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Tomorrow?s ?Midnight Magic Day? in Gorham is going to be the coolest Harry Potter release party in NH. Not only will it be jam packed with fun events celebrating the release of the seventh and (sniff sniff) final Harry Potter novel, but all the proceeds will be going to a great cause.
This is a very special fundraiser for the Gorham Town Hall Theater being organized by two high school seniors, Sarah McGillicuddy and Christopher Rodgers, Class of 2008. The Town Hall was badly in need of repairs when, in 2005, it was closed for renovations. By the fall of 2006, the first floor was completed with new facilities for the town offices and police department. But, sadly, there was no money to finish the glorious theater. For the past two years, the high school drama program, the Gorham Players, has had no place to perform. All shows are done in the cafeteria - no stage, no scenary, no dressing rooms. Sarah and Chris are anxious to do all they can to see the theater completed and ready for acting!
Governor Lynch showed his support by issuing a proclamation officially declaring July 20th Midnight Magic Day, and Mary Grand Pre, the illustrator for the US Harry Potter books, donated an original drawing that will be auctioned off in support of the theatre.
A recent UNH poll is showing some movement in the NH Primary. Bill Richardson's frequent visits to the state seem to be paying dividends, as his support in the state has made him more popular (warning, PDF) than 'top tier' candidate John Edwards:
Hillary Clinton, who has led the field of potential Democratic candidates among likely New Hampshire Democratic Primary voters for more than two years, remains in the lead. However, Clinton?s lead over Barak Obama has slipped to only 8 percentage points. Clinton currently is favored by 33% of likely Democratic Primary voters followed by Obama (25%), New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (10%), former North Carolina Senator John Edwards (8%) former Vice President Al Gore (8%), Delaware Senator Joe Biden (3%), Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich (3%), some other candidate (1%), and 9% are undecided. When Gore is dropped from the race, there is little change in the overall race dynamic ? Clinton still leads (36%), followed by Obama (27%), Richardson (11%), and Edwards (9%).
Aside from being really good news for Bill Richardson, this is a perfect example of why the NH Primary is important. Richardson's resume and his vigilant campaign efforts have given him a chance to get some attention nationally.
Maybe now the national media will have to realize that Clinton, Obama and Edwards aren't the only candidates running for the Democratic nomination.
Below the fold is the third Blue Hampshire reader Straw Poll for the Senate Primary. We are trying to do these on a monthly basis, so we can track the results as the election draws closer.
You must be logged in to vote. If you have an account, please log in and click on 'There's More' to vote. If you don't have an account but are a regular reader, feel free to sign up for a free user account and vote.
Obviously, this is not a scientific poll. If we get a large enough sample, however, we can still get a good deal of insight from it. For the purposes of this poll, I will only be listing declared candidates. If you would like to vote for a candidate who is not declared (like Jeanne Shaheen) please choose ?Other?.
Your votes will be anonymous, so you don't have to come out publicly in favor of one candidate or another. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the candidates.
Its June, and I have noticed a surprising lack of Gay Pride diaries for a progressive blog in a state that recently passed Civil Unions into law. Sure, my post on "Our Democratic Candidates and Gay Rights" could possibly fit the label... but I wanted something else.
Speaking of You Tube, I stumbled upon this something interesting happening over there for Pride.
To date, this video has generated over 800,000 views, 26,000 comments, and 270 video responses.
Hello, I'm Nicholas Gunn. I used to be nhcollegedem, but I've decided to start using my real name on this site.
Who am I?
Nobody special. I am 21 years old, with a few years of college behind me, currently living in Conway. I have no special experience or certification that should make you want to take what I say 'seriously'. My family isn't an influential or politically active one. . . my mother doesn't even vote.
However.
I do care greatly about the direction our state, and our country is going. I follow the news and politics very closely. And, I hope my writing speaks for itself.
I know this could come back to bite me some day. In the age of the internet, a few quick google searches will lead just about anyone to everything I've ever said about politics. A great deal of it could easily be taken out of context and be used against me at some point in the future. This is the price we pay for free speech.
I've been putting a great deal of thought recently into the role that blogs may be playing in the Senate Democratic Primary. Yes, I know I may need to get a more interesting life, but the attention given to Katrina Swett on the front pages of the Daily Kos and MyDD have given me some food for thought.
Lets start with a quick review of what I?m talking about.
Of all the Democrats looking at the Senate race in New Hampshire, none is worse than Leibercrat Katrina Swett. Arguing that she'll be the better candidate than Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, she says she's more popular and has more money.
. . .
Unfortunately, Lieberman isn't on the ballot in 2008. But this could be a delicious proxy fight. While the field isn't set yet, Marchand seems to be building support with the state's grass- and netroots groups. Barring further movement, I suspect Marchand will be the guy to watch in this race.
Mar 26, 2007
This front page diary by Kos on the Daily Kos is likely the first introduction many blog followers got to Katrina Swett. Right of the bat she is compared to, in the eyes of many blog readers, public enemy number two: Joe Lieberman. A not unfair comparison, given Swett's support of Lieberman in the 2004 Presidential Primary, and continued support of him last year in Connecticut's Senate campaign even though he wasn't the Democratic candidate.
To understand why this is significant, you must understand that Kos, and many other bloggers on the Daily Kos and other national Democratic Blogs, put a great deal of effort into defeating Joe Lieberman in 2004. To them, Joe Lieberman represents everything they despise in the Democratic Party, and everything they are trying to change in it. Joe Lieberman remained an unapologetic supporter of the Iraq War long after most of the American public, and the rest of the Democratic Caucus, had become painfully aware of how horribly wrong it was to get involved in the first place, and wanted out. Lieberman gleefully appeared on talk show after talk show openly criticizing his Democratic colleagues for opposing Bush on Iraq. All the wile with a D tagged on to his name.
So, by labeling Swett as a 'Liebercrat', it defines her as the very embodiment of everything many bloggers seek to eradicate from the Democratic Party. Most kossacks reading that post would think: this is the one we've got to oppose.
As I watched the NH Democratic Debates last night, one of the things I was struck by was the strong, unanimous stance by our candidates against 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'. They seemed to be trying to one-up each other in their support of a repeal, and continued their unified position as they talked about their support of Civil Unions.
As a gay man, and a Democrat, it was great to see my party unified in supporting my right to be, and to be treated equally under the law.
Well, I did some poking around and came across a report from the Human Rights Campaign, a GLBT rights organization, and learned the answer to a question that has been on the minds of many Blue Hampsters:
For the first time ever, all of the announced Democratic candidates stated their support for extending federal benefits and equal tax treatment, currently only available to heterosexual married couples, to same-sex couples who are parties to a union legally recognized by their state. Additionally, the candidates express unanimous support for extending federal benefits for same-sex couples and their children.
This groundbreaking and unified position of all Democratic candidates would override Section 3 of the so-called ?Defense of Marriage Act,? which provides that for federal purposes, "The word ?'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." (1 U.S.C. Section 7)
Any one of our candidates, if elected, would support a repeal of the part of DOMA that prevents equal treatment for GLBT couples under federal law. And, it doesn't end there.
According to the HRC Scorecard (warning, PDF), our Democratic candidates are unified in their support of a whole host of gay rights issues such as ENDA, hate crimes legislation, civil unions, coverage under FMLA, access to survivor benefits, equal tax treatment, domestic partner benefits, adoption, funding for HIV / AIDS, and comprehensive sex education.
Everything, in fact, except gay marriage. Dennis Kucinich deserves props for being the only candidate to support full marriage equality for Gays and Lesbians. But, personally, I can live without a president who supports full marriage equality in the short term as long as we get DOMA repealed.
So, now I'm in a pickle. I still very undecided, and gay rights issues won't help me decide.
Below the fold is the second Blue Hampshire reader Straw Poll for the Senate Primary. We are trying to do these on a monthly basis, so we can track the results as the election draws closer.
You must be logged in to vote. If you have an account, please log in and click on 'Discuss' to vote. If you don't have an account but are a regular reader, feel free to sign up for a free user account and vote.
Obviously, this is not a scientific poll. If we get a large enough sample, however, we can still get a good deal of insight from it. For the purposes of this poll, I will only be listing declared candidates. If you choose 'other' please explain why in the comments.
Your votes will be anonymous, so you don't have to come out publicly in favor of one candidate or another. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the candidates.
Many have been wondering what exactly is going through the minds of Congressional Democrats with regards to Iraq. Why, if the public is so firmly in support of an Iraq withdrawal, do they seem so reluctant to do much of anything to try and end the occupation? Are they really that scared of Mr. 28%?
No, I don?t think they are.
I think the answer has to do with electoral politics.
The Democrats were given a majority in congress last fall, in large part, because of the Iraq War. The public was angered by this war, and wanted to get rid of anyone responsible for it. So, they replaced incumbent Republicans with new Democrats full of promises to end the war. In a mid-term election, that gave Democrats a majority in the House and Senate.
But not the Presidency.
I suspect that there are some democrats who want to try the same thing next year. They want to run against the Iraq war, and they want to use this issue to win the Presidency. They want to make just enough noise to look like they?re doing something about Iraq, remind the public where Democrats and Republicans stand on this issue, but not enough to actually end the occupation.
I don?t think it?s a majority of the caucus, but with razor thin majorities, particularly in the Senate, a handful of votes can prevent any meaningful action on this issue.
But, if they succeed, at least we?ll begin to get out in 2009, right?
This morning comes news that Congresswoman Shea-Porter is considering supporting a "compromise" bill that would fund the occupation in Iraq through the end of September. This is the same bill that has left many progressives disappointed in our Democratic Leadership; we can't see the compromise in a bill that presents the President with a blank check and no accountability.
The same Union Leader article, right after informing us of Carol Shea-Porter's thoughts on this issue, reminds us that her seat is a major target of the NRCC in 2008. As if to give us a possible reason for the Congresswoman's position on the Iraq Supplemental.
Carol Shea-Porter: we've got your back.
New Hampshireites elected you last year, in part, to help us get out of Iraq. So far you've supported a variety of measures that tried to bring us closer to that goal, and we thank you for that. You've been representing us.
If you keep fighting the Iraq War, we'll keep supporting you. Even if the Democratic Leadership disagrees with you, we'll support you. If the Republican Noise Machine says you voted to "cut funding for our troops", we'll know better. Don't be intimidated. Keep voting to end this war every chance you get.
If you agree with me, call the Congresswoman and let her know:
The Wyoming GOP has said they will have their primary on the same day as the NH Primary, whenever that is. This leaves me with two questions:
Will they be able to make good on their plan? The date of the NH Primary will be set by Bill Gardner. He can set it very close to the day, possibly as little as three weeks before hand. Will Wyoming be able to react quickly enough to change their primary?
And secondly, will this finally stop NH Republicans from blaming the Democrats for 'loosing the primary'?
I was fortunate enough to meet Katrina Swett last night at the monthly meeting of the Plymouth Area Democrats, and I left with a mixed impression of her.
Of her Senate campaign, she said "I'm running for Senate because I want to play a small roll in getting this country back on track." She also said that she has nothing but respect for the other candidates running for the Senate nomination, and that she is committed to campaigning against John Sununu, not against Steve Marchand or Jay Buckey.
She talked about how committed she was to being a Democrat, saying "I was born a Democrat, and I've been a Democrat for 51 years." She talked about the Democratic and Republican presidential debates, and how disturbing it was to see the Republican candidates jumping over each other to say how they would overturn Roe v Wade, and how all but one of them would support torture.
Swett said she recently completed her PHD in Human Rights and Foreign Policy, and "If you had told me when I began my PHD that America wouldn't be seen as a model of human rights, and that we would go so far as to be debating the merits of torture, I wouldn't have believed you".
Mike stumbled across something interesting today, and I thought it was so interesting it was worth writing about. When you google "barrack obama myspace" this Blue Hampshire diary is the fourth result, right after the myspace pages.
Why does this matter?
Lets say you're a voter trying to find information about how a candidate stands on the issues. What's the first thing your going to do? In this super-connected age, your very likely to sit at your computer, and do a search for the candidate on your favorite search engine. This means that anyone trying to find information about Barack Obama's myspace problem could very likely stumble across my Blue Hampshire diary.
Blue Hampshire diarists have certainly made their impact on google's search results. Blue Hampshire diaries commonly turn up on the first or second pages in google searches about candidates and issues.
Here are a few examples:
If you google "john sununu iraq" two Blue Hampshire diaries show up on the second page, here and here. If you google "john sununu environment" it takes you to Blue Hampshire's John Sununu tag and this Blue Hampshire diary. If you google "john sununu health care" this Blue Hampshire diary shows up in the fist page of results. If you google "john sununu healthcare" this diary shows up along with it.
If you google "steve marchand iraq" this Blue Hampshire diary, and Blue Hampshire's Steve Marchand tag are the 2nd and 3rd results. If you google "steve marchand environment" this Blue Hampshire diary is the fourth result. If you google "steve marchand healthcare" thisdiary is the 2nd result, and this diary is the 3rd result.
If you google the same way for Katrina Swett, you are linked to Blue Hampshire diaries in the first page of results. If you do the same for Jay Buckey, Blue Hampshire diaries can be found on the 2nd page of results. I could keep going, but I think you get the picture.
This blog is creating a lasting record. Anyone who is looking for information about the candidates we are covering is very likely to make there way here easily through a google search. In the case of John Sununu, anyone searching for him will find our highly critical posts about his out of touch positions. In the case of his primary challengers, their positions on the issues will be clearly spelled out and it will be much easier to learn about them.
So, keep it up. What we are doing here can really make an impact.
Here's an update for my earlier post, CNN has released this statement about their coverage of the Presidential Debates:
Media Advisory
For Release: May 5, 2007
CNN to Make Presidential Debate Footage Available without Restrictions
As previously announced, CNN will team up with Hearst-Argyle's WMUR-TV and the New Hampshire Union Leader to host two presidential debates to be held in America's first primary state. The debate featuring Democratic candidates will be held on Sunday, June 3, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the Republican debate will be held on Tuesday, June 5, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Due to the historical nature of presidential debates and the significance of these forums to the American public, CNN believes strongly that the debates should be accessible to the public. The candidates need to be held accountable for what they say throughout the election process.
The presidential debates are an integral part of our system of government, in which the American people have the opportunity to make informed choices about who will serve them. Therefore, CNN debate coverage will be made available without restrictions at the conclusion of each live debate.
We believe this is good for the country and good for the electoral process. This decision will apply to all of CNN's presidential debates, beginning with the upcoming New Hampshire debates in June.
I agree, CNN, and thank you.
And, just as a clarification on my earlier post, the NHDP is not cosponsoring the June Democratic Debates. They, wisely, try to avoid cosponsoring anything with the Union Leader.
I noticed the Union Leader's brief, one paragraph description of Katrina Swett's fundraising yesterday and I wasn't satisfied. So, I've been digging through her FEC Report myself. I knew, of course, that she had a history of getting a lot money from out of state contributors. According to open secrets, in her 2002 US House race Swett raised only 5% of her money from in state.
So, none of this should surprise you.
According to the report, Swett raised $419,100 from 233 `Individual Contributors', with an average donation of $1,798.72. Of this, $395,600 or 94% has been raised from out of state contributors. A measly 23,500, 6% has been raised from NH Contributors.
If you don't include the Swett Family's contributions($13,500), only $10,000 was raised in state. This is only 2.5% of total non-Swett family contributions.
$333,500, or about 80% of her money came in the form of $2,300 checks, the maximum donation legally allowed. Many of these top donors gave more than $2,300, meaning that a great deal of this money cannot be used in the primary. If I did the math right, at least $123,600, or about 30% of Swett's money cannot be used in the Primary Election.
$40,300 of her money came from `Non-Party PACS or other Committees' including a $8,000 from Reps Berman, and Ackerman who seem to think they know more than the Democrats from New Hampshire who should be our next Senator.
I find this absolutely appalling.
Who do you want to work for, Ms. Swett? If elected, will you be working for the people of New Hampshire, or the people who donated 94% of the money to your campaign?
This is ridiculous. Who do these wealthy, out of state donors think they are? I'm glad that you want to help New Hampshire get rid of John Sununu next year. He's likely going to be getting some out of state money as well from his Loozerpalooza tour. But please, stay the heck out of our primary! Let NH Democrats choose our nominee, and then by all means help us get them elected.
I can't seem to find Steve Marchand's reports on the FEC website, but I'd like to see how his donations compare to Swett's. If his paint a different story, he'll look mighty appealing to me for the primary.
Missed the Republican Debates on MSNBC last night because you, erm, have a life?
Did you come here hoping to find some clips of the best or most horrifying moments?
So sorry, I can't help you. NBC news has put out a lovely set of rules concerning the airing and use of materials from the candidate debates:
USAGE RULES FOR USE OF AUDIO OR VIDEO OF MSNBC MATERIAL RULES FOR "THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES DEBATE" FROM MSNBC:
(The following rules apply to all media organizations that are not part of NBC)
News organizations, including radio, network television, cable television and local television may use excerpts of "The South Carolina Democratic Candidates Debate" subject to the following restrictions (internet use is not permitted):
What follows is a list of conditions that must be followed to show clips of the program on television. None of that matters, however, because internet use is not permitted. Of course, the law is on their side. They own the copyright on the material and therefore have a right to say how it can be used.
But is it right?
Should the viewing rights for the debates of those seeking to be the next President of the United States be restricted? Does NBC own the democratic process in this country?
KargoX over at the Daily Kos is calling on the DNC to demand that all of the `DNC sanctioned debates' become freely viewable in the public domain after their original airing. But what about our upcoming New Hampshire debates? What if they aren't `DNC sanctioned'?
I'm calling on the NHDP to take a leadership role in this fight. Demand that our upcoming New Hampshire Democratic Debates are freely viewable to the public on the internet after they air. This way voters from New Hampshire, and from around the country, will be able to more easily learn about our candidates. Show the rest of the country that New Hampshire Democrats like open, honest campaigns where the candidates are thoroughly vexed by every voter.
If you agree with me, why don't you contact NHDP Chair Ray Buckley. His email, which he posted on this site, is as follows:
I've done a little bit of blogging for Blue Hampshire on the presidential primary as its being waged on social networking websites, so I thought I'd weigh in on the recent Obama MySpace controversy.
By the time of Obama's official campaign announcement in late January, Anthony's Obama profile--which had the valuable url of myspace.com/barackobama--already had more than 30,000 friends, well more than the other contenders. Over the following weeks, it continued to grow at a rapid pace, generating lots of headlines about Obama winning the "MySpace primary." Yesterday, the profile had just over 160,000 friends. Today, that url has only about 12,000. And it's under new ownership. Joe Anthony, one of the super volunteers of the Connected Age, has lost control of the page he started to the professionals on Obama's staff.
?
The exact chronology of events is in dispute but the general trajectory is clear. As his volunteer workload grew to all hours, Anthony decided to email the Obama campaign asking to be paid in some way for his time. This set off discussions within the campaign about what to do, and ultimately they decided they had to control the page. Unfortunately for all concerned, the negotiations on how to do that were a disaster.
And, from the perspective of the Obama Campaign?
Coordination with a volunteer they had never met, who lived far from campaign HQ, and who controlled an asset of increasing value to their effort, was just not as seamless as they would like. Who knows who he is actually emailing, they worried. How do we know if the answers he is giving people are the right ones? Welcome to the age of voter-generated media, where a super-volunteer using popular online tools and sites can become as important as big donor or a top campaign surrogate.
So, when Joe Anthony asked to be compensated for his efforts, for a sum of $49,000, instead of negotiating Barack Obama's people simply had MySpace lock out Anthony's access to the page.
This is causing quite a ruckus in the Progressive Blogosphere, with some of the most widely read progressive bloggers chiming in. The DailyKos, MyDD, and Eschaton generally share the same outrage over this story:
Yea, $49K to deliver 160,000 supporters; that's .32 cents each for opted in and engaged activsts. A bargain. [The amount was actually up to $44K] $50,000 is what it takes to advertise on the Liberal Ad Network for two weeks. It's a minor expenditure in the grand scheme of things.
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