Chaz Proulx broke the story on Blue Hampshire. Former New Hampshire Republican Party chairman Jack Kimball sent an email around to protest President Obama’s visit to Durham tomorrow in which he writes, “‘It’ will be arriving at Oyster River High School in Durham, NH at 12:00 PM THIS MONDAY JUNE 25.”
Proulx explains:
I’ve seen the use of “it” when referring to black people before. It took me a while to remember where, but it finally came to me. I used to monitor the Northeast White Pride website just to see what the extreme right was doing. … Northeast White Pride commenters would not use personal pronouns to refer to black people. The word they always used was “it.” Draw your own conclusions about Jack Kimball. I’ve drawn mine.
Screenshot: themaineteaparty.com
Libertarian and former Free State Project champion Tully Fitzsimmons disavows his support and says he has been “horrified” by the direction the movement has taken. He explains why.
First, their full embrace of a right-wing, Randian Conservative brand of libertarianism. Libertarianism does not necessarily have to be right-wing; there is a strong ‘strain’ of libertarianism that evolved from the anti-royalty, anti-mercantilist Socialists in the French revolution. This aspect of libertarianism is virtually absent from the crew that has moved here: absent from their writings comments, votes, and personnas. Their lock-step marching with the O’Brien junta shows them to me more politically aligned with Mississippi Republicans than any native New England version of individual liberty. …
Second, this bunch has confused two different concepts: wishing to be left alone to carve one’s way (which is MY preference) is NOT the same as condemning someone else to carve their own way when they can’t. There is a fundamental selfish mean-spiritedness towards, and implied condemnation of those who need assistance: the poor, the disabled, the unemployed, the sick. It is a re-birth of the hyper-Calvinist idea that ‘you get what you deserve.’ …
On Blue Hampshire, former State Rep. Jim Splaine, longtime observer of the Granite State political scene, takes a look at the emerging race for the 2012 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Splaine believes Gov. John Lynch should run and can win big. If Lynch chooses not to run, Splaine lists the leading contenders.
Mark Fernald. [H]e has spoken and written about the needs of our state more and more during these past few months. He’s older and wiser. He’d be a tough competitor. If he can come across on the campaign trail as a more mellowed “professor type” than he was almost a decade ago, he could do it.
Steve Marchand. This guy is fun. He has a friendly, welcoming way to him, even when you disagree with him. … He knows campaigns, understands fundraising, has a message already thought out, and he’s networking every day… And I haven’t talked with a candidate who has such a “can-do” determination since my first meeting with Carol Shea-Porter
Mark Connolly. If he can work the timing out, and if he can do the catch-up that he has to do, he could go all the way. One-on-one he looks you right in the eye. At the podium he exudes his confidence. His ability to absorb issues is impressive. I think his integrity is beyond question. His caring about people is obvious.
Maggie Hassan. She’s smart, quick on her feet, a hard-worker, and determined. … I much admire Maggie’s intensity…. I could get excited about her chances. And she probably generates more excitement among Democratic interest groups than any of the other potential candidates.
Jackie Cilley. She knows issues well, and while in the legislature she made her voice and idealism heard in committees and on the floor. … She might not have the networking and fundraising capabilities of some other candidates, but she would fill those gaps with enthusiasm and intelligence. Many of us could get excited about her in 2012.
Last week I described how — in what appears to be a clear violation of the General Court’s Ethics Guidelines — anonymous derogatory comments on Blue Hampshire had been linked to a staffer in the New Hampshire House Majority Office.
In a classic non-denial, House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt responded by downplaying the incident and trying to change the subject.
Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt called the charge “just another pathetic attempt” by Democrats to distract people from their past economic policies.
“Instead of offering positive constructive ideas on the difficult budgetary decisions ahead, the Democrats would rather resort to an absurd inquisition over silly comments made by someone on an obscure blog,” Bettencourt said in a statement.
He assured readers that Republicans would not - could not - be distracted. “Despite the fact that the Democrats have tried every trick in the book to distract us and deceive the public, we will not be deterred from accomplishing our legislative agenda and delivering results for the people of New Hampshire,” he said.
Last week, someone using the pseudonym BlueManGroup began commenting on a Blue Hampshire diary documenting the Rep. Mike Brunelle legislative hearing. The derogatory and mean spirited comments violated Blue Hampshire’s user guidelines and the user was soon banned from the site. (BlueManGroup comments are listed below the fold.)
Yesterday, Blue Hampshire revealed BlueManGroup registered using a email address linked to a staffer in the New Hampshire House Majority Office.
Former New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Kathy Sullivan reports The July Fourth Forum immediately sent a letter of complaint to Speaker O’Brien:
While the general tenor of the comments were juvenile and petty, they showed an obvious partisan bias targeting two sitting members of the General court and a private citizen who is a former member of the General Court. The General Court has adopted a set of Ethics Guidelines which contain certain basic principles governing the conduct of all legislative employees.
The General Court’s Ethics Guidelines include a Legislative Employee Code of Conduct requiring employees to provide “objective advice … independent of the employee’s … interests” and to “treat all legislators with dignity and respect.” BlueManGroup violated both.
No response yet from Speaker O’Brien or Majority Leader Bettencourt.
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Monday, a Blue Hampshire diary by editor Susan Bruce excoriated the Republican sponsors of a New Hampshire House bill that would require random drug testing of food stamp recipients. Writing under the pen name susanthe, she pointed out the the cruelty of withholding financial assistance from children living in poverty and described the sponsors as “affluent, arrogant pissants.”
Provocative, colorful postings from the blogosphere are not news. The coordinated attack from the GOP that followed was.
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Projected Democratic seats: 190
