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Update: We changed our voting given several Groksters now having had the time to talk with and research the elected history of Jim Lawrence.  Effective immediately, we are changing our stance from declining to promote any candidate, in CD-2.  We are endorsing Jim Lawrence based on his voting record, individual Groksters speaking with him, and his interview (late as it was in the Primary season) on GrokTALK! yesterday with Mike and Steve.

I also think it a bit hilarious that WMUR had to come to GrokTALK! to interview him – welcome MSM! Again, here is the GrokTALK! segment with Jim that Steve just put up – although not present yesterday, I am processing the livestream video and will put that up as quickly as I can here.

Please note: we are also issuing a Negative Endorsement in CD-2 for Gary Lambert due to his ad and debate accusations that we hold to be false.  We may be hard on Republicans (sometimes, we seem to be the only ones) that don’t follow the platform, but it seems that Gary has ticked off a LOT of folks – even Establishment Republicans.

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As I said here for our endorsement for Bob Smith (and for Andrew Hemingway for NH Governor and for Jane Cormier for NH State Senate District 16), we are being “stingy” this cycle – extremely so.  We are 

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Yes, a “Like” as in a like on a Facebook page.  No, not a full blown unequivocal endorsement as we have done previously this cycle but akin to what we have said in the past (“Well, we have endorsed ABC but if that person is not your cup of tea, then we would ask you to consider XYZ”).  We are making such a recommendation in this race – Regina Birdsell.  We do appreciate a number of her stances and have liked a number of her votes.  We certainly have also appreciated some of her votes.  Thus, our stance is that if you are unsure who to vote for, be it known that the authors and writers of GraniteGrok like Regina over the other candidates in this race.

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And one of them is Jim Foley, who has just earned the very first Negative Endorsement (aka “run screaming away from his name on the ballot!”)   Why?

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Pete is a good friend of the ‘Grok and any time we are at an event and he shows up, he knows we have a seat ready for him.  That said, we can still disagree with him from time to time, and when he decided to take on my post here, it certainly is worthy of a response.  He disagrees with our stance on no longer giving our vote away to the GOP’s “least worst” choice on a ballot:

Yup, scapegoating their voters – good job on gaining and influencing “friends”.  You didn’t give those 31 million Republicans a good enough reason TO vote – and you are blaming them?   It’s like going to the store – why buy an inferior product when one was looking for excellence?  Humphreys sounds like the Party is entitled to my vote simply because there is an R associated with my name.

Once again, the GOP and NH GOP have got it absolutely backwards – I don’t HAVE to “buy your product” if it does not meet my needs nor my expectation of excellence. In fact, you are asking me to be contrary to myself just so that you feel good.

In effect, we are no longer satisfied with an NH GOP that fails to seek and implement Excellence; too often, they are willing to accept a warm body to fill a gap and that is especially true if they can be self-funding.  They have no problem in violating “Winning is merely a precursor; it is what you do afterwards that is important”.  Unfortunately, a lot of “winners” turn out to be losers when it comes to actually implementing, full bore, the Republican / Conservative agenda (most notably in the 2010 season when we handed the NH GOP veto-proof majorities and in a number of really important issues for the base, threw up air balls.  Excellence includes winning – but is so much more.  But Pete responds:

Skip is absolutely right, the New Hampshire GOP has not earned the respect of conservatives like him so they have a lot of nerve after kicking them in the balls to ask him for their support post primary for candidates that don’t appeal to their palate in the least….

….so I imagine it’s going to be a bit of a shock to the people who have read up to this point that that’s exactly what I’m going to urge Skip and my fellow conservatives in NH & elsewhere to do.  I’m urging them to support the GOP nominees in the state and federal elections whoever they are. Why? Why?  Because while Skip’s point is strong it has a fatal flaw:

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NH State Rep Leigh Webb (D): “The role of government is to legislate behavior“

Yep, not satisfied with dealing with ISIS, the national debt, the overrunning of our Southern Border, the crisis in Gaza and Hamas, the Taliban in Afghanistan, homegrown Muslim terrorists (yes, the Minneapolis based Somalis going to wage jihad in Iraq / Syria), the EPA arbitrarily killing off the coal industry, taking away of the Right to Private Property, Justice doing its own part to kill off other industries they don’t likel, Russia in the Crimea, Russia in Ukraine, Boko Haram in Nigeria, China making noises against both Japan and the Philippines, the Norks lobbing rockets again, and yes, school kids dumping their lunches into the trash…oh heck, you know the rest.

No, none of these are as important to Progressive President Obama and his cohort of commies totalitarians that KNOW we just can’t do the right thing in using energy and prove that they don ‘t believe in Individual Choice and the power of the Marketplace.  They truly believe that only those in government (elected, appointed, or hired) have any idea of how an adult should act or spend their money.  Can’t allow people to make “bad” choices, can we?  Reformatted and emphasis mine:

The Obama administration is working on new efficiency standards for seemingly every appliance but the kitchen sink.

Spurred by President Obama’s climate action plan, the Department of Energy is pumping out new standards for refrigerators, dishwashers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, furnaces, boilers, water heaters, lamps and many more appliances.   The administration says the standards will not only help the planet but also stimulate the economy by saving consumers money on their energy bills that they can spend elsewhere.But industry groups argue the standards, which will apply to both commercial and household appliances, could slow the economy, and that the Energy Department is rushing the new rules while overestimating the savings. Other critics argue the push to regulate household appliances is evidence of a nanny state.

Again, this is THE major problem with the Federal Government and the blind side of Progressivism:

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Once again, the folks that believe they are worth more than the job economically entails are going to go on strike on Thursday (reformatted, emphasis mine)

Fast-food workers plan nationwide protest Thursday

The campaign to get fast-food workers paid at least $15 a hour resumes later this week.  Union organizers say workers will walk off their jobs Thursday in 150 cities nationwide. Restaurants that they say will be affected include McDonald’s (MCD), Burger King (BKW) , Wendy’s and KFC, which is owned by Yum Brands (YUM).  The action would be the latest in a two-year effort to get employers to pay them a minimum wage of $15 an hour and allow them to form unions without retaliation.

Nancy Salgado, a 27 year old single mother of a 3 year old boy and an 8 year old girl, plans to strike.  Salgado works at a McDonald’s in the Logan Square area of Chicago earning $8.25 an hour, or about $600 a month take home pay.  After splitting rent and utilities with 3 roommates, and paying for child care, she’s left with a little over $100 a month for food and everything else.  “If I have a dollar at the end of the month it’s a miracle,” Salgado said.

Once again, entry level jobs are just that – entry level.  They are meant to give entry level workers experience and skills to rise upward – not to provide for a family.  But with the stultifying effects that the Obama Administration has had on the labor market, it has fundamentally transformed our economy to being not much different than Europe’s (go ahead, go look how locked in and regulated that is – and the millions of younger and low skilled workers that either can’t get a start or advance).

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Again, SEIU is a Socialist organization, through and through – I have studied them, I have read their papers and newsletters, and I have watched them work issues – especially in getting Obama and Obamacare passed.  They make it no secret that they hate Conservatives for their love of the Constitution.  They make it no secret that they hate Republicans as well as they are as Democrat as they come if not more.

So according to their own documents, what is it that makes incumbent NH State Senator Dave Boutin (R-District 16) so attractive to them that they would endorse him in his run against the true Conservative in this race, Jane Cormier?  Was it that he supported their main issue – Obamacare (specifically Obamacare’s program to Expand Medicare)?  It will certainly require a large tax increase from NH taxpayers after the first 3 years, and the SEIU is nothing if not redistributionist in nature – taking from the many to give to the fewer.  As Obama said to Joe the Plumber: spread the wealth around.  And nothing requires more spreading than “free” healthcare!  This is in the NH GOP Platform – where?

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I’ve been saying it for a while now – no way that I’m betting that 2014 is going to replicate 2010 and a large reason why is, IMHO, that the Establishment Republicans joined with the Democrats in excoriating the TEA Party / Libertarian wing of the Party.  That would be the same people that dragged a lot of Republicans over the finish line both at the Federal level and bushwhacked the Dems at the State level.  More and more I am hearing, in effect, that these folks are starting to say “screw you – why vote for you when you fight against us?”  Thus, when this came across the transom, I was not surprised – somebody high in the NH GOP is getting really antsy and anxious, eh?  Reformatted and emphasis mine:

Got this today from the Brookline-Mason GOP.  Someone is nervous…..I wonder how high up it goes?

On Aug 29, 2014 6:52 PM, “Thomas Humphreys”wrote

BMRC Members, The purpose of this email is to urge you to do the following:

1. Vote in the Republican primary election for the candidate(s) of your choice.
2. Vote in the general election for the Republican candidate, even if they were not who you voted for in the primary election. Staying home and/or not voting for a specific candidate/office is the same as voting for their opponent.

In the 2012 presidential election, there were approximately 220 million registered voters in the United States. Final voting results for president (rounded) were, Obama-66 million, Romney 61 million. Which means 93 million people did not bother to vote.  Assuming an even split (Democrat, Independent, and Republican) among the 93 means that about 31 million Republicans stayed home. If just 20% (6 million) of those had gone to the polls and voted for Romney, the outcome would have been different, we would have a much better individual in the White House and our country would be far better off than it is today.

And of course, I had a response!

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Consistency breeds Trust yields Votes

We have been rather stingy with endorsements thus far this season; the writers at GraniteGrok decided that our bar for such would be set so high that few would be able to meet it.  We discussed that we would only settle for “Champions” – those people that we can Trust; those candidates that we would never have to worry about the questions of where they are with respect to the NH GOP Platform and, more importantly, both the words and spirit of our Constitutions when it comes to legislation and votes.  Can we, without even asking, know how a Champion will vote without asking?  Can this be a person that will not violate that Trust that we would imbue to them?  And in this Federal position, work hard to reverse the Progressive march that demands that Government be our master?

The Groksters, writers / activists, have decided that Bob Smith is that person and who represents our values most closely and someone that we can lend one of our most valuable assets that we have as Citizens – our votes.  In a representative democracy, our Constitutional Republic, there can be no higher accolade than to say “we believe you can do the job” and do so within the constraints of what the Constitution allows you to do as one that will be directing that level of Government.  We believe that he is best suited to not only carry those values forward but also resist those that are infected with “Potomac Flu” – the philosophy that “Government knows best and should legislate our behavior”, and that special interest groups that “rent seek” from the Feds in “benefit for the few at the expense of the many”.

As with all of our endorsements, however, comes that “double edged sword”;

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Yeah, this is a “bite the hand that fed ya” type of post – I was named AFP’s National Activist of the Year back in 2011 and Steve was named AFP’s National Blogger of the month in December 2012.  I would like to point out that this post also shows that while we have friends, we must also point out “wrong doing” by them just as if they were not – else we would be hypocritical.  Above all, we value the reputation we have built by being equal opportunity Flashlighters when anyone crosses a line that they should not.  And yes, we hold our friends to a higher standard.

Thus, I got a bit peeved when I saw this in my email that came in from a ‘Grok Friend while I was out doing errands this afternoon (up North a bit of gunsmithing for me & leaving some bucks with BJs – given that Obama has declared September to be “PrepareAThon”, he should be proud of me!).  What the heck is the Honorary Chair of Americans for Prosperity / NH Tom Thomson getting involved in the NH Republican Primary for Governor??   Reformatted and emphasis mine:

Today, Sept. 2, 2014, it was announced by Tommy Thompson (Honorary Chair of NH AFP), that he was endorsing Walt Haverstein, in the race for NH Governor. NH AFP will tell you they do not “endorse” candidates, but those in the know, understand how the game is played.  The truth is Tommy will carry the “message” of Havenstein’s endorsement for AFP while looking as though NH AFP was not actually involved.  NH Americans for Prosperity has sold out the grassroots here in NH! They have been coopted by the NH GOP!

See below why I give this last sentence credence; more of that email and my response:

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This came in on Thursday and missed it first go around – apologies:

Speaker Candidate Rep. William O’Brien’s Statement on the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s Decision in Duncan v. State of New Hampshire

Contact:               Rep. William O’Brien
Tel. (603) 620-8710
Email: WilliamLOBrien@gmail.com

In 2012 the New Hampshire legislature overrode Democrat Gov. Lynch’s veto and passed the Opportunity Scholarship Act, a law intended to give the children from poor and medium income families the opportunity to get the same educational opportunities that the children of Gov. Lynch and so many of his well-heeled political and union boss friends enjoy.  This pro-educational choice law allows businesses to give a very limited amount of their pretax dollars to private charities set up to give all but a small percentage of the funds they receive to educate children from families earning no more than 300% of the federal poverty line.

Ever since this law came into effect, vested educational industry interests, led by those who do not have to send their children to failing schools, have tried to reverse Gov. Lynch’s failed gubernatorial veto with a judicial veto.  They forum-shopped for a favorable judge.  They had that judge issue a decision limiting the law based on premise that would make any liberal smile: he said, in effect, that all your money first belongs to the government, so if government leaves some to you after taxes with the knowledge that you might spend it on a religious-based education, then government is supporting religion.

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Sent in by a ‘Grok friend:

August 29, 2014
Speaking at Point Mugu Naval Base, near the Reagan Ranch where he is vacationing, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on the beheading of James Foley and the threats from the Islamic State (also known as ISIS).

My fellow Americans:

We have all been saddened and outraged by the vicious videotape of Islamic State terrorists beheading an American journalist. Our hearts go out to James Foley’s family.  However, anger and sympathy are not solutions.  We, the American people, must come together in a righteous determination to defend freedom and civilization from barbarism, savagery, and terrorism.

We must calmly, methodically, and with the same grim determination we brought to winning World War II, implement strategies that eliminate the growing worldwide threat of radical Islamists prepared to kill us as individuals and our values as a civilization.

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