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Right-wing provocateur James O'Keefe, who is under investigation by the state Attorney General, will be the featured speaker on Sunday at a gala reception and fundraiser hosted by the Rye Republican town committee.
"Why are Republicans honoring a confessed law breaker as their special guest?" asked Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley. "Is that the kind of message that Republicans want to send? That it is okay to break the law if it is in service to an extreme Tea Party agenda?"
The Attorney General is investigating O'Keefe for sending his associates to obtain New Hampshire primary ballots using the names of deceased voters. In 2010, O'Keefe was arrested for attempting to tamper with the phones of Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu. He plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of entering federal property under false pretenses.
"Instead of honoring this fellow, which in essence really is a stamp of approval on what he has done," said former Democratic Party chair Kathy Sullivan, "I would expect elected officials and Republican candidates for office to step away for him. They should not honor him or celebrate with him."
GOP candidates slated to attend the reception include Congressmen Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass, gubernatorial candidates Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith, state Executive Councilor Chris Sununu, state Sen. Nancy Stiles, and state representatives Will Smith and Brian Murphy.
Do the GOP candidates "believe it is okay to plot to tamper with a U.S. Senator's phone as long as the Senator is a Democrat?" asked Buckley. They "should make it clear publicly that they will refuse to stand with O'Keefe and call on the Rye Republicans to cancel this event."
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