Steve MacDonald

Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, blogger, and a member of the Board of directors of The 603 Alliance. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor of GraniteGrok.com, a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, and a past contributor to the Franklin Center for Public Policy.

A Brief History of President Obama’s Fiscal Record

by Steve MacDonald
A Brief History of President Obama’s Fiscal Record

Setting the Record Straight
July 15, 2011

 
 

Despite newfound concern with the debt overhang stifling economic growth, President Obama’s record falls far short of his rhetoric.  Let’s review the decisions made by President Obama and Congressional Democrats over the past couple of years, and the disappointing results of their policy choices:

January 20, 2009 
President Obama sworn into office

  • President tells the American people in his Inaugural Address: “Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”

  • Debt Held By Public = $6.31 trillion

February 17, 2009
President Signs into Law the Spending Stimulus

  • The stimulus adds $821 billion in new spending according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

  • The White House promises this infusion of spending and borrowing would keep unemployment rate below 8%.  As millions of Americans are painfully aware, that promise was broken.

  • Debt Held by Public = $6.48 trillion

February 26, 2009
President Issues FY2010 Budget

  • The President’s budget adds $2.7 trillion in new debt in FY2010 and imposes $1.4 trillion in new taxes.

  • Debt Held by Public = $6.58 trillion

March 11, 2009
President Signs FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act

  • The massive spending bill includes 8,696 earmarks at a cost of $11 billion.

  • The spending bill adds $19 billion in new spending above the baseline – an 8.6% spending increase.

  • Debt Held by Public = $6.66 trillion

April 29, 2009
Congressional Democrats Pass FY2010 Budget

  • The Congressional Democrats’ budget calls for a $2 trillion debt increase in 2010, and another 8.9% increase in non-defense discretionary spending.

  • The reconciliation process is abused to later pave the way for health care overhaul to be jammed into law.

  • Of note: this is the last time Congressional Democrats will bother budgeting.

  • Debt Held by Public = $6.85 trillion

continued on the jump…

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GSFTC Member Organization Spotlight -NH Citizens Alliance

by Steve MacDonald

There are a number of groups that the Left wing Granite State ‘Fare’ Tax Coalition highlights on it’s web site.  It’s your typical collection of "non-non-partisan" interests like the State Employes Union of NH (That’s the local SEIU 1984). The AFSC-which is the NH Chapter of a global leftist movement supported by all the nicest left wing foundations.  The League of Women Voters of course.  And there is even a who’s-who of left wing, NH social justice churches and their political arms, all promoting socialist activism and statist policy from the pulpit down to on the ground left wing activism.Socialism- Making everyone poor...

All of these groups warrant, and will receive, a proper vetting, but today I would like to focus on a special cog in the leftist machine of the so-called non-partisan GSFTC, one that happens to be very active in New Hampshire on its own; the NHCA.  The NHCA is the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance.  (You may remember their executive director, Sarah Chaisson Warner?  She received some unwanted attention after some remarks she made back in March of 2010. See also Here from the NHTPC.) The New Hampshire citizens alliance is…(drum-roll please)

…a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan organization devoted to social, economic, and political justice.

A Non-partisan organization devoted to social, economic, and political justice?  Too bad that’s just not possible.  There are no right wing groups seeking these ethereal ends.  These are buzz-words, Orwellian constructs, created by statist agenda-driven socialists to mislead people.  So the NHCA couldn’t be "non-partisan" if they tried. But you don’t have to take my word for it.  Just look at who they associate with and what they support.

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If You Are Not Following Me On Twitter….

by Steve MacDonald

Twitter inspires the opportunity to aggravate the leftists who insist on following conservatives there. Not every witticism will fit on Twitter. Sometimes you have to write a blog and post a link. And then there are the thoughts that are too short to blog and too long to tweet. (Some things can’t be said in under 140 characters.)

The Very Partisan Granite State Fair Tax Coalition Part II

by Steve MacDonald

GSFTDNC%202.jpgThe Granite State Fair Tax Coalition (GSFTC–Greedy Socialists Frisking TaxPayers Cash) is a partisan non-profit, which for years has insisted it is a non-partisan group advocating an income tax in New Hampshire.  But the GSFTC is non-partisan the way MSNBC is.  They use the dark side equivalent of the Jedi mind trick.  ‘The force can have a strong influence on the weak minded.” And while there is nothing wrong with being a left wing partisan group, started by a social-justice driven religious organization, to advocate for a top down income tax, there is something wrong with acting like this is a non-partisan effort.

Our first look at the partisan make up of the GSFTC (God Says Fleece Taxpayers for Christ) was a rundown of their advisory board.  This revealed a panel of progressive and left wing water-carriers, who provide cover and material support for a specific leftist agenda: a state income tax.   They are democrats and democrat supporters, willing to use class warfare and a faux-morality-cum-guilt complex media campaign, to advocate for that state income tax.  Fish swim, birds fly, democrats spend and so must tax.  To insist they are non-partisan suggests a mental state that is non compos mentis.  Or to be a bit more colloquial; They are just a bunch of typical leftists.

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The Little Governor Who Couldn’t

by Steve MacDonald

Those were some funny tating browniesGovernor Lynch, in a fit of impotence and self contradiction, has confused his role as the states chief executive, as reported in a Union Leader column today by Tom Fahey. 

In regard to the passage into law of New Hampshire HB 601 and SB 148, Governor Lynch remarked on one hand that…

He allowed the bill (HB 601) to become law, he said, “because I did not want New Hampshire to default into federal oversight.”

and then claimed that…

…SB 148 has no practical effect on New Hampshire residents because there is no way to enforce it.

“ The assessments for not obtaining health insurance will not be administered through the state but through the Internal Revenue Service. Legislators and the public should understand that this legislation would have no impact on the capacity of the state of New Hampshire to block the individual health insurance mandate or the federal assessments for not obtaining insurance,” he said.

 

HB 601 (in short-hand) prohibits accepting pump-priming federal dollars for Obama Care–which must be returned to lower the federal deficit) and gives the NH legislature oversight of all state agencies on the matter before any part of it can be implemented.   SB 148 simply states that we will not enforce any purchase mandate fine or imprisonment related to the Health Care law.

As a matter of semantics Lynch is not wrong to suggest that if the IRS barges in and arrests us for failing to comply that no state agency is interposed to prevent that.  But that is exactly the point of SB 148.  It deems to interpose the law enforcing branch of the New Hampshire government–the executive and his Attorney General–between (in this case) the IRS and the people on the matter of  the Patient affordable care act.  SB 148 draws a line over which our chief executive is meant to stand in defense of his state and it’s people.  The same line, by the way, that he draws (at least rhetorically) with regard to HB601.

So according to Lynch, while he does not want to default to federal oversight, the IRS can just reach over the Governors office and snatch whomever they please. 

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AFP New Hampshire Legislative Score Card is Out!

by Steve MacDonald

Americans For Prosperity has released its 2011 Score card for New Hampshire Legislators in the House, and the NH State Senate. The tally is based on eleven bills AFP focused on in 2011 and whether the New Hampshire Representative or Senator took AFP’s position.

UL Dope Slaps Former Governor Shaheen

by Steve MacDonald

In a staff editorial the Union Leader reminds us why Senator (and former NH Governor) Jeanne Shaheen still needs a blue ribbon panel to make decisions for her.

Meet Bob “Bathroom Bill” Perry

by Steve MacDonald

Bob supported all the taxes, the wacky accounting, the bad revenue estimates, the overspending, the nanny state nonsense, even job killing taxes and bloated government spending during a recession. A vote for Bob is a vote for more taxes, more fees, less money in your wallet every year, and more bureaucracy and state control everywhere else.

How Did Your NH House Republican Rank In 2011?

by Steve MacDonald

NHHRA Banner

The New Hampshire House Republican Alliance has released its July 2011 score card for the entire first session of the Republican House majority. NHHRA Score Card PDF  file. 

I’ve culled my reps from the list (Hills 19) below.  I’ve also generated a list of the Republican bottom feeders for 2011.  These are what we would call RINOs, moderate democrats who could never survive the bullying from the left, or might never get elected if they admitted that they have little or no interest in supporting the Republican party platform.

They are folks who are incapable of finding the 80/20 rule, or to be more precise the 70/30 rule, and in one instance (Ken Gould) we have a (r)epublican who only voted against the party 70% of the time.

The NHCP (formerly the NHDP) will call this a purity list, which is amusing when you consider how they treat their moderates, but let me assure you that it is no such thing.  It is more like an intervention.  Many of these troubled souls are in denial.  Trapped in Republican leaning districts they are pretending to be something they are not.  I’m just helping them (and their constituents) to accept that they may be democrats, actual independent moderates, or just missing the boat often enough to get lumped in with people who have little or no interest in the goals of the party.

There’s nothing wrong with that.  But it’s time to come out of the closet and stop pretending.  To embrace your "independent" or democrat roots, and run as what you are instead of pretending to be something you are not.

Here is the Hills 19 list first (Merrimack).  For the list of bottom feeders, just follow the jump.

 

Last name First name County Dist % of Bills voted HRRA Score
Peterson Lynette Hillsborough 19 93% 99%
Notter Jeanine Hillsborough 19 97% 98%
Barry Richard Hillsborough 19 98% 94%
Hinch Richard Hillsborough 19 100% 92%
Pellegrino Tony Hillsborough 19 95% 90%
Christensen Chris Hillsborough 19 82% 86%
Stroud Kathleen Hillsborough 19 89% 83%
Thomas Joe Hillsborough 19 92% 83%

 

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Mike Brunelle – Quitter!

by Steve MacDonald

Back on July 7th I Tweeted an announcement that Democrat Mike Brunelle, Party XO and NH House rep was leaving for greener pastures. Money-green. He’s off to run the SEIU in Transylvania, um Pennsylvania.

There’s Been An Uptick In Interest In New Hampshire

by Steve MacDonald

There’s been a general uptick in interest in New Hampshire, I would say since late-February,” he said. Certainly more people are looking than last year.”

Rockingham 14 Has RINO Written All Over It

by Steve MacDonald

RINO'sI have no end of respect for Firefighters and their commitment to others, but politically there is very little evidence that when they run as (r)epublicans in New Hampshire they have any intention of supporting the party or the platform.

The latest example is in Rockingham 14 where Veteran Firefighter Kevin Janvrin has won the low-turnout GOP primary for an upcoming special election.  While I’d be more than happy to have Kevin working as an EMT in my town, I have serious doubts about him working for Republicans in Rock 14. 

Mr. Janvrin’s reported largest primary contributor was David Lang, the President of the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire.  Mr. Lang’s PAC, of which he is the chairman, has a very specific union agenda.  It donates almost 100% of its campaign dollars exclusively to democrat committees and candidates. (Through the PFFNH PAC and another PAC the union runs, Middle Class NH PAC.)  So why support Mr. Janvrin with a personal donation when the only other one I could find of similar value was to Democrat Jackie Cilley?

The answer is to try and make sure the outcome is irrelevant.  That way the union gets its agenda addressed no matter which party wins. An agenda that aligns 99.9% of the time with big-government, nanny-state left wingers.  So if PFFNH gives him money he looks like a connected union plant, but lets be honest, having it come from Lang is no different.  Janvrin looks like another union lackey running as a (r)epublican.

It will be interesting to see the other finance reports for Rock 14.  Maybe PFFNH or one of its officers is or has placed bets on the other side of the race as well.  (Janvrin has reported only had three primary donations-Lang, a firefighter Frank Chase, and another from Jabe Felch.)

Another point of interest is Mr. Janvrin’s candidate blurb, the beauty queen contestant equivalent of "If I am lucky enough to win the pageant this is what I’d like to do" remarks.  While these are intentionally ‘generic’ his does little to suggest he has been advised by anyone outside the union-left wing cabal.  They are full of democrat pap, with little obvious difference from that of his "left wing" opponent.

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Dangerous Democrats

by Steve MacDonald

Obama and the democrats can let Iran build nukes because it is a no-lose situation for them. Inaction is action. If by chance Iran does not nuke up, they will take credit. If it does, and then kills millions, they will blame George Bush, or obstructionist Republicans.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

by Steve MacDonald

I’m on vacation this week.  So I don’t expect to be blogging much.  But you never know.

Are The Democrats Any Different?

by Steve MacDonald

Here is what looks like a pretty run of the mill bullet list of Democrat talking points on taxes. This is the kind of stuff you find on the lefty candidates campaign sites, in emails from Democrat Mark Fernald month after month after month, or from the mouths of other lefties who run the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition.

Top-100(?) donors to Political Candidates and Parties. And the Winner is…?

by Steve MacDonald

I don’t think they can compete with one particular “special interest” donor and their support of democrats. Actually no one can. They are a violent, noisy, sliver of the electorate, and they are still outspending not just every other group, but most or all of them added together;

Bar Stool Economics

by Steve MacDonald
Left wing tax policy and the class warfare rhetoric they use to advance it crumbles in the face of even the most simplistic analysis.  Take the left wing war on the wealthy.  They argue that the rich do not pay their fair share even though the rich pay most of the taxes.  Here in New Hampshire the Mark Fernald wing of the democrat party apes this ridiculous technique on the matter of New Hampshire property taxes, a notion upon which the social justice mavens and the Granite State "Fair Tax" Coalition are meant to agitate.  But neither claim holds water and this cross post from CNHT explains why.
 
Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100 and If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

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Is The Granite State Fair Tax Coalition Just Another Left Wing Front Group?

by Steve MacDonald

 

The Granite State Fair Tax Coalition claims to be a non-partisan, non-profit group whose mission is to convince the people of New Hampshire that we need a broad based income tax.

What that works out to is using percentages and formulas with a focus on deception, misdirection, and Alinsky-like class warfare rhetoric, to corral (see also ‘Guilt’) enough support to dismantle a system that for years has made the state of New Hampshire one of the best places to live and work in the nation; for quality of life, low overall tax burden, health, safety, low crime rates, job opportunity and freedom.

You might ask yourself why someone would start a non-profit to mess with that kind of success?  What kind of crank sees a state ranking on top in almost every category and decides, let’s mess that up?  The answer? Democrats and social justice junkies who can’t advance a a massive and nearly irreversible spending agenda without a broad based tax.

So to get to Moscow on the Merrimack the partisan, left leaning, New Hampshire Council of Churches formed what is now known as the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition (GSFTC). It is run to this day by social justice-activist clergy and radical leftists and progressives ‘attracted to the idea’ of pretending an income tax would not ruin the New Hampshire Advantage.

Of course the only people it “attracted” were tax and spenders.

There is not one person on their staff, their advisory board, or leading their list of affiliated groups that is not either a democrat, working for the democrat social-justice agenda, or who is not a large dollar donor to democrat candidates or causes.  How you can possibly claim to be ‘non-partisan’ under these circumstances defies belief, yet they continue to make that claim and it is time to call them out on it.

My mission here, and in posts to follow, is to show you who runs this scam so that you can grasp what their real motivations are.  To grow the size and reach of government by defining ‘fair’ to mean more taxes and more spending on the radical left wing agenda.

Part I  The GSFTC advisory Board: “More Progressives than you can shake a stick at.”

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How Much Is Enough? (And Other Problems With Left Wing Policy)

by Steve MacDonald

How much Is EnoughWhy can’t democrats trust their own constituents to do the right thing?  Their first response to every problem is to institutionalize it with more government, typically as far up the legislative food chain as possible.  That means as far away from you as they can manage, even to the point of giving control to unelected bureaucrats you can’t punish, just to keep you from messing with it.  They entrench it in a bureaucracy, make it impossibly inefficient and expensive and then refuse to let anyone touch it ever again, while charging you more and more to maintain it.

The only reason I can think of for that kind of knee jerk behavior is that Democrats use themselves as the template for the rest of us. The left by their very nature must be selfish, insecure, inconsiderate and un-trusting. Only people so un-giving of themselves or simply incapable of volunteering their time and energy would have to mandate volunteerism and "giving" by legalizing the taking of other peoples time or property through mandates.

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Club for Growth Rankings: Huntsman the Spender

by Steve MacDonald

We’ll keep an eye open for good analysis as it becomes available – Today, the Club for Growth has released their presidential whitepaper on Jon Huntsman, which join the papers for Newt, T-Paw, Cain, Romney, and Santorum, on their site. First, CATO’s report card on Huntsman: According to their 2006 report, Huntsman received an overall … Read more

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