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First, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Whether you're gathering with a large family, a group of good friends, one special loved one, or just a kitty like I am, this special day is always full of memories past and future -- and, hopefully, warmth!
But onto a little politics:
What is it with some of the Republicans that they speak out of both sides of their face? I'm probably about to answer that: they're either confused, or just mighty hypocritical.
I watched WMUR's Close-Up this Sunday, which when they have Republicans, Tea Partiers, or Free Staters as guests rivals any sit-com currently available on television.
The Christmas Morning show didn't fail to bring a mix of smiles and frowns to my face as I heard House "Speaker" Bill O'Brien, who reported on his trip to Iowa to support Newt Gingrich. A current and soon-to-be former speaker endorsing a has-been speaker and soon-to-be former Presidential candidate. There's some balance in that.
O'Brien said he's looking for a candidate who will be a "transformative" president, so he choose Gingrich. The man who would transform our nation from caring about children to putting them to work. Who would transform the White House to K-Street House.
O'Brien also tried to put a positive spin on failure of his efforts on the Right-To-Work bill override. He promised that he will make another effort to take workers rights away with yet another bill.
He talked about gay marriage too, and promised to work for a "healthy environment to raise our children." I have no idea what the hell that has to do with it. He says we're a "liberty- oriented people."
Right. The Republican's image of our state and nation: Liberty for some and not for all.
Tell the gay and lesbian troops who just returned from Iraq or are now fighting in Afghanistan that they aren't worthy of sharing their love and caring for each other in marriage, just like everyone else.
As we celebrate the final few days of 2011, we also remember the 460 American soliders who died in those two wars this year. Some of them were gay who died at a time when they were still discriminated against at home, and where opportunistic politicians still parade for votes on hate.
Well, the WMUR O'Brien Christmas Special is over. I think I'll put on my DVD of "Miracle On 34th Street" now. It's another fantasy, but a much more pleasant one.
As predicted by, um, everyone, New Hampshire's public colleges are raising their tuition in response to the dramatic budget cuts willfully enacted by the Bill O'Brien led legislature. This is awful news for New Hampshire's college students, who already have the highest level of student loan debt in the nation:
"Paying for college has always produced anxiety for families and students, but now students are asking, is the degree worth the debt?" said Payne, the foundation's vice president of college planning. "That's what they've started to have to ask themselves."
Educational attainment is emphatically the best protection against the current economic crisis. As more students drop out because of money rather than achievement, their employment prospects become dimmer.
House Speaker Bill O'Brien justified the 48% funding cut this way:
"Not only does throwing more and more taxpayer money at funding college education cause more problems than it solves, it inaccurately signals that college attendance is the only route for success in life,"
This foul, repellent statement is not new; but reading it again tonight I am struck by something.
It is the legislature's job, along with the other two branches of government, to keep the state running. It is the public servant's express obligation to fund things that require public funding.
If Speaker O'Brien has no interest in funding public college, or public infrastructure, or CHINS, or a host of other things he has indicated he's sour on, well, then, he should resign.
No surgeon who doesn't want to operate on patients would last a day; no teacher who hates children.
If you can't handle the job requirements, Mr. Speaker, get out.
According to the WMUR Political Scoop, Bully O'Brien will endorse Newt Gingrich for President.
Yet, O'Brien's endorsement for Gingrich appears to be something of a process of elimination. This race has become a two person race between Gingrich and Mitt Romney, and O'Brien has made it clear he wasn't going to endorse Romney. So, Gingrich it is.
Bill O'Brien refused to pay mileage for those sporadic House sessions that he called to try to push through an override of the right to work for less legislation. Despite having to pay out of their own pockets, the anti-RTW legislators showed for each one, until O'Brien, left with little choice, finally called for a vote and lost.
However, just a short time later, he paid for the mileage of Republican legislators to attend the private Republican caucuses held to present the leadership's redistricting plan. These are the same caucuses at which Republican reps were sworn to secrecy (which did not hold up too well), with paper over the door windows just in case someone had a telescopic lens, I guess.
Portions of the e mail from the House Republican office, which was forwarded to me, are after the jump:
Despite Bill O'Brien's imposing of a cone of silence over the Republican caucus regarding the proposed house redistricting plan, I have been picking up bits and pieces of some of the plan's components (and Speaker O'Brien, if you are reading this, as I know you sometimes peruse the pages of Blue Hampshire, you would be surprised about the sources of the leaks - but I digress).
According to the rumors I am hearing, the team of O'Brien, Mirski, and Mosca have concocted a plan to protect their favorite tea stater reps, and to take out some specific Democratic reps, like mary Jane Wallner and Cindy Rosenwald. The problem is, in order to do this, they need to peel off wards from cities, and combine them with towns, all in defiance of the NH Constitution, which was amended after the last redistricting to require that every town with the population necessary to support a state rep will have a state rep.
House Speaker Bill O'Brien has hit a new low, even for his standards.
While reviewing the roll call vote and videotapes from last week's House session, we were appalled to discover that the Speaker had voted on the right to work for less bill, HB 474, while still presiding over the session.
For those unaware, NH House rules regarding duties of the speaker clearly state that "The Speaker shall not be called on to vote unless the vote would be decisive." Additionally, the House website description of the Speaker's duties includes the line:
"The only time the Speaker votes is to break a tie."
O'Brien's decision to cast a vote while presiding - and without even informing the rest of the House he was doing so - shows a complete and total disrespect for the institution and position which he is supposed to represent.
Speakers can, and sometimes do, decide that they are so moved to vote on an issue that they will step down from the rostrum and have another member preside over the vote so that they can participate as a regular member of the House. But O'Brien's break from tradition and rule once again calls into question his ability to serve in the role of Speaker properly, effectively and, most importantly, impartially.
What's also interesting here is that O'Brien's last-minute decision to cast a vote on HB 474 shows how desperate he was to pass the anti-worker ALEC model legislation that he had promised his corporate funders. I'm told the Speaker's podium can see a tally of the vote counts in real time; one has to wonder at exactly what moment did O'Brien decide to push the button and try to sway the outcome of NH's decisive rejection of this legislation?
Also interesting and which, frankly, we hate to admit: this wasn't the first time O'Brien has done this.
The idea of a Speaker casting a vote while presiding is so unheard of, it never occurred to us to check O'Brien's record on this before. It wasn't until the HB 474 vote that we realized O'Brien appears to have also broken House rules when voting while presiding on CACR 12 (education funding) earlier this year. Granite State Progress has no idea what the recourse is for this behavior, but we certainly hope it is a topic of discussion come January 4th.
Attorney General Mike Delaney has asked the State Police to investigate the Ballot Law Commission "incident" of last Friday, at which, as has been reported, Republicans House members screamed "treason" and "traitor" at members of the Ballot Law Commission, and also accosted an assistant attorney general. One rep, Harry Accornero of Laconia, told the chairman of the BLC to "wear a mask" when leaving the house.
Following that outburst, Rep. Baldassaro promised to set up a meeting of the birther reps with Speaker Bill O'Brien. The birther reps now claim not to be birthers, but just concerned over whether President Obama is who he says he is.
Although I have not yet seen this reported, I understand that Attorney General Delaney wants the investigation because, inter alia, during a break in the hearing, assistant attorney general Matt Mavageorge felt it necessary to lock himself in an office at the LOB with the assistant Secretary of State to get away from the angry group of birthers - excuse, me, non-birthers who don't think the President is who he says he is.
(Nothing to say but thanks to the little videotape girl ;-) - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
Kathy has already laid out the scenario here; basically, several Republican State Representatives erupted in anger last week after the Ballot Law Commission rejected their challenges to President Obama's citizenship, vocally shouting at and threatening members of the AG's office (among other state and public officials).
The Concord Monitor is reporting is that a strategy meeting scheduled for today between NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien and those same birther State Reps has been canceled pending an investigation into that behavior, as requested by the Attorney General. Which should be interesting given that Rep. Al Baldasaro, an O'Brien leadership team member, is visibly amused and comfortable with the proceedings documented in the video, and in fact goes on to highlight how he and other birthers can work with the Speaker to pass legislation barring President Obama from the ballot. (Oh, yes, it is on the video.)
GSP Video 1: NH Birther State Reps, feat. Harry Accornero & Al Baldasaro, Challenge President's Citizenship:
GSP Video 2: NH Birther State Rep. Susan DeLemus Behaving Badly:
You'll note that birther advocates have posted several video transcripts of the hearing as well, but edited out all of these interactions. Surprised?
Also note Baldasaro's plans to use the Rules Committee and/or NH Supreme Court to push his agenda.
I went on the NH House Republican web page a few minutes ago. There was a statement by DJ Bettencourt about falling tobacco sales. There was not one word about the near riot by members of his caucus on Friday at a Ballot Law Commission hearing - members who screamed "treason" and "traitors" at public officials who found that the President of the United States had complied with the filing requirements of our presidential primary. Not one word about a state representative screaming at an assistant attorney general who advised the BLC on the law. Not one word about the state representative who told the chairman of the BLC that he better wear a mask when he leaves his house.
I then looked at NH Insider, the right wing web site which posts press releases from the NHGOP and the Republican legislative leadership.
A Republican state legislator in New Hampshire posted on Facebook questioning the attempted-assassination charges against the man who allegedly shot at the White House last week.
State Rep. Jason Antosz (R-Epping) wrote on his Facebook wall Thursday, the same day that Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez was arrested by federal officials, that he did not believe the case rose to an assassination attempt, describing it as more of a "lucky shot."
Friday a couple of these representatives breached State House decorum with what has been described as a near riot or mini-riot. Now we have one poo pooing the disturbed individual who shot at the White House.
What is Bill O'Brien going to do about this? Is he going to suggest resignations? Is he going to move for censure? Or is he going to demur, or say stop demonizing my caucus?
He has helped to create this climate of ugliness, he and Bettencourt, calling public employees thugs and the bishop a pimp. I'm afraid they will do nothing to stop this climate of hooliganism that appears to be growing geometrically.
(New Hampshire only gets about 61 cents back for every dollar we send to Washington - too much! says the Tea Party Tribunal - promoted by elwood)
I just read through the Sorg Report, the work of the Joint Committee To Review State Participation in Federal Grant In Aid Programs.
The duties of this committee were set forth in HB590:
to identify the statutory authority for each federal grant-in-aid program in which the state participates. The committee shall then assess the value to the state of each program on its merits, without reference to the availability of federal aid, and the feasibility of retaining each meritorious program in the absence of federal aid. For each program determined both to merit retention and to be feasible to retain without federal aid, the committee shall consider and make recommendations as to the most expeditious and practicable means of modifying it to make feasible the transition to support entirely from state, local, and/or private sources of funding.
In the ongoing saga that is this year's Redistricting Committee mess in New Hampshire, a new chapter: access to the state-developed (and NH taxpayer funded) redistricting software.
Redistricting software was developed earlier this year to aid in preparing and proposing plans for redistricting. As such, you would expect that the entire NH Redistricting Committee -- as well as others -- would be able to access and use the program.
But not so, according to House Speaker Bill O'Brien - or Chair Paul Mirski (R-Enfield) or House Counsel Ed Mosca, depending on who is covering for the shell game today - because it appears that only Republican legislators are being allowed to access and use the software.
A new video by Granite State Progress shows several scenes from the Cheshire County public hearing on redistricting and this week's most recent Special Committee on Redistricting meeting where members of the public and Democratic legislators can be seen requesting access to the state-developed redistricting software. In response, Mirski and Vice Chair David Bates (R-Windham) state several times that no one has used the software and that it might not be released to the public - immediately before other Republican legislators expressly admit to having access to the software.
New Hampshire's Speaker of the House, Tea Party Republican Bill O'Brien, has a national reputation due to a scandal surrounding a speech he made to a NH 9-12 group last March, where he stated that a Voter ID proposition's restriction of voting by college students was a positive effect. The Speaker explained to the group of fellow Glenn Beck supporters that college students, who have insufficient life experience, foolishly vote their feelings for liberal candidates and as such their right to vote should be questioned. And this culminated in a crusade for a bill which would bar out-of-state college students from voting in their college town, even though their income, economic activity and center of life is in that town.
Shortly after lunch break, [House Speaker Bill O'Brien] held a voice vote on HB 653. Even though the voices were even on the "aye/nay," O'Brien announced "passed with two-thirds of the votes," which was obviously not true.
A roll call would have been necessary to determine the results. The reaction of loud moans from the audience were more than noticeable.
On the next vote, a representative called for a roll call. As people stood to support the roll call, speaker O'Brien ignored them and quickly proceeded to a voice vote and said "passed."
Won't someone in power do something about this documented voter fraud, the evidence for which is clear as day by going here, selecting "October 12, 2011 afternoon video" and skipping to 1:15:00?
(Very Important Stuff... Please turn out and let Zandra know. - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
As referenced in a diary last week, the House Redistricting Committee - or at least the Chair of such, due to public pressure - has released a list of upcoming public hearings to solicit feedback on the redistricting process. (Don't bother looking for a plan to comment on, because there isn't one.)
All meetings start at 7:00 p.m. I'm posting the full list here along with the chair or vice chair who will be running it. If you can make it, please let us know. We'd love to send you information on back channels to assist with good questions to ask and points to make in your respective area(s).
Thursday, October 13th at 7:00 p.m. Carroll County - Mountain View Community Nursing Home, Ossipee (Rep. Mirski) Hillsborough County - Nashua Public Library, Theatre Room, Nashua (Rep. Bates)
Tuesday, October 18th at 7:00 p.m. Belknap County - Belknap Mill, 25 Beacon Street East, Laconia (Rep. Mirski) Cheshire County - Keene Public Library Auditorium, Keene (Rep. Bates)
Thursday, October 20th at 7:00 p.m. Grafton County - UNH Cooperative Extension, 3855 Dartmouth College Highway, N. Haverhill (Rep. Mirski) Rockingham County - Hilton Auditorium, Rockingham County Nursing Home, Brentwood (Rep. Bates)
Tuesday, October 25th at 7:00 p.m. Coos County - Lancaster Town Hall, Lancaster (Rep. Mirski) Strafford County - Strafford County Superior Court, Court Room 1, Dover (Rep. Bates)
Thursday, October 27th at 7:00 p.m. Sullivan County - Probate Court, 3rd floor, Sullivan County Administrative Building, Newport (Rep. Mirski) Merrimack County - Merrimack County Administration Building, Basement Conference Room, Concord (Rep. Bates)
Additionally, if you have points or questions to consider (keeping in mind that this is a public forum), post them here or email them to us on the link provided above and we'll help re-circulate. Thanks, all.
These poor House Republican leaders just can't seem to get it right.
Last week, the Chair of the Special Committee on Redistricting, Rep. Paul Mirski (R- Enfield), took heat during a committee hearing for the obvious lack of transparency and public input in the redistricting process this year. The criticism so bothered Rep. Mirski that, even though he had recused himself from the committee at that particular point to introduce and lobby for a bill he was introducing, he retook his seat specifically to negate the charges.
Disagreeing with the criticism levied by America Votes NH, Chair Mirski told committee members that the public did not need to be involved in the redistricting process because:
"It's a very complicated problem and quite frankly because it is a mathematical problem it doesn't lend itself to the sort of give and take with the public that may have been the case in the previous redistricting ... We have been holding off on this because we really have no way to utilize the public forum to get those answers. I just want to make that point." - Rep. Mirski, Redistricting Committee, 9.20.11
Never mind that public input sessions are a common and expected practice of past redistricting committees.
Just over a week later, though, Rep. Mirski is changing his tune and has announced a press conference for this coming Tuesday morning to release details on a series of 10 public hearings across the state related to redistricting. (Perhaps our poking around State House archives and the several inquiries to committee members past and present to determine the public input process and timeline for past redistricting committees caught his attention?)
Candidate for House Speaker Bill O'Brien, August 2010:
Reforming the House
With respect to process, there can be no favorites and no violation of rules. That must end. Decorum and respect for each House member must be a hallmark of the New Hampshire House. The next Speaker must focus on what can be done to improve the capacity for each and every member of the House to best serve his or her constituents. It must process the people's business in a more efficient, but more open and respectful manner.
House Speaker Bill O'Brien, September 2011:
NH House Speaker William O'Brien puts bill before House after GOP leaders assured vetoes would not come up Wed.
and:
A defiant, House Speaker William O'Brien, R-Mont Vernon, said it's up to him alone to decide when matters come up.
So NHDP paid a fine because an auto-call of theirs that said "This is State Democratic Chair Ray Buckley calling..." also needed to say "paid for by" NHDP.
Okay.
I'm glad this came up, because it reminds me that the call was in response to when, last September, Bill O'Brien was so scared of losing his own state rep primary that he mailed out a write-in plea wherein he pretended to be supportive of Democratic party values. In part, emphasis mine:
Creating jobs, educating our children and looking out for our most vulnerable citizens transcends [sic] party politics. That is why, as your state representative, I have focused on solutions and not political rhetoric. I would be honored to have your support and to have your [sic] write in my name to fill the fourth, unfilled, state representative nomination for the Democratic party in our district.
It's now one year later. Candidate Bill O'Brien has become House Speaker Bill O'Brien. Let's take a look at how his "political rhetoric" has matched up with his "solutions."
"Creating jobs": In the two months since the budget Speaker O'Brien crafted and championed became law, it has directly caused the loss of 1,376, mostly private sector, jobs.
"Educating our children": The House of O'Brien has been particularly hostile to the education of children, pursuing a raft of bills that included: pushing a constitutional amendment to eliminate the state's obligation to pay for schools; lowering the dropout age; abolishing kindergarten; eliminating educational public television, decimating Children In Need of Services; gutting the new bullying law; defining down what is an adequate education; and taking the least funded public college system in the country and cutting that funding in half.
"Looking out for our most vulnerable citizens": From the report on the vote for the budget Bill O'Brien called a "historic achievement":
The budget would cut $115 million from hospital reimbursements and would reduce funding for dozens of programs including domestic violence prevention, child-care subsidies, ServiceLink resource centers and community health centers. It eliminates mental health services for 7,000 people and eliminates services for children ordered by the court to get counseling.
...During yesterday's debate, Democrats introduced 14 amendments to restore money for mental health services, drug and alcohol treatment, career and technical schools, the university system, child-care subsidies, domestic violence programs, the consumer protection bureau, and other services. Each amendment was voted down.
(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)
UPDATE: More today on the "Creating jobs" solution:
St. Joseph Hospital laid off 44 people Wednesday, reduced hours for some employees and eliminated vacant positions in its latest response to state budget cuts.
..."It's the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in as a result of the state budget," [hospital spokesperson Melissa] Sears said. "We would not have needed to do this if the budget hadn't been created and passed in the manner it was."
Reviewing the Jack Kimball imbroglio, Republican state Rep. Lee Quandt says Kimball is the fall guy for the blowback from Speaker O'Brien's extreme agenda. Kimball needs to go, he concludes, but so does O'Brien.
So I can say that what caused the most problems in the Republican Party is the unprecedented attacks on our public sector employees: our teachers, our fire fighters, our police officers and state workers. This agenda is being manically pursued by Speaker Bully O'Brien and his little band of merry followers.
This has caused thousands of republican public sector employees to pull back from the party, and forced into working with the unions and democrats to defeat these people who are attacking us and our families; hence, the Republican Party is losing special elections. ... In short these people, mostly lead by O'Brien have done a good job at splintering the party and placing the lion's share of the blame on Kimball. There is no question Jack needs to go; but, so [does] O'Brien and his out of control leadership group.
I continue to watch the effort to remove Jack Kimball as chair with bemused but detached interest. Today I am perplexed as to why Ayotte, Bass, Guinta and Bragdon allowed themselves to be dragged into this mess. According to John DiStaso in the UL, Bill O'Brien hosted a conference call in which those "electeds" agreed to ask for Kimball's resignation. O'Brien then went trotting off to demand siad resignation. Kimball agreed to think about it, but over the weekend received enough support from other Republicans that he decideed to stand and fight.
if Ayotte, Bass, Guinta and Bragdon are concerned about the impact of the current Republican mess on their party and their colective futures, isn't it O'Brien they should be trying to remove, not Kimball? When you look at all the bad press that the NHGOP has received since January 1, only a small amount can be laid at Kimball's feet. It is Bill O'Brien who has turned the legislature into a circus, and it is Bill O'Brien who has been so over the top and off the wall, and who has either precipitated, or encouraged, the most fringe of the fringe elements of the Republicans in the legislature to do nutty things.
