GOP Planning to Eat Its Own?

by: Dean Barker

Thu Jul 28, 2011 at 20:01:27 PM EDT

O'Brien can use [his PAC] money to finance his campaign to stay at the helm and send checks to past and hopefully-future supporters.

What will be most revealing is whether O'Brien uses any of the cash next summer to support primary challenges for his biggest critics in the GOP caucus like Rindge Republican Rep. Susan Emerson and Exeter GOP Rep. Lee Quandt.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see checks going to Rindge and Exeter," said one GOP operative.

Reps. Emerson and Quandt both represent the very few remaining Republicans in the House who dare to be independent-minded now and again, and who have advocated for (and failed to achieve) a more moderate approach in regard the the budget.

The budget, which has already directly caused and will continue to cause significant job loss in New Hampshire.

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)

"Time Will Tell"

by: Dean Barker

Tue Jul 26, 2011 at 20:59:47 PM EDT

New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O'Brien was quick to distance himself from accountability:

"Whether or not this was planned before or after the budget came into effect, time will tell..."

"This is a terribly sad day in health care," said Doug Dean, president and CEO of Elliot Health Care. "No one wants to see hard-working people, who have done nothing but perform their jobs for this community, suffer from a reduction in force brought on by the failure of the state to manage their own expenses."

   ..."The consequences of the state's failure to pay us for taking care of the poor are truly devastating, particularly as the state changes its course from the past 20 years and walks away from needed matching federal dollars," Dean said.

"This doesn't come as a surprise," said Lynch spokesman Colin Manning. "The budget proposed by the governor was very different from the one passed by the Legislature. The governor took a more balanced approach and did not propose such a drastic cut to hospitals."

"We are determined to stand up for our patients for the committed people who deliver care to them. This lawsuit comes after we have exhausted all other avenues to express to the state Legislature the impact of these draconian budget cuts," he said.

(h/t Harrell)

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)

Voter Photo ID: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

by: William Tucker

Mon Jul 25, 2011 at 20:00:00 PM EDT

An eligible voter who goes to the polls to vote on Election Day should be able to have his or her vote count on Election Day. SB 129 creates a real risk that New Hampshire voters will be denied their right to vote.

House Speaker O'Brien pooh-poohed his concern.

"It certainly is not a major imposition to ask for a driver's license or other ID in order to protect the integrity of voting."

h/t: @NashuaDemocrats

Stephen Colbert Takes on Bill O'Brien

by: Dean Barker

Thu Jul 21, 2011 at 07:35:28 AM EDT

O'BRIEN (video): Voting as a liberal. That's what kids do. they don't have life experience. They just vote their feelings.

COLBERT: Yes. College kids lack the life exeperience to vote. It takes years of soul-crushing disappointment to be dead enough inside to elect someone like William O'Brien

Can't get the embed to work here, so click the link for the video.

Bill O'Brien Tax Hike to Cripple Hospitals

by: Dean Barker

Tue Jul 05, 2011 at 08:26:50 AM EDT

One of the biggest is New Hampshire's hospitals and health care facilities:

It's unlikely that any applause about the particulars of the budget will come from the state's 26 hospitals, including Exeter Hospital and Portsmouth Regional Hospital. What the Legislature calls "no new taxes" is a euphemism to the N.H. Hospital Association, which accuses the Legislature of enacting a $250 million tax on hospitals to balance the budget.

Hospitals will be left to cut back on services, many of them already subsidized programs for the neediest patients;

...Cuts in mental health care and community health care will lead to patients being forced "in our emergency room," which is the costliest form of care.

I think we need to be clear-headed when assigning the lack of care Bill O'Brien and his enablers exhibited when crafting the budget.

Our public servants forced an immoral fiscal burden on the state that will cause unnecessary and irreparable harm.  This is not serving the public.

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)

Two Videos of the NH Budget Process

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 17:24:06 PM EDT

And a true story about Speaker Bill O'Brien and his priorities that everyone should know:

Created by the Granite State Progress State House Monitoring Project

House Lessons

by: Dean Barker

Wed Jun 15, 2011 at 20:14:25 PM EDT

One of these things is just like the other

by: Lucy Edwards

Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 14:52:14 PM EDT

So much for transparency, so much for sunshine laws, and so much for the much-ballyhooed conservative respect for state tradition and norms.

National conservatives want collective bargaining rights stripped in Wisconsin and other states, they want that demand met now, today, and the only question Wisconsin Republicans had when given the directive to jump was "how high?"

NH House Leadership Continues to Hide from Public: "We don't need to hear them again."

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Thu Jun 09, 2011 at 23:50:04 PM EDT

House Rule 43 and RSA 91:A both call for such. But the leadership of the NH House and Senate moved forward today despite little to no public notice about legislative meetings that will ultimately shape the future of our state. A meeting about one bill this afternoon still did not have an official posting by the time the committee had wrapped up business for the day.

Committees of conference, of course, are seen by many as inside baseball. But for consumer advocacy groups and any Granite Stater seeking to be involved in setting (and protecting) strong public policy, they are a critical piece of the legislative process.

THE committee of conference - the one to hash out HB 1 and HB 2, New Hampshire's state budget - was among those that convened today even though notification was only given mere hours before it began.

Rep. Ken Weyler opened the hearing with a little speech that nicely summed up the lack of notice:

"We all had many hours of public testimony. We heard many of the travails of the public. We don't need to hear them again."

Weyler also gave direction that the common practice of standing against the wall when seats are all filled would not be allowed, and took a pre-emptive blow against any activity from the crowd:

"Our chief of security is going to make sure we don't have any disturbances and any, anything that's going to interrupt. We also appreciate the state troopers for being here to keep order because we don't have the time for any disturbances or any demonstrations."

Weyler, of course, is the same legislator who presided over a cowboy amendment to the budget bill earlier this spring that would have made workers at-will employees at the close of their contract. When hundreds turned out for the committee vote, Weyler and House Leadership refused to move to a larger room and instead forced people to line the halls and staircases in crowded masses.

It's hard to decide whether its shame or uncaring that most drives Speaker O'Brien and his extreme leadership team to avoid public transparency.

From moving the original House vote on the budget in hopes of circumventing the 5,000 strong public rally to ignoring their own House rules, this session has been an incredible display of secret meetings, misguided policy priorities and questionable ethics.

Ironically, just a day earlier thousands of petitions were delivered to the Speaker's office, calling on him to give at least 48 hours advance notice before the House veto vote on the right to work for less bill. If O'Brien can't manage 24 hours public notice, 48 must seem like an eternity to him. All the same, the petition can be found here.

Granite State Progress got word early in the day that something was amiss and began to print periodic, time-stamped listings from the General Court website as well as actual photos of the "official" board of announcements in the Clerk's office concerning the committees of conference. More information can be found in our press statement, located here.

New England Right To Work Committee: A Post Office Box and a Lobbyist

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Wed Jun 08, 2011 at 14:43:00 PM EDT

Ever seen the office or webpage for the New England Right To Work Committee, a front group for corporate special interests pushing anti-worker legislation in New Hampshire?

Neither had we. Until now.

Yes, that's right. It's a post office box. In Concord, actually. Is there an office? Not that we've been easily able to find. Or a website? Nil. According to the Secretary of State's lobbyist filings, the NE Right to Work for Less Committee is located at PO Box 4076 in Concord. It employs one lobbyist in the state.

Interestingly, the National Right to Work Committee had another active lobbyist in the state until June 1st, at which time paperwork was withdrawn from the SOS office. Perhaps they realized that New Hampshire is not a state that will give up its rights easily.

We'd share more, but there doesn't appear to be any since the committee is not registered as a non-profit in New Hampshire and as we know from an election complaint currently under investigation by the NH Attorney General's office, being transparent is not something they do well.

Speaker O'Brien's holds Funeral Attendees Hostage

by: Mike Hoefer

Wed Jun 08, 2011 at 10:06:45 AM EDT

Does the funeral of a beloved Republican Governor give Speaker Bill O'Brien the opportunity he has been waiting for? Since Governor Lynch vetoed O'Brien's plan (HB474) for NH to become the only eastern state north of the Mason-Dixon Line to strip workers rights to organize, O'Brien has been scheming for ways to "reduce the denominator" needed to pass the 2/3's present and voting test.

Apparently some lawmakers are afraid to attend Walter Peterson's Funeral out of fear that Speaker O'Brien will call for the override vote while the are a way.

In a must read article by Michael McCord at Seacoast Online Republican Representative Susan Emerson says she is disappointed that O'Brien did not adjust the house calendar to allow representatives to attend the funeral without fear of the override vote coming to the floor.

"(Peterson) and I were very close, and though it was tempting, I will be in Concord to sustain the veto if it comes up,"

Despite the fact 60% of NH supports workers rights to organize and bargain, Speaker O'Brien and his "Leadership" team, working for outside interests & ideology, are using every strong-armed tactic in the book to win their fight against constitutional checks and balances.

Speaker O'Brien, have you no shame? Are you not attending the Governor's Funeral?*

You don't have the votes. The people of NH do not want this legislation passed. It's time to move on.

* Update 10:30am: I am hearing that today's event is private and there will be a public event tomorrowSunday. Perhaps Speaker O'Brien will be in attendance then. Regardless, out of respect for the Peterson Family, O'Brien could have guaranteed not to have the override vote today so those who planned to attend today could do so without fear.

Why Don't Reps Push Back Against the "Bully"?

by: William Tucker

Fri Jun 03, 2011 at 14:36:30 PM EDT

Stories of GOP state representatives being threatened and browbeaten by Speaker O'Brien continue to leak out. A few -- Lee Quandt, Matt Quandt, Tim Copeland -- have publicly fought back. James Pindell asks why more haven't resisted?

[W]hy are people here such wimps? Think about it for a minute. You are a state Representative making a $100 a year. You believe what you believe and then someone disagrees and yells at you. This person isn't your boss. This person is some elected leader of a party. You don't serve them, you serve the people of your district. They can't fire you and they really don't have many ways to punish you....

The fact that we so rarely have push back against the "bully" may be proof we aren't mean enough.

They could take a lesson from GOP Rep. Susan Emerson. She just filed an Legislative Service Request (LSR) for a bill "prohibiting bullying in the state house and legislative office building."

Also filed under Miscellany, Blue

Sarah Palin Blasts GOP Supermajority Statehouse

by: Dean Barker

Fri Jun 03, 2011 at 06:44:26 AM EDT

She visited Seabrook's Yankee Fisherman's Cooperative before the dinner and said fishermen told her they want the opportunity to "appropriately exploit" the area's natural resources.

"The government is getting in the way of that and kind of quashing that entrepreneurial spirit," she said.

Will Carey gave up helping stage Broadway shows four years ago to stand knee deep in water, seven days a week, farming oysters in Little Bay. Now that he's about to turn a profit, shellfish harvesting could be shut down after lawmakers slashed the funding required to test the water.

"I'd lose everything. I'd be in debt the rest of my life," said Carey, 32, of Newmarket, who had hoped to pay back his $150,000 in start-up loans in the next three years. "It's terrifying."

A $302,000 spending cut in the $10.2 billion budget the House approved last week would shut down the state's commercial and recreational shellfish fishing beginning July 1.

O'Brien Purges House Leadership of RTW Opponents

by: William Tucker

Wed Jun 01, 2011 at 15:45:25 PM EDT

Zandra reports House Deputy Majority Leader Matt Quandt (Exeter) and House Whip Tim Copeland (Stratham) have resigned their GOP house leadership posts. Both men have been outspoken in their opposition to the so-called right-to-work legislation promoted by Speaker O'Brien. Both sharply criticized O'Brien on their way out.

“Our family is made of staunch Republicans,” Matt Quandt said. “We are not here to blindly follow a leader who is rejecting those values to please a group of transplants who have no understanding of New Hampshire tradition.”

“I’m a retired state worker and know first-hand what these attacks on workers will mean to middle class families in New Hampshire,” Rep. Tim Copeland said. “I cannot sit by and participate in a leadership team that is bent on destroying the strong labor force and good benefits that we have in our state. I cannot condone the incredible disrespect that Bill O’Brien has shown to other members of our caucus who are trying to represent their constituents.”

Speaker O'Brien's Chickens Come Home to Roost

by: William Tucker

Wed Jun 01, 2011 at 06:00:00 AM EDT

House Speaker O'Brien is angry at Gov. Lynch for not keeping him in the loop and consulting with him about his plan to address the budget deficit for the current fiscal year.

The House leader said he was miffed that Lynch and his budget team showed reporters how they would cope with the shortfall with a plan that includes tapping some dedicated funds.

“I’ve heard dedicated funds is one option; he knows that takes legislative approval,” O’Brien said.

“Where he is going to get this approval where he won’t talk to the house is beyond our ability to understand.”

Gov. Lynch is refusing to "talk to the house?" Here's a little background.

April 17, 2011: Lynch, the popular four-term Democrat, extended the first olive branch to the first-term House boss, offering to meet in his office on a weekly basis.

The sessions included the House and Senate presiding officers and majority leaders.

But Lynch revealed that O’Brien canceled them more than a month ago.

“He said they weren’t very productive. I don’t know if it was something I said or someone else in the room,’’ Lynch said, half jokingly.

Inflating the Bubble

by: Dean Barker

Wed Jun 01, 2011 at 05:26:09 AM EDT

But yesterday he and self-styled constitutional expert Dan Itse soaked up attention from Michelle Bachmann on the same topic.

The story contained in this tweet is a prime example of how the POTUS primary circus keeps the bubble inflated for the radical right-wingers in control of the New Hampshire House.

It will become ever harder for the House of O'Brien to realize it has an Bill O'Brien problem when the more demagogic of the presidential hopefuls come by to flatter them for support. This, in turn, will ensconce them even deeper in the bunker of their "Rightness" when it comes time to work with the Senate or Governor.  Which, in turn, means that future policy battles will make the Right-to-Work fiasco look like a preview before the main event.

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)

Is Speaker O'Brien Plotting a Surprise Veto Vote on Thursday?

by: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Fri May 27, 2011 at 11:49:20 AM EDT

Reeling from his devastating and public setback in a House Special Election last week and his inability to find enough votes to support his extreme anti-worker agenda this week, NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien may be relying on another tactic: secrecy.

The House calendar released yesterday has a curious listing for a committee meeting on Thursday. The Redress of Grievances - a favored committee of Speaker O'Brien and one chaired by his most ardent supporters - scheduled a work session for "10:00 am Or fifteen minutes after the House session, should there be any." [Bold included in House calendar.]

Nowhere else in the House Calendar does it reference the possibility of a House Session on Thursday, though it does note that the last day for the House to act on Senate bills is Thursday, June 2nd. The phrase was not included in the Redress listings last week, so it is obvious it was not a simple error of reposting an old committee announcement.

This raises questions about whether Speaker Bill O'Brien is plotting for a surprise - and low turnout - House session on Thursday in an attempt to pass anti-worker legislation HB 474, the right to work for less bill.

O'Brien's Contempt for Democracy, Part III

by: Dean Barker

Fri May 27, 2011 at 06:06:40 AM EDT

But the problem with contempt for democracy is that the less respect you show the process of a government by the people, the less they respect you.

The Portsmouth Herald:

Bully House speaker shows his true colors

...this is a defining moment. We already knew O'Brien was a bully, and he bullied members of his own party again Wednesday when they urged him to call a vote. But now he has further defined himself as sneaky, manipulative and willing to do whatever he needs to do to give the out-of-state puppeteers holding his strings the victory they want.

We, the voters, don't like sneaky behavior. We respect people who have informed opinions and then stand behind them regardless of which way the political wind is blowing.

O'Brien failed to win the vote by bullying House members, he failed to win the vote by appealing to party loyalty, so now he is just going to try to sneak through this awful legislation.

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)

Bluff, Bluster and O'Brien (UPDATED)

by: Dean Barker

Tue May 24, 2011 at 21:51:59 PM EDT

If House Speaker Bill O'Brien doesn't hold a vote tomorrow on Right-to-Work-for-Less (as NHPR reports), then House Speaker bill O'Brien doesn't have the votes to overturn Governor Lynch's veto.

(Despite bribes and threats from House "leadership," and negative robocalls against GOPers who don't play along from the Republican Liberty Caucus.)

Which failure, in turn, renders all his bluff and bluster about GOP Supermajorities meaningless.

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)

UPDATE: Using Landrigan as conduit, NHGOPers are claiming that they are short the votes needed and may put off the vote so Rep. Hess can enjoy his trip to Europe, or something:

Publicly and privately, leading Republican legislators and pro-right-to-work organizations confided Tuesday that O'Brien was "five to 10 votes short" of the two-thirds majority needed to override Lynch's veto of the anti-union measure (HB 474).

O'Brien will not bring the veto forward today for the pivotal test vote if he does not think the votes are there to override, confirmed Shannon Shutts, House information officer.

..."I think the speaker could be five to 10 votes shy right now and the absolute right thing to do is sit tight and bring it out when the vote looks more favorable," [Kevin] Smith said. "I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it put off."

GOP Rep Takes Offense to O'Brien's "Take a Walk" Order

by: Dean Barker

Tue May 24, 2011 at 06:10:13 AM EDT

And earlier we learned that he has ordered those he can't bribe or threaten to "talk a walk" on the vote in question.

Turns out these bully tactics are not working out so well:

We first reported that at O'Brien's urging, House chairmen were giving instructions to their committee members that getting lost for the vote was an option.

...Some, such as Derry Republican Rep. Phyllis Katsiakores, took offense that the request was asking her "not to do my job'' and had never been made before.

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)