New Hampshire Obamacare Expansion and The Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party - Granite Grok

New Hampshire Obamacare Expansion and The Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party

This is an Op Ed submitted to the press by Aaron Day, the Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire (RLCNH).  Gen John Stark - Bennington Monument

As a matter of Disclosure, I hold an advisory position on the board of the RLCNH.

New Hampshire Obamacare Expansion and The Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party

This Thursday, the New Hampshire House and Senate will take a vote that could alter the course of our state with devastating consequences.  Indeed, we might have to alter our legendary state motto from “Live Free or Die” to “Live for Free and Die” as we face a changing ethos that exchanges liberty, freedom, and achievement for dependence on the federal government, diminished economic freedom, and the wretched health outcomes delivered by a centrally-planned healthcare system.  New Hampshire’s very own distinguished Revolutionary War hero General John Stark coined our state motto in a tribute letter to his fellow comrades in celebration of the Battle of Bennington – a turning point for the Rebels in the Revolutionary War.

We fought the Revolutionary War so that we could have self-government, freedom from taxation for revenue, and freedom from mob rule – favoring instead a form of government that holds the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as sacrosanct.

Today, we fight our modern day Battle of Bennington.  Just as the British sought to control the colonies, the federal government now seeks to destroy our New Hampshire state sovereignty through federal regulation of our healthcare system and fiscal enslavement through the increased federal debt and the ultimate state taxes that will result from Obamacare expansion.


The Democrat-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate have both proposed Obamacare expansion plans that all residents of New Hampshire should oppose (I have previously discussed this at http://www.stopnhincometax.com).  Both plans increase our state’s reliance upon a federal government riddled with trillions in debt and plagued bureaucratic inefficiencies.  Both plans will lead to a New Hampshire state income tax.  Both plans will not actually improve health outcomes for the poor but will increase healthcare costs and taxes for everyone.

The programs vary in their approach, but it is a distinction without a difference.

Socialism vs. Crony Capitalism

The Socialist House Plan
Wikipedia defines socialism as “an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy.”  The house plan takes money borrowed overseas or taken by force by the federal government (initially 100% funded by the federal government and then over time shifting more of the burden to New Hampshire citizens through taxes), and then manages the money centrally through the state’s Medicaid program.

The Crony Capitalist Senate Plan
Wikipedia defines crony capitalism as “an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials.”  The Senate plan is also funded by federal and state taxes.  The program then distributes that money to a small number of private insurers (after 1-2 years of operating like the state-run house plan).  Republican leadership calls this “private insurance.”  This is not private insurance.  It is crony capitalism.  Sadly, our healthcare system has not operated as a free market for over 40 years.  So called private insurers are told who to cover, what services they are obligated to provide, how much they need to hold in reserves for claims, and what the maximum differences can be for premiums between groups.  This is hardly private insurance.  Definitions matter and Senate Republicans need to learn the distinction between capitalism and crony capitalism.

The GOP Civil War

In the few short weeks that I have been speaking about Obamacare expansion in my new role as Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, Republican leadership has expressed concern that I will destroy the Republican party, that the plan put forth by the Senate Republicans is the least-worst option, that I should voice my views privately and not in public.  I have also heard that Republicans are concerned about being labeled as “The Party of No” and are concerned about being perceived as not caring for the poor.

My answer to this is that the Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party is necessary and urgent, we should promote our positive principles of freedom and limited government, and we should reject the temptation to seize and maintain power merely for the sake of having power.

The Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party

The long standing rift within the party pits the “Establishment” vs. the “Non-Establishment.”  Here again, definitions matter.  The Establishment values Party over Principle.  The Establishment view holds that the most important thing is to get Republicans elected regardless of what it means to be a Republican.  The phrase “go along to get along” summarizes this approach.

The Non-Establishment view holds that principles matter.  In short, to quote Alexander Hamilton, “If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.”

And fall for anything establishment Republicans have.  Here are two key examples:

First, the New Hampshire Republican state party platform expressly spells out that the party will “Oppose the implementation of Obamacare in New Hampshire.”  Yet, the NHGOP Chairman has publicly endorsed the plan and promoted her support on the NHGOP website.  I encourage party delegates to request a special meeting and demand a retraction.  To accomplish this, only 50 members need to submit a written request to the Chairman.

Second, It is fairly widely known that the Republican Senators Nancy Stiles and Bob Odell have expressed a willingness to support Medicaid expansion.  Instead of calling out two Senators that are clearly adopting a position diametrically opposed to the party platform, Senate leadership has attempted to take a lead and pass a crony capitalist proposal masked as private insurance in order to hold the caucus together and score political points.

The Party of Know

The Republicans should rebrand as the Party of Know.  Here are a few points upon which we should be able to agree:
·      We know that freedom and capitalism have led to the highest standard of living in human history.
·      We know that you cannot be both compassionate and insolvent at the same time.
·      We know that our national and state constitutions were written to limit our government and protect our freedom.
·      We know that power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Call to Action

There is still time for the Senate Republicans to do the right thing.  On July 4, 1776, a group of 56 men mutually agreed to pledge their Lives, Fortunes, and Sacred Honor to assert their Freedom and Independence from an eminently more powerful King.  The least you can do is stand up for the principles you swore an oath to uphold, and not exchange our freedom and prosperity for the sake of maintaining your position.

You can reach me at 617-248-8990

About Aaron Day 

Aaron Day has 17 years of CEO, startup, and personal domain expertise. Day is currently the Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, serves on the Board of Directors of the Free State Project, CEO of The Atlas Society, Chairman and CEO of Tangerine Wellness, Managing Director of ARD Ventures, and was Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Industry Ventures, a technology-focused venture capital firm. He served from 1995 to 2001 as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Iconomy, an e-commerce ASP (acquired), where he was responsible for Iconomy’s strategy and operations. Prior to Iconomy, Mr. Day helped implement a state of the art software system for the largest privately held managing general underwriter, Stop Loss International (acquired by UnitedHealth Group). Day is currently a member of the advisory committee for the X-Prize Foundation. The Boston Business Journal selected Day in 2004 as one of their 40 Under 40 leading business leaders and innovators. Day studied mathematics at Duke University and biology at Harvard UES.

About the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire

The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire (RLCNH) launched in 2004 as a state chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC). We promote the ideals of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free enterprise, and adherence to the New Hampshire state constitution to Republican Party officials and throughout the state by identifying and supporting candidates who agree with the RLC’s Statement of Principles and Positions, and by supporting, through public education and outreach, initiatives in New Hampshire that further these ideals.

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Aaron Day, Chairman

Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire

75 South Main Street
PMB 525

Concord, New Hampshire 03301

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