Petty NH GOP Chair Horn throws Republican off State Committee for......allegedly supporting a Republican against Ayotte??? - Granite Grok

Petty NH GOP Chair Horn throws Republican off State Committee for……allegedly supporting a Republican against Ayotte???

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Just not the RIGHT Republican? And now trying to stack the deck for an NH GOP election?

Henry Ford told his customers that they could have their Model T’s in any color  – as long as it is black.  Horn seems to have the same fundamental position in running her fiefdom – anyone as long as she approves.  In her world, dissent is not patriotic and facts be damned.  She didn’t like this person (frankly, a lot of state committee members don’t like her, either).

Has she now decided that she should be able to pick Winners and Losers? Gosh, who has been doing THAT these last eight years?  So, what did Joe Barton receive?  This – Barton Notice

So how did this haughty tale begin?

First, let’s put this into context.  First, the By-Law that was invoked: Article 4 (emphasis mine)

A. Any registered Republican who, at the same time joins or allows his or her name to be used in support of a political committee or a defined group of individuals, that in title or effect is intended to be understood by the public to be a committee or group comprised in whole or in part of members of the Republican Party endorsing a candidate for elected office from another political party, when there is a candidate nominated by the Republican Party for that office, shall be disqualified during the then present and the next biennium from holding an office of the State Committee or any County or City Committee, from being a member of the Executive Committee and from being a member of the State Committee.

Of course this pertains to the last election – Kelly Ayotte’s election to be perfectly clear.  And yes, I did not vote for her.  In fact, she lost because over 34,000 voters here in NH did not vote for her and instead, voted for the two other candidates not named Kelly or Maggie “The Red Hassan”.  Many people did so because they thought she didn’t do the job the way she campaigned on for her first term.  Certainly, I made it clear early on that she had failed in keeping important promises and kept writing about them here.  A lot of folks also had enough of her dismissal on “showing up” at events after “going DC” – the “The Senator has sent a Letter she would like to be read” grew tired and stale; many decided that if she couldn’t be here to press the flesh, they weren’t going to press the lever for her either.  Her own damned fault.

So I voted for Aaron Day – I made the political calculus that while Ayotte would lose, the Republicans would keep the Senate and Hassan (and Shaheen) would be neutered.  I certainly didn’t want Hassan to win but I’m tired of the NH GOP basically determining who would take the primary.  I found their choice wanting.  In the marketplace of politics, their offering did not meet the standards I set.  So why should I spend my precious vote on a product, just like I would in the commercial marketplace, that was lacking?

But Horn being Horn decided that one little thing wasn’t going to stand and they’ve found a scapegoat way for Horn, at the end of her term, to throw out one more grenade: a tweet from Aaron Day during that campaign:

ROSSBERRY LIKE

Not exactly a great meme (in fact, the intent was that Ayotte would be better serving NH voters by working at Burger King) but certainly an NH GOP Staffer, Ross Berry (NH GOP Exec Dir) liked it:

ROSSBERRY LIKE1

But that wasn’t the only one.  THIS is the one that Horn grabbed onto:

Day Support-1

So Day put up another tweet – one that clearly:

  • Shows a Dem political stunt in process with the paper faces (not a bad one if you get passed which party is which. Perhaps juvenile but it did elicit a short chuckle when I first saw it.
  • She did approve one of the most Leftward leaning US AG’s in history – how did Kelly protect we New Hampshirites by doing that?
  • She rejected her Party’s nominee for President – actively.

And yes, if I actually used Twitter, I probably would have shared it as well. So, what’s the “hook” here for Horn?  Simply that Barton shared a tweet.  Now, go back to that By-Law:

…endorsing a candidate for elected office from another political party…

Now please tell me – is sharing a tweet with a picture an endorsement of that person?  Or merely sharing an amusing picture (political though it might be)?  So what is Horn accusing Barton of?

…you violated Article (4)(A) by publicly advocating in favor of Aaron Day for U.S. Senate against your Party’s nominee.  That renders you ineligible to serve as a member of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee or in any leadership position for the 2016-2018 biennium.

Pretty thin gruel in my estimation.  This is just being spiteful – and now for the rest of the story:  it is that last clause (“or in any leadership position for the 2016-2018 bienium”).  To wit – the notice to Barton was dated 1/18/17 – here was an announcement dated 1/9/17:

I formerly declared my candidacy for Area 2 Vice Chair on January 9th; and by way of the NH GOP’s online nomination form on January 12th. When I addressed each committee, I spoke about our party’s failures under the “leadership” of Jennifer Horn these last two cycles. In the last 4 years, we have lost both senate seats; both house seats, and we failed to deliver electors from New Hampshire to the Republican Nominee for President of the United States.

During that time; Jennifer Horn; in her capacity as Chair spoke out against Donald Trump; an act which brought great criticism in the form of online news articles and petitions from State Committee members (myself and Speaker Bill O’Brien included) to address the issue in a formal meeting. Jennifer Horn publically criticized sitting congressman Frank Guinta, which prompted the Vice chair of the party to resign. Jennifer Horn refused to recognize the legitimate chair of the New Hampshire Young Republicans as prescribed in the bylaws.

Executive Board meetings; and conventions as well run by chairman Horn have been run by dictate; without regard for the Bylaws, the Rules, or decorum. She has discouraged participation from those who don’t specifically agree with her; and she promotes those yes-men that do to posts on the executive board in order to further her failed agenda. The New Hampshire State Party has gotten very little for the money it has spent.

The party needs to step away from the tactics of self-destruction; our party leaders should promote conversation and participation instead of discouraging it. They should allow candidates to run on their own merits rather than try to force them out. Make no mistake; Jennifer Horn and Kelly Ayotte’s public opposition to the candidacy of President Donald J Trump and Congressman Frank Guinta cost us both elections.

When is it going to end?

v/r
Joseph J Barton

So we see the “Royal We” at play here?  Rule for thee but not for me?

I asked Joe Barton EXACTLY about his actions towards Aaron Day:

I did not vote for him,
I did not sign any petition in support of his candidacy or for ballot access,
I did not publically endorse him as an individual or part of a group.

He shared a tweet; hardly even a veneer of gruel.  So where does Horn get off accusing him of supporting Aaron Day.  Who, by the way?

Did run as an Independent.  Now, last I knew, that ISN’T a political Party.  In fact, that’s a NULL Party – one that doesn’t exist.  But for Jennifer Horn, there’s one teensy-weenie little stubborn fact: If you check with the Bedford Supervisor of the Checklist, go pull Aaron Day’s Party registration both before and after the election.

Day did not do what I did – formally unenroll from the Party.  Thus, the exact wording of that By-Law doesn’t apply.  It can’t – Day was a Republican before, during, and after the election.  So has Horn screwed up again or let her pettiness override good sense and a clear reading of the verbiage?

A. Any registered Republican who, at the same time joins or allows his or her name to be used in support of a political committee (Nope)  or a defined group of individuals (Nope), that in title or effect is intended to be understood by the public to be a committee or group comprised in whole (Nope) or in part of members of the Republican Party endorsing a candidate (Nope) for elected office from another political party (Nope) , when there is a candidate nominated by the Republican Party for that office, shall be disqualified during the then present and the next biennium from holding an office of the State Committee or any County or City Committee, from being a member of the Executive Committee and from being a member of the State Committee.

A whole lotta NOPES and not a single yep. Nice to see that Horn has her own special definition of The Rule of Law.

But then again, there is another candidate for the Area 2 Vice-Chair: Tyler Clark.  Now, not being heavily involved in the deep R politics, I can’t say too much to this.  BUT, I can surmise that a person like Barton who hasn’t been supportive of Horn or her policies isn’t going to get her nod of election approval.

In fact, is this a crass political stunt on VERY thin ground to clear the path for Clark like she tried to do anti-Trump and pro-Ayotte?

Look, politics is a blood sport here in NH.  For all of the high-falutin words that seemingly come out for public hearing, we all know that the backroom stuff is bawdy, heavy-handed, and crass – the outward rhetoric does not comport with the inside-baseball crapola.

Now for full disclosure, I do consider Joe a friend.  Sure, he’s done some stupid stuff just like I have in the blogging realm – we all do.  But given the evidence supplied to Joe (and that person knows who he is), I really can’t see this except as a VERY shallow and veiled attempt at payback and retribution at a last moment of her term.

Sad, but this seems to be indicative of her term.  To this day, I still don’t understand why this tax-cheat was ever elected to the Chair.

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