Not Our Chambers of Commerce!

by: Kathy Sullivan 2

Tue Sep 16, 2008 at 18:02:55 PM EDT

Well, the Greater Manchester and Nashua Chambers of Commerce aren't happy about it.  Both chambers have sent out e mails to their members telling them that the US Chamber is not the same as the local chamber. The Union Leader on line quotes from the e mail sent by Robin Comstock to the Manchester Chamber members:

The Manchester chamber, she wrote, is a "non-partisan business advocacy organization" that "serves a very different role and has objectives and strategic goals centered on the needs and interest of the local business community.

"We do not, nor have we ever, endorsed a particular candidate in any political campaign," and, "I do not see that practice changing in the future," Comstock wrote.

Comstock wrote that the Manchester chamber is "not a division, department, or associate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on any level. We are totally independent from them and their program of work; and we are totally removed from their lobbyist and other PAC related efforts."

She said that neither she nor anyone from the chamber office was briefed on the ad "or contributed to its development in any way."

John and John E--together on the Love Boat

by: hannah

Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 05:14:24 AM EDT

Or, as Alexander Cockburn describes it in The Nation:

Take the Associated Press. On February 24 the news agency runs a story by Nedra Pickler under the headline Conservatives Say Obama Lacks Patriotism. Pickler's fourth sentence cites, as her story's lead source, Roger Stone, chastely described as a "Republican consultant."

This is the same Roger Stone who appeared with Tucker Carlson on MSNBC a few days earlier to promote an anti-Clinton 527 group, Citizens United Not Timid, or CUNT. "The more people go to the site," Stone had smirked to The Weekly Standard in January, "the more people buy the T-shirts.... The more people wear the T-shirts, the more people are educated. Consequently, our mission has been achieved."

OMG - Radical Republican Community Organizers

by: Kathy Sullivan 2

Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 09:12:19 AM EDT

A friendly and effective behind-the-scenes player in Upper Valley Republican politics is moving on to a new field. After five years as Sununu's "community liaison" at his Claremont district office, Lebanon resident Melissa Ogle has taken a fundraising/development job at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt. Ogle said in an e-mail it will enable her to "pursue my career goal of working in a Catholic academic setting."

I was even more shocked to learn that Sununu's staff has met on at least one occasion with community organizers:

Laura Thibault of Thornton and Beth Richards of Concord are members of MomsRising.org, a national online mother's advocacy group. They came to express their support for the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which has already passed the House and is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn.
"Our main goal was to urge Senator Sununu to consider the issues," said Thibault, who was accompanied by her 4-month-old son, Rhys."

Where did that 33 cents go?

by: elwood

Thu Jul 31, 2008 at 18:12:51 PM EDT

We can't all be average, but when New Hampshire is the only state in the continental US that can't support its veterans with a VA hospital, ranking 48th grates on the nerves.

So where do the other 33 cents of every dollar go?

Look at the table again. We're #48 in return on our taxes. The Silver Medal goes to Alaska. They send in $1.00 and get back $1.87. Our extra taxes go to help fund the extra spending there.

Why would our Congressional delegation let that happen?

Well, as shown by their guaranteed 87% return on federal taxes, Alaskans know how to invest wisely. Here are some of the relevant investments by indicted Senator Ted Stevens' Leadership PAC:

1998: $5,000 to Judd Gregg
2002: $10,000 to John E. Sununu
2004: $10,000 to Judd Gregg
2006: $2,500 to John E. Sununu
2008: $7,500 to John E. Sununu

The Sununu Myth gets a Shine From Landrigan

by: elwood

Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 09:03:59 AM EDT

You can spin all you want, but there's no good financial news this week for Shaheen...

Landrigan notes Sununu's cash-on-hand advantage, and downplays his failure to campaign much as a proven, winning strategy:

Like he's done in every single campaign, Sununu has chosen to carefully raise money and even more cautiously spend it, waiting until he's convinced the voters are engaged before the money starts flying out the door.

Now, let's remember 2002. Sununu challenged Bob Smith in a high-profile GOP primary. So he was campaigning hard, full time, all summer long. His close victory over Shaheen followed a long, intense campaign -  exactly the opposite of what Landrigan describes.

What about his earlier campaigns? The legendary John E. Sununu squeaked past Joe Keefe in 1996 with 47% of the vote. In 1998 he easily won against an unknown. In 2000, he used that same "sit on your cash" strategy against Martha Fuller Clark and transformed a 25 point September lead into a 10 point November win.

Since he is now not 25 points ahead but 14 points behind, a campaign strategy that has resulted in steadily leaking support may not be the most obvious approach.

(Standard disclaimer: The races will tighten up; Democrats need to work hard.)

Sununu's Climate Bill Kabuki Just More of the Same

by: Dean Barker

Fri Jun 06, 2008 at 22:44:18 PM EDT

Democratic leaders fell 12 short of getting the 60 votes needed to end a GOP filibuster on the measure and bring the bill up for a vote, prompting Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada to pull the legislation from consideration.

...The vote broke largely along party lines, although Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Mel Martinez of Florida, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Olympia Snowe of Maine and John Sununu of New Hampshire joined with the plurality of Democrats, the National Journal reported.

This isn't the first time John E. has hidden behind Mitch McConnell's carefully orchestrated kabuki theatre.  He finds out how many he's got to keep up a filibuster and prevent cloture, and then releases the ones in his party who are in re-election hot seats (Sununu, Smith, Collins, Dole) so that they can campaign on how they broke from their party on a popular bill.

I repeat: I long for a time when the people who represent me vote the way they do because it is the right thing to do.

It's a darn good day, I think, for Jeanne Shaheen to have filed her candidacy.

UPDATE: So. Very. Typical. Sununu wasted no time campaigning on his non-vote:

"It's very disappointing that this debate never really got started, but when I said we should move forward I meant it.

Warning: Sununu's preening is unhealthy for sensitive people.

Sununu* Forgets To Help

by: Kathy Sullivan 2

Thu May 22, 2008 at 15:45:33 PM EDT

Time and time again, John Sununu has demonstrated that he will say one thing to assuage the people of New Hampshire and do another thing to please the party bosses in Washington.  

The following video illustrates the depths to which he has now sunk.  The video depicts his recent visit to a food bank in Manchester.  During the visit, he promises to do anything he can to assist the food bank and the people it serves.  

Just a few days later, when he could have delivered on that promise, he voted with his Republican colleagues to cut assistance to food banks.

Sununu Not on the Climate Change Learning Curve

by: Dean Barker

Tue May 20, 2008 at 05:30:23 AM EDT

Absolutely!

The problem for us?  Sununu 'aint one of them (boldface mine):

Boxer's amendment backing cap-and-trade in concept won support from 55 senators (absent were the three presidential candidates and Tennessee's Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker). The senators willing to oppose Sen. DeMint's bad amendment but unwilling to support Sen. Boxer: Tim Johnson (D-SD), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Gregg and Sununu (R-NH), Murkowski (R-AK), and Pat Roberts (R-KS).

These votes indicate a significant swing in momentum this Congress. While it takes a simple majority to pass legislation, it will take 60 votes to overcome the expected filibuster for the Climate Security Act.

Keep in mind that when the less-ambitious McCain-Lieberman bill came before the Senate two years ago, just 38 Senators supported it.

Shame on Silent John

by: Kathy Sullivan 2

Fri May 16, 2008 at 08:34:02 AM EDT

The House Judiciay Committee held hearings on the phone jamming case this week, with testimony from
Congressman Paul Hodes, Paul Twomey and Allen Raymond.  What did John E. Sununu have to say about the investigation into the criminal conspiracy concocted to assist him in his 2002 US Senate bid?  According to NHPR:

When asked about the House investigation Sununu said he had no comment.

What a surprise! Silent John sprints from speaking to the press yet again!

Angry and Frustrated

by: Dean Barker

Sun May 11, 2008 at 07:26:17 AM EDT

Three out of very four of New Hampshire's National Guardsmen and Reservists have toured Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jim Webb, former Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan, thinks our veterans ought at least to get tuition at their state college for such brave service to our country:

[Webb] has been working on it for 15 months, together with the many co-sponsors, including Sen. John Warner, Republican of Virginia, the Senate's leading expert on military affairs.

Sen. Webb's bill would clean up the messy rules and give all service members a full month of educational support for each month served on active duty.

Most importantly for New Hampshire, the Webb bill would treat active-duty Guard and Reservists the same as regular service members. A New Hampshire National Guard or Reserve member who served on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan for a year would get the full amount he or she needed to attend UNH for a year. We would not only be meeting our moral obligation to our troops, but also improving our ability to attract high-quality recruits in a time of war.

Every Senator in New England, including real Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, and virtual Republican Joe Lieberman, has signed on to this bill as a co-sponsor. Except John Sununu and Judd Gregg.

Likely, our faux independent Senators are waiting for the do-nothing McCain version of the bill so that they can pretend to support our troops with their faux maverick nominee.

I'd like to write some clever rhetorical put-down here, but this episode, so typical of our how our Senators operate, just makes me really, really angry and frustrated.

Sununu: Protecting Net Neutrality is "Dangerous"

by: Dean Barker

Sat Apr 26, 2008 at 21:33:49 PM EDT

Sununu's credo is little else than a marketplace beyond the reach of any type of control, and when his job as legislator gets in the way of that radical ideology, he's quick to take a pass. To use just one example, the bipartisan (Sens. Dorgan and Snowe) Internet Freedom Act, would insure that  internet service providers could not mess with content.  More from TV Technology's write-up of last week's Senate Commerce Committee meeting on this, "Martin: No New Net Neutrality Rules Needed":

Supporters of so-called "net neutrality" maintain that recent conduct of ISPs-namely Comcast's interference of BitTorrent activity-highlights the need for rules to preserve the open nature of the Internet.

Well, a no-brainer unless you are guided by radical free-marketeerism (with the added bonus of enabling President Bush and his FCC chairman Kevin Martin):

Se. John Sununu argued that instead of predicting marketplace and industry activity, Congress should wait until abuses appear and then respond.

"Writing regulations based on how we think companies might behave and how we predict customers might act in response to that behavior is dangerous indeed," he said.

Dr. Robert Hahn, executive director of the Center for Regulatory and Market Studies at AEI, compared the Dorgan-Snowe proposal to trying to tell Google (he used the hypothetical company "Oogle") how much it could charge for its click-through ads. Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessig explained later to the doctor that net neutrality applied to the conduct of ISPs, not content providers, and that the legislation would not affect what Web content providers could do with their own businesses.

[Lessig] recounted feeling more than a little resentment when, in an e-mail exchange with Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.), the senator implied that Lessig's support for Net neutrality regulations stemmed from monetary nudging from the likes of Google, which was not the case.

Update: Blockquote trimmed a bit and source article attributed.

Grading the Sentinel's New DC Coverage: 'Incomplete'

by: elwood

Sun Mar 23, 2008 at 07:54:50 AM EDT

The story is titled "Sununu Out-raised Shaheen in '07." It has a couple of very good catches - to wit:

• For Sununu, the most contributions come from the Club for Growth, identified as a group that "promotes conservative fiscal policies."
• For Shaheen, the top donor is ActBlue, identified as a "progressive group."

This initiative deserves praise and thanks. Creative approaches for local newspapers to provide greater coverage of our representatives in DC are needed - and rare. Programs that also help launch a new generation of journalists are particularly valuable.

But...

Sununu: Eighty-Ninth in Power, Second in Nepotism

by: Dean Barker

Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 20:34:25 PM EDT

But I was a bit taken aback by this second place showing:

THE TOP 5 SENATORS

Sixteen senators paid family members for working with their campaigns from 2001 to 2006. Here are the top five.

1. Jim Bunning, R-Ky, paid his daughter, Amy Towles, $138,933.

2. John Sununu, R-N.H., paid his brother James Sununu $81,037.

The article I link to is from a state newspaper in Idaho that ran a full article questioning why the number three senator, Mike Crapo, had given a family member even less than what John E. gave James. (HINT)

Also, the report containing this accounting from FEC filings, and written up by the good folks at CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), can be found here.  In addition to around 53 grand in 2002, brother James has received salary of six to eight thousand dollars for each year from 2003 to 2006.

National Disgrace

by: Dean Barker

Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 19:55:29 PM EST

Health care "is so darn expensive," he said, "because it's worth it."

Sens. Biden, Clinton, Obama: I Hear DC is Lovely During the Holidays

by: Dean Barker

Sat Dec 15, 2007 at 19:15:48 PM EST

Despite the revelation of this program, and the public outcry against it, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to pass a bill on Monday that would make it impossible to hold the telecoms accountable for their criminal collusion with the President. Phony champions of civil liberties like John E. Sununu will be all to eager to assist him in that bill's passage.

Senator (and Presidential candidate) Chris Dodd, who has a quaint affection for the rule of law, has declared publicly that he will filibuster this bill.  When the other presidential candidates who happen to be active Senators were asked about this, they responded thus [back in October]:
Joe Biden

San Francisco: "Will you join Sen. Chris Dodd's hold and proposed filibuster on any FISA bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecoms?"
Sen. Joe Biden: "Yes."

"To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."

"I am troubled by the concerns that have been raised by the recent legislation reported out of the Intelligence Committee...As matters stand now, I could not support it and I would support a filibuster absent additional information coming forward that would convince me differently."

Finally, here's a handy whip-count chart from Team Dodd.  And if you click on it, it gives you the ability to contact Sens. Biden, Clinton, and Obama free of charge to urge them to join Dodd in this filibuster:

Definitely not Pork; nor Swiss cheese either

by: hannah

Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 14:45:04 PM EST

In addition, Senator Gregg, the previous chair of the Senate Budget Committee that's overseen an increase in the national debt from five trillion to nine in the time Republicans have been in charge, waxed enthusiastic about the fact that federal tax collections have actually increased (never mind that's what one would expect as long as the population was going up), but failed to mention that the increase is in dollars that are worth increasingly less.

The GOP Phone Scandal: John E. Sununu Has To Tell What He Knows

by: Rep. Jim Splaine

Sun Nov 04, 2007 at 23:22:50 PM EST

Election Day, November 5th, 2002.  It was a long day in Manchester.  I remember it as clearly as, as if only a half a decade has passed.  I was there in Manchester, on my final day helping a long-time friend, Dave Gelinas, in his campaign for New Hampshire State Senate.  We knew it wasn't shaping up as a good year for Democrats. 

One of the more critical things on that morning was to coordinate our activities with those of the Democratic Party.  Their headquarters was some distance away from the office where I was, along with several others involved in various campaigns.  But as we used our telephones, all we heard were busy signals, for the longest time.  Busy signals.  We didn't have so many cell phones in those days of long ago, but that was our only alternative, when they worked.

I don't know if we had an easier morning and a better organized day if Dave Gelinas might have won.  He certainly would have done better, because the inability to get in touch and keep in touch with those who we needed to in order to coordinate activities of getting out the vote, covering the polls, and other telephone outreach to voters hurt us.

Dave didn't win, although he did better than many other Democrats on the ballot.  That year was indeed a tough time to be a Democrat.  It's hard to tell if Dave would have won if the opposition wasn't playing strange games with those airways. 

Other Democrats whose results might have been affected by Republican shenanigans were also on the ballot.  Two candidates, then-Governor Jeanne Shaheen and then-Congressperson John E. Sununu, were running for the United States Senate.  Sununu won by a small margin. 

What took years to learn, of course, was that there was a concerted effort to manipulate that election.  The New Hampshire Republican Party was playing dirty tricks -- blocking all telephone communication to and from several of the get-out-the-vote offices of Democrats and local firefighters in Manchester and some other cities.  Not a nice thing to do.  In fact, quite illegal to do. 

Eventually, thanks to the persistence of then-NHDP Chair Kathy Sullivan and current Chair Ray Buckley, the NH Republican Party finally agreed to pay some $125,000 to settle a civil suit brought by the Democrats.  In addition, the Executive Director of the NH Republican Party when the phone blocking occurred,  Chuck McGee, and a dumb Republican consultant, Allen Raymond, each pleaded guilty to felony charges and served some prison time.  Then, defended by a million-dollar defense paid for by the national Republican Party, the former Republican National Committee Director Jim Tobin was convicted of wrong doing by a federal jury.  He was also New England Bush/Cheney chair in 2004.  Following the trail yet?

This was an effort to steal democracy, phone call by phone call.  Maybe not on the grand scale of Watergate.  But nevertheless, as despicable as Watergate.  Just Google "John Sununu, 2002, phone scandal," and see. 

Five years ago.  That's 60 months.  Another election, perhaps the most important ever in our nation -- at least in modern history -- is coming within 12 months.  It's time we get to the bottom of what happened in 2002.  It cannot be forgotten.  It cannot be repeated.  Many American men and women have died to protect the freedoms and democracy that some Republicans were successful that day of taking away.  This is serious stuff.

In Washington, the House Judiciary Committee is setting up an investigation into the New Hampshire GOP Phone-Jamming Scandal.  United States Senator John E. Sununu should volunteer to testify.  He needs to tell if he knew anything, what he knew, and when he knew it.  Personally, I hope he knows nothing about it.  But if he does, he should say so. 

And another question remains that someone might know the answer for:  were there other dirty tricks by Republicans in that election of 2002, or since? 

America -- home of the brave and home of the free -- isn't easy.  It's not a "101" class.  Democracy itself it hard work.  It takes all of us to do it.  Let's all work to be sure that honesty and integrity is guaranteed in our future elections. That requires all of us to be on guard. 

I think NH Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley will be working hard being a watchdog on John E. Sununu when he testifies.  Sununu must do it.  We have to know.

How far do you have to go to find a Senator as bad as Sununu?

by: elwood

Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 13:27:45 PM EDT

Judd Gregg voted for it.

In fact, every Senator in New England from either party voted for it except radical right-wing hater John E. Sununu.
"Everyone in New England" is too limited. Let's get out the map. So did the Senators from New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia; Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

You have to drive 1300 miles west to Iowa's Chuck Grassley or 800 miles South to North Carolina's Burr and Dole before you find another defender of hate crimes.

John E. Sununu doesn't share New Hampshire's values. He will find like-minded bigots elsewhere in the country.

Update by Dean: Looks like the Human Rights Campaign's Joe Solmonese should reconsider his list after this vote:

"I wouldn't call John Sununu a target," he said. "I think of targets as people both to help and people to potentially take out."

But the organization could yet become involved in the race. Sununu has yet to cast his votes this session on ENDA and hate crimes.

...Shaheen, as governor, signed into law measures that barred discrimination against gays in the areas of employment and housing, and repealed a ban on adoptions by gays.

Marchand Withdraws; Endorses Shaheen

by: elwood

Sat Sep 15, 2007 at 14:46:10 PM EDT

(PORTSMOUTH, NH) - Continuing his commitment to bringing leadership for New Hampshire values, Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand today announced his withdrawal from the 2008 US Senate race, and his support of former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, who entered the race on Friday.

"I am very proud of the campaign we've run, which has always focused on bringing positive change to Washington," said Marchand. "From ending the war in Iraq, to bringing affordable health care to all Americans, to being the global leader on 21st century energy policy, to restoring fiscal discipline, our message of fiscal and social responsibility is a real New Hampshire message."

"This has been a true grassroots effort," continued Marchand. "To all those who have supported me in this effort: thank you. I am honored and grateful for the support of hundreds of activists, and the endorsements of over 60 state representatives, multiple state senators, and many city and county chairs. We have had successful fundraising efforts, and polling shows me in a statistical tie with John Sununu today. There is no doubt that we can compete with Senator Sununu. However, this seat is too important to the state and the nation to do anything less than put up New Hampshire's strongest candidate for 2008."

"Jeanne Shaheen is our strongest candidate to defeat John Sununu in 2008. Her commitment to the same principles that I have fought for during this campaign will make her a tremendous Senator for New Hampshire and the nation. I am proud to support her in all her efforts."

There had been some talk about a withdrawal today and an endorsement later. This seems more crisp.

Steve - Don't be a stranger. Looking forward to your next campaign.

Update by Dean: Shaheen responds (from an email release):

"Steve Marchand has run an energetic and passionate campaign to take this Senate seat back from the special interests and return it to the people of New Hampshire. I am grateful and humbled to have his support."

How John Sununu Can Win in 2008

by: elwood

Fri Sep 14, 2007 at 19:22:47 PM EDT

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Reid is looking for ways to create a 60+ vote for "anti-war" legislation. The current draft appears to consist of a non-binding recommendation to the President, with continued war funding. This would give some cover to Senate Democrats who are in trouble with constituents over their failure to effectively oppose the war.

But the BIG winners under this extraordinarily stupid move are the endangered species Republicans, with John E. the poster boy.