You got what you wanted, NH GOP - a "W", but at what price? - Granite Grok

You got what you wanted, NH GOP – a “W”, but at what price?

Shame on we at the ‘Grok for not doing more for Brendan Kelly, the Libertarian who supports more of the Republican platform and issues that "the union" Republican that won, Kevin Janvrin, in District 14 today.

Upon logging into FB tonite after trying to do some catch up posts, I saw the news from Seth Cohn:

Janvrin’s true colors, minutes after winning: @JamesPindell tweets: GOP Janvrin tells me his victory "sent the message that the Tea Party needs to get out of NH" #nhpolitics #whoa #nhhouse #Rock14

Yay!  More unity in the Party!  Over at Pindell‘s:

GOP, Dems: Tea Party Loser Of Special Election

Both the Republican winner of the special election in Rockingham County and the Democratic loser said that the Tea Party was really the big loser of the election tonight.

Oh, there’s a difference between the two of these clowns ideologically?  Frankly, from the Lefty unionists, either of them winning was a win for the union agenda – which is antithetical to the Republican Platform.

In an interview Janvrin, a union firefighter, said that the victory meant that voters wanted a common sense Republican.

“This sent the message that the Tea Party needs to get out of New Hampshire,” said Janvrin.

Really? I’m betting that a number of the current House members will have far different thoughts concerning this line of thought.  While his first order of business is to try to railroad the Right To Work veto override, I’m quite sure that at the end of the session, his vote scores aren’t going to beat some of the Democrats.  By that statement, we now know that:

  • he will vote against bills that would foster a smaller government
  • he will vote against devolving State power to foster more individual freedom
  • he will vote against bills that reduce spending

Further snippets of thought:

Democrat Mahoney echoed the same sentiment. “Kevin (Janvrin) has a lot of great relationships in his hometown of Seabrook, and his win there sealed the deal,” Mahoney said. “He is part of that small moderate group of Republicans that are a thorn in the side of Speaker O’Brien.

Given his part in the ouster of Jack Kimball, I’m not too thrilled with Speaker O’Brien right about now.  In fact, being human, I read "thorn in side" and smiled (a bit, but only a bit).  But here, we see a collusion of Democrats (and not a Republican and Democrat) – interchangeable collectivists who both are clearly for a continued Statist policy.  There are a lot of Liberty and Freedom folks in the House that are now seeing this and gritting their teeth.  Why?

This was the first special election victory for Republicans this year. It came just days after newly minted state Republican Chair Wayne MacDonald took over the party. He took over on Thursday night, and by Friday he was already addressing the special election. By Saturday, he was campaigning side by side with Janvrin.

Today was also MacDonald’s 57th birthday.

“All I wanted for my birthday was a win,” MacDonald said. “The credit should be given to Kevin and his wife Missy who worked hard. The party helped out in the best way we knew how.”

Right! Let’s all watch the Republican Party go back to the good old mindset that a win is a win – with no repercussion of what that person winning does after the election.  Let’s go back to the mindset that any old R in the seat is a plus is the message.  Does it make any difference that this plant will not support the Platform?  That he will sneer at the notion of "self governance" and happily work for more centralized governance?  That his ideology has already set him against most of the Party?

Didn’t you hear the words of Jimmy Hoffa over the weekend?  Or Maxine Waters?

MacDonald said that one thing that helped his candidate is time away from press coverage of the controversial legislative session.

“The voters were more removed from the tough decisions that the legislature had to take,” MacDonald said, compared to the two previous special elections when Republicans were blown out.

That’s about as silly and lame a statement as I’ve heard lately – a couple of weeks removed from the last special election REALLY is going to make that much of a difference? One of the knocks on Jack was that he was not "communicating well".  While I appreciate the years he has given to the Party, at least one could say "Hey, Jack was a novice" – certainly MacDonald has heard far better for far longer to use as examples.  I’m hoping that the NH GOP Chair can muster far better going forward.  Heck, even if I’m not the Second Coming of Ryan Williams, it wouldn’t take much to step over that low bar.

In an interview Janvrin, a union firefighter, said that the victory meant that voters wanted a common sense Republican.

This sent the message that the Tea Party needs to get out of New Hampshire,” said Janvrin.

Democrat Mahoney echoed the same sentiment.

So, is this a "lipstick on a pig" moment?  Or is this the "new new" Republican that the Establishment Republicans are waiting for?  Does it now adequately and correctly describe the view of the new NH GOP leadership?  Well, Obama didn’t disavow Jimmy Hoffa’s "take these sons of bitches out" remark concerning the TEA Party up at the Labor Day union rally in Detroit.  Certainly, MacDonald would have said something in the way of trying to keep the Establishment / TEA Party / Liberty and Freedom coalition together within the Party, right?  Even the smallest admonition for the sake of unity?

Er, do YOU see one here?

MacDonald described Janvrin as a “solid Republican” who is “for lower spending and lower taxes.”

That’s a big N and O. Nada, nothing, zippo.  There a message – the one unstated.

You’ve either been hornswaggled, dude, or the rest of us now have to believe that you believe in this guy entirely – and that you WANT the TEA Party gone.  Remember: lipstick smears easily.  You are welcoming a union firefighter with open arms that already has declared war on one of the Party platform pillars.  Backed by a union that is part of the Democrat machine and which is now making sport of the Republicans – they got their Trojan Horse inside the wall.  And the party, with its work for him, unlocked the gate while the rest of us watched you do it.

Keep smiling.  We’re not.

But DJ, what are you thinking??

“Heartfelt congratulations to Kevin Janvrin on his outstanding victory in today’s special election to the New Hampshire House of Representatives,” Bettencourt said. “He worked hard and earned his seat. I warmly welcome him into the caucus and I look forward to working with him. He will be a tremendous asset to his constituents and the Republican caucus.”

Pure BS, DJ, IMHO. You know it, and I know it, and a lot of your caucus knows it.  He’s already dead set against one of the most important initiatives of the session – he’s walked in the door with a knowing smile on his face.  What other union agendas will set him against the rest of the caucus?  And what will the rest of the caucus think of those words?  If I was in the House, I’d be none too happy taking you at your words (and not hearing the dog whistle), as the message to me (and a bunch of others) is "hey, his anti-Liberty and Freedom stance is a "tremendous asset" to me".

Given that at the Rye Republican Family fun event at the Hampton Airfield, I saw most of the Republican leadership "making nice" with Brendan Kelly (Party, House, Senate); I was standing right next to these folks saying wonderful words to and with Brendan ("remaining neutral" floats out of my memory….and a bunch more).  And not so nice ones about Janvrin.

I guess it’s back to politics as usual – the only thing important is the Letter after your name is what I now gather.  It matters not a whit that Brendan would be a "better Republican" – and obviously, a chance to strengthen support for the L&F issues in the House has been blown.

2006.  2008.  Same policy.  That worked out real well, didn’t it?

"…a thorn in the side…"

Yep.  You bet.

>