Let the NH Governor campaign begin (heh!)! - Granite Grok

Let the NH Governor campaign begin (heh!)!

I have a feeling that this is gonna be a long (and fun) campaign with stuff whizzing back and forth.  It seems that Maggie Hassan is the front leader on the Democrat side (taking into account some of the undeclareds) and may well be the nominee.  Problem is, we believe her to be the antithesis of what the spirit of New Hampshire to be (and fits rather well with the Progressive mantra that Government should be as big as it has to be in order to make sure of equal outcomes vs equal opportunity (e.g., healthcare: MaggieCare, free market be damned), making sure Government gives you stuff instead of being self responsible and acting like an adult ("Diapers R NH Govt!"), and if you don’t like it, we’ll regulate your speech instead of honoring your right to free speech (HassanSpeech here and here). Live Free or Die makes no sense to the Progressive mindset.

Well, there was a spat in the Union Leader between Shrill Kathy Sullivan and Pat Hynes over that free speech (complete snippet after the jump) part:

Granite Staters will begin hearing from Hynes’ version of the Forum today when it unveils a radio ad going after the new Democratic candidate for governor, former state Sen. Maggie Hassan, just two days after she announced.The spot accuses her of supporting:

"more than 80 taxes and fee increases, including the LLC tax."

"Hassan even hatched a harebrained scheme to have state bureaucrats take control of our hospitals," the ad charges, saying "it’s no wonder" she lost a bid for reelection to the Senate last year.

Right after that, I got a "boo hoo, they’re attacking me!" email:

Dear Friend,

As you may know, I announced my campaign for governor of New Hampshire on Tuesday.  It did not take but two days for an extremist PAC to start running radio ads attacking me.

But what’s worse is that they are doing this because they want to direct attention away from an out of control legislature with an extremist agenda and the right wing gubernatorial candidates who would be a rubber stamp for their policies.

But you can help fight back against these attacks by contributing $10, $25, $100 right now.

This attack is a perfect example of what’s wrong in Concord.

Funny, during her announcement speech, you called both the Republicans and your announced opponent, Ovide Lamontagne, extremists.  So Maggie, if you are going to accuse others of inciting a food fight, it’s a done deal that you threw the first dish of chocolate ice cream.

Here’s the ad itself

This ad is extremist only if one thinks that one’s past actions (and her leadership in those actions) being read back to you. Let me give you a piece of advice – extremist is the new racist, and is entirely overused and not effective.

 

 

Union Leader:

THE JULY FOURTH FORUM(S). After Republicans took control of the Legislature about a year ago, former Democratic state chair Kathy Sullivan set up a 501(c)(4) non-profit to counter what she predicted would be a "radical" agenda.

She registered it with the Secretary of State’s office and IRS as the July Fourth Forum, Inc., and although it has not been outwardly active during the year, it remains on file and in "good standing" with the state.

But now comes Sullivan’s old "friend," Republican consultant/strategist Patrick Hynes. He recently went to the Secretary of State’s Office, too. But instead of the corporate division, he went to the election division and filed a new political action committee.

Its name? "July Fourth Forum PAC." He’s the chairman and his co-worker at Hynes Communications and the New Hampshire Journal, Amelia Chasse, is the treasurer.

Now, why on earth would Pat Hynes want to take the name of Kathy Sullivan’s group?

"We thought the name was catchy and it was clear no one was using the name for anything useful," he deadpanned.
Sullivan laughed when we told her this.

"Imitation is the greatest form of flattery," she said, "and, well, after all, this is Patrick Hynes."

She noted that the two have been critical of each other. "He really has a problem with people criticizing him and doesn’t seem to have much of a self-deprecating sense of humor."

Sullivan said that after she announced the name of her group, someone — she doesn’t know who — opened a Twitter account with the same name and portrayed her in a disparaging way. Twitter quickly took the July Fourth account, she said.

ANTI-MAGGIE AD. Granite Staters will begin hearing from Hynes’ version of the Forum today when it unveils a radio ad going after the new Democratic candidate for governor, former state Sen. Maggie Hassan, just two days after she announced.

The spot accuses her of supporting "more than 80 taxes and fee increases, including the LLC tax."

"Hassan even hatched a harebrained scheme to have state bureaucrats take control of our hospitals," the ad charges, saying "it’s no wonder" she lost a bid for reelection to the Senate last year.

Hynes said he decided to move quickly to try to define Hassan because in his long experience with campaigns, "One thing Republicans have been bad at is communicating a message right out of the gate on day one of a campaign. There are some who pay attention from the beginning and that’s often when politicians try to massage their image and recast themselves as something they’re not."

Hynes said the ad will begin airing in the Seacoast area "and will potentially expand."
 

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