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We went through this gas Tax stupidity last year – starting in the House:

Yup, that’s right.  The NH House’s Public Works and Highway Committee members decided that it was so durn important to fix roads and such, they couldn’t be bothered to really set a priority list and bump down others much less important (remember:  “Maggie the Marxist” – she choose diapers over students??  $2 million for adult diapers? great prioritization)  HB617 was just passed out of that Committee, 17-0, with nary a “limited government / less taxes” Republican throwing a single “Nay!”.  Not one Republican could say “er, is this really not a good thing to do right now with gas quickly heading towards $4 / gallon WITHOUT the State of NH helping it along??

And we were all over HB167: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.  I even gave some advice to NH GOP Chair Jennifer Horn on “messaging” and Consistency when she went after Maggie Hassan and not the Republicans who voted to raise the gas tax:

“I am saddened that any Republican voted to enlarge Government, to go along to get along, and not fight the good fight to find savings elsewhere and restructure Government priorities within the current budget to deal with these important matters.  It would have been better for issues and needs of lower importance to receive less monies so as to take care of these higher ones; after all, it is what we all do around the family kitchen table every single day.  Raising such a tax that affects so many citizens in a time of already high gas price only places a burden on them; Republicans should know and do better and I ask them to review the Platform so as to re-familiarize themselves what our word stands. After all, if we cannot stand by our own words, what do we stand for?“

Well, THANK you, NH State Senator Rausch (Republican), for trying to finish what the House Democrats and their Jr. Partners in making Government more costly last year: 

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From the NH Constitution:

[Art.] 28-a. [Mandated Programs.] The state shall not mandate or assign any new, expanded or modified programs or responsibilities to any political subdivision in such a way as to necessitate additional local expenditures by the political subdivision unless such programs or responsibilities are fully funded by the state or unless such programs or responsibilities are approved for funding by a vote of the local legislative body of the political subdivision.

My favorite Article in the NH Constitution (mostly).  It shows a respect for the Citizenry and the local towns “We won’t force you to raise Property Taxes for expenses we foist upon you”.  The problem with this limiting Article for our limiting Government Document, few in State Government, either by elected or employed officials either know about it or govern by it.  I know that when I asked my local officials what we have to pay for that is unreimbursed, I got laughed at.  Imagine, however, if more ordinary folks did demand “If they ain’t paying, we ain’t doing”?

Like the School Board in Conway, NH (emphasis mine):

Although they admit there’s little chance of getting reimbursed, the members of the Conway School Board are asking the state to pay for costs related to switching to Smarter Balance testing as required by the new standards called Common Core, which they believe is an unfunded mandate.

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My stance used to be that anyone should be able to give as much as they want to any political group or candidate.  They earned the money – and the First Amendment means ESPECIALLY that political speech should be free from government inteference.   Yet, we have seen politicians, both at the national level and here in NH on BOTH sides of the political aisle, do all they can to obfuscate, “convolate”, and otherwise make it harder for ordinary people to have their say.  BOTH Parties have create minefields of regulations that make it all but impossible for an ordinary schlub to get together with some buddies and make a political stand with some money.  It all can be called “Incumbent Protections Acts”.  So I used to think “hey, just use the ‘Net and list who the donors are if you really have to know.

And then CA’s Prop 8, to roll back homosexual marriage, happened.  Donors were publicly listed and the militant gays went after most of them (see here from Heritage).  We’ve seen the Obama campaign go after donors to Republican donors and use the force of Government to harass and otherwise use the “Progressive Chicago WAY” of politics to silence them.  Thus, I openly advocate that NO donors should ever be forced to be revealed for instead of achieving the goal of more open and transparency in election, Progressives have used opposition donor list as retributive “hit’em hard” lists.  And now US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D, Progressive-MA) is showing that full on again:

I’m generally for more disclosure in campaign finance, but the best argument against requiring full disclosure by groups engaged in political speech is that politicians sometimes retaliate against their critics. Sen. Elizabeth Warren inadvertently made that very argument this week.  

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From Roll Call, on an impending deal between Republicans and Democrats on the Federal Budget:

Budget negotiators are nearing a deal that could ease the way for leaders to avert another government shutdown before the 2014 elections, but only if rank and file — particularly in the House — buy into the agreement.

Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., are expected to announce a framework in the coming days that would set a top-line number for appropriators higher than the current sequester levels but lower than what Democrats have previously demanded.

According to sources, the increased spending would be offset by less controversial pay-fors, including spectrum sales and some mandatory health care cuts. The two lawmakers have been meeting regularly, including a session Wednesday. Murray attended despite the Senate’s recess.

Oh yeah, I made it easy for you.  There are a LOT of Establishment Republicans that are upset with that phrase “Junior

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At every turn, I keep hearing from the community organizer and unionista types that working at Wally World – how can those folks let Walmart DO those evil things like pay them poorly and unable to support themselves without Government assistance?  Never knowing their hours, moved around like cattle, no room for advancement (scratching head here – where DO all those supervisors, department manager, store managers, district managers all come from ??) – a veritable sweatshop selling nothing but low priced goods to “Walmart People”.   The indignity of it all!  After all, Liberal establishments ALL pay much better (oh wait, about that Leftist mag called Mother Jones….).

But somebody (lots of bodies, in fact) didn’t catch the message:

Occupy Wall Street has joined union thugs and other socialist anti-capitalists to protest Walmart providing jobs for millions of Americans recently. The economically challenged troglodytes don’t seem to understand, or care, that imposing an artificial minimum wage on a free market will only hurt employees and consumers.

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Charitable monies, that is.  You know, the line item on the 1040 where you get to put down how much you gave to charities?  The one that Obama and Pack of Progressive Socialists want to get rid of; after all, to them, TRUE charity can only be given by Government policies and bureaucrats.  Add another one to the Progressive Pile in leading us to the Nirvana of Progressive Giving by her example (er, but not giving at all!):

…In 2011, she earned $235,428, but gave a paltry $515 to charity. That’s less than one percent of her income, in fact, it barely scratches one-fifth of one percent.

…2012 wasn’t much better, even though her income jumped to $284,183. That year, she gave just $950 in contributions to charity, This works out to a very generous three-tenths of one percent!

That would be Wendy Davis of Texas.  You know, this Paragon of Philanthropy whose claim to fame is to take other peoples’s money

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Because these kinds of things NEVER end up getting extended, do they?  I’m already not all that much liking that the Federal DOT wants a Black Box (a la a commercial jet) in my car they can access without my consent in the car that *I* have bought.  Now, they want me (likely) to buy another GPS device so they can track me where I go?  When will Government go back to leaving us all alone?

[Rep. Earl] Blumenauer’s [(D-Ore.)] bill, H.R. 3638, would set up a Road Usage Fee Pilot Program, which he said would study mileage-based fee systems. He cast his bill as a long-term solution for funding highway programs, and proposed it along with a shorter-term plan to nearly double the gas tax, from 18.4 cents to 33.4 cents per gallon.

“As we extend the gas tax, we must also think about how to replace it with something more sustainable,” Blumenauer said Tuesday. “The best candidate would be the vehicle mile traveled fee being explored by pilot projects in Oregon and implemented there on a voluntary basis next year.”

He said the bill would help answer questions about “how best to implement a vehicle miles traveled [VMT] system,” and said it “looks to the future and helps provide a more stable funding base for the next one hundred years.”

And we all know what happens to voluntary programs when it comes to Government revenues, right? 

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As Rush points out, it is the Left that has been, continues to, and will continue to attack what used to be seen as the main building block of both Civil Society and our Republic – the traditional family of a committed husband/ father and wife / mother that own the main responsibility of raising their children (and NOT that of “the village” or that those kids “belong to us all”).  Government Welfare (“the dole”) of LBJ’s “Great Society” effectively castaway that committed husband; he left so that his family could get “aid” .  This has all but destroyed the urban Black families and is rapidly doing the same to other minorities and poor whites as well.  The MSM and Pop Culture Gatekeepers (magazines, Hollywood) extoll the excitement of cheating on your loved ones and the “Greed is Good” mentality.  Religion, which once formed a common public morality” is under attack and the selfish ideologies of the 60s are now running amok (love that word, amok)  full blown in this “All about ME!” mentality and ALL authority is not just suspect, but to be the object of an outright revolt.  To wit – to heck with anything traditional and that goes against the Left’s morality is that Government is your Friend, your Daddy, your Husband, your Protector, and God.

I’ve said for a while now that Obama’s

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Exactly what I have been writing about one lesson that Republicans have to learn: being consistent.  It really isn’t that hard to grasp, really – all it takes is the ability to stick to your Principles.  Do that, and it wipes the political table clean of mistakes (and often keeps you from making future ones).  Look, learn, and love your Principles – and then learn to apply them not just to yourself but to your opponents as well.

But Harrell being Harrell, makes the stupid mistake of “not being situational aware”.  As Steve pointed out, Harrell decided that it was time to try to lob a grenade our way.  Hey Harrell – next time, try pulling the pin first!  No doing so kinda makes you look ridiculous and gives you yet another #FAIL.

Note to Harrell – when you CURRENTLY have an outspoken, foul mouthed Pete Sullivan going off,

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Note: I went to the Gilford / Laconia / Tilton fast food outlets at lunch time – specifically to see if some of the busier places were getting “striked”,  However, nary a protest sign to be seen.  Just workers working away to provide their CUSTOMERS the best product available.  And that’s something that the Unions AREN’T talking about – Customers.  I wonder why?  Actually, no, I don’t – the militant socialist SEIU is only concerned with obtaining power; rarely do they talk about pleasing the actual Customer.  Too, they keep forgetting about the hamburger robot.

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MANCHESTER – Americans for Prosperity – New Hampshire (AFP-NH) today offered the following comments in response to a protest coordinated by the AFL-CIO today at the McDonald’s on South Willow Street in Manchester to advocate for a 40% increase in the minimum wage, from the current $7.25/hour to a proposed $10.10/hour that currently is being considered in Congress.

“While the top union bosses suggest that a 40% minimum wage hike will put more money in the pockets of lower wage workers, what it really does is price most of them out of the market and cost the poorest an opportunity to start on the first rung of the career ladder,” said Greg Moore, AFP-NH State Director. “The reality is that many 16 and 17-year olds – the folks who often take minimum wage jobs – simply can’t create over $10 per hour in value for an employer, and simply won’t get hired. 

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