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.

Role and Responsibility of the State Republican Committee Chairman

Role and Responsibility of the State Republican Committee Chairman

Although there is not a written “job description” for our State Party Chairman, there are many references in our bylaws to the Chairman and his/her duties and scope of authority.  In addition to filling these requirements there are other qualities that would be desirable in a Chairman.  Here are a few of my thoughts on what we might look for in a State Chairman.

It is necessary that the Chairman, as the representative of the party, be a person who would be well-spoken and articulate and able to speak intelligently and competently on the issues, to all the media, as well as be able to debate one-on-one with the Democrat State Chairman. Priority should be given to holding the Democrats feet to the fire and making sure they are accountable to the public for their actions on every level.  This needs to be a continual and consistent effort on the Chairman’s part.

The Chairman should work with the E-Board to set fundraising and recruitment goals and develop a strategy for reaching them. The Chairman would have to, with input from the Board, develop and frame our ‘message’ and get it before the public in every way, including utilizing technology and the latest communication programs and hardware.  In doing so we must have a person who believes in and supports our party platform and will take the leadership in promoting it and facilitating, in any way possible, the prosecution of Republican core beliefs and guiding principles.

Besides the ability to listen to, and respectfully relate to, the members and the public, the Chairman would have to either possess organization skills or have someone on the staff that does. They should demonstrate a willingness and ability to delegate tasks and authority to members and committees, and a desire to work openly and cooperatively with the Executive Board. Hopefully the Chairman would have an ‘open door’ policy where input, ideas, criticism, complaints, suggestions, and recommendations would be received in a respectful and welcoming manner.

Recognizing that the State Committee is essentially a volunteer organization, as the leader of the State Republican Party, the Chairman should work to build a team and foster  loyalty through encouraging efforts, acknowledging successes, and giving praise and recognition to those who work tirelessly for the party by giving their time, money, and energy.  It’s important not to waste talent, skills or enthusiasm. The Chairman must help and assist county and city chairmen in their rolls.  And all members must be asked and offered an opportunity to contribute to our efforts in whatever way they are willing and able.

Tan Chuan Jin

If under fire by the Democrats or the press, the Chairman, as our champion and our leader, should come to the defense and support of any member of the board or committee. Should the Chairman have any problem or difference with a member they should be dealt with privately with the individual.

Finally, the Chairman, in his or her role as a member of the Republican National Committee must work closely with the National Committeeman and National Committeewoman as a team to maximize our power and effectiveness in representing New Hampshire’s interests on the RNC, including, but not limited to, preserving our First in the Nation Primary status.

Phyllis Woods, NH RNC National Committeewoman

 
NH GOP By Laws pertaining to the State Chairman after the jump

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If it’s Saturday, it’s time to “Meet the New Press”

Starting Saturday morning at 9 am! As usual, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration– ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you are beyond the broadcast area of Newstalk 1490 WEMJ, simply click here … Read more

Meet the New Press radio- an island of last resort…

Starting Saturday morning at 9 am! As usual, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration– ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you are beyond the broadcast area of Newstalk 1490 WEMJ, simply click here … Read more

Update on the race for RNC Chair

This is to give you an update on the happenings at the RNC. I will be in D.C. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week.  On Monday, Grover Norquist’s group, Americans For Tax Reform, is hosting a debate for the candidates for RNC Chairman on Monday at the Press Club.  If you’d like to … Read more

Unity

We would like to welcome Phyllis Woods to the ‘Grok.  She is a long time Republican activist who is currently New Hampshire’s National Committeewoman to the GOP’s Republican National Committee.  She has seen some of my writings here on the ‘Grok and elsewhere about where the GOP should be fixing itself.  I offered – she agreed to post her thoughts here from time to time!  Thanks, Phyllis!

There are several things Republicans will need to do to take back our state and win in 2010 and I’d like to address them each in separate submissions.  The first, and most essential, is to unite our party.  While this may seem obvious, it’s harder than it would seem.  Republicans are not used to being in the minority.  The Democrats are very good at voting and walking in lock-step, something that’s important if you want to accomplish anything when you are greatly outnumbered.  Republicans are used to being diversified, thinking for themselves, and following their own agendas.  We cannot afford that luxury any longer.  We can’t afford to lose a single legislator’s vote on important issues and we will all have to pull together in a united effort to achieve any success even if it only means we’re able to stop some of the detrimental initiatives we know will be presented.  But even more important, all of us will need to hang together in order to have any strength and to make progress in the State GOP over the next two years.

Our county caucuses have been held to choose the future members of our state party.  Recently our State Chairman was quoted in the press saying that we shouldn’t say that some Republicans are ‘good ‘ Republicans and other Republicans are ‘bad’ Republicans.  Agreed, however, in another newspaper he is quoted as saying of one of the caucus elections, that a lot of ‘good’ Republicans were thrown off the committee, presumably to be replaced by ‘bad’ Republicans.  What needed to be stressed is that we have turnover in our membership every two years which is a good thing as it brings in new people into the process.  If some ‘good’ Republicans lost their bid for re-election, they were replaced with other ‘good’ Republicans were they not?

It’s time to…

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Meet the New Press radio. Just havin’ some Saturday morning fun…

Starting Saturday morning at 9 am! As usual, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration– ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you are beyond the broadcast area of Newstalk 1490 WEMJ, simply click here … Read more

Can they do that?

Once again it’s budget time for most towns and counties here in the Granite State. As most folks are busy preparing for the Christmas season, important decisions are being made that will determine how much money will be taken from property-taxpayers’ paychecks and savings and delivered to local governments. That’s right—being that we pay for … Read more

New Hampshire Advantage Coalition Vows to Fight for Tax Cap

Our friends at the NH Advantage Coalition forwarded their reaction to the news that the City of Concord wants the Courts involved in the successfully petitioned tax cap proposal: Concord, NH-Despite being reviewed and approved by 3 state agencies, and the ballot group who put the initiative up for referendum bending over backwards to oblige the … Read more

Meet the New Press radio: Mounting a spirited defense against the barbaric hordes…

Starting Saturday morning at 9 am! As usual, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration– ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you are beyond the broadcast area of Newstalk 1490 WEMJ, simply click here … Read more

A couple thoughts on the aftermath

When the dust settles from this election, no matter the outcome, there will be some large, rather unnerving stories that will continue to haunt the day, and perhaps our Nation, for some time to come. It will be revealed (like it already hasn’t?) that there was massive vote fraud committed in many urban areas of … Read more

McCain: “At least when European nations chose the path of higher taxes and cutting defense, they knew that their security would be guaranteed by America. But if America takes the same path, who will guarantee our security?”

John McCain

John McCain in Wolfeboro. (GG file photo)

Senator John McCain’s Weekly radio address:

[DOWNLOAD THE AUDIO FILE HERE: http://www.johnmccain.com/Downloads/wra110108.mp3 ]

Good morning, this is John McCain, speaking to you just 72 hours before the time for choosing.

Presidential elections have a way of settling on a few great questions as the moment of decision arrives, and this has happened in the closing days of the election of 2008.

We’ve learned that Barack Obama’s economic plan for America to redistribute the wealth of America with higher taxes. It took a working man in Ohio to finally get him to explain his economic plan in plain language. Senator Obama wants to "spread the wealth around." He thinks that your job is to earn wealth, and the government’s job is to spread it.

I reject the ideology of redistributing wealth, and I always have. I believe that the only way to pull our economy out of this terrible time of worry and hardship is to spread opportunity. Low taxes reward effort and create jobs. We’re going to double the child deduction for working families. We will cut the capital gains tax. And we will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American business in America.

At the same time, I’m going to make government finally live on a budget, just like you do, and I am going to enforce that discipline by the power of veto.

My fellow Americans, we’re going to get through this present economic crisis. And we will even come out stronger — without the corruption and arrogance that have overtaken both Washington and Wall Street. We’re going to pull through these hard times — and do it together, just as our country has done before.

And when that day arrives, we will find awaiting our country all of the same great challenges and dangers that were there all along. At a time when the jobs and financial security of our people seem at risk, it is hard to spare much thought even for the great and abiding concerns of this nation’s security, and the security of our friends and allies across the world. But these dangers have not gone away while we turned our attention elsewhere. And the next president will meet no greater test than defending America from these threats.

 

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More proof the libs can’t take the heat… and have a REAL discussion about the issues they so greatly care about.

Bishop & Nate… Afraid to debate? As noted in this previous post, I linked to Dartmouth senior Nathan’s piece at the Wayward Episcopalian blog where he’s put forth the call for suggestions of what he should ask NH’s openly gay Episcopal bishop Eugene Robinson in an interview he’s conducting with him later this week. Earlier this morning, I … Read more

I’m Joe the Plumber (Part II) “It’s the socialism, stupid!”

Here’s a new ad from the McCain campaign:

 

 

And here’s my story. You see, I really am Joe the Plumber, too…

Hi, my name is Doug the welder. In many ways, I am like Joe the Plumber– Although I am at the point where I DO own my own business, and Joe isn’t quite there yet, the “dream” or goal of independence and self-reliance continues. Having started our small business with my wife during the recession of the late Eighties/early Nineties, we have long held the goal of  building an enterprise as nearly recession-proof as possible, and always tried to be as frugal during good times as in bad in order to stay as fiscally healthy as one could reasonably be. With a sound business model and good employees, we seem poised to ride out the current economic storminess. We know that it will require no small amount of work and yes, maybe (no- not maybe, definitely, because there ALWAYS is) even some heartache, along the way. That’s OK, as this is the essence of being a small business operator—and always has been. I suspect that Joe the Plumber is well aware of all of that—he has probably watched his boss encounter it all through the years—and yet, he still retains his dream. Why is that? Could it be that for him, like me, that his “pursuit of happiness” includes controlling his own destiny?

Democratic presidential wannabee Barack Obama tells everybody not to worry… only those making over $250,000 will pay more taxes. His running mate Joe Biden says he doesn’t know many plumbers that make over 250 grand. Of course, as always, the devil’s in the details. Now just so there’s know misunderstanding, I don’t “make” over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. As a matter of fact, there have been many times since 1989 that I didn’t make anything—and there were a few times where I actually lost money. But where we stand now, like any small business employing nine people with perks and benefits that owns the real estate (and pays those taxes too) and multiple machines and pieces of equipment (always subject to breakdown and repair costs), we “handle” far in excess of the figure being bandied about—but we don’t put much of it in our wallets—it’s always “in play.” This is where Joe the Plumber and Doug the welder are vulnerable—on the books we handle the money, but at no time is much of it really ours to keep. Of course, I won’t lie, and I’m sure I can safely bet that Joe, like me, and probably many of you reading this column, certainly would like to earn more than a quarter million dollars that we can keep and spend as we choose, someday. What’s wrong with that?

Of course there’s nothing wrong with that. And I, like Joe the plumber, know that attaining such a princely sum won’t be easy, because we both know that someone like the tooth fairy isn’t going to show up during the night and slip the cash under the pillow. If we are to earn that amount, we are going to have to take great risk, work extra hard, and sacrifice a bit of leisure and play time. In exchange for a willingness to do these things, we reap the fruits of our labors. This is the American way. Up until now, that is… 

You see, Barack Obama’s going to change all that. Once in office, in concert with the Democratic-controlled Congress, President Obama and his sidekick Biden will see to it that things will be different from now on. Because in addition to Joe Biden stating his belief that is “patriotic” to pay taxes, we have found out, thanks to the answer given to Joe the Plumber’s question of Barack Obama, just what they have in store for those of us that work and strive to make money… what their promised “change” really means.

This is how John McCain told the story this past Saturday during his weekly radio address:

“Joe explained that he works for a small plumbing and heating company. He’s been thinking about maybe taking over the business when his boss retires. Problem is, that would make Joe one of millions of small business owners who face a sudden increase in taxes under my opponent’s tax plan.”

McCain continued:

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A few words with Charlie Bass about Obama and McCain, and how the differences in their policies affect us here in New Hampshire…

Charles Bass

Earlier today, GraniteGrok spoke with NH’s former 2nd District Congressman Charles Bass…

What are the key differences between John McCain and Barack Obama with regards to their solutions to the present economic woes that ordinary New Hampshire citizens– the "Joe the plumbers"– need to know?

There are 3 areas of concern with what Obama has in store:

  1. He proposes to raise taxes. This is EXACTLY the wrong thing to do in the present situation. This is not what he says in his rhetoric, but when you look at the details, many people will be paying more taxes in some form or other.
  2. He is looking to restrict free trade. New Hampshire is NOT Youngstown. Many small businesses are involved with and successful BECAUSE of free trade. You run a great risk of toning down successful NH businesses when you restrict free trade.
  3. He proposes to spend a trillion more dollars in addition to everything else, including the wars and economic bailout monies. He never answers the question of where the money is supposed to come from, other than he says he will end the war in Iraq. Of course, even the best estimates prioject that an "immediate" pullout still realistically leaves a significant number of troops there as late as 2012, so the anticipation of real savings is just a fantasy.

And of course, there’s a difference in how Obama and McCain would spend the relief money itself. Obama offers an impressive list of benefits to almost everybody, with large amounts to go directly to "working people." While trying to help such people isn’t in and of itself bad, you have to ask whether or not it’s what’s best to actually achieve the goal of fixing the broken economy.

John McCain believes that the steps taken should be those that seek to shore up and actually rebuild the economy as a whole– one that strengthens businesses– especially small business, which, here in NH provide the majority of our jobs– for the long term and provides good, stable jobs. This is what is of the greatest benefit for ordinary people.

The only proposal made by Obama that appears helpful to small businesses is his proposal to cut capital gains taxes for some, including startups. That’s fine, but capital gains are not the norm during startup times, when there is generally little to no money made at that point.

Perhaps at some risk, Senator McCain talks about cutting corporate tax rates and other taxes. This truly helps small businesses and allows those dollars to instead be left in the economy.

These are complicated issues that require underlying experience if we are to find solutions. Ask yourself– Do we need someone with a good tongue and a good speechwriter to produce "happy talk", or do we need someone that is honest and has the experience and depth to truly fix the present situation?  Senator McCain will balance the need for transparency and accountability while still maintaining America’s competitiveness. It’s a delicate thing, and the last thing we need is an Obama swinging a blunt bureacratic club on Wall Street, given today’s extremely complex and new economic conditions.

A recovering economy that brings along with it jobs means that business– especially small business– needs to thrive and prosper. In many cases today, American companies are competing in a globalized marketplace through both imports and exports. Tell us about the approach to trade taken by each of the candidates and which would be better for American businesses and their employees– especially right here in the Granite State…

 

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