Why New Hampshire is indebted to Senator Charles Morse

Charles Morse, R-Salem, deserves high praise, not only across his Senate District, but across all of New Hampshire. Because of his efforts and leadership as the Finance Chairman of the New Hampshire Senate, we have a budget we can be proud of. It is a budget that raises zero taxes or fees. It is a budget based on reasonable revenue estimates, a budget that lives within its means, and a budget that takes care of our most vulnerable citizens.

This budget, crafted by Senator Morse, has received praise across the political spectrum. With broad bipartisan support, it unanimously passed the New Hampshire Senate, and had a wide margin of victory in the New Hampshire House, with just a few dissenters. The Morse budget requires strong leadership and management in order to keep it on the straight and narrow, and I hope for New Hampshire’s sake that Governor Hassan is able to manage this biennial budget.

When election time comes again in a year and a half, remember the strong leadership Senator Morse delivered for the State of New Hampshire. Remember the investments made by the Morse budget in our State’s future, and I pray you remember that any economic progress made in the next two years are not due to Governor Hassan’s efforts. They will be due nearly entirely to the Morse Budget, and all Granite Staters are indebted to Senator Charles Morse for his leadership and management work in delivering this great pathway for New Hampshire’s prosperity.

Representative Joe Sweeney
Rockingham District 08

What Will Gomez Do?

Gabe Gomez won’t flirt with a New Hampshire run like Scott Brown after he fails to win a partial Senate term today, but here’s one for those of you who keep one-if-by-land/two-if-by-sea watch on Massachusetts:

Massachusetts and neighboring New Hampshire have a history of GOP businessman and upstart candidates running for high office as outsiders and disappearing when they lose. If Gomez is really a Republican – and he is suspect due to professions in a letter to Gov. Patrick seeking appointment to the seat after John Kerry’s nomination as Secretary of State – he will build the party as finance chairman for someone else’s statewide run and a candidate for a lower office. Gomez has less political capital than Romney...

My full Rare op-ed: Why Gomez Will Lose Reagan’s Massachusetts

NH State Budget Deal Reached

House and Senate budget negotiators reached a deal early Thursday morning - around 3:30am - and returned later Thursday to put the finishing stamp of approval on it.

The result? The House Democrats caved on nearly every one of the Senate Republican priorities.

More detail to follow soon.

Follow up: New Poll Says 57% Fear Government Will Use NSA Data to Harass Political Opponents

Rasmussen is out today with a new poll suggesting that the majority of Americans believe - or excuse us, FEAR - that the government will use NSA data to harass political opponents.

Fear is Rasmussen’s word, not ours. In fairness, the word fear does not appear in the survey question.

But still, MORE THAN HALF of Americans FEAR government targeting as a result of the collection of data.

This is a bad PR metric. Weeks after the IRS targeting scandal was exposed, Americans have made the connection to the NSA story.

Tap It: The NSA Slow Jam

Thanks to Sen. Rand Paul for posting this to facebook today.  As he puts it, “Here’s a humorous look at a serious matter.”

Do you feel more secure or more digitally naked as a result of the cover being blown on the NSA surveillance program?

It’s time to fisk Kelly Ayotte’s lame Gang of 8 Op-Ed

On Sunday, our otherwise admirable U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte announced her support for the Gang of 8′s immigration bill, which provides for immediate legalization of illegal aliens in exchange for a promise of increased border security, on Face the Nation.  She followed it up with an op-ed explaining her position.

Nobody here is calling Kelly Ayotte a RINO, so spare us the indignance.  But let’s take a close look at what she has openly embraced as her position.  All emphasis is mine.

Everybody agrees that America’s immigration system is broken, threatening our security and holding back our economy. The combination of porous borders and lax enforcement has made us a magnet for illegal immigration.

If everybody agrees our immigration system is broken because of porous borders and lax enforcement, then why is the bill’s immediate priority the legalization of current illegal immigrants?  Wouldn’t the priority be border security and enforcing the current laws, ie, fixing the porous borders and lax enforcement? (more…)

NH AG Foster noticeably absent from anti-online sales tax letter

New Hampshire Democrats at the State and Federal level have been very vocal about their opposition to the online sales tax proposal currently in the US House. Funny how newly installed Attorney General (and former Democrat majority leader of the Senate) Joseph Foster apparently didn’t get the memo.

The AP is reporting today that three Attorneys General from three states without sales taxes sent letters to all 435 U.S. House representatives Wednesday urging them to oppose an Internet tax bill, saying the measure is unconstitutional and could prompt a legal challenge if it passes.

Attorneys General Tim Fox of Montana, Michael Geraghty of Alaska and Ellen Rosenblum of Oregon said in their letter the proposal has legal and economic pitfalls. They claim the bill is an unconstitutional violation of due process because it allows states to collect taxes from retailers that have little or no contact with that state.

They also say it is overly burdensome to require small businesses to collect and remit taxes to what they estimated would be 9,600 cities, counties and states.

The bill’s passage would prompt years of ‘‘costly, protracted and unnecessary litigation, the letter said.

Fox, flanked by a dozen small-business owners and executives, told reporters Wednesday that he is not threatening a lawsuit, but is appealing to the reason of federal legislators to halt the bill’s progress before it becomes a legal issue.

‘‘We need to speak up now before these things become law,’’ he said.

Notably absent from this letter was New Hampshire’s new Attorney General Joe Foster. Granted, he’s got a lot of stuff on his plate at the moment, but simply signing on to a letter would have continued the mantra from New Hampshire’s Democratic leaders that an online sales tax is bad for New Hampshire.

The online sales tax opposition is certainly one of convenience for NH Dems, who are always being accused of secretly wanting a state sales or income tax. Why then would the state’s chief law enforcement officer and former Democrat Majority Leader of the Senate not join the chorus?

In fairness, Delaware, the other state without a sales tax, also did not part take in this exercise, according to the AP story.

Democrat messaging blunder: Whether the Governor has authority to expand Medicaid without legislative approval

This week’s Democrat messaging blunder: Whether the Governor has authority to implement Medicaid Expansion without legislative approval.

On Monday, Speaker Norelli and Sen. Larsen held a press conference outlining their objections to the Senate budget proposal. In response to a question from a reporter, Sen. Larsen gave a surprisingly candid response on Medicaid Expansion, which Speaker Norelli then backed up.

From NHPR:

… Senator Larsen and Speaker Norelli say they support exploring whether [Medicaid] expansion can take place even if the Senate opposes it.

LARSEN: “I believe the Governor’s staff is looking at it. I hope the attorney general’s office is looking at it.

NORELLI: “I also have my legal counsel looking at it as well.’

The Senate’s top budget-writer, Republican Chuck Morse of Salem says he doesn’t think the Governor has authority to expand Medicaid without legislative approval.

A spokesman for Governor Hassan says it “appears” the legislature would need to approve Medicaid expansion.

A similar story ran int the Concord Monitor entitled, “Top Democrats say it’s possible Hassan could expand Medicaid without Legislature’s okay.”

By Tuesday it was pretty clear Speaker Norelli and Sen. Larsen had gone way off message, when the Governor at a press conference offered the same concession as her spokesman, that the legislature “appears” to have a role.

From the Union Leader:

Gov. Maggie Hassan said Tuesday that Medicaid expansion “appears to need legislative approval” to proceed…

So just to review, here is what happened:

• Top Democratic legislative leaders show their hand by indicating the Governor, her staff and House Counsel are looking into how to bypass the legislature to implement parts of Obamacare.
• In the same story, and in other publications’ accounts of the press conference, the Governor’s comms director had to walk back those comments.
• The next day, the Governor herself had to verbally concede that legislative approval is needed.

Oops.

By the way, is anyone else wondering why Speaker Norelli is using “part-time, $70,000 salary” House Counsel Paul Twomey to figure out ways to bypass her own legislature?

In the end, at least we have everyone on the record now as saying that legislative approval is needed… at least it “appears”.

Osgood Wins!

Great news tonight out of Claremont. Joe Osgood (R) has beaten Larry Converse (D) in the Democrat district 322 votes to 246.

This is undoubtedly a huge blow to the Democrats and an indictment on Gov. Maggie Hassan who have been served another major loss.

Talk about your worst few weeks ever.

This also comes at a great time for the NHGOP. Seems they have gotten their act together and are now doing something that hasn’t been done there in a while….win.

Woolwich Attack: Terror and Shame

Anyone who has read my previous columns or speeches will find it hardly surprising that I am an admirer of British history. Winston Churchill is my non-familial hero and the spirit and fortitude of the British during World War II was awe-inspiring.

It is that history of courage and heroism that makes the events of last week in south London as disappointing as they were horrifying.

As National Review’s Mark Steyn summarized: “The short version of what happened in Woolwich is that two Muslims butchered a British soldier in the name of Islam.” Making this incident even more shocking is that the murdering terrorists instead of fleeing the scene, hung around for photographs with the remains of Drummer Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

In the meantime a group of civilians having witnessed the murder idly stood around having a discussion while others used cell phone cameras to interview the terrorists. In no event did any of them apprehend or otherwise seek to deter the terrorists. If one didn’t know any better you might have confused the incident for a traffic accident. If this was an episode of “What would you do?” these would be the folks you would recoil at in disgust. (more…)