Children be damned, Volinsky wants Edelblut’s scalp. Why? Because he did his job. Also, because Feltes got the first shot in by making the motion to reject the $46 million education grant. So, now Comrade Volinsky shoots at Edelblut to one-up Feltes.
Related: Why NH Democrats Didn’t Jump at 46 Million in Federal Grant Money
Yeah, Comrade Volinsky actually called for the resignation of Frank Edelblut at this mornings Executive Council meeting. No, he didn’t have to courage to raise the motion himself. He wants Sununu to ask him to resign. “You appointed Mr. Edelblut, you can ask him to leave.” What a coward.
This isn’t about Frank Edelblut actually resigning – no. It’s about political gamesmanship. Volinsky feels threatened by Feltes, and rightfully so.
Related: Volinsky and Feltes False Narratives About New Hampshire Take Another Punch to the Gut
For Commissioner Edelblut’s part – he was doing his job. Explicitly laid out in statute is the Commissioner’s responsibility to plan and apply for Federal Grants. He did. The grant was approved by the Federal Department of Education, to the tune of $46 million dollars to open new charter schools. You’ve heard all about that, already.
Volinsky’s claim is that Commissioner Edelblut is undermining public education by advocating for grants for public education. Huh?
In his letter to Governor Sununu, Volinsky makes the claim that “[t]his is the third overt attempt to undermine public education in New Hampshire (by Commissioner Edelblut.)” Never-mind the fact that charter schools are public schools. Ignore that.
“Mr. Edelblut quickly became a vocal supporter of SB 193 religious school vouchers in 2017.” said Volinsky. SB193 was a bill that would have allowed for school choice, and benefited the lowest income students in New Hampshire the most, but that’s also besides the point.
NOTE: The Charter School Grant and SB193 were killed (in large part) due to the “activism” of Reaching Higher NH, a group that was founded with Steve Duprey as an Officer and Director. Steve Duprey currently serves as the Republican National Committeeman for New Hampshire. More on this later….
Feltes trying to Out-Left Volinsky
We see this in the Presidential Primary too. More moderate Democrats are trying to rush to the left, because that’s where the primary base is at. Feltes is trying to do that here, in New Hampshire. He can see his base is way over to the left, a lane Volinsky is already in, and has to go left to meet the base.
It’s a bold strategy, and it’s one that’s already failing for Fauxcahontas. She isn’t able to meet Sanders on the left, because she isn’t a socialist. She’s said as much.
Feltes is no socialist. He’s a leftist, for sure, but he’s no where near the Comrade-ism of Volinsky. He may pretend to be, for his primary base, but he just isn’t. If he were to win the primary he’d either have to pivot hard back to the center or face getting wiped around the floor by Governor Sununu. (See: 2018 election.)
It will be fun to watch, for sure. A 2020 NH Ticket of Bernie for POTUS and Volinsky for Gov would be verrrrrry interesting. Wonder how Jeanne Shaheen fits into that mix? Pappas?
Volinsky shooting at Edelblut may become a more frequent headline in the interim, as the two Dem Gov candidates jockey for leftist credibility.
