O'Brien is Republican Nominee for Speaker

The winner and the vote. (4.00 / 1)

Extremism won by a little.

But the extremist will interpret it as a landslide and a mandate.

And so begins our state's two year trip into madness.

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:24:42 PM CST

Disagree (0.00 / 0)

Extremism was going to win no matter what; it is just that O'Brien is more extreme than Chandler.



"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 @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:47:47 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Retro Nightmare (4.00 / 2)

For those who missed the days of William Loeb and Meldrim Thomson here's your chance to re-live NH's darkest years.

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by: Chaz Proulx @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:26:11 PM CST

Incredible (0.00 / 0)

Do we have a way of knowing the supporters of each?

Zandra Rice Hawkins (Granite State Progress)

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by: Zandra Rice Hawkins @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:29:17 PM CST

no not really (0.00 / 0)

The ballots were secret, although many members made their choice public.  I am sure the caucus members know who supported who.  Even though O'Brien has ambitious plans, he won by just a handful of votes.  He does not (yet) have a strong mandate.

On the Democratic side, there was another close race.  Terie Norelli got just 4 votes more than a simple majority: she got 53, David Campbell got 38 and Kris Roberts got 4.  Campbell's candidacy was more about making a change in how the caucus operates and less about ideology.  Campbell is a little to the right and Norelli is a little to the left, but they are both mainstream Democrats.

Even before the disastrous election, the 4th year of Norelli's Speakership was difficult.  We Democrats are currently the Dallas Cowboys of New Hampshire politics: we went in half a season from being Super Bowl contenders to being the worst team in the league.  But hey: in case you hadn't noticed, the Cowboys beat the Giants in a  nationally televised game last Sunday night.  There is hope.

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:53:33 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Thanks (0.00 / 0)

Zandra Rice Hawkins (Granite State Progress)

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by: Zandra Rice Hawkins @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:57:17 PM CST

[ Parent ]

So many lessons from one team in one season, Tim! (0.00 / 0)

Under-performance highlighted by poor team discipline and inter-squad bickering.

Failure to score points when in fertile ground for points to be scored (I think the NFL terms are Red Zone offense).

Poor planning and preparedness, resulting in lopsided affairs that turn off supporters and lower ratings.

Fire the coach, threaten everyone else, in an attempt to improve morale and performance.  Let's see how sustainable this is.

Hire excellent cheerleaders who know how to shake their pom-poms.  

"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 @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:56:39 PM CST

[ Parent ]

15 votes? (0.00 / 0)

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by: robert @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 20:57:01 PM CST

[ Parent ]

No and Yes (4.00 / 6)

No, in that the initial balloting is secret so, Rep by Rep you do not know whose votes put O'Brien over the top.  

However the caucus then chose to make their selection "unanimous".  So, they all support O'Brien and none can claim any level of moderation at this point - they know what he wants, what he's going to drive the House to do, many likely do not believe in much of his agenda - and yet they failed to stop him.  They are all responsible.  

Rep Christopher Serlin
Portsmouth & Newington
Rock 16

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by: Rep Serlin @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:56:56 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Good catch (0.00 / 0)

and I agree - this signals an intent to follow him over the edge of insanity in the name of Party loyalty.

Zandra Rice Hawkins (Granite State Progress)

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by: Zandra Rice Hawkins @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:59:25 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Chris -- You And Your Democratic Colleagues... (0.00 / 0)

...are guaranteed "fun" these next two years, and a heightened responsiblity.  I know we're in good hands with you and Terie and other Democrats.  

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by: Rep. Jim Splaine @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:11:23 PM CST

[ Parent ]

in Chandler's own district (0.00 / 0)

which is now is represented by 4 Republicans, only 2 out of the 3 others supported Chandler. Returning Rep. Karen Umberger, and newly elected Frank McCarthy both told the Conway Sun they'd be voting for Chandler. New Teahaddi Rep. Laurie Pettingill announced her intent to vote for O'Brien.


sanctimonious purist/professional lefty

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by: susanthe @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 15:35:06 PM CST

Question (4.00 / 1)

Was Chandler punished for being willing to deal with Democrats? Or was that a non-issue?

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by: JimC @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:39:33 PM CST

I'm guessing that story - (4.00 / 2)

that Chandler might "pull a Scamman" and build a coalition with Democrats to win the Speakership - was leaked by the O'Brien team.

Just because they are the only ones who potentially benefited by it.

It took me a couple of days to see what thereafter seemed blindingly obvious.

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by: elwood @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:53:22 PM CST

[ Parent ]

he was corn prone (4.00 / 1)

perhaps he was viewed as damaged goods and as such a liability...he might be prone to cornpromise

for transparency sake ~I represent Union print shops

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:57:16 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Any chance of engineering a split? (0.00 / 0)

They can say they're 'unanimous' right now, but there's plenty of time before they're sworn in. Any chance of getting Chandler's 133 plus Democrats to make a coalition of the moderates, with Chandler as speaker?

Only the left protects anyone's rights.

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by: RealNRH @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:43:55 PM CST

What moderates? (4.00 / 1)

Where is this notion coming from that Chandler is a moderate? He is not.  




"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 @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:53:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Ah (0.00 / 0)

I was thinking of Scamman. But even Chandler might be willing to move toward the middle if it got him a shot at leadership.

Only the left protects anyone's rights.

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by: RealNRH @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 22:37:49 PM CST

[ Parent ]

A guess: (4.00 / 1)

O'Brien must now put together a slate of proposed Committee Chairs and sub-chairs that both rewards his freshmen and wins a critical mass of veterans. And he needs to keep some goodies in his pocket, letting ten Reps each hope that they will win one prize.

He may be better off screwing the freshmen, since they are least likely to form an uneasy coalition with Democrats.

If he pulls it off, that actually shows some useful balancing-act skills for a legislative leader.

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by: elwood @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:57:58 PM CST

[ Parent ]

The good news is..... (0.00 / 0)

..I can not believe that the voters of this state will return this crew of wingnuts in 2012...in fact, I'm already beginning to thik that 2012 is going to be a very good year to be Blue.....

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by: Thomas Simmons @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 16:58:08 PM CST

Agreed (0.00 / 0)

He claims his goal is 'fiscal responsibility' but how long will it take him to show his real HRA stripes?

He will claim that his mandate is also a mandate to be socially conservative on all levels - marriage, abortion, etc.

The voters will prove him wrong in 2012.

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by: Putney Swope @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 17:12:14 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Agreed (4.00 / 1)

The portion of the majority of the minority of people who voted Republican thinking they would be returning to the (half-imagined, half-actual) days of moderate yankee Republicanism will be quite surprised.  In an election where a minority of citizens voted, but in which a majority of those voting voted Republican, it's hard to say how many voters thought this and how many (especially in the border towns) knew they were voting in right-wingers.  Still, the myth of the crusty, flinty, old New Hampshire yankee Republican is going to be a bit hard to shake even decades after Mel Thompson and William Loeb killed the real thing from within.  This new breed of right-wing Republicans might finally do the myth in and show that the modern Democratic Party in New Hampshire is more of an heir to traditional New Hampshire ideals (not to mention 21st century needs) than the grumpy old party.

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by: FrankLloydMike @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 22:50:48 PM CST

[ Parent ]

To answer Jim and Real, (4.00 / 2)

I do not believe Chandler was being punished. O'Brien put in a great deal of energy and money to win this.

Fahey:

O'Brien also backed a slate of more than 50 other Republican House candidates this year, most of whom won election. O'Brien used $7,500 in political action committee funds to help their campaigns, donating less than $100 to most, but amounts ranged from $500 to $10.

This is not the Republican caucus of the past, not by a longshot.

As Kathy has pointed out, Chandler is no moderate. When I went back and reread Pindell's piece, he talked to Republicans, but not to Democrats.

There might be only 98 of them, but likely Minority Leader Terie Norelli has hinted that she is up to swinging the entire Democratic caucus toward a Republican of their liking if the vote count works.

That is far from a real deal. The Dems will not, and, imo, should not try to "swing" things.
Fahey:

Republicans promised Sununu last week they would unite behind whoever won the GOP nomination. When O'Brien got the win, the party then voted to make it unanimous.

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by: Jennifer Daler @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 17:02:48 PM CST

Thank you (0.00 / 0)

The UL shouldn't crow too much over this part.

When O'Brien got the win, the party then voted to make it unanimous.

That's a fairly established tradition within legislative bodies. It would be more newsworthy if they didn't.

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by: JimC @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 17:13:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

What happened in the Scamman year? (0.00 / 0)

I don't recall the way it played out. Unanimous vote, then fracture? Or fracture from the start?

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by: elwood @ Thu Nov 18, 2010 at 17:26:25 PM CST

[ Parent ]

He's also for... (0.00 / 0)

Continued oppression of transgender people.  If I get a chance at a public hearing I'll give him an earful.  Like: Stop scapegoating transgender people for your own political gain!  Enough with the fear-mongering!

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by: xrk9854 @ Fri Nov 19, 2010 at 07:27:23 AM CST