The former and present Speaker of the NH House: Bill O’Brien

Happy Dance SnoopyBarring any Doug Scamman type hijinks in two weeks (Organization Day for the NH House when the full House votes on the Speakership), Bill O’Brien will be this session’s Speaker (having won the majority Republican nomination race).  As with the rest of the Groksters, I congratulate Bill!

NOW it is Happy Feet dance time and for one short night, I can gloat that this election has turned out well enough – not just here in NH but for more Conservatism across the nation.  Here in NH, the Progressives (the “All Hail Power To The State” kneelers) have had the Senate, Executive Council,  and the House torn from them; under the rubric of “screw DC, save NH” this has worked out ok so far (and leaving the only major office held by the Dems, Guv, neutered to a large degree).  To be sure, not as Conservative as we are here at the ‘Grok, but it works and in addition on a country-wide basis, you have a lot of Ray Buckley whine-alikes wailing about those nasty extremists….

…who the voters decided, this time, that their new BFFs were those “extremists”.  Thus, actually making the Dems the ugly extremists (having taken almost complete power away right now).  Operative phrase: right now.  NH is getting a history of

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Shea-Porter Votes NO on Jobs And Cheap Energy Again…and Jeanne Shaheen just joined her

Jeanne Shaheen Wicked WitchThe Senate just voted on the Keystone XL pipeline (aka, “Mary’s Hail Mary to save Mary Landrieu’s Senate Seat” – from the dude who WROTE the Hail Mary that is about to take her seat and contrary to her vote total (“I’ve got the 60 votes!”), it went down to defeat 59-41.  Her leadership (that would be Dingy Harry Reid and Dick Durbin) also voted against her – after allowing this to come up for a vote.  Nice, just nice.

But I am confused – I thought that to be a REAL woman, especially on the Democrat side, woman have to stick together, support each other?  That already makes Carol Shea-Porter a turncoat to wymens’ issues everywhere like Steve pointed out – does that mean she voted like a man?  But that’s not the only thing Steve brought up:

All of the Above, across the aisle, “New Hampshire First” Senator Jeanne Shaheen will have an opportunity to vote on this bill Tuesday.

Can guess what her DNC Narrative Homunculus will tell her to do?

For ALL of her talk of reaching across the aisle,

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GraniteGrok Endorsement Bill O’Brien for NH Speaker of the House: His Consistency has created Trust – please give him your Vote

...Speaker of the House Bill O'Brien
…Speaker of the House Bill O’Brien

That from the meme of “Consistency breeds Trust yields Votes”, and yes, NH House Representatives, we at GraniteGrok are unanimous in endorsing Bill O’Brien once again for the most powerful political position in New Hampshire.  Beyond “deserving” it (a hackneyed worn our phrase in this Entitlement Age), he has earned it.  While we have a few nits to pick with Bill (no one is perfect), they are far overshadowed by his results.  Results for New Hampshire that are in line with traditional New Hampshire results – and rolling back those foreign based Progressive ones.

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US Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) should have stayed”butt’d out” of the NH Speaker of the House race

Or say both Bill O’Brien and Laurie Sanborn on Kelly Ayotte’s endorsement of Gene Chandler (“Right After That Nap”) for NH Speaker of the House.  While Bill (who, for full disclosure, GraniteGrok endorsed in this race) talked about passe moderates (one of which, Doug Scamman, conspired with the Democrats to seal his fate) of last … Read more

Gene Chandler: like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, I’m in my last innings

Josh McElveen: “…why did you decide that you think that your leadership is what is required?” Gene Chandler : …I’d like to put my experience to good use. As the pro golfer Roy Maclroy said that about Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, they’re in their last innings THAT’s what I am, kind of.  I thought … Read more

So why does the Government keep trying to use the US Constitution to limit US?

As in “separation of church and State” when people try to exercise their Free Expression?  The US Constitution was to limit Government, not citizens.  It was to be OUR tool to keep Government in line; too often it seems that Government laws and regulations “supersede” our foundational law and are being used to keep US … Read more

Federal Government – yeah, still not working

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.”

            – President Barack Obama, Inauguration, 1/20/09

20,000 FEMA Katrina projects in limbo years later; feds can’t verify work done

More than nine years after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, billions of tax dollars in recovery funds remain in limbo because the vast majority of federally backed projects in New Orleans have yet to be properly documented.  It is the job of the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, which has administered $14.5 billion in recovery grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency since 2005, to document that the projects were completed according to federal regulations and that there are no outstanding funding issues.

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“Not My Usual “Thoughts On A Sunday” Post”

Some sad news from ‘Grok friend (and personal friend) DCE over at Weekend Pundit: Normally I start my Sunday post with some reference to the goings on around The Manse or in our town, usually covering something mundane or mildly humorous. But I can’t this time.  You see, my father – the infamous Weekend Pundit … Read more

Dennis Prager on Democrat Victimhood – Grievance culture

There are some folks out there that are true victims but the Democrats make entire classes of folks victims – and then pit them against each other (for that is the wages of Political Correctness and identity politics): (H/T: Liberal Logic 101)

GrokTV: interview with Bill O’Brien – Questions 18 (Priorities)

Last question that the GraniteGrok Editorial Board had for NH State Rep and Candidate for the NH Speaker of the House seat, Bill O’Brien, and it was what most folks would ask first.  However, we wanted to find out, as we said before, not only his stances but WHY he holds those stances on issues that Convervatives are both interested in and concerned about?  Certainly we had a view of former Speaker O’Brien from his time as NH Speaker two cycles ago – and we know what the results were in practical policy and financial aspects and THOSE are what matter (as opposed to mere “intent” common to much action ascribed to more Moderate or Liberal proscription into which we, the electorate, as herded into.

Question 18:

Top 3 Priorities if you are elected Speaker?

Previous Questions:

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Gene Chandler Priorities ‘If Elected Speaker’ – Part 2 (Unify)

Steve said “A picture is worth a thousand words, and at least a post or two…or three….and so on” concerning Gene Chandler; I’m willing to oblige.  From the UL: “…while U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and former Govs. John H. Sununu and Stephen Merrill, in a joint letter, urged elected representatives to support Chandler. Former … Read more

GrokTV: interview with Bill O’Brien – Questions 16 & 17 (Union Dues, Liberty)

A couple of questions on Liberty – where does this fit within Bill O’Brien and his worldview?  How would this work within the Legislative leadership he wishes to hold?  Is it “the common good” that is overriding, or is it the lowest level that must be addressed – the Individual?  Two real world, important, and current issues that boil down to the fundamental question: who is more important?

Question 16: During your Speakership, big emphasis on Right To Work – the ability to go and earn a paycheck to support your family without having to join a union…do you think there would be favorability for a very simple bill, that we won’t go for Right To Work, but that the unions now have to collect their dues directly from their membership (no government intermediary between membership and the union leaders in deducting those dues)?

Question 17: Religious Liberty – Certainly we have seen over the last couple of years the problem of non-discrimination impinging the Right of Conscience (the Free Expression as espoused in the First Amendment). We are seeing that small business folks who say we cannot marry you, we cannot do this, we cannot do that it goes against our conscience to do that. The most major principle in this country this country was founded upon. We are seeing a lot of problems with that. People on the Conservative side are starting to say, not just on the religious standpoint, but is it the Proper Role of Government to tell its citizenry “This is how you should think even if it goes against your conscience”? We have seen several cases mandated not only to pay fines when they refused to act according to those things but told “you will take re-education classes, diversity classes (whatever other name you want to do that). Is it that something that you might take up here and it that necessary?

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Condi Rice on Aggrievement

One aspect of Obama’s “Fundamental Transformation”: “…you are owed something and you don’t have to work for it“ (H/T: Liberal Logic 101)

GrokTV: interview with Bill O’Brien – Questions 7 & 8 (Legislative Abdication, Dependency on Feds)

Yes, more than a few questions already but we aren’t even halfway!  More questions – are legislators actually doing the hard work we elected them to do and are we “selling our State” to the Feds by being too dependent on their money?

  • Question 7: Is it the case that legislators are giving away their authority with passing broad “themes” and not holding them accountable for doing the nitty gritty details?
  • Question 8: With 40% of NH’s “revenue” coming via federal coffers and taking into consideration the current $2B hole (not including Medicaid expansion), what step can be taken, if any, to slow the hemorrhaging?

  

Question 7                                                            Question 8

Previous Questions:

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GrokTV: interview with Bill O’Brien – Questions 9 & 10 (Conservatarians, Domicile & Voter Fraud)

Even in a small State like New Hampshire there is more than a plethora of issues to keep us in blog fodder for, well, forever.  You see, since Progressives have carried out their “The personal is political, the political is the personal”, politics has been shoved by them into every nook and cranny of our very being and Progressives want that because where the political is, Government gets to control it.  After all, it is for your own good (go ask Obamacare Architect Gruber to see if that it true!).  But there is help coming as this next question brings up:

Question 9: There is a term out there going around “Conservatarians” [ “Conservative with (small “L”) libertarian leanings”  -Skip]; A lot of people ran for office in the Republican Party this year. It was amazing, I think, in the primary how many people were running against each other in districts. In many of the districts around me, a lot of people that would call themselves Conservatarians won and they have more of a Liberty mindset that they are more vocal about Liberty issues. Do you see the demographics in the House changing this year from the last time; do you have a sense for that at all?

And of course, when people whose real domicile is not in New Hampshire they can decide to steal a vote:

Question 10: Voter ID problem; a judge in Strafford County gutted domicile which pretty much made that pointless endeavor. Domicile is a huge problem what can we do and can we get it through a Democrat Governor?

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GrokTV: interview with Bill O’Brien – Questions 11 & 12 (State employee lobbying, Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals)

Two important questions having to do with the Proper Role of Government (State employees be able to lobby State legislators?) and the power of the Democrat PR Machine getting inside some Republicans’ heads.  That latter one would be the Democrat tactic of using Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals (Rule #12) against Bill O’Brien (especially it is clear that NH Voters rejected the Democrats’ sole campaign cry: “defeat O’Brien and his Budget!” – they WANT that budget else they’d have voted for more Democrats!)

  • Question 11: Would the legislature consider requiring state agencies and employees to meet the same standards and requirements set for other lobbyists? Should state employees be beseeching The State against MY best interest using my money?
  • Question 12: It is not on a specific issue; we’ve been hearing some real important points of where you stand on the spectrum of issues. For me, the elephant that’s in the room, on FB and the social media I’m heavily advocating for you, because I think you are the right guy at the right time and for the right job, there’s this theme out there that I think would be helpful to be addressed and if you could speak to it. That is the theme that, somehow, if the Republicans vote you in as Speaker of the House, it is going to be a bad election season in 2016 because it will mess up all the elections. I am hearing it throughout the spectrum, it is a talking point to me that seems to be a Democrat, frankly, in that we seemed to pick up the talking point. We’re talking like it’s Truth. So I have had a lot of people that are friends with me that have asked me this specific thing. They have asked me who I’m standing with and then they bring up that point. So, speak to that point, clear it up because I think it is disingenuous information.

  

Question 11                             Question 12

Previous Questions:

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GrokTV: interview with Bill O’Brien – Questions 13 & 14 (State Cartels, more Alinsky demonization)

“Winning is only a precursor; it is what you do afterwards that is most important”

And we are not close to being done (close, but a coupla/few more posts).  This time, the plethora of areas where NH must be begged “Daddy, may I earn a living?” instead of just getting to the job of doing a job.  I also tried to go back to the meme that we are hearing from moderate and “only winning is important” Republicans – Bill O’Brien can’t win simply because Democrats hate him.  This is a reason?  Seriously?  Or is the real reason deeper than that?

Question 13: Speaking of bringing businesses to NH: we have a lot of certifications and licensing for businesses – cartels, I like to call them where you have to get permission from a certain group of people in order to operate your business in a certain way. How would you address that?

Question 14: Follow on to Jane’s question (Question 12): obviously the Democrats have tried to DEMONIZE you according to Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals (Rule #12, isolate, personalize, demonize). Ed

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