Senator DeVries Has no Answer

And what is Ted Gatsas' answer? (4.00 / 1)

Don't know?  That's because they didn't ask him yesterday.

The voters of Ward 8 chose to re-elect Betsi DeVries yesterday despite the protests because they know she's a responsive alderman who focuses on what's best for her constituents.  That's also the type of state senator she is.

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by: chris pappas @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 13:54:59 PM CST

Well (0.00 / 0)

According to the grapevine, Ted was so frightened of being confronted by one of the people whose suffering he voted to prolong that he didn't show up at Ward 8 at all.  If he had, Ron had some choice words for him as well.

"[Brinck Slattery is a] political attack dog for hire" =Ray Buckley

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by: Brinck Slattery @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 14:06:12 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Not to mention (0.00 / 0)

the fact that Gatsas has said that he will step down from the Senate, and I'm not particularly interested in the mayor of Manchester's opinion on the medical marijuana issue.

DeVries will vote on this issue again, and she needs to vote the right way.

"[Brinck Slattery is a] political attack dog for hire" =Ray Buckley

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by: Brinck Slattery @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 14:19:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Now DeVries Chance To Participate (4.00 / 1)

Now that she has been elected alderman, no doubt the issue will come up again as she seeks re-election to the senate.

This is an opportunity for her to participate and address any concerns she may have had with the bill.

Putting her recent vote behind us, she needs to step up to the plate now and stand with her seriously ill constituents.

We can't give up on her, we need to welcome her participation.  

No'm Sayn?

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by: BurtCohen @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 14:46:57 PM CST

Agreed n/t (0.00 / 0)

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 14:50:41 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Burt... (0.00 / 0)

Do you believe that stunts like the video are helpful?

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 14:52:51 PM CST

[ Parent ]

It should be helpful to other candidates as a lesson in (0.00 / 0)

how not to respond to the electorate.  I'm not sure why a person touting herself for election should consider her appearance in a public venue to be an inappropriate time to question her voting record.
That was just plain rude.

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by: hannah @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:06:33 PM CST

[ Parent ]

If you were there you would have seen it differently (4.00 / 1)

Betsi politely responded to the man early in the day.  This video was a "one more time for the camera" type deal meant only to embarrass her.  

The stunt did nothing to advance his cause or win over supporters.

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by: chris pappas @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:21:19 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Nope (0.00 / 0)

In fact that was the first time we had spoken to Sen. DeVries that day.  Later on she said she would speak with us if Gatsas was there as well, and we thought that was reasonable so we waited for him to show up, to no avail.

I'm surprised at the willingness of some people to defend DeVries on this issue.

"[Brinck Slattery is a] political attack dog for hire" =Ray Buckley

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by: Brinck Slattery @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:29:35 PM CST

[ Parent ]

If you're going to be a public official, then you've got (4.00 / 1)

to be prepared to go on the record.  If the representative is comfortable with the position she's taken there's no reason for her to be embarrassed to state it again.  Rationing a citizen to one polite answer a day seems a bit un-generous, especially when one considers how often we have to listen to them say the same thing over and over again.

For the record, it is my considered opinion that the state has no business trying to regulate what a person inhales, ingests, injects or, for that matter, excretes from his/her own body.  Politicians have even less business playing doctor.

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by: hannah @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:30:37 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Hear, hear (0.00 / 0)

If you're going to be a public official, then you've got to be prepared to go on the record.

"A stunt" it may have been, but it was in public and a public official.
 

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by: JimC @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:33:04 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I can think of one that was (0.00 / 0)

n/t

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by: JimC @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:28:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Jumping (0.00 / 0)

the Snake River Canyon is a stunt.  Connecting a constituent who has been ignored by his Senator on an issue that could be the difference between life and death for him is just speaking truth to power.

"[Brinck Slattery is a] political attack dog for hire" =Ray Buckley

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by: Brinck Slattery @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:47:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Um, Raymond... (0.00 / 0)

You dressed a kid in a chicken suit when you ran against Wieczorek, remember?


America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. -Harry Truman

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by: Peter Sullivan @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 20:18:30 PM CST

[ Parent ]

actually no Peter. n/t (0.00 / 0)

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 20:24:29 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I would have never known (0.00 / 0)

 she voted against this bill from listening to the news.  
One would think that she would have at least had some way to justify herself to the people her vote effected the most.  
I hope this serves as a lesson to not vote in a way you are clearly ashamed of.

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by: Phillip Coan @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:21:58 PM CST

No Ambush Interview (0.00 / 0)

I am not a proponent of ambush style interviews unless it is the ONLY way to get the person on the record or after failing to make time for constituents to address an issue.

I hope DeVries gets enough feedback from constituents to have a change of heart and vote in favor of medical marijuana legislation.

"What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority." -- Molly Ivins  

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by: The Grand Panjandrum @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:22:57 PM CST

Another perspective (4.00 / 1)

When I went to vote in Ward 8 yestarday at about 8 a.m., there were several people holidng signs that said something to the effect of Betsi DeVries doesn't care about sick people.  Not one of them held a sign that said Ted Gatsas doesn't care about sick people. Want to hold signs? sure, go ahead, it is a free country.  But as Chris Pappas said, this video wasn't about trying to get an answer from Betsi; the purpose was to harrass her at the polls on election day, and to defeat her candidacy, not for state senate, but for alderman.

To tell you the truth, I think this effort backfired. People were turned off by this. Would I have voted for Betsi anyway? Sure - but I don't like your tactics on this issue yesterday, particularly when you limited them to the Democratic candidate for alderman, and did not include the Republican candidate for mayor.

The response that Gatsas won't be in the senate and therefore it doesn't matter doesn't cut it. As an elected official with input into the enforcement of laws, budget decisions, and the like, the opinion and voting record of a mayor do matter.

Also, I know that Betsi did take phone calls from constituents on this issue before the vote, so the whole why won't you answer my question thing doesn't wash.

From speaking to other Ward 8 voters, this effort may have cost Christine Telge votes in a close election. Mr. Slattery, there are consequences to behavior, too, and in this case, this type of behavior did not help you, and it did not reflect well on your cause. You may have accomplished the opposite of what you trying to do.



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 15:51:26 PM CST

A couple of points (4.00 / 2)

I shouldn't ... but here I go.

1. It's perfectly logical that a Democrat should he held to a higher standard on this. A Republican can easily duck the question.

2. On this point --

The response that Gatsas won't be in the senate and therefore it doesn't matter doesn't cut it.

Since the question was about a Senate vote, that couldn't be more relevant.

This said, perhaps the protestors shouldn't be harassing her during her aldermanic election. But that's a tough argument to make, because ... it's an election. A public event.

Play fair, people!

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by: JimC @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 16:09:43 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Life isn't fair! (0.00 / 0)

Anyway, I am not going to get into a protracted debate, because I don't think there is anything "wrong" morally or whatever with what they did. I do think it was stupid, because all it did was antagonize people and hurt the cause.

Gatsas is going to be mayor of the city's largest city. You don't think his position matters? He is going to have a key role on the allocation of  resources in our state's largest city. Of course his position matters.  Remember the Holder and Kacavas decisions on enforcement?  From where I sit, that argument sounds like an excuse for the Free Staters to explain why they did not try to confront the guy they supported. And yes, Gatsas was the Free State candidate. http://freestateblogs.net/

Higher standard?  There were issues with the bill. That doesn't mean I wouldn't have voted for it or that I would have voted for it, it was not a decision I had to make. But saying not voting for it puts someone on a morally lower plane is, I think, wrong. But I am holding you to a higher standard :)

And now I am going back to work, so comment away!



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 16:25:06 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I have no further comment (4.00 / 3)

Partly because ... I have no idea what you just said. :-!

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by: JimC @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 16:31:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Mayor-elect Gatsas's position is irrelevant, assuming he keeps his promise and leaves the Senate (4.00 / 2)

If HB 648 had passed, no police officer in NH would have had the authority to arrest a card-holding patient, as long as that person was in compliance with the law.  A mayor's opinion of the law would have been completely irrelevant, as it should be.  

The Holder and Kacavas positions pertain only to federal law, not state law.  Patients in Maine and Vermont don't have to live in fear of state or local police, regardless of what mayors and city councils think.

Obviously, from a purely medical marijuana perspective, it was advantageous to have Gatsas win yesterday and leave the Senate, to be replaced (perhaps) by a person who supports medical marijuana.  Any way you slice it, working to defeat Gatsas in his mayoral bid would have been an insane strategy for medical marijuana patients to pursue.

And besides, Ron Mitchell doesn't live in Gatsas's district... also, I happen to know that Ron succeeded in speaking with Gatsas on the phone days before the vote (even though he was not a constituent).  Sen. DeVries is one of only 7 Senators who does not have a home phone # listed on the Senate website.

I didn't have a part in this little exercise (except that I finally stopped telling angry patients NOT to confront the individuals who voted against them).  However, I don't buy the argument that it backfired one bit.  Did anybody really think DeVries would only win this race by 48 votes?  Given her name recognition and the fact that Democrats won 13 out of 14 seats, I'd have expected her to win by at least 150 votes, minimum!

Incidentally, the one Republican who was elected, Phil Greazzo, used to be a marijuana policy reform activist.  Incumbent Alderman George Smith sent out a mailer calling Phil a marijuana user and saying he had been president of a "radical drug legalization group."  If we're looking for an example of a strategy that backfired, I'd suggest we look no further than George Smith's!

Executive Director, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

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by: Matt Simon @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 17:09:04 PM CST

[ Parent ]

funny, Ronald Mitchell doesn't look like a "free stater" to me! (4.00 / 1)

Executive Director, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

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by: Matt Simon @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 17:20:35 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Staffer Disclosure (0.00 / 0)

Matt, aren't you the e.d. of the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Laws?  
IIRC, staff from advocacy groups are supposed to fully disclose their positions when posting.

You must not have been following the Manchester races closely; Ward 8 was one of the wards targeted by the Republicans for a pick up in the aldermanic races. The strategy did backfire. Plus it irritated the heck out of some of the people who support your position.  You don't have to believe me, but at the end of the day, Betsi was re-elected, and your cause was not helped.  



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 19:23:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

disclosure (0.00 / 0)

I am the executive director of the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, yes.  Sorry, I forgot not everybody knows that.

Executive Director, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

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by: Matt Simon @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 19:38:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

put it in your status n/t (0.00 / 0)

Not in the shot

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by: JonnyBBad @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 21:11:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Betsi: One Heck Of A Courageous State Senator (4.00 / 2)

Let's remember that Betsi was a most important vote in favor of marriage equality.  I think she does the right thing, and will do so on medical marijuana when shown legislation that meets her concerns.  

She goes down on my list as a hero in many ways -- and if she didn't support House Bill 436 last Spring, we might not have been successful then.  I'm sure pleased that we're in the position now of being able to fight to keep marriage equality rather than have to work to obtain it in 2010 or 2011.  Next time I see her I'm going to thank her again -- and we all should.  

The medical marijuana bill vote was a couple of weeks ago.  There will be other times when we'll need Betsi's support, and if we earn it we'll get it.  She's one heck of a courageous State Senator.  

On that issue, as in marriage equality, let's keep our focus on winning the next vote, not what happened on the last one.  

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by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 17:27:35 PM CST

So what's the answer to the man's question? (4.00 / 5)

Why does the Senator think that she is a better judge of his medication than his doctor?

Does she or any of the others who voted against the override have any other drugs that they think our doctors should not be allowed to prescribe?

Should we have the State Senate vote on the entire Physicians Desk Reference so we can get their informed opinions on what medications they think are appropriate?

As for 'stunts'-- please, the NHDP sends people out in costumes to political events all the time. Those are 'stunts' -- This was a man with a real disability, asking a real question of an elected official about a vote that directly impacted his life. I am sure it made the Senator uncomfortable--but I am just as sure that cancer and pain patients across the state are 'uncomfortable' in being denied access to palliative care prescribed by their physicians.  


"But, in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." Si se puede. Yes we can.  

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by: Paul Twomey @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 19:36:44 PM CST

This is not about the merits of this issue (0.00 / 0)

These are they same guys that went after Carol and Jeanne constantly last year. They are political attack dogs for hire.  Don't get blinded by the issue.

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 20:28:54 PM CST

[ Parent ]

what isn't about the merits of the issue? (0.00 / 0)

Brinck did this for free.

I hear many votes were unaware of how Senator DeVries voted, and they thanked the sign-holders for informing them.  


Executive Director, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

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by: Matt Simon @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 21:03:13 PM CST

[ Parent ]

So I take it (4.00 / 1)

that anything Zandra Rice Hawkins says about conservatives should also be disregarded, as she is a political attack dog for hire who focuses her efforts in a city she doesn't even live in?

What is politics about but the merits of the issues at stake?  I didn't hear you discounting my testimony in favor of marriage equality in front of the Senate.

Also, can I quote you on my business card?  "Political attack dog for hire" has a nice ring to it.

"[Brinck Slattery is a] political attack dog for hire" =Ray Buckley

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by: Brinck Slattery @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 21:07:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

put it in your status n/t (4.00 / 2)

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by: Tim C. @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 18:39:51 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Didnt know I was entering a substance free zone. (4.00 / 5)

I don't know any of the people involved, so I will take your word for it that their motives are evil and nefarious. That said, these types of things fall very flat unless they resonate with what people are already thinking. The reason that everyone in that video looked so stricken is that they recognize the power of what the man was asking.

When this comes up again in the legislature, all would be wise to keep the actual image of a person in pain being deprived of medication in the forefront of their consciousness as they decide how to weigh the pros and cons of proposed legislation.

I once represented a paraplegic who had been severely injured in Vietnam and who lived with intense pain every day. He was on his third offense for possessing marijuana and the state wanted to jail him. As he could easily get prescriptions for morphine and any other opiates he wanted, I asked him why he continued to risk imprisonment. He said that, while the other alternatives could alleviate the pain to some extent, they left his mind in a fog and he could attain the same pain reduction with marijuana and still maintain his cognitive functions. He felt that he shouldnt have to give up the ability to think in order to relieve pain.

That is a decision for a person and their doctor, not a governor and a senator.

Again I apologize for dragging this discussion down into the mud of merit.

"But, in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." Si se puede. Yes we can.  

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by: Paul Twomey @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 06:13:23 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Disgusted (4.00 / 1)

I was pretty disgusted at the behavior at ward 8.  It appeared that Mr. Mitchell was being used by Free-Staters for whom the medical marijuana was merely an issue of convenience to attack an opponent that they want to target for other reasons.  Compassion had nothing to do with it.  

I support medical marijuana, if usage can reasonably be restricted to the intended patients.  If folks really want to help those who need it, work to ensure that the bill will convincingly restrict use to those in need - then convince the voters in districts like Senator Devries that they have nothing to fear from it.  This takes real political ground work - not YouTube ambush videos and political theater.  The work at ward 8 was so inept as to make me think that the Free-Stater's would cruelly prefer to see medical marijuana kept illegal, so they can continue to use it as a cause celebre.

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by: The Money Magician @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 21:27:40 PM CST

Which part was disgusting? (0.00 / 0)

The patient with degenerative disc disorder and the cancer survivor quietly holding signs or the Senator who voted against allowing them to have the medicine they need to survive?

"[Brinck Slattery is a] political attack dog for hire" =Ray Buckley

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by: Brinck Slattery @ Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 22:01:14 PM CST

[ Parent ]

So you only support the right of doctors to prescribe medicines when you are sure they wont be used by others? (4.00 / 6)

Go to court someday and you will see people being charged with illegal possession of just about every drug prescribed. Do you think that we should criminalize all use of every prescription drug because they are abused by some?

No more vicodins, ozycontins, amphetamines, tranqs, mood stabilizers, ritalin, codeine, etc for any of you sick people. Dr. Susan Lynch, Dr______________(insert the name of your own physician here,)we don't care what your medical judgment is, someone somewhere abuses these drugs, so you cant prescribe them to people who are in desperate need of them.

Look you either trust your doctors or you trust politicians to make medical judgments. The reality is that marijuana is treated differently from all these other far more dangerous drugs for political reasons flowing from a stupid culture war that should have ended 40 years ago.

"But, in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." Si se puede. Yes we can.  

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by: Paul Twomey @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 06:31:44 AM CST

[ Parent ]

you are right (0.00 / 0)

Paul I cannot for the life of me understand why this kind of ant-intellectual argument for prohibition still gets traction.
I have felt as you describe it for a long time...it does not kill you like tobacco does, or addict you like alcohol. There is something deep seated in the fear of marijuana, yet as you pointed out in a recent post the CDC classifies caffeine as a stronger addictive substance.
Perhaps it is a play on the embarrassment of the Woodstock generation...the causes of their youth gave way to cocooning, political apathy, and materialism. The freedom and license that characterized the 60's was accompanied by that smell...acrid and sweet, that defined a generation.
We don't want our kids to be like us, and you know who you are...
In a recent article on the opium crops in Afghnaistan, from  which 95% of all the world's heroin is produced under our watchful eye, it was stated that 10,000 people a year in this country die from overdoses. Compare this to the 600,000 who die annually from overdoses of prescription drugs...case closed. We are nuts.

Not in the shot

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 06:43:24 AM CST

[ Parent ]

a weed (4.00 / 1)

If the government took over production the way they did during the Second World War to ensure a supply of sisal for rope on our Naval ships...can you imagine the effect on the bottom line, and on the narcotraffickers ? We could grow it in the National Parks, like they do. People have been murdered in our National Parks while out hiking, by Mexican drug gangs who send(Or your family back in Mexico will die)men to live in the wilderness and cultivate pot. This has reached serious proportions, while the 'drug war' continues to be funded as an epic fail.

The markups for marijuana cultivation would be 100%+ compared to the cheap cost of production of this weed. Take the criminals out of it, by having the money go to the Gummint instead. I believe this will come to pass in California as Arnoldt sees a way to balane the budget, and gardually pacify the Southern border. It is already the State's largest cash crop, but the State gets 0 benefit. Let the arguments and blog posts unfurl.

Not in the shot

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 06:53:22 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Two Argu-Mints in One (4.00 / 4)

There needs to be a full discussion of what Johnny B talks about, for sure.

But medical marijuana is separate, it's an immediate issue: Seriously ill patients being denied less expensive medication that works better is unconscionable.

Right and left must get together on this: keep government out of decisions that are rightfully between doctor and patient.

As with Maine, we came close. Now is hardly the time to give up--on either issue.

No'm Sayn?

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by: BurtCohen @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 08:06:54 AM CST

[ Parent ]

certs n/t (0.00 / 0)

Not in the shot

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:45:24 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Well, for one thing it's got a female name. n/t (0.00 / 0)

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by: hannah @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 14:29:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

BMW down the way (0.00 / 0)

license plate
"Sativa"    

Not in the shot

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by: JonnyBBad @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 21:14:13 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Pain relief or recreational use - what's the difference? (0.00 / 0)

If you support general marijuana decriminalization, but also have an ounce of compassion and intelligence, you'll avoid any conflation of this issue with medical marijuana (mmj).  If you're an outspoken supporter of decriminalization, stay the heck away from mmj - you'll just drive away support.  Mmj is law that can be passed NOW.  Decriminalization is NOT.  If you muddle the two in voters' minds, you will cause needless suffering.  If you use it to get publicity, but in doing so provide opponents with a target of opportunity, you will cause needless suffering.  I mean this in the most literal sense.

By analogy, look at what happened with the tax cap in Manchester.  Opposition to it was led, not by community leaders with a reputation for fiscal probity, but by a statewide group that, by Manchester standards, is a bunch of left-wing fringe carpetbaggers.  (I mean no offense - I'm just saying that was the way they were predictably and successfully painted.)  The result was disastrous.  

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by: The Money Magician @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 18:26:59 PM CST

Please don't repeat conservative talking points (4.00 / 1)

The tax cap gimmick fights in both Claremont and Manchester were run by local residents. Groups like Granite State Progress supported those campaigns as a coalition member - a common practice for advocacy groups - and certainly to be expected as we both have membership in those areas and have been working on this issue since it first cropped back up in Spring '08.

The tax cap gimmick has been pushed in communities across the state by the NH Advantage Coalition, whose paperwork with the state is filed and signed by 5 people out of Washington, D.C. They work closely with the Free State Project - carpetbaggers - to bring these to towns, and had to pay people to collect enough petitions to qualify for the ballot.

In contrast, those fighting the cap live and work in New Hampshire, and really care about what happens to our communities.

Unfortunately, Manchester residents didn't get this information because the Union Leader - which ran three editorials against our coalition the week of the election alone -  never once looked into our opposition.

The picture that was painted was skewed, and we should not accept it nor repeat it. Especially when the campaign did include a number of unlikely bedfellows - such as the former chairman of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and a study from a fiscally conservative economist.

I'll also add that the result was not disastrous - without this strong campaign effort, the final vote would have been much different.  I think many recognize that.

Zandra Rice Hawkins (Granite State Progress)

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by: Zandra Rice Hawkins @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 07:26:40 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Zandra - (0.00 / 0)

You moved here from Massachussets with the specific purpose of founding Granite State Progress six or seven months after I moved here from Connecticut to work on a primary campaign.  Remind me, who's the carpetbagger?

"[Brinck Slattery is a] political attack dog for hire" =Ray Buckley

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by: Brinck Slattery @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 11:37:57 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Actually (4.00 / 2)

I moved back here after my husband and I got married. I was living in Manchester when we first met, a mere six years ago.

And we are still very much in love, I'm happy to report.

Zandra Rice Hawkins (Granite State Progress)

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by: Zandra Rice Hawkins @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 12:50:04 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Carpetbaggers?!?! (4.00 / 1)

Heaven forfend!

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by: JimC @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 12:50:14 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Only LLMRs are entitled to an opinion (0.00 / 0)

"Life-long Manchester Resident"

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. -Harry Truman

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by: Peter Sullivan @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 18:53:23 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I'll also add (4.00 / 4)

that this post and the action it covers has less to do with the vote record and more to do with the fact that conservatives are heavily targeting Sen. DeVries.

They did similar stunts last year on election day, though under the banner of the tax cap gimmick and other issues. Regardless of how we feel about this particular issue, we need to recognize that this was a conservative effort to lessen support for someone whose votes on other working family issues go against their own.

Zandra Rice Hawkins (Granite State Progress)

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by: Zandra Rice Hawkins @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 07:30:35 AM CST

From the peanut gallery (0.00 / 0)

Perhaps Sen DeVries would be better served in the future by avoiding voting with the conservatives.

But only if she would like some help in defending herself from them of course.

Bresler for Emperor

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by: Blue Granite @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 13:03:59 PM CST

[ Parent ]

She does (4.00 / 2)

On issue after issue, Betsi DeVries votes to support working people, families, kids, the environnent.  

Not everyone agrees that this bill was the right bill. Her opponent supported the charter amendment instituting a spending cap.  It is not a coincidence that the Free Staters, who supported the charter amendment, went after Betsi DeVries at the polls and not Ted Gatsas. The Free Staters supported Gatsas for mayor, and left him alone on the medmar issue. What an amazing coincidence.




"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 13:18:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

with all due respect Kathy.... (0.00 / 0)

I am familiar with Sen DeVries' voting record and IMHO it isn't particularly impressive. Sure she could worse but she could also be a heck of a lot better. The MMJ issue was one of those times.

The Free Staters and Ted Gatsas being in the wrong hardly puts DeVries in the right.

For me the salient issue in this vote wasn't Ted Gatsas doing what was expected of him or the Free Staters being unfair to candidates they perceive to be on the left. The salient issue was Betsy DevRies chose to side with Conservative interests over the will of the citizens of this state.


Bresler for Emperor

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by: Blue Granite @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 13:49:00 PM CST

[ Parent ]

What are you talkng about?? (4.00 / 3)

I am familiar with Sen DeVries' voting record and IMHO it isn't particularly impressive. Sure she could worse but she could also be a heck of a lot better.

It is one thing to be disappointed with her vote on med mj but c'mon that statement is not only untrue it is unfair.

My state senator is by far the most progressive state senator to ever represent district 18. She is the first to be pro-choice, pro-gay, pro-environment and so much more - her lead paint law alone is worthy of serious praise.

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 16:01:08 PM CST

[ Parent ]

SB 527 comes to mind (0.00 / 0)

Being better than anyone else who has held the seat in the past makes her an A+ grade progressive?

Nahhh, I don't buy that logic.


Bresler for Emperor

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by: Blue Granite @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 16:55:57 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Nobody said she was "an A+ grade progressive' (4.00 / 1)

And one shouldn't think that anyone with such a grade would ever get elected to the state senate from Manchester. Especially district 18. In my 18 years in the legislature I am sure I disappointed you as well. Oh, well. I'll keep voting for Betsi.

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 17:50:02 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Simmer Down There (4.00 / 1)

I appreciate the sentiment of you and Kathy coming out in defense of Betsi. I wouldn't expect any less of either of you. You're right. It is nice to have a progressive of any stripe there from 18.

That said, she was one of the more significant votes in failing to over-ride the Governor's veto. It would be my hope that she would vote in a way more resembles the progressive she is touted as in the future.

Bresler for Emperor

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by: Blue Granite @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 21:59:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Well said. (4.00 / 2)

We should be able to criticize our friends and allies on policy differences at any time-- that is what democracy is all about.

At the same time,  we should never forget that they are our friends and allies.


"But, in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." Si se puede. Yes we can.  

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by: Paul Twomey @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 06:58:40 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Not Comforatble (0.00 / 0)

Knowing Betsi as, at the very least, a good person, I'm certain she can't be entirely comfortable with her vote.
We need to make her more comfortable doing what all of us so strongly believe is the right thing next time.
We need to encourage and welcome her participation in crafting a medical marijuana bill next time. A Republican in her seat is certainly not in our interest.  

No'm Sayn?

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by: BurtCohen @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 08:47:03 AM CST

[ Parent ]