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Co-founder of GraniteGrok, my concern is around Individual Liberty and Freedom and how the Government is taking that away. As an evangelical Christian and Conservative with small "L" libertarian leanings, my fight is with Progressives forcing a collectivized, secular humanistic future upon us. As a TEA Party activist, citizen journalist, and pundit!, my goal is to use the New Media to advance the radical notions of America's Founders back into our culture.

I guess that they didn’t cotton much to the little people besting them in a fair election

In Wisconsin this last election cycle, the Progressive Democrats and unions were booted from power after having had their way for decades.  Voters finally decided that they should not wield that power and those that were voted in immediately set in on to do what they campaigned on.  However, the Progressives & unions decided they didn’t have to accept that result and started recalls, hoping to override the November results. They have been used to wielding power for decades – and took it for granted.  When they lost their majorities, they flipped their lids.

How is this much different with the situation in the NH GOP?  The perception (which makes it reality) of the grassroots is that while the old guard lost but, as Steve put it so well, they have seemingly been fighting the results of January since.  Now, they are looking for their version of the Democrat’s recall.

It is my opinion that they believe they are trying to right a wrong.  They also believe that there is only an upside for them in that the grassroots that helped to put Jack Kimball into the Chair have no where else to go.  In essence, they believe there is absolutely no downside to this attack, on the idea of "they have no where else to go" as well as "Suckers, there is NOTHING they can do in retaliation". They believe there is no consequence to their decision and action.

There needs to be one. If Jack survives the vote, he should immediately turn around and ask for those who voted against him to resign. He also should pivot and bring in more of the Freedom folks to advise and run things. Why? This is only one battle, IMHO, in this seemingly endless enmity between the Establishment and grassroots. it will not stop here.  In fact, this will only cause that to increase.

I had a discussion with a long term NH political operative last night.  He brought up…

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Arriving at the door: “Don’t Let The Kids Drink The Kool-Aid: Confronting the Left’s Assault on Our Families, Faith, and Freedom”

New book in from Regnery Press by Marybeth Hicks: "Many people assume that this generation of young Americans is much like any other. But thanks to the radical Left, they’re not even close. So says columnist and author Marybeth Hicks in her shocking new exposé, Don’t Let the Kids Drink the Kool-Aid: Confronting the Left’s … Read more

GrokTV Event: Americans for Prosperity/NH – PresidentialSummer Celebration

Sunday, AFP / NH held a NH Presidential Summer Celebration up in Center Harbor (NH).  Calling it a house event doesn’t quite fit – although it is now a home, it used to be Our Lady of Victory Church.  What was nice is that the sanctuary was still there – wood beams, old fashion lighting, choir loft, and pews.  Which was great as just as the event started outside, it started to rain!

Nice – electricity flowing, electronics on, laptop up – "rain drops keep frying all my boards".  The problem was rushing back in and getting the cameras up and running as Corey Lewandowski (Exec. Dir of AFP/NH) kept the event going.  

Also, please excuse the poor lighting – I had no control over that (having had to literally run inside, and had no time to set up my indoor lights).

This clip is the opening speaker, Ovide Lamontagne, former Senatorial candidate and now Chair and founder of the Granite Oath PAC

Next up was…

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“So this is your 30 pieces of silver?”

Yeah, so the Establishment is trying to get the upper hand:  shhh…we’ll keep this quiet…..and then someone released what they wanted to the Union Leader.  I was waiting for this to happen: Folks are asking Jack Kimball to step down from being Chair of the NH GOP. And since this story went live, I have … Read more

Guest Post by Peter Bearse & Rick Parent – Frank Guinta: Not your cup of TEA

The Tea Partier facade that Rep. Frank Guinta cultivated during his 2010 campaign has been fractured. He voted for the Boehner compromise during the debt limit debate, better known as the Boehner bill. This vote revealed Mr. Guinta’s true identity — that of a go-along/get-along [GA/GA] Member of Congress who, as one Tea Party member remarked, is already “getting too comfortable with Washington,” unwilling or unable to risk his political career for the sake of principle.

A meeting of about 25 political activists from around the 1st Congressional District was convened by Rep. Guinta in his Manchester District Office on August 10th. Most of them were Tea Party folks. One of them, Ray Shakir, had come all the way from N. Conway for the meeting. He swore that “All of the Tea Partiers were against Frank’s vote.” They left dissatisfied with his lengthy explanation of why he voted as he had. The “explanation” amounted to an unconvincing rationalization. A recognized NH Tea Party leader noted that the Boehner bill established an unconstitutional “Super Committee”. Another attendee said he felt that Frank had voted for a “bad bill.” He was “struggling to understand why.” The only reason he could imagine was “fear.” Frank denied this but didn’t explain why even though he was aware that the fear factor had been played up by the mainstream media and Pres. Obama.

Perhaps the main reasons were unspoken. That Frank is attempting to be a Rep. to all of his constituents. He is focused on reelection [Aren’t they all?]. And so he lost the courage of his convictions and/or bought into the Dem’s view that getting identified with the Tea Party is a “poison pill” that makes him unelectable — “dead meat.” We don’t share that view, but note again Ray Shakir: “He (Frank) tried to play the candle’s middle by burning both ends.” Even his usually astute political judgment here is open to question. U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte has gotten a lot of praise for her vote vs. the “Boehner” bill.

Frank Guinta’s future as a Member of Congress [MoC] is intertwined with two other big issues:

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A Letter from Lucy – Carol Shea-Porter

Earlier this month, the ‘Grok ran a guest piece of mine.  It received several comments, pro and con, and was a totally entertaining experience.  Thanks, Skip [Most welcome, sir!  -Skip].

In due course, the piece rotated off as other pieces were published.  Ten days after the piece appeared, Skip received another comment from Lucy Edwards.  Her comment had two subjects, Bill O’Brien and Carol Shea-Porter (CSP).  This article addresses the CSP comment, shown in part below:

And I suggest Mr. Johnson do some more homework before he writes about Carol Shea Porter [sic] again. The story about having someone removed from her town hall is untrue. James Pindell reported the following after the incident:

Lucy could have saved some of the homework she recommended by providing a link to her reference to Mr. Pindell, but she didn’t so it was off to Google.  Since the incident, Mr. Pindell has been hired by WMUR and his old website now directs the reader to a WMUR site.  Mr. Pindell’s article is not directly available, but a reference can be found on the Democratic Underground.  

Lucy, you asked for more homework.  OK, it is an incident that can be remembered with fondness.  If you recall, it was towards the end of August 2009, Obamacare was still being debated, the people were generally opposed to the approach and wanted guidance from their representatives, and CSP ended up on a milk carton – have you seen this woman?

The New York Times, in a piece titled “Democrats Skip Town Halls to Avoid Voter Rage,” included the following:

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GrokTalk! Saturday August 20, 2011

Live Streaming local and National News with opinion you could only get from GraniteGrok. EMail: GrokTALK@GraniteGrok.com  This week, 9-11AM…  (Sorry, no call-ins this week) We are going to be LIVE at the 3rd Annual New Hampshire Young Republican Lobster Bake and Straw Poll:   Great Island Common301 Wentworth Road (Route 1-B)New Castle, NH "Please join … Read more

Too Big To Answer?

When the chuckleheads in DC were bailing out everything with a supposed leak and everyone with a hand out for taxpayer ‘sweat of the brow’, the mantra of the day was "Too big to fail".  The main thrust was that was a number of the firms that were judged too big to fail in that the "system" would absolutely deconstruct if these entities were not supported.  Now, remember this:

"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

Riiiiggghhhtttt.  Well, during Obama’s "HearseBus trip" for one of his  campaign listening stops this past week, a farmer asked him about some of the new regulations coming their way and he was none too happy that the DC Regulation Corps just doesn’t get farming – WHY are you making it so much harder for us?

The one question that never seemed to come up at the bailout time was "well, is Govt too Big to Fail"?  Yeah, I know – most conservatives understand innately that it is spot now (and certainly I have posted Dumb Things that Govt does regardless of who is sitting in the Oval Office or controlling Congress) even as it is mantra #1 for Progressives (Govt can do no wrong and, well, if it does, it’s only a tiny problem).  However, this one is all on Obama, especially with his cavalier attitude of "Hey, Govt’s got ya covered – just ask the right people; they’ll set ya straight.  Don’t listen to those other people – they just causing trouble". 

Well, a Politico reporter decided to follow Obama’s advice:

“My suspicion is, a lot of times, they’re going to be able to answer your questions and it will turn out that some of your fears are unfounded.”

Heh!  SURE – just call!  Look, I have worked for behemoth companies – Honeywell Information Systems, Wang Labs, Digital Equipment – it can be hard to find the right person.  Uncle Sam dwarfs them.  But you would think that right after Obama puts them on the spot, they’d be spot on for question.

Not so much, USDA:

 

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Data Point – So, how many people DO believe Obama’s economy is?

Tim humorously has been asking "How bad is Obama’s economy?"  Seems like Tim has been getting people a thinkin’ about it: (H/T: Gallup) President Obama has said he’s got a plan, a good plan, but he’s going to wait until after his vacation amongst the hoity-toity on the Vineyard to tell the little people about … Read more

“No EASY Button”: Guest Post by Jack Kimball, NH GOP Chair

The N.H. GOP is forging ahead without an ‘easy button’

Thursday, August 18, 2011

I would like to respond to the editorial published in Foster’s Daily Democrat on Aug. 11, entitled "Who does the GOP represent?" The editors examined the results of recent special elections in Strafford and Hillsborough Counties in which both Republican candidates were defeated. The article quotes Democrat Party Chairman Ray Buckley’s partisan diatribe about the GOP and, in general, paints a largely critical and one-sided picture of both the GOP and it’s accomplishments in the spring session of the 2011 New Hampshire Legislature.

So who do we represent? We represent those that agree with the preamble to the Declaration of Independence: We actively support the rule of law, setting it firmly on the bedrock foundations of our state and federal constitutions, as plainly written and intended by our forebears. We believe in the inherent, sovereign right of the electorate to rule the government, not the other way around; and that the government was contracted to protect our lives, our liberties and our property, not micromanage them. We represent laissez faire capitalism and the proven axiom that liberty and reason are the necessary handmaidens of human happiness. We represent those that see America’s promise and ideals as exceptional and inspirational to the whole world. If you would breathe free, we represent you.

Ideals and party mission statements are one thing, but delivering on promises made and implied is quite another. So how did we do? On Election Day 2010, the Republican-led legislature faced a structural deficit of $895,000,000 in a sinking economy with U3 unemployment standing at 5.7%. We had promised to balance the budget with no new taxes or fees, and to do so without resorting to gimmicks or the state credit card or load-shifting to cities and towns. We had large majorities in the legislature, and all five seats in the Executive Council, but faced a popular four-term Democrat governor.

The implication that Bill O’Brien and…

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Gasbag

(H/T: Powerline)

Data Point – Level of Christianity in the United States

From an post at The Corner actually concerning David Gregory of Meet The Press on his disbelief that anyone really believes God works in individual lives: "…according to an ABC News poll, a full 83 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christian and, according to a Brandeis University study, 90 percent of Americans pray daily … Read more

Gallup – Monday, Obama was at 39% approval

So, where does he rate with respect to other Presidents at the same spot during their tenure? GHW Bush: 71% Eisenhower: 70% Kennedy: 61% GW Bush: 60% Truman: 55% Ford: 53% Nixon: 49% Johnson: 48% Clinton: 46% Reagan: 44% Carter: 33% I guess Carter is still praying a little bit more…and it may be working: … Read more

Inconsequential – the US or the US Government?

A difference in how the word is used – and its target:

Gov. Rick Perry:

“I’ll work every day to make Washington, D.C. as inconsequential in your life as I can.”

Jay Nordlinger at The Corner:

A lot of Americans reject this view — Americans on both left and right. There is a segment of the Right that wants America to be small, quiet, closed, and inconsequential; much of the Left wants America to be socialist, or social-democratic, indistinct, and inconsequential. Then there are the others. The cliché is true: that the 2012 election is hugely important. Americans will be answering, in a way, “What kind of country are we going to have?”

The latter speaks of what some Americans wish for America, the former speaks what most Conservatives and Libertarians wish for our overgrown Federal Government. The latter is an appeasement and a choice to decline; the former is a choice to affirm the true strength of America: individual Americans and not its government or government programs (no matter what Obama thinks).

Some might think that I was rather harsh to the point of trashing Gov. Perry’s "same answer at Gov. Jon Huntsman’s illegal immigration answer – incomplete on purpose".   Too bad, but let’s have the discussion.  This ("..as inconsequential in your life…") is spot on, and is another way of stating what Nordlinger is saying: we refuse that inconsequential view of what the United States should become.

Once again, this election is going to be about two very divergent views of what the US will be:

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Such a BIG (ego) bus….

The Hill:

The country’s automakers should ditch their focus on SUVs and trucks in favor of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, President Obama said Monday.

“You can’t just make money on SUVs and trucks,” Obama said during a town hall forum in Cannon Falls, Minn. “There is a place for SUVs and trucks, but as gas prices keep on going up, you have got to understand the market. People are going to try to save money.”

Like King Canute, Obama thinks he can just utter the words and the Laws of Physics and Economics will bend to his whims. Remember his words, though, before his election: "We are five days from fundamentally transforming America".  With his control of the auto manufactures financially  (via loans, tax treatments, and bailouts, and control given to unions) coupled with the stranglehold he is putting on the oil companies and the use of our own energy  resources, he is transforming that industry.  With these new mileage standards, he is:

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