting, the GTRC voted to ask the Town of Gilford Selectmen, the Gilford School Board, and the Belknap County Commissioners to upgrade their websites to become even more open and transparent to their respective residents, taxpayers, and stakeholders.

The GTRC agreed with, and based its decision upon a plank in the NH Republican Party:

Promoting a limited government that is open, responsive and fully accountable to and in touch with its citizens without interfering in their personal, daily lives.

What can be more open than the local governmental entities providing all public information on the websites for which  local taxpayers have paid?

More can be seen at the Gilford Town Republican Committee website.

From the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition:


New Department Head Revenue Projections Show NH Deficit is closing in on $300 Million 

Manchester NH- Despite raking in revenues at a higher pace than last year, testimony by department heads before the House Ways and Means Committee on April 9, 2008, painted a very bleak picture of the state of our state. This new revenue outlook, showing shortfall closing in on $300 Million dollars, has many state officials asking: just how bad will it get? 

Despite repeated warnings that last year's inflated revenue projections would lead New Hampshire exactly to the place we are today. Governor John Lynch, Democrat leaders in both the house and senate, knowingly passed an unbalanced budget to fuel their insatiable need to spend. That astronomical jump in spending according to the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers December 2007 survey, puts New Hampshire squarely in the top ten of overspending offenders nationwide.

Only seven states experienced a higher percentage growth in state spending in FY08. New Hampshire taxpayers are increasingly frustrated by the overspending, posturing, and false rhetoric of our current state leadership. It has become trendy to say you're for low taxes, even against a sales or income tax. The problem is, once elected, too many officials act like a teenager with a fist full of credit cards," said Mike Biundo, NHAC Chairman. 

"New Hampshire's leaders need to start managing our tax dollars like they do their own households. When the cost of gas and milk go up, most taxpayers look for ways to cut spending. Perhaps they don't eat out, or stop going to movies, but they definitely look for ways to cut out the discretionary spending, and that is something this legislature and our governor need to quickly learn how to do,"

State GOP candidates want tax code overhaul
By KEVIN LANDRIGAN, Telegraph Staff

CONCORD – Both major Republican candidates opposing Democratic congresswoman Carol-Shea Porter support replacing the current tax code with simplified tax rates.

John Stephen, R-Manchester, and Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, insist a tax overhaul is needed so the country can return to a time when most citizens filed their own tax returns.

"A great nation deserves a better tax code than what we have today," Stephen said.

"Our current tax system is smothering small businesses and stifling economic growth, while it confuses individuals and leaves many feeling that the process is unfair.''

Stephen said if elected he would propose legislation to give all citizens a choice between the existing system and a "simple, flat tax.''

"My guess is that the current system doesn't stand much of a chance,'' Stephen said.

Stephen, a former health and human services commissioner, unveiled his proposal on Monday, the day before the deadline for all Americans to file their 2007 taxes.

Bradley, a former congressman and state legislator, proposed two months ago a rewrite that would replace the current code with three tax rates of 10, 15 and 30 percent.

The Bradley proposal would exempt the first $40,000 of income from the tax, to insulate the working class.

"We would also preserve the favorable tax treatment of home ownership and charitable giving, both important components of the fabric of American life. What is most important is that cumbersome and complex 60,000-page morass is altered to be simple, comprehensible and fair,'' Bradley explained.

While in Congress, Bradley voted for the Bush tax cut of 2003 and vowed to preserve those that will retire in 2010 if Congress fails to act.

"The Democrats like to portray this political handiwork as nothing more than tax increases on the wealthy,'' Bradley said.

"It makes for great political spin but there is one problem: it's wrong.''

Bradley claimed the average American family making $40,000 a year got a tax cut worth $2,000.

Stephen said the group that benefits most from the current system are tax lobbyists who spend millions to preserve or carve out new tax breaks for their clients.

Notice that both Republicans are not for the status quo - they want REAL CHANGE!

Meanwhile, over in the Democratic camp...

While in Congress, Shea-Porter has voted to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the 1 percent most wealthy in the U.S. and voted to give tax relief to middle-class families facing an increase under the Alternative Minimum Tax.

The bill Shea-Porter supported paid for that tax cut by closing a loophole that allows offshore companies to reduce U.S. tax liability.

...nothing than the same thing, over and over again.  Change?  No change at all - only moving backwards....

This past Wednesday was the monthly meeting of the Belknap County Republicans.  Below, you can see the video of the meeting.  Click on the links to watch!

Intro and Reports

Jim Steiner, candidate for Congress - NH Congressional District 2

John Stephen, candidate for Congress - NH Congressional District 1

Short Q & A

================================================

In addition, John Stephen penned an Op-Ed in the Union Leader yesterday.  In it, he reemphasized the US need for energy independence and how he would go about doing so.

SINCE THE Industrial Revolution made America the world's strongest economy over a century ago, our nation has depended on affordable and reliable energy to make our country go. We count on the fact that when we flip the switch, the lights will go on, and that our energy costs will not force our businesses and households to go dark.

Today, this very idea is increasingly under assault.

With the per-gallon price of gas and heating oil above $3 and diesel over $4, our lack of energy independence isn't merely an inconvenience, it's a threat to our economic prosperity. The fact that Congress and the federal government have not only added massive regulatory burdens that cut into domestic energy supply, but actually passed laws specifically to stop production, is an outrage that is now hitting us directly in the wallet.

It's time for a different plan. We need change, and fast.

America needs a strategy that addresses both short and long-term energy needs and does so in a way that does not interfere with our economy. Americans have made clear that we won't tolerate blackouts like in California in 2001 or the gas shortages of 1973.

We also need an energy strategy that restores our commitment to independence from foreign sources, a number of whom are hostile to America. We cannot let our energy policy drive our foreign policy as we see it does today.

Sadly, Congress has worked against bringing energy independence to the American people, and we see the consequences every time we fill up our oil tanks or go to the gas station. Skyrocketing prices are a result of our inability to increase our domestic oil supply.

Congress has repeatedly voted against allowing energy exploration both offshore and in Alaska. Then it went on to stop the use of oil shale resources in the Rockies. A Department of Interior study found that we have oil shale supplies amounting to three times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia, yet we can't access this energy because of misguided federal law.

Unfortunately, over the past six years, our members of Congress from the 1st District have repeatedly voted against expanding the domestic energy supply, forcing us to buy more foreign oil and driving up prices for Americans. Thankfully, both Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu recognized the need for energy independence and supported new exploration. They deserve credit.

It's time we demanded an energy independence strategy from Washington. That means more exploration, more refineries and a lot less regulation. We need to repeal the laws and rules that are getting in the way. Right now the energy industry is among the most heavily regulated in the country, and that red tape is bogging down production and slowing innovation. Companies want to expand domestic capacity, if only Congress would let them. It's time to remove the roadblocks.

While increasing the domestic supply of oil and gas is an important solution, it's only a short-term fix. Our economy's energy needs are growing at a rapid pace and we need to keep up with it. Concurrently, countries like China and India are rapidly industrializing, sucking up huge portions of the world's energy resources. We need to begin now to identify how we will meet future energy demands, or our economy will suffer.

There are many possibilities for the energy needs of tomorrow. We need to look at using advanced nuclear and hydrogen cell technology while also maximizing renewable sources like geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind power to meet the future energy requirements for our economy's growth.

Most likely though, is that the solution to future energy needs is something that we have not considered. America's great strength has always been innovation, but we have to remove the obstacles to advancements. We have to let the innovators pioneer new ideas in an environment that is unshackled from the regulatory minefields that currently exist.

In some lab, or even a garage or basement, someone is figuring out how to create an inexpensive and dependable energy source. It could be a new way to make energy, a major improvement in efficiency or maybe the next super-battery. It could be the solution to making our economy thrive for the next century, while cleaning the environment for our children and grandchildren.

Until that next technology comes along, we need to stand up to get Congress moving on an energy strategy. Congress has been content to dither for too long. Will gas have to be $8 a gallon before it acts?

John Stephen of Manchester is running for the Republican nomination for Congress in the 1st District.

SB 312—relative to insurance coverage for obesity and morbid obesity. (oppose)
SB 500—relative to certain insurance fraud, relative to workers’ compensation for employee leasing companies,

and establishing a task force on employee misclassification.(oppose)

SB 374—relative to the process for nonrenewal of teacher contracts. (oppose)

SB 210—relative to making various changes to the regulation of plumbers and water treatment technicians by

the board of licensing and regulation of plumbers. (oppose)

A message from the Deputy Republican Leader.....

At a press availability following his meeting with the Executive Council this week, Gov. John Lynch was asked if any new revenue or taxes could be in the offing considering the financial crisis (i.e. Perfect Storm) that the state is currently facing. His response certainly lent credence to the what Republican leadership have been saying all along—that the Democrats are leading New Hampshire down the path toward a broad based tax with their excessive spending, regardless of any pledge that their governor may have taken.

The governor’s response to the media was clear, “Well, I am going to be looking at everything.” Leaving “everything on the table” in dealing with the state’s huge deficit is a complete turnaround from the governor’s inaugural address in January of 2007 when he said, “the state should meet that responsibility without fundamentally changing our tax structure, particularly without a sales or income tax.” This latest flip-flop is reminiscent of the one taken by former Governor Shaheen in 1999 when she signed into law a statewide property tax—the first statewide tax in New Hampshire! If you recall, she also took the pledge against a broad based tax and then turned around and supported a state sales tax. Deja vu?

Speaking in a report aired on NHPR, our Republican Policy Leader, Gene Chandler, said, “The last thing we need anytime, but especially in this economy, is taxing our citizens more and increasing the fees that they pay. We’ve done that enough in the last year and we don’t need to do it anymore.” I wholeheartedly agree with Rep. Chandler..

The governor’s agency heads, appearing again this week before House Ways & Means to update revenue estimates, conveyed numbers that were not much different from what Rep. Norm Major had projected a week ago when he warned that the state was facing a shortfall of as much as $240 million over the biennium. Just a month ago, those same agency heads projected a deficit of somewhere between $151M and $204M. This week they increased those projections to between $222M and $267M, which also concurs with Rep. Major’s revised anticipated deficit of $262M—more than a quarter billion dollars!! Even worse, those numbers could grow larger depending upon the April revenue numbers—primarily the Interest & Dividend taxes and the state’s Business taxes. Despite holding this information, and despite the request of the speaker to bring them to the floor of the House, the chair of Ways & Means, Rep. Susan Almy, has chosen not to present the revenue figures to the House this month. Needless to say, we want to make sure that our caucus is aware of the growing problem.

To compound our financial crisis, this week the House Education committee approved the new school funding formula and added nearly $2 million, raising the price tag to approximately $916M. SB 539, in its current form, is patchwork—first, costing an adequate education, then targeting fiscal disparity aid to correct the original bill’s effect of sending far less aid to our poorer towns than they currently receive, and then again amending the bill to send a halfhearted, short term, inadequate “transition aid” to those working class towns that unreasonably lose money under this legislation. SB 539, as voted out by the Education committee, will increase state grants for education from $527M per year this biennium to $625M per year over the next biennium.

The Education committee also passed HB 530, a heavy-handed, “Big Brother” approach to implement mandated public kindergarten in twelve NH communities. Full state funding for kindergarten is necessary, both because it is a new mandate under Article 28-A and because it is now part of the definition of an adequate education. This bill only funds 75% of the construction costs for new standard classrooms and less than full operating costs of the estimated 41 new classrooms needed to satisfy the mandate. As a result, this bill would increase education spending by more than $20 million with no anticipated increase in kindergarten attendance in either these towns or across the state. Both of these Education bills will be coming to the floor of the House on the 16th.

This week the Senate will be hearing a couple of bills that we would like Republicans to oppose in committee. HB 1472, a Work Force Housing bill that usurps local planning and zoning prerogatives, will have a public hearing before Public & Municipal Affairs (Apr. 18th-2PM, Rm. 101, LOB). This “one-size fits all” legislation does not take into consideration the fact that many of our smaller communities do not have the infrastructure to accommodate multifamily and/or high density single family work force housing. Rural communities without the funds to fight this measure, would be forced to give in.

The House Commerce committee will hold a public hearing on SB 301 (Apr. 15, 11AM, Rm 302 LOB). This legislation would require insurers to cover prescriptions for durable medical equipment filled near the patients residence. This is yet another insurance mandate passed by Democrats! We would ask Republicans to sign-in opposing both bills at their Senate hearings.

SB 528 will also be coming to the floor of the House next week. The majority of the Environment & Agriculture committee took a pretty good bill from the Senate, rejected an amendment that cleaned up some language and ensured that there would be no incentive and then passed their own amendment which added a bounty of $5 per recycled mercury thermostat to increase recycling rates. This “bounty” will be paid by the manufacturers but ultimately borne by the consumers who purchase thermostats. We ask that you oppose the amendment, but support the bill on April 16.

We will be holding a Republican Caucus prior to the House Session at 9 a.m. on April 16th in LOB Rooms 305-307. If you have any concerns with regard to legislation that will be coming to the floor of the House that day, please bring them to the caucus. As always, our office is always open should you need to discuss any issue with our leadership team.

-Dave

Date:        4/9/08
Time:        5:30pm   Dinner ($12)
                6:00pm   Meeting

Place:       Shanghai Restaurant
                331 South Main Street
                Laconia, NH
                (603) 524-4100

Speakers   John Stephen
                Candidate for Congress - District 1
                John Stephen For Congress
               

                Jim Steiner
                Candidate for Congress - District 2
                Jim Steiner for Congress

General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker returned from Iraq to testify to the relevant Senate subcommittees.  Senator Sununu, R-NH, had the following statement:

SUNUNU STATEMENT ON PETRAEUS, CROCKER TESTIMONY

WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) today (4/8) released the following statement regarding the testimony of General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on the Iraq War before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

“No American should serve a day longer in Iraq than is absolutely necessary, but an immediate withdrawal of all coalition forces would leave behind an unstable and dangerous environment.

“Over the past year, our men and women serving in Iraq have performed bravely and exceeded every expectation.  Security has improved significantly, the Iraqi military has taken on greater responsibilities, and the government has enacted vital legislation for debaathification, reconstruction, and sharing power among the different regions.

“General Petraeus has provided outstanding leadership throughout this time, placing us on a path to bring home 30,000 soldiers and working with Ambassador Crocker to press Iraqi political leaders for more progress.

“Now, we need to let General Patraeus and his commanders on the ground finish the job. They should be given the chance to evaluate the situation, set goals for bringing home the rest of our troops safely, and leave behind a more secure region.”

Remember, this is coming up soon!

If you are one of those that have been given tickets to sell, hopefully you are also remembering to annotate the sheets that have been sent to you (if you have not received them, email me!) so we can update our database.

And I know who you are as well - I'll be asking soon for your information if I don't hear from you!

Don't know the email?   Skip
(at sign)
GraniteGrok.com

(thank spambots for the silly formatting!)

I have updated the GOP sites (City/Towns, Counties, National) that are in the Blogroll (to your right).  I have also put up the candidates that are running for the 1st and 2nd Congressional District, Senate, and Governor with links to their campaign sites.

From PolitickerNH:

RNC plan keeps New Hampshire first
By Brian Lawson
Tags: RNC, Ohio plan, New Hampshire Primary, Jim Splaine, Fergus Cullen

The Rules Committee of the Republican National Committee has adopted a plan that would preserve New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary status.

By a vote of 28 to 12, the committee passed the "Ohio plan" that would allow New Hampshire to be the first primary state and specifies that South Carolina follow New Hampshire.

"This is an important first step in the process of preserving our first in the nation primary. There is broad consensus that our Republican nominating process has worked well, and the way John McCain earned our nomination is prima facia evidence of that," Fergus Cullen, Chairman of New Hampshire Republicans, said in a statement.

The plan could be changed at the RNC Conventional in September.

State Rep. Jim Splaine (D-Portsmouth) said he thought the Democratic Party should establish similar rules.

"It would be good if the Democratic National Committee does something similar, although that decision might not come for another year or two. Having states like Michigan and Florida continually challenging New Hampshire could be head off by bringing some sanity to the process," Splaine said.

Splaine also pointed out that under New Hampshire law the Secretary of State must pick a date that is "seven days or more" before a "similar election."

During the past week, leadership has signed-in, testified and taken a position on a number of bills being heard in  committee. Here is a complete list of those bills:

SB 389—relative to privileged communications between health care providers and minor children.(oppose)

SB 495—prohibiting Internet solicitation and exploitation of children. (support)

SB 530—relative to kindergarten aid.(oppose)
SB 539—relative to the cost of an adequate education and provision of fiscal capacity disparity aid.(oppose)

SB 329—relative to payment of members of screening panels for medical injury claims. (oppose)

SB 501—relative to workers’ compensation on certain state projects and penalty collection powers of the department
of labor. (support)
SB 502—relative to unemployment compensation. (oppose)

SB 352—relative to shoreland protection.(oppose)
SB 384—relative to the repair of septic systems prior to the sale of waterfront property. (oppose)

SB 412—establishing the office of technology development and telecommunications planning and the position of
director of telecommunications in the department of resources and economic development. (oppose)

“A perfect storm is brewing and we’ll be at the center. The economy is leveling off but our revenue projections are climbing at a rate that could be called irrational and exuberant.”—Rep. Major, House Floor, April 11, 2007

“I’m hoping that their (the Republican) figures are not right. Because I don’t want to see our country go into a recession.”—Rep. Susan Almy,Chair of House Ways & Means,Floor of the House, April 11, 2007.

“When we crafted this budget,however, economic forecasters were not predicting the severity of the situation that the nation is currently facing.”—Gov. John Lynch,Feb, 2008

Once again Rep. Norm Major, our Senior Policy Advisor and former Chairman of the House Ways & Means committee has been proven correct in his initial assessment of the budget, revenue projections, and the overall future of the economy. This week Chairman Ben Bernanke publicly raised the prospect of a U.S. recession for the first time since the current slowdown began last year. But this news should come as no surprise to those of us who have been paying attention to Rep. Major all along.

More than a year ago, on the floor of the House, Rep. Major warned Democrats that the economy would not support their overinflated revenue figures. Rep. Marjorie Smith, the Chair of House Finance, even pleaded with the Ways & Means committee to, “Look skyward with your projections because we need tens of millions of dollars to balance the budget.” Overnight (March 28th/29th) the Democrats on Ways & Means “found” another $67.5M!!

While Rep. Major and the Republican Leadership were urging Gov. Lynch to proceed with caution, both the governor and his financial advisors continued to ignore all the signs that were pointing to a financial crisis. And now we find ourselves on the doorstep of a projected deficit of more than $240M over the biennium. Supporting Rep. Major’s latest figures are impending deficits of $89M in the Business taxes; $20M in Meals & Rooms taxes; $45M in the Real Estate Transfer tax; $20M in Tobacco taxes; and $36M in the Interest & Dividends tax, to name a few.

Despite facing a huge deficit and a potential recession, Democrats are trying to push through an education funding plan, complete with kindergarten, that will cost the taxpayers of this state millions of dollars! It is becoming more and more clear that they are leading us down the path toward a broad based tax whether their governor is willing to support it or not. In fact, Senate Democrats defied the position of their own governor in passing an education funding plan totaling nearly $1 Billion. The plan calls for the creation of new donor towns, reduces money to several working class towns and binds the hands of future legislatures. The plan spends $100M more than the state has in its coffers, spends an additional $20M for state mandated kindergarten but still doesn’t fully fund construction cost, and worst of all brings back donor towns far in excess of the amount that ever existed before, at more than 40 communities, with an additional cost of $15M funded on the backs of those taxpayers.

They have taken the basic education funding plan and added $566M in grants, which far exceeds the original $527M. They also added $48M for property poor towns and an additional $9M in “halfhearted” transition money in an attempt to partially close the gap for towns that were losing money. 

SB 539 would take effect for the 2009-10 school year, well into the next biennial budget, leaving this Democrat controlled legislature free to campaign on the platform that they “fixed education funding,” meanwhile putting the next legislature into a frenzy over how to raise the money to pay for their plan.

This is an irresponsible plan and an absurd patchwork of one bill attempting to correct a mistake on top of another mistake. Communities that cannot afford to lose money are still losing money, wealthier communities still get more money and the disparity among our towns is ripe for continued lawsuits. We will keep you posted on this legislation as it makes its way through the legislative process.

Janet Allen, House Representative from Center Barnstead, had this Letter to the Editor skewering Democrat Senator Sgambati in the Citizen yesterday - way to go!  BelknapCountyRepublicans.org is ALWAYS happy when GOPers stand up to the Democrats touting their own horn - especially when their results are just "feel good" stuff, lessen our freedoms and just spend money.

Sgambati's 'successes' are too costly for N.H.

Editor, The Citizen: I happened to be reading our Annual Report for the Town of Barnstead, year ending Dec. 31, 2007, when I came across a report that was submitted by Senator Kathy Sgambati. Her report highlighted what she considered to be her accomplishments for this year.

These are some of her self proclaimed accomplishments (page 100). She tells the reader that she voted to implement a smoking ban in restaurants and bars. That is an issue that was regulating itself without the help of the NH Legislature. There were plenty of smoke free restaurants and bars for non smokers to choose from. It was not necessary to force small business owners to have smoke free establishments if that isn't what they wanted. I don't believe it's necessary for the government to regulate every business and/or personal decision we make.

She supported expanded eligibility to health care. This piece of legislation does not help with the ever rising cost of health care; it makes the cost higher because it forces health care providers to continue to service those who are divorced. This legislation does nothing to help more citizens to obtain health care, nor does it help more citizens to afford health care. She states that she has worked hard to be sure every child has an adequate education. I have lived in NH all of my life and I personally do not believe that there are any children who were getting an inadequate education. My daughters went through public schools and I always thought that the education was there for those who wanted to partake. By defining an adequate education and then throwing more and more money at the system, does not mean that the education will improve. By increasing the cost per student of an education you are not guaranteeing that each child will have any better of an education than they had ten years ago. The only thing that you are guaranteeing is that the price tag will be higher.

Next, she writes that she, ". exhibited great fiscal responsibility in working to implement a fair and balanced budget." How can the budget be fiscally responsible when it increases 17%? Why was the last budget increased by a mere 2% and this budget increased by 17%? If this is a fiscally responsible budget then why is the governor calling for millions of dollars to be slashed from the budget? Could it be that the revenues were inflated in order to give the appearance of a balanced budget? Now the state is short millions of dollars and the budget is a mess.

Lastly, Senator Sgambati is pleased to write that she is, ". reducing the high school drop out rate by ensuring attendance to age 18." I guess that it will raise the attendance rate if the students are not allowed to drop out at age 16 but to what advantage is this? Is this fair to the students who want to be in the classroom and desire to learn? Is this fair to the teachers who have to put up with the behavior of students who simply do not wish to be there? Yes, the rate on paper will go down but that is not even suggestive of what is really going on. To my way of thinking, it is simply a ploy to make the drop out rate look better.

As the reader can see, I disagree with Senator Sgambati on every issue and I find it amazing that she can be so proud of the stands she has taken. The citizens of Belknap County are going to be suffering at her hands when/if her plan for the state to withdraw support from the county nursing homes survives the court challenge. The full burden of the nursing home cost will be paid by the citizens of the county. Demographics show that the state is graying and with the cost of health care skyrocketing, the citizens of NH will be paying out of their pockets to maintain the county nursing homes without any help from the state.

During Senator Sgambati's watch, your taxes have skyrocketed with more repercussions on the way. Remember this when you head to the polls in the fall.

Rep. Janet Allen
Center Barnstead