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Tell your Republican friends in the first CD that the most important right-wing institution in this state refuses to support the Republican nominee in their own district.
Incredible.
Time to vote for "the rest of us." Vote Carol Shea-Porter!
I'll revise and update if I'm wrong, but as of the morning before election day I do not see an endorsement of former Manchester Mayor and Republican congressional nominee Frank Guinta from the state's largest, most right-wing, most Manchester-centric newspaper.
The New Hampshire Union Leader has rejected Frank Guinta. (Of course the relentlessly right-wing UL would never endorse Carol - so let's not pretend there is some phony equivalence game to play here.)
Let me repeat that: the New Hampshire Union Leader has rejected Frank Guinta.
The most important and influential right-wing institution in the state of New Hampshire refuses to endorse the Republican nominee for Congress in its own district.
I can only imagine that, in an alleged wave that gives Republicans a chance to take over that congressional seat, the only thing keeping the Union Leader from doing its part to help the GOP would be the fact that Frank Guinta cannot adequately explain the ownership of the $355,000 he put into his campaign.
This tells me in no uncertain terms that, win or lose, the story of Frank Guinta's mystery money is NOT GOING AWAY. And if he wins, New Hampshire could well be facing the shame of a disgraced congressman.
Let's make sure he doesn't win:
GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV!
Call NHDP at 603-225-6899 to find out how to help.
Call the Shea-Porter campaign at 603-531-9653 to find out how to help.GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV! GOTV!
You would think an instinctively right-wing, Manchester centric, statewide newspaper would have endorsed former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta by now, despite conspicuously rejecting him in the primary.
But unless I missed something, the Union Leader has been suspiciously quiet.
Speaking of which - GOTV!
Call NHDP at 603-225-6899 to find out how to help.
Call the Shea-Porter campaign at 603-531-9653 to find out how to help. ALL HANDS ON DECK! WE CAN WIN THIS RACE!
This is pretty amazing. I think I'll just get out of the way and let the letter below do the talking. It was sent to the Hodes campaign (and reprinted here with the author's permission) after Paul called out the Union Leader for their absurd position on prohibiting same-sex wedding announcements:
Rep. Rhodes,
I must confess that I no longer live at the address I gave. I was born and raised in Claremont my entire adolescence, but left as soon as I got old enough for NYC. The reason I left was because I'm gay, and being in NH is incredibly rough when you're gay.
Recently I joined Dan Savage's It Gets Better Campaign, my video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... and in turn ended up being featured in the NY Times, which is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10...
If you have time I would be honored if you watched my video.
I'm contacting you today because of the Union Leader, my uncle's newspaper. Yes, Joe is my uncle, technically great uncle. I saw what he published today and was absolutely disgusted. He has the freedom of the press, he can do whatever he wants, but to sit there and try to feign niceties, "not anti-gay", repulses me on every level.
You can not sit there and preach that gay love is inherently inferior to straight love and wonder why kids are being bullied, literally, to death. Joe has helped dehumanize the gay population, and it's people like him and the vitriol they spew that made my rearing so incredibly difficult. Grade school bullies are enabled by their parent's opinions, and societies morality as a whole, when you silently attack the LGBT population at the ballot box you are a bully, a weak one.
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you speaking out on this issue. Don't let him off the hook, keep pressing him for answers. What he's doing is so archaic it's hard to believe his piece was published in 2010.
If you need any help with LGBT issues I'm available, I've begun to speak at schools because it is an issue that means the world to me. There is nothing I care more about than equality for everyone, and fighting this kind of hate speech is such an important part of it.
Thank you Rep. Hodes, I wish there was more of you.
Mr. Calvin StowellNew
Calvin's moving "It Gets Better" video is below the fold.
Paul Hodes is not going to let the Union Leader's bizarre position in this state or his high-pressure senate race get in the way of standing up for what's right:
I read with deep disappointment that the Union Leader has decided it will not publish the wedding announcement for Greg Gould and Aurelio Tine. The couple is legally getting married this weekend in Portsmouth. Last year New Hampshire legalized same-sex marriage to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity.
It is reprehensible that the Union Leader would exclude legal marriage in New Hampshire from publication because of their right-wing agenda. Legitimate minds can disagree over policy but once the law is settled, the paper should put aside differences and allow all couples to have equal access to their publication.
Mr. Gould and Mr. Tine will become legally married this weekend and they should have the same opportunities as everyone in New Hampshire to have their marriage publicized and recognized. The Union Leader's disgraceful policy of exclusion harkens to a different time in this country when people were denied opportunity because of their race, religion and ethnic origin.
Standing ovation, Congressman! And Paul is absolutely correct: you can't claim to be a paper for the entire state of New Hampshire, while simultaneously wishing away the law of the land.
(The UL goes into full Juan Williams mode. - promoted by Dean Barker)
The following statement appeared on the WMUR website (after the fold): http://www.wmur.com/r/25480077...
Joe McQuaid is wrong - New Hampshire has never been a referendum state and he should know better than to claim this law should be subject to a referendum.
What Governor Lynch said before he signed the bill into law is irrelevant to whether the UL should publish gay wedding announcements. Act like a mature adult, Joe.
Joe, you are anti-gay. There are years of editorials proving this.
I have been told that the UL may be violating Human Rights statutes, from someone who works in that office.
The UL publishes articles about many topics they disagree with already, such as articles about Democrats and liberals. This arguement is meaningless.
This statement will be adding fuel to the outrage over this policy.
The Union Leader is hoping you have a short memory.
The Union Leader, when an election is not two weeks away::
Rep. Charlie Bass must've sustained a head injury in the "thumpin'" Republicans received at the hands of angry voters last week. He's thinking of a comeback.
What Granite State Republicans need is a house cleaning, not a rearranging of old furniture.
...Finally, Republicans need to find the next generation of candidates. Reps. Charlie Bass and Jeb Bradley are not among them.
Told you we needed to save it. Can't wait to see how they defend the indefensible Frank Guinta.
Today the North Country took another hit to its economy. This appeared on the UL's online site.
GORHAM - Fraser Papers announced this afternoon it has terminated an agreement to sell the paper mill in Cascade Flats and will close the plant in October. According to a statement posted on the Fraser Papers website the purchaser of the mill failed to secure sufficient financing to complete the transaction. "The company has begun contacting other parties to determine their interest in acquiring the mill," the statement reads. In the meantime, the mill will be closed, according to Fraser. "The company plans to shut down the Gorham mill indefinitely on or about October 13 depending upon whether acceptable orders can be obtained," the company said. The decision reflects market conditions and not any lack of commitment or dedication on the part of the workers at the plant, said Fraser.Union Leader
If this is not a bad enough blow the senate today took up S3816 Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act. As reported on Daily Kos
Instead of grandstanding in the Senate today on what would have been a politically smart fight, tax cuts for the middle class, the Senate voted on an offshoring bill that they knew every Republican, and some Dems, would vote against. Which they did this morning, filibustering the bill 53-45. Yes, some political points could be gained by saying the Republicans once again voted to protect companies that ship jobs overseas.Daily Kos
Senator Sanders rightly points out who and why this bill was defeated.
Today, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) answered questions from reporters about the legislation's demise. He told them that, "of course," NAM and the Chamber opposed the offshoring bill because they "much prefer paying people in Vietnam 20 cents an hour than American workers a living wage. Think Progress
It's past time to turn Free Trade into Fair Trade and make those trading Partners (?) adhear to the rules already in place.
One might expect from the appearance of Pres. Obama in the second sentence of today's Union-Leader op-ed by Amity Shlae that her piece would discuss federal policy in some significant way. However, after the president is used as a symbol of tax policy generally, he and his administration disappear until the final paragraph. I could (and yet may) write something about how terribly wrong Ms. Shlae's purported analysis of Obama's economic policies has been proven by everyone from the CBO to McCain campaign economist Mark Zandi, but today Ms. Shlae today turns her attention to entirely mischaracterizing (or just not understanding) the impact of state taxation policy - walk-on appearance by Pres. Obama notwithstanding.
which is the better path to female empowerment -- watching a play in which women openly discuss their body parts, or learning how to shoot a bull's eye at 50 yards?
Answer: Neither. The better path to female empowerment is to ignore the advice of men in Union Leader editorials trying to gin up support for someone who would constrain the rights all American women have over their own bodies.
And that's why people think he's Muslim. So can you blame them, really?
Also, because what he says and does in the reality-based world doesn't match the FAUX News/hate radio/Union Leader alternate reality.
Also, because people don't read newspapers anymore.
This has got to be in the top ten of of the all-time worst post-Loeb UL editorials.
When you think about how many people in New Hampshire (albeit an ever diminishing number) wake up to find this kind of manure waiting for them, it is truly a miracle that Democrats have managed to gain a foothold in this state.
The Union Leader stops short of ignoring the Constitution, but still goes there, under the banner of "sensitivity":
What is so offensive is that the people behind this project know the anguish it is causing, most painfully to those who lost friends and loved ones in the attacks nine years ago, and they just don't seem to care.
Hey, UL: New Yorkers are a lot tougher - and a lot more tolerant - than you can possibly imagine. Some of them even know Muslims who aren't terrorists! I still have more than enough Flatlander in me to say that with some authority.
Stoopid, bigoted, anti-Muslim election gimmicks by wannabe presidents. Shame on the UL for following along for the ride. That is how we will lose the War on Terror.
Annie Kuster said that the "Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans have wrecked our economy."
The Union Leader calls that "economic illiteracy." OK, then:
When the Union Leader uses its editorial page to turn reality upside down in an effort to cut you down a notch, you know they are worried about you. It's their seal of approval, in my view. Congrats, Annie!
The right-wing and their media enablers still doing their darndest to derail the Republican candidate with the best general election chances against Paul Hodes.
Maybe if they close their eyes and ears and shout LALALA long enough, they can pretend the electorate in the Granite State is as far right-wing as they are?
Even the rabidly right-wing comment section is appalled.
Adding: This really is the Archie Bunker election cycle for the GOP and their media allies, isn't it? Or, one could use less charitable terminology.
Addinger: What does it mean that New Hampshire's only statewide newspaper put out a headline that, on this mean partisan blog, would likely have gotten the author banned?
Anyone want to start up a non right-wing statewide paper? Pindell:
The Union Leader remains the state's largest newspaper, but a 6 month look into their circulation shows Monday through Friday circulation at 49,357. The study was conducted by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the industry standard organization that compiles these numbers for advertisers.
...In 1990 the paper celebrated the fact they had a circulation of 100,000.
Also, while BH is obviously nowhere near the big boy nat'l blogs or the readership of a UL (even in decline), this week we passed four million page views.
In a pointless Clickitico piece on the DCCC's latest ad money strategy, buried down in the middle, is this context, which I have found to be true of both parties' committees' strategies for several cycles now:
Democratic officials stress that the omission of Shea-Porter and Kratovil from the first wave of media buys doesn't mean they won't get air support from the party in the future. The current television reservations are also subject to revision, meaning the DCCC could shift its targets as the fall campaign gets closer.
Clickitico's headline:
Who's not on the DCCC list
The Union Leader, which has some kind of publishing arrangement with Clickitico, comes up with their own version of the truth for a headline in their reprint:
Politico: Shea-Porter snubbed by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
How sad it is that the media organ that wants to be New Hampshire's statewide paper of record can't shake its Shea-Porter Derangement Syndrome.
Our liberal media, ladies and gentlemen.
Adding: a reader sends in this obvious, and excellent point, I should have made up front: there are about 17 GOPers beating themsleves up right now to be the CD1 nominee, and they'll be at it until September. Why would the D Trip want anything to do with this race until it knows who the (possibly broke, by then) challenger is?
If you can't even get the typically far right-wing comment section of the Union Leader to follow you down the rabbit hole of phony hit jobs, I think you can officially declare the shark jumped:
When my daughter was about 12, she made the paper for an achievement, and received a letter from Senator Greg commending her. I thought it was nice. I guess the proper thing to have done was to have launched an investigation into how he got her address and make all kind of allegations of illegal behavior. I think the one who is "exceptionally odd" and "most peculiar" here is the UL for harping on such an innocuous event as though it were the crime of the century. Why they keep dredging up reasons to write editlrials on this is the true mystery.
- Kerry, Londonderry
Adding: a reader chimes in to say he thinks by his count this makes ten UL editorials or articles or mentions in columns on this non-issue. Since it is backfiring so spectacularly on them, I hope the Sean Mahoney wing of the Union Leader will keep writing more!
But she just plays the good little girl and supports what she's told to.
That's in response to Shaheen's effort to get the economy moving again. Apparently now that our priorities in DC are tilted towards helping people again, there must be no help at the expense of Austerity.
It is true we have a significant deficit. Bush added heavily to it with his pet war unrelated to 9/11 and his tax cuts to the wealthiest. Cuts championed all the way by John E. Sununu, who just played the good little boy (he was the youngest senator, after all) and supported what he was told to.
