Can It Be True?

Basics (0.00 / 0)

http://www.boston.com/news/loc...

Whack-a-mole, anyone?

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 12:03:05 PM CDT

I am confused (4.00 / 3)

This article does not say what Burt says it says?



"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 @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 13:49:09 PM CDT

This line (4.00 / 1)

The Hodes campaign put up the ad despite urgings from Lynch's camp not to politicize the issue further, according to sources in both camps who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

It makes sense that Governor Lynch's office wouldn't be eager to have the scheme prominent in the public mind; he understands the principle of 'the buck stops here' and knows that ultimately he does have to take responsibility for appointing Kelly Ayotte to the office where she either failed to investigate the ponzi scheme or was so incompetent she didn't know what was going on around her. The governor is not generally expected to keep track of all potential investigations in the AG's office, while the AG generally is, but the governor does have to take responsibility for appointing the AG.

So it all boils down to, Governor Lynch made a mistake reappointing Kelly Ayotte the second time (I still don't see any way he could have gotten anyone else through the Executive Council in 2004), and now her incompetence is a campaign issue for her that reflects (if not by much) onto his race.

Only the left protects anyone's rights.

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by: RealNRH @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 14:06:02 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

did you read to the jump page, Kathy? (0.00 / 0)

"The Hodes campaign put up the ad despite urgings from Lynch's camp not to politicize the issue further, according to sources in both camps who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly."

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by: measurestaken @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 13:59:54 PM CDT

Did you, Measures? (4.00 / 2)

If so, perhaps you can tell us where this portion of Burt's statement may be found:

It is reported that Lynch at first tried very hard to squelch any discussion of the matter, then got AG Delaney to try to deflect any responsibility on the part of his predecessor AG Ayotte to instead blame the securities division at the secretary of state's office, which of course didn't stick.

 

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 15:43:27 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I can always count on you for antics with semantics (0.00 / 0)

Burt is characterizing the Governor's decision to have Delaney investigate the matter initially and his current efforts, as reported in the Globe, to get Hodes not to discuss it. That this is obvious enough for a fourth-grader to see it evidently still doesn't make it clear enough for at least one Dartmouth grad.

Let me add that I agree with Kathy's views about staff entirely. It was a mistake for anyone in either camp to respond to this story.  

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by: measurestaken @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 17:22:34 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks for the insult, but it would be easier if you would just grow up (4.00 / 1)

That this is obvious enough for a fourth-grader to see it evidently still doesn't make it clear enough for at least one Dartmouth grad.

Burt made a statement that was in no way supported by facts.  It was not in the article that he cited, nor any place else.  

And your juvenile insults don't change that.

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 17:58:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I suspect Burt assumes that people who read this blog (4.00 / 1)

also take advantage of other news outlets in order to be familiar with what's going on in politics in NH. And, for the record, I pride myself on my insults being at least adolescent if not sophomoric.  

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by: measurestaken @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 20:11:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Could you provide links? (4.00 / 2)

As I said below, I don't recall seeing these other assertions reported in other news outlets, so links  would be helpful. I must not take sufficient advantage of other news outlets to be familiar with what's going on in politics in NH :)

"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 @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 20:42:21 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

No, still pretty damn juvenile (4.00 / 2)

It is reported that Lynch at first tried very hard to squelch any discussion of the matter, then got AG Delaney to try to deflect any responsibility on the part of his predecessor AG Ayotte to instead blame the securities division at the secretary of state's office, which of course didn't stick.

Since you have so clearly stated that this is common knowledge, please provide woeful idiots like me and Kathy a source.

Thank you.

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 20:42:48 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not Common Knowledge (0.00 / 0)

I did not mean to suggest that it was.

Some of us have been deeply concerned about how FRM is being handled and have followed it very closely.

Ask others who have been closely following this unfolding story. Hodes is not wrong, nor should he be pushed to back off.

And DD, sorry I can not speak to your level of juvenility. You do appear to be aggressively reactive without appropriate basis.  

No'm Sayn?

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by: BurtCohen @ Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 08:31:20 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

In other words... (4.00 / 2)

"it is reported" is unsourced rumor and/or gossip and/or speculation, as I doubt that you were present for whatever discusions Gov. Lynch and Attorney General Delaney may or may not have had with each other.  Don't get me wrong - I enjoy gossip and rumors as much as the next person, there is a big difference between fact and gossip.  If you said, "there is a rumor going around", or, "I heard from someone that he heard that", that would be one thing.  But you said, "it has been reported".  Where and by whom?

The state house and it's environs has an unfortunate similarity to high school when it comes to rumors and gossip.  There's way too much of it, too many people indulge in it, and it can be hurtful, nasty and untrue.
     



"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 @ Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 09:36:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

You didn't suggested it. Measures did. (4.00 / 2)

Not Common Knowledge (0.00 / 0)
I did not mean to suggest that it was.

You merely cited a source for your assertion that was not accurate.  When Kathy and I asked for more information, Measures informed me that I was all about "antics with semantics," that a "fourth-grader" would know about this, and we clearly do not follow political news in New Hampshire.

Whis is code for: No source exists.

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 09:39:30 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

don't worry they were n/t (0.00 / 0)

for transparency sake ~I represent Union print shops

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by: JonnyBBad @ Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 20:07:05 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yes I did (4.00 / 3)

The article says the Lynch camp urged the Hodes campaign not to politicize FRM further. Sounds like the campaign staff for each campaign may (and I stress "may" given the anonymous sources) have had vigorous discussion about strategy which is different from John Lynch pressuring Paul Hodes. Burt also says several things were reported that are not reported anywhere in the article. I don't recall seeing those things reported anywhere.

In any event, to the extent that anyone in either campaign is engaging in idle gossip with reporters about discussions they have had internally - they should stop,  The goal is to win in November, not for people "not authorized to speak" to go blathering to reporters.    



"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 @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 15:56:31 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Even the mildest, most oblique attack leads to howls of "negativity" (0.00 / 0)

Hodes has been under a lot of pressure since the beginning of the campaign not to criticize Ayotte, even though she is the leading contender for the other party's nomination, and even though being criticized is an integral part of the game she chose to play.  

Although she is not as bad as some other members of her party who are running for high office, there is still plenty of things she can fairly be criticized for.  Certainly her nonfeasance during the FRM scandal is nothing to proud of, and FRM is just one of a number of blots on her record.

Even the mildest, most oblique attack on Ayotte by Hodes leads to howls of "negativity" and "smear attacks" from the media.  And I am not sure why they feel the need to protect her: as I saw for myself at the FRM hearings, she knows how to defend herself.  

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 18:10:02 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Annenberg Foundation's factcheck.org weighs in (0.00 / 0)

Note also that the Annenberg Foundation's factcheck.org has designated some of Hodes's claims as false:

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/06/hodes-deletes-truth-in-nh-senate-race/

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by: Vis Unita Fortior @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 14:10:13 PM CDT

FactCheck took issue only with the comment about Ayotte deleting the emails (4.00 / 1)

The article concludes: "Justice did have responsibility to advise and help the Banking Department in the investigation. That's true. But Hodes goes beyond the facts in a weak attempt to link Ayotte personally to the failed investigation."

Kelly did screw up and Lynch did screw up reappointing her (not to sound like a broken record).

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by: Putney Swope @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 16:00:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Factcheck should check their own facts. (4.00 / 5)

There are a number of inaccuracies in the article.
Here's a glaring one:

Now, what about the claim that Ayotte "made sure her e-mail would be erased" just two days before leaving office? That accusation stems from Ayotte's policy decision to exempt all archived e-mails from the state's right-to-know law. Her decision did not result in erasing any e-mails.
(emphasis added).

Well, last Friday the AG released about 6000 emails from the months of May, June and July of 2009. They also rather quietly noted that all emails prior to May 2009 had been erased. They didnt say why, but the reason is that on July 15, 2009, a couple of days before she left office, Kelly Ayotte issued a memo that said that materials that had been deleted from agency servers and only existed on the backup tapes were not subject to the Right to Know law.

Since they were not deemed subject to the Right to know law, they were erased twelves months later from the backup tape system-- in spite of the fact that there were outstanding requests for their production. Thus 9 months of emails were erased between July 2009 and May 2010 (when the AG gave into a firestorm of criticism and stopped erasing them).

Lets see , if the three months that survived turned up 6000 documents, that would mean that about 18000 were erased.

That's a lot of any's.

"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 @ Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 21:21:59 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

This deserves its own diary. (4.00 / 5)

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 21:30:32 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks Paul (0.00 / 0)

I was wondering about that - it didn't seem to make any sense.

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by: Putney Swope @ Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 22:23:34 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Andy Smith and John Sununu are the experts (4.00 / 3)

on how NH will vote in Nov.?  All these fine Republicans are just regular NH candidates, not running right as fast as they can?  

Sorry, I can't read this stuff.  

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by: Lucy Edwards @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 15:18:48 PM CDT

The Republican strategy for electoral success has long (4.00 / 1)

been two pronged: energize the base with fear mongering and dire predictions and demoralize the people who think.

Moreover, the demoralizing can take various forms:

a) scandalous personal behavior by politicos

b) corruption and favoritism

c) draconian legislation

d) denigration of the candidates

e) dirty money

The object is to depress voter turnout.  

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by: hannah @ Sat Jul 10, 2010 at 15:50:26 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Leaking campaign trivia is massively uncool. (4.00 / 4)

Certain anonymous sources should know the difference between whistleblowing on issues of substance and gossipping at the expense of a cause and a candidate they support.

--
No tea; no decaf.

@DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Sun Jul 11, 2010 at 12:11:57 PM CDT

Hodes is Right And Deserves Support (0.00 / 0)

Just because I will not name my unimpeachable source
(I wish I could) does not mean it's not true. It most certainly is.

Hodes is genuinely on to something, and for Lynch to try to keep the lid on when so many people were hurt, and when there are people in state gov't who chose to ignore it, in my opinion is wrong.

Lynch is going to be re-elected. Ayotte does not deserve to be elected, really people!

No'm Sayn?

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by: BurtCohen @ Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 09:52:41 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Unimpeachable sources (4.00 / 3)

Unimpeachable sources = unsourced hearsay.

Burt, if I had a nickle for every time someone told me "I know for a fact" and the fact turned out to be false (especially in politics), I would be travelling in Europe instead of arguing with you.




"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 @ Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 11:42:27 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks for the LOL (0.00 / 0)

I wish it weren't so.

Lynch has indeed  been involved in damage control on FRM.

And Kelly Ayotte deserves to lose!

To what address do we send nickels?

No'm Sayn?

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by: BurtCohen @ Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 11:53:45 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

In your case? (4.00 / 2)

That would be four barrels of nickles, one to the campaign of Paul Hodes, one to the campaign of Carol Shea Porter, one to the campaign of John Lynch, and one to me to hold in escrow pending the results of the primary in District 2.

The candidates thank you.



"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 @ Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 13:31:14 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Barrels Delivered (0.00 / 0)

Well sorry Kathy, not to you. No offense.
But to Paul, Carol, and Annie, yes.  

No'm Sayn?

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by: BurtCohen @ Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 13:36:25 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

You Lie! (0.00 / 0)

You'd still be arguing with Burt!

(And please, it's nickel, not nickle.)

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by: Tim C. @ Tue Jul 13, 2010 at 01:39:39 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Don Nickles. n/t (0.00 / 0)

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." A. Einstein

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by: StraffordDem @ Tue Jul 13, 2010 at 07:45:17 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I got your peachable sources (0.00 / 0)

for transparency sake ~I represent Union print shops

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by: JonnyBBad @ Mon Jul 12, 2010 at 20:13:39 PM CDT

Burt Is Right On... (0.00 / 0)

...I know something about the FRM situation.  It took three letters from Rep. Paul McEachern and me to House and Senate Leadership and membership starting on February 10th, with another to follow on February 22nd (they are on the State FRM WEBSITE for all to read) to get the public inquiry going.  There was indeed a need to make sure nothing was covered up, and since the legislature finally got a public inquiry underway a lot has come out.  Now we have to make sure stonewalling isn't occurring.

I do think the Governor's Office staff mishandled the FRM matter since last November.  The old "crisis management" technique of handling a problem like this one from the inside on the inside wasn't going to work from day one, and shouldn't have been tried.  I like Governor John Lynch's latest comments that he is determined to "get to the bottom" of FRM -- and there is a ways to go in that regard.

Paul Hodes should be free to do any kind of advertising he wishes on this issue, without any attempt by anyone to sidetrack him.  The only criticism I've offered about his ad on FRM (about which I elaborated in my biweekly column about projections for November in The Portsmouth Herald this past Sunday) is that at this point, he doesn't even know who his Republican opponent in November will be and his first television ads should be introductory about himself and why he would be a great Senator.  

Keep at it, Burt.  I like the fighting spirit in you.  What these party leaders should be doing is reaching out to people outside of their in-crowd and learning different viewpoints, instead of trying to shut you and others out of the party decision making.  It's resulted in several years of bad approaches and silly positions as well as a misdirected legislative agenda.  You're one of the stars for our future.  

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by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Wed Jul 14, 2010 at 06:55:31 AM CDT

Burt Is Right On... (0.00 / 0)

...I know something about the FRM situation.  It took three letters from Rep. Paul McEachern and me to House and Senate Leadership and membership starting on February 10th, with another to follow on February 22nd (they are on the State FRM WEBSITE for all to read) to get the public inquiry going.  There was indeed a need to make sure nothing was covered up, and since the legislature finally got a public inquiry underway a lot has come out.  Now we have to make sure stonewalling isn't occurring.

I do think the Governor's Office staff mishandled the FRM matter since last November.  The old "crisis management" technique of handling a problem like this one from the inside on the inside wasn't going to work from day one, and shouldn't have been tried.  I like Governor John Lynch's latest comments that he is determined to "get to the bottom" of FRM -- and there is a ways to go in that regard.

Paul Hodes should be free to do any kind of advertising he wishes on this issue, without any attempt by anyone to sidetrack him.  The only criticism I've offered about his ad on FRM (about which I elaborated in my biweekly column about projections for November in The Portsmouth Herald this past Sunday) is that at this point, he doesn't even know who his Republican opponent in November will be and his first television ads should be introductory about himself and why he would be a great Senator.  

Keep at it, Burt.  I like the fighting spirit in you.  What these party leaders should be doing is reaching out to people outside of their in-crowd and learning different viewpoints, instead of trying to shut you and others out of the party decision making.  It's resulted in several years of bad approaches and silly positions as well as a misdirected legislative agenda.  You're one of the stars for our future.  

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by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Wed Jul 14, 2010 at 06:55:32 AM CDT