NH GOP Annual Meeting - Ruminations: NH State Senate President Chuck Morse - Granite Grok

NH GOP Annual Meeting – Ruminations: NH State Senate President Chuck Morse

Another speaker was the NH State Senate Republican Incumbency Protection and Racketeering Act that will make it even harder and more convoluted  for the ordinary citizen(s) to speak their minds politically without The State smashing down upon them).  Certainly, he tried to make the case that the NH State Republicans upheld the best and greatest traditions of Republicanism.  Well, I hate to rain down upon the parade (gee, finally get to flip circumstances as it usually is politicians raining down upon us ordinary schlubs and the color ain’t transparent) but I’ve already listed the TWO (not one but TWO!) obvious actions that are the exact opposite of those Planks in the Platform.  That also contravene both the letter and the spirit of the NH Constitution.  This is not just me being a TEA Party, Constitutional loving extremist – it is being an ordinary citizen, reading our Foundational Law’s plain language and going WTF??  To remind you, here’s his speech and I’ve done a full transcript after the jump (of course, with commentary):

With your help, there is no doubt in my mind that come November, Republicans will once again will control under that Golden dome.

I’m not sure this is going to be the slam dunk you think it will be.  As Glenn Reynolds keeps bringing up “Don’t get cocky, kid” – and I think you have.  Readers, you know what I’ve been saying for a while – the Republican base does want to vote for Republicans, but they grow weary that the elected Republicans only talk and act right in the runups to the elections and then go back to business as usual.  They want to BELIEVE – but folks like Morse (and Bradley and Carson and Odell, to pick on the NH Senate) keep throwing what the base believes on onto the ground and then get angry at US for noticing.  The base wants to see Consistency all the time – period.  When the elected mess up like the TWO biggies, they just throw up their hands.

I really do believe that Republican had the chance to win here in NH but with an exasperated base who have lost Trust and 1-3% additionally not showing up because of that exasperation will make it a nail biter – or a REAL disappointment.

For the last two years, Gov Hassan and the Democrats in the Legislature have worked to increase the size of Government and burden our job creators with new taxes and new regulations.

But during that legislation session, the Republican NH senate has served as a legislative firewall against the big government, tax-and-spend policies of Concord Democrats.  The 13 republicans that you helped to elect to be the State Senate have stood up for the taxpayers of NH and kept the NH Advantage. when Gov. Hassan proposed a budget that would have increased state spending by 10%, the Republican led Senate said no.  Instead we kept spending in check and wrote a budget with no new taxes and no new fees.

Thank for Lord for no new taxes or fees.  But calling the NH Senate a “legislative firewall” is a bit of puffery.  Yes, think of yourselves as such is fine but let’s get one thing straight – we in the base look at the NH Senate Republicans and go – fine, don’t crow as you’ve only just done your job.  You’ve fulfilled the Platform Planks.  What does that mean?  You met the minimum requirements of your job – think of the Platform as your job description.  We hired you based on what you said you were – a Republican.

But let’s revisit those “big government” and “for the taxpayers of NH” for a moment, shall we?  Tell me – how is Medicaid Expansion a grand example of “limited government”?  Billions of dollars of cost, hundreds of new state employees, a new set of bureaucracies – and a re-definition of what self-responsibility is (as you are taking folks who had been paying for their own insurance and now get to suck at the teat of taxpayers, thanks for NH State Senate Republicans (Bradley, Stiles, Odell, Morse).

And you STILL haven’t told us what’s gonna happen after the three years when the Feds borrowed cash flow dries up, right?  Or will it be business as usual – you’ll retire and stick us with the bill?  And remember, folks, he may make the claim that he “saved NH Taxpayers” on this gig – but most of us pay Federal taxes, too.   He must think us tres stupid that we’d believe that our money is going to stay in our pockets.  Dontcha just LOVE the hypocrisy?

And he got applauded, too…..maybe that “tres” isn’t strong enough….

When House Democrats wanted to inflate revenues to justify new programs, the Republican said no.  Instead, we insisted on revenues that over the first 10 months of the year have proven to be remarkably accurate by any standard. And when the Gov. and the House moved to increase taxes on our state businesses, the Republican Senate said no.  Instead, we passed legislation to extend critical tax credit plans like the R&D tax credit, we wanted new opportunities here in NH, we wanted new job growth.  Over the last 4 years, the State Senate led the way in making NH a more business friendly state. We have worked hard to attract new job creators and made it easier to start and operate a new business.  we fought to bring down the cost of energy and healthcare  – two of the biggest concerns from our state employers.  And I am proud to say our reforms are working.  Consider this: in part, because of the Republican Leadership in the State House, more than 8600 of our friends and neighbors have found work and NH, over the last 4 years has seen that our unemployment rate  has dropped to 4%.  But there is more work to be done and Concord Democrats are slowing the process.

And he kinda forgot that other new burden – wasn’t it NH State Senator Republican Raush that proposed a tax that will make us pay more at the pump (and didn’t fix the root problem)? Gas…gas….er, isn’t that “energy” – liquid energy?  That powers our cars and trucks?  Thanks for making the overall cost of living up for us all, solons!

Recently, two of the nation’s credit bureaus issued warnings on our state finances taking us to task on underfunded pension system, an inadequate Rainy Day fund, and a questionable tax on our state hospitals.  In response, while Democrats waffled, Republicans took the lead.  In 2011, Republicans enacted sweeping long over due reforms to our retirement system to improve the retirement system and reduce costs for our municipal taxpayers.    Last year, Republicans moved a modest $15M into the surplus from the prior budget for the state’s rainy day fund. And now, Republicans are working to reduce and phase out the hospital tax to resolve a costly lawsuit and create a more responsible way to pay for our safety net programs.  Unfortunately, Democrats in Concord continue to undermine, oppose, and block these common sense reforms at every turn and these are just the most recent examples.   Republican efforts to reform the welfare rules and the diversion of highway funds, strengthen Voter ID laws and approve oversight of union contracts have all met resistance from the Democratically led House and Gov. Hassan.   There is no doubt it is time to change in Concord.

To grow our economy, strengthen our budget, and protect our taxpayers, we must come together and send Principled Republican majorities to Concord.

I’d love to do exactly that – “send Principled Republican majorities“, but we don’t have enough new people running to accomplish that.  I know that I have sounded like a broken record (yeah, most of you down in Concord are old enough to know what that is) but the only Principles I know of that include implementing the socialized medicine of Obamacare Medicaid Expansion and making it harder for people to express their political speech are Democrat ones.

In the months ahead, I look forward to working with all of you to do just that by sharing our winning message of personal responsibility, low spending, and small government with the voters of NH.  Then come Nov, with an increased Senate majority, a Republican Speaker in the House,  and a businessman in the State’s corner office, I look forward to standing with all of you to ensure that NH remains the conservative, low tax, fiscally responsible State that we all know and love.

Sigh…it is a winning message; just wish it was getting fully implemented ALL the time.  Wouldn’t that just be absolutely dandy?  Just think of it – you’d finally shut me up!

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