GOP Planning to Eat Its Own?

A quick check at (4.00 / 2)

the General Court puts the punch line in that story.

In Quandt's district (Rock 13), six of eight Reps are Republican.  So, assuming everyone runs for re-election, that means O'Brien needs two more candidates just to have a full slate, and an additional candidate to be the spoiler.  Of course, there's always the chance that this spoiler knocks off one of the members friendly to O'Brien - he doesn't get to choose who the spoiler "runs" against.  They're all in the same pool.  For an $87 per year job.  Please remember that the Rs put Marty Harty on Strafford 3 ballot to fill out the slate in '10.  Need I say more?

I'm sure Rep Quandt is trembling at the notion.

Rep Emerson's district is a little different because all four members of the delegation are Republican.  Nevertheless, it's still a pool election, and you always run the risk of friendly fire.

On the other hand, I love the circular firing squad.  After staring down at these for so many years, it's nice to see on the other side.

In the immediate aftermath of Since the start of the financial crisis, the Fed/Treasury lent, spent, or guaranteed $28 $29 trillion to save the banking system.

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by: StraffordDem @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 01:01:46 AM UTC

Redistricting (0.00 / 0)

Don't forget the districts will be redrawn for 2012. We've already heard Reps threatened with new districts that will be more difficult to defend.

"Politics ain't beanbag" - Finley Peter Dunne

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by: William Tucker @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 01:35:26 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

More difficult to defend from whom? (0.00 / 0)

In Jennifer's post, she mentions towns of certain sizes having their own reps - certainly Quandts hometown of Exeter would meet such a criteria.  I couldn't find much on this but would be interested in reading more.

Still, the idea that Republicans are spending money to defeat each other is music to my ears.

In the immediate aftermath of Since the start of the financial crisis, the Fed/Treasury lent, spent, or guaranteed $28 $29 trillion to save the banking system.

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by: StraffordDem @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 01:52:39 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Rockingham 13 (4.00 / 1)

Rockingham 13 currently has 8 seats covering 3 towns: Exeter, Stratham and North Hampton.  

The Quandts were the high vote getters.  They live in  Exeter, which will probably be allotted 4 seats.  The other Exeter incumbent is Donna Schlachman, a liberal Democrat with a libertarian streak.  Exeter will (probably) have 4 reps of its own next time.  Without the Quandts, it would be hard for the Republicans to win any of those seats. O'Brien & Bettencourt will have to decide, do they want the Quandts or do they want two more Democrats?

Currently Stratham has 3 Republicans and a Democrat: the Republicans are all moderates.  One Republican, Pat Abrami is on Ways & Means and curries favor with the leadership; on the other hand, Tim Copeland is a renegade RINO.  The town will probably have only 2 seats of its own next time.  That should be a tough race.

North Hampton now has one rep--- a moderate Republican named Michele Peckham: she is will probably be a target of RINO-hunters if she runs for North Hampton's single seat in 2010.

The eighth seat will be a floterial.

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 05:09:10 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Abrami was behind the tobacco tax (0.00 / 0)

Rep. Abrami hitched his wagon to what turned out to be a controversial measure: the tobacco tax cut.  He was the prime mover behind that idea.  This will help him with O'Bettencourt and it might bring in some outside money- but it won't help him much with the voters.

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 14:25:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Redistricting cuts both ways (0.00 / 0)

It can hurt otherwise safe and O'Brien-friendly Reps (e.g.Hunt) as well as O'Brien-unfriendly (e.g. Emerson). They could end up throwing the baby out with the bath water, or cutting off their nose to spite their face, or being hoisted by their own petards... take your pick!

I will venture a guess and say that Dems in Emerson's district will field some strong candidate(s) this time around and that some/one if them will win.


""Hope is the dream of a soul awake.""

/French Proverb quotes.

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by: susaninrindge @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 10:32:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The current Cheshire 7 district (0.00 / 0)

is going to be a challenge for the Rs when it comes to redistricting.  Cheshire 7 is currently Dublin, Jaffrey and Rindge, with a total of 4 Reps.  If i am recalling correctly, the only Dem who has won in that district since 2006 is Bonnie Mitchell, who did not stand for re-election in 2010.  

Dublin's population is 1597.  Jaffrey with 5457, is entitled to one Rep of its own.  Currently, two of the district's Reps, Moore and Sterling, are from Jaffrey.  Rindge, with a population of 6014, is entitled to one Rep. of its own, and and is home to Reps. Hunt and Emerson.  

The unanswered question is how are the floterials drawn that absorb the excess population contributed by both Jaffrey and Rindge.

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. --Marcus Aurelius, courtesy of Paul Berch

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by: Lucy Weber @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 11:33:53 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

about the floats (0.00 / 0)

Rep. Emerson was explicitly threatened with an unfavorable floterial district.  Instead of floating Rindge with Jaffery, Dublin and perhaps one or more neighboring towns, O'Brien reportedly plans to spite Emerson by creating a floterial stretching all the way along the Massachusetts border to Vermont.  Both the incumbents from Rindge are popular, but Emerson is less well-known than the other Rindge rep, Comemrce Committee chair John Hunt.

O'Brien's theory is that Hunt would be the one who gets to run from the new Rindge district, and Emerson who have to run from the "float." (If you ever driven east-west across southern Cheshire County, as I have many times, you know it would be hard to get around such a district.)  There are lots of ways that could backfire on the Speaker, especially if he manages to antagonize Hunt.  

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 16:51:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The horrors of Rt 119 (0.00 / 0)

from Rindge to Hinsdale. But wouldn't Hinsdale have its own rep at 4046, as well as Winchester at 4341, per 2010 census? So that basically leaves Richmond and Fitzwilliam, right? Unless the evil plan is to swoop around into places like Troy, Chesterfield and Marlborough, of course. Way fun in the winter.

They. Don't. Care.
We do.
Rinse, repeat.

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by: GreyMike @ Sat Jul 30, 2011 at 00:27:30 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

evil plan (0.00 / 0)

I think that actually is the evil plan: Rindge is in the very the southeastern corner of Cheshire County, and O'Brien literally threatened to create a "float" stretching all the way along the state line to Winchester or even up to Hinsdale.  The "extra" population in those towns, after you give them their non-floterial seats, probably would add up to least one rep's worth.

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by: TimothyHorrigan @ Sat Jul 30, 2011 at 03:01:22 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Reduce the size (3.67 / 3)

I still vote for reducing the size of the legislature to 375.  If the hospitals need to lay off people due to state budget cuts, then lets see some real shared sacrifice on the part of the legislature and reduce the number of reps.  



"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 Jul 29, 2011 at 12:24:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Redistricting will take (4.00 / 1)

place before the 2012 elections, so none of the present districts will remain the same. Also, in 2006 we passed a constitutional amendment that says there will be one rep per town that has the requisite number of people. So the multi-town, multi- seat districts will be a thing of the past. There will be so-called floterial (sp?) districts for small towns.

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by: Jennifer Daler @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 01:36:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Do we know what that requisite number is? n/t (0.00 / 0)

In the immediate aftermath of Since the start of the financial crisis, the Fed/Treasury lent, spent, or guaranteed $28 $29 trillion to save the banking system.

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by: StraffordDem @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 01:45:28 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The target number (4.00 / 3)

...statewide is 3291.  However, because House redistricting may not cross county lines, that number may slide a little higher in some counties, and a little lower in others.

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. --Marcus Aurelius, courtesy of Paul Berch

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by: Lucy Weber @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 10:58:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It's a little more complicated. (4.00 / 1)

The Constitutional Amendment passed in 2006 is somewhat internally inconsistent.  The first sentence of Article 11 gives each town or district within a reasonable deviation one or more dedicated Representatives.  The qualifier is that second sentence.

The apportionment shall not deny any other town or ward membership in one non-floterial representative district.                   (Emphasis mine.)

This means that the smaller towns have to be joined with adjoining small towns or an adjoining larger town which is entitled to its own Representative.

The floterials appear to be just for absorbing the excess population after each town is in a non-floterial district.  This works well for cities, but in the smaller counties, the floterial districts will be huge, and will cover twins with vastly differing interests, making effective representation challenging.

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. --Marcus Aurelius, courtesy of Paul Berch

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by: Lucy Weber @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 11:11:59 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

My "Little more complicated" (0.00 / 0)

comment was a reply to Jennifer's comment titled "Redistricting will take."

"The target number" was in reply to StraffordDem.

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. --Marcus Aurelius, courtesy of Paul Berch

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by: Lucy Weber @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 11:16:23 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Aaieee! "towns," not "twins." (0.00 / 0)

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. --Marcus Aurelius, courtesy of Paul Berch

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by: Lucy Weber @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 23:58:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Conservatives are insecure people who seek status to feel (4.00 / 1)

better about themselves. Just being asked to run for public office (by some body like the Chamber or Lions or Rotary) serves that function.  They don't expect to actually do anything other than be obedient to the leadership.

All the more reason why sitting public officials should be precluded from participating in electoral campaigns, other than their own. The conservative claim to independence and "personal responsibility" is really meaningless coming from people whose first instinct is towards obedience to be safe.  

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by: hannah @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 11:01:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

They are there to say "NO" (4.00 / 2)

They are there to protect the status quo. They are there to prevent any taxation on their wealth. They are there for themselves only. Period. End of story.

""Hope is the dream of a soul awake.""

/French Proverb quotes.

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by: susaninrindge @ Fri Jul 29, 2011 at 19:38:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Right. They don't want to share. Must be why they don't like (0.00 / 0)

Sesame Street and the rest of Public TV.

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by: hannah @ Sat Jul 30, 2011 at 23:07:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]