Steve MacDonald

Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, an award-winning blogger, and a member of the Board of Directors of The 603 Alliance and the National Heritage Center for Constitutional Studies. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor, Executive Editor, assistant editor, Editor, content curator, and more (yes, there's more) at GraniteGrok.com. Steve is also a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, the Republican Volunteer Coalition, and has worked for or with many state and local campaigns and grassroots groups, and is a past contributor to the Franklin Center for Public Policy.

Two For The Road

For those of you not aware, only two House Reps with an (R) somewhere near their names, voted in support of HB 1459, with New Improved Free Speech Killing Action! Rip Holden, (Hillsborough 7) who is retiring after this session, was number one.   The second was Tony DiFruscia the political anything-muppet, who is expected to change his party designation to … Read more

The Specter Of Bass

There is speculation that part of the problem with some incumbants and candidates who are seeking higher office (like an Arlen Specter or Charlie Crist) is that they want it too much.  They want the office more than anything.  In Specter’s case he switched parties to keep his senate seat.  Crist crooned about his devotion to … Read more

NH Is Hostile To Homeschoolers

Although the trend nationally in homeschooling regulation has been toward reducing regulation, since 2006 serious attempts have been made by a determined group of legislators to dramatically increase the level of regulation on New Hampshire homeschoolers.

Is It Just About Political Speech?

The New Hampshire legislature has an opportunity this week to tell us what they think about paid political speech as an amendment emerges from a conference committee to go before both the State Senate and House.  The amendment, written by former democrat party chair Kathy Sullivan, and sponsored by democrat State Senator Maggie Hassan is … Read more

How To Stop Rising Unemployment Numbers

I’m struggling to find a Press Release from even one elected New Hampshire democrat in DC on the expiration of unemployment benefits after the entire congress went home for the holiday weekend without passing one.  By all accounts no one was blocking, stopping, or stalling, it just didn’t get done.  But what of the earth … Read more

GraniteGrok – Endorsement for William O’Brien for Speaker of the House (NH)

After the jump is a copy of a recent letter sent out by Rep. Bill O’Brien (R – Mt. Vernon), a leader of the House Republican Alliance in the NH State House. The letter announces his run for Speaker of the House, and is well worth reading. O’Brien is a "New Republican." That is, he hearkens back to "Old Republican" values, with a philosophical grounding in Republican principles that were and are upheld by real Republicans of the past and present, including Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, as well as today’s Jim DeMint, Pat Toomey, Marco Rubio, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, and, yes, Ron Paul.

O’Brien has a 100% House Republican Alliance score for both 2009 and 2910. He was awarded an A+ score by the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance (NHLA) for 2009 (and I would expect will get the same grade for 2010 when the scores are released at the NHLA annual dinner in July). He comes from a state house district that in 2008 had one Republican and four Democrats, with NHLA scores of "B" (the Republican), "F", "Constitutional Threat," and "F". Then O’Brien and his co-candidates engineered a victory in that district (Hillsborough #4) in the 2008 elections where only one Democrat remained. The 2009 NHLA scores for the district are "D-" (the one remaining Democrat), "A", "A+", and "A+".

Rep. O’Brien speaks in his letter of the Republican Party becoming "the party of our promise — one that will first and foremost govern this state according to the highest standards, and with fiscal prudence and respect for the rights of individuals." He also pledges to reverse the repeated rules violations that State House Democrats have repeatedly used to get excess spending and other harmful laws passed. "With respect to process, there can be no favorites and no violation of rules," says O’Brien. "That must end."

Finally. An honest Representative who will clean up the cesspool of lies, financial gimmicks and political scams that have been utilized by Gov. Lynch and the state legislature over the past six years in Concord. I highly recommend to everyone that you read Rep. O’Brien’s attached letter, send him some money for his own campaign, and urge your own representatives—whether Republican or Democrat—to support and vote for him for Speaker of the House in January 2011.

If you have not met Rep. O’Brian, watch here (he comes on after Jim Forsythe).

Read more

A Sure Bet

  The New Hampshire State Senate has made it’s position clear.  Everything goes better with Gambling.  That pesky Lyme disease thing–probably get that passed with gambling.  And they would be more than willing to overturn any lingering Blue Laws if people could gamble on Sunday.  Want to make sure money is a form of free … Read more

Monitor Get’s It Right

The people of New Hampshire take note.  Free speech is far too fundamental to democracy to be restricted on the fly by ill-conceived and little discussed measures cranked out in the waning days of the legislative session by lawyers and lawmakers who are overreacting and overestimating their abilities. Legislative leaders are writing laws limiting First … Read more

Hassan Spreads The Lie Some More

State Senator Maggie Hassan is now spreading the lie about the threat of foreign influence to political speech.  She was quoted in the Union leader this morning saying… “We’re not saying they dosen’t have a right to advocate. We’re just saying we want to know who’s behind the advocacy. If out-of-state or even foreign companies want … Read more

John Lynch Goes Gay (Sort Of)

The Ray and Kathy Show has this gag they do all the time, where they complain about outside money, or special interests on the right affecting local elections.  It’s a serious gas because everyone knows it’s actually a projection of their own involvement with deep pocketed outside interests with which they exert pressure upon the local … Read more

Unhitch The Debt Wagon

We watch with amusement as the legislature attempts again to reconcile it’s bad fiscal manners, elbows on the table, slurping soup, and reaching across each others plates as they huddle over another last minute committee of conference. At the top of the menu is the budget, which is a coarse left over from last year that no one can stomach, or manage to keep down.

Don’t Card Me Bro!

In an effort to stop age discrimination bars, restaurants, and retailers will no longer be able to ask people to show proof of age when buying alcohol, and signs saying we proof up to age 40 will have to be removed.  This stems from repeated complaints that people who appear to be old enough are … Read more

Did Ray Buckley Lie?

Do Ray Buckley and the New Hampshire Democrat Party Lie?  See for yourself.  Here is an excerpt from an NHDP press release that quotes Mr. Buckley directly. SB1459, which is before the state senate this afternoon, would hold foreign entities accountable for spending money intended to influence the outcome of domestic political campaigns. … "There … Read more

Does Prohibition Work?

On the question of using gambling revenue to hide irresponsible democrat spending, State Senator Maggie Hassan was quoted in this mornings Union Leader saying. "My question is, does prohibition work? I don’t think it does." It’s quite entertaining, the things desperate people say when they are under the gun to cover their own ass. The … Read more

Hassanosaurus Rex Revisited

The speech restrictions in HB1459 have suddenly caught everyone’s attention thanks to Cornerstone Policy Research, so I thought I’d resurrect my post from two weeks ago on the subject.  (Posted at NHI and Granite Grok). It’s not as pretty or filled with exclamations in all caps bold red text, but…it came out two weeks earlier … Read more

Hassan’s Special Interests

Skip has done a great job piling on this Hassan HB1459-political speech issue, and I’m not sure how much more we can add today, but this quote caught my eye, Skip didn’t take it in the direction I expected. (So I will) Maggie Hassan is quoted as saying… “Millions of Americans invest retirement money in … Read more

Why Property Taxes?

I have argued at great length on why relying primarily on local property taxes are the best mechanism for keeping government small.  But no matter how often I bring it up someone always tries to make the point that it’s not fair.  Why should the people who actually own the physical land in the state … Read more

In All Fairness

Recent discussion about opposing opinions being mandated alongside existing internet content got me thinking.  Could we apply this to everything on-line?  Ads for fruit would need to include references to candy-bars of salty snacks.  Omaha Steaks would need to include a click through to Purdue chicken.  Every business would need to permit you to access competing … Read more

Paul “Fast Eddie” Hodes

What does congressional ethicist and Obama booster Paul Hodes have to say about this? Rep. Joe Sestak, winner of the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary, is refusing to provide more information on what job he was offered by a White House official to drop out of that race, although he confirmed again that the incident occurred. … Read more

Eco-Bullies

This from AP today on a doctor who is is accused of misrepresenting data and misleading the public. A doctor who persuaded millions of parents worldwide that a common vaccine could cause autism was barred from practicing medicine in his native Britain on Monday after the country’s top medical group found he conducted his research … Read more

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