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.

EVENT ALERT!! Thursday December 6– The Unpress: New Gatekeepers of the NH Primary?

by Steve MacDonald

This is very cool… "We’re inviting New Hampshire’s bloggers, reporters, citizens and campaign officials — anyone who is covering and shaping the primary in ways which weren’t possible a decade ago — to join the forum," says Bill Densmore, director of the New England News Forum. "This is a town meeting about new forms of … Read more

Business as usual ends in Dover

by Steve MacDonald

. I’m sure my friend Bill is happy today— the tax cap proposal has been passed by the voters of Dover. Good for them! The charter amendment passed Tuesday by a margin of 405 votes, with 3,225 votes in favor and 2,820 votes opposed. When you add them to the growing list of cities that … Read more

Voting Day. A couple of recommendations…

by Steve MacDonald
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While I fret about the fact that so few people care enough to vote when election day rolls around, I don’t get as worked up about voter turnout, in general, as others tend to do. My bigger concern is that the people that are voting are well-informed, not propagandized. Today is Election Day– the "midterm of the midterm", if you will, as it is mostly city elections that will be occuring.
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If I lived in Manchester, I would definitely be voting for Mayor Giunta’s re-election. Tax stability goes hand in hand with good service and a quality education. Taking action against criminal activities is important too. While it must be akin to herding cats, Giunta has managed all of these areas rather well. Why would Manchester want to change course?
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In Laconia, Mr. Greg Knytych is running for the Ward 1 seat on the City Council. Skip and I had the opportunity to meet and listen to Mr. Knytych a while back at the American Solutions Day event held here in our neck of the woods. He contributed a great deal of input during that day’s activities and was, in fact, encouraged to become involved in local affairs, which he obviously is doing. We had him in studio this past Saturday on MTNP radio. Promising to abide by the tax cap, stressing its success and importance, he offers the Lake City an opportunity to elect a well-informed, "regular-guy". In his closing words as our guest, Mr. Knytych reminded the listeners that, yes, he is a Republican, and not afraid to say so, but beyond that, and more importantly, he wanted the folks to know that he is a conservative. And not afraid to say so. Go here to watch him in studio on the SchlubCam.
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In Dover, the big question is the tax cap. I can’t imagine why the voters wouldn’t want this. We discussed and debated the subject on GraniteGrok here and here. In an op-ed following his recent election as Franklin’s Mayor, Mr. Ken Merrifield wrote, of that city’s tax cap:

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Hang on tight– It’s time to Meet the New Press!

by Steve MacDonald

. ….        ..Pat Hynes                                Skip Murphy                          Doug Lambert . Once again, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration. As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip (the GraniteGrok media empire’s secret weapon), if you are beyond the broadcast area … Read more

Oh that Jeanne Shaheen, there she goes again!

by Steve MacDonald
…Al Gore canoeing
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Our friend Pat Hynes  at AnkleBitingPundits writes about Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, former governor and present candidate for US Senate, hopping aboard the Bush derangement bandwagon…
I was wondering when the “Bush Caused the Wildfires” mantra would start. I just didn’t think it would start in my Granite State of New Hampshire and that it would come out of the mouth of former New Hampshire Governor and current Democratic Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen, who is normally very disciplined and not prone to saying silly things.

Nevertheless:

Speaking to an audience of committee members and elected officials, Shaheen and Buckey discussed their qualifications for the Senate and their stance on global warming, the economy, and the health care system.

Buckey said he would focus on decreasing America’s dependence on petroleum and increasing research on renewable energy technologies. He said it’s an issue that’s vital to both national security and the economy.

“If we don’t take action, we are going to lose control of America’s future,” Buckey said. “Ten years from now, do we want to be importing solar-powered systems and other technologies from elsewhere or do we want to be building them here?”

Shaheen agreed with many of Buckey’s points, but criticized the Bush administration on everything from the war in Iraq to health care. Shaheen also blamed Bush for the wildfires in California.

“Those wildfires are the direct result of the failure of this administration to do something about global warming,” she said.

This is a pretty remarkable and irresponsible statement on Shaheen’s part, for as even the MSM has acknowledged by now: “Authorities in Southern California said they believe two of the fires that recently ravaged the area were intentionally started.”

As readers no doubt know, Shaheen is running against Sen. John Sununu, whom you can contribute to through the Rightroots contribution interface HERE.

UPDATE: More than a few readers have e-mailed to say that Gov. Shaheen’s gaffe is the consequence of a major party going loopy–otherwise smart, rational people start saying loopy things just to win their approval. Sigh. I suppose so.

This, of course, follows a similar pattern demonstrated by none other than Bill Clinton. Remember when he blamed "right wing talk radio" (Rush Limbaugh- Clinton’s number one detractor) for the OKC bombing?  Long a New Hampshire version of the "triangulator" Bill Clinton, it is no surprise that Ms. Shaheen would choose this path of thoughtless demagoguery as she seeks to curry favor with the left wing loons of her party.

Those following the career of Jeanne Shaheen know that this wouldn’t be the first time Ms. Shaheen said or did something loopy in the process of seeking approval. Let’s review one incident in particular…

 

 

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GraniteGrok Debate. Counterpoint…Favoring a tax cap.

by Steve MacDonald
point counterpoint
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The following was forwarded to us by ‘Grok reader Bill Asbell of Dover. After reading Mr. Tunning’s "Point" against NH cities having tax caps, he felt as though it answered several of the incorrect assertations made. It was originally written in response to a letter writer in his local paper, Foster’s…
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I attended both forums on the Dover Tax Cap initiative. In the first one moderated by Councilor David Scott, he laid out the ground rules and how it was an information gathering event for citizens paneled by: himself, three Dover city employees and four guests from Franklin and Laconia (including two mayors), who had experience of a tax cap in their communities. It was therefore balanced with those from the private sector who pay taxes to government and those from municipal government who increase their ranks and compensation through tax hikes and whose earnings are the result of taxes. Two of the first people to break the ground rules and start the ball rolling toward mild anarchy were the tax and spend liberals Betsey Andrews Parker and Mr. Glenn Grasso himself, who felt that they should grandstand rather than ask questions. And no cap opponents asked a question of the Dover staff. The audience was packed with Dover city union employees, some of whom also threw their rhetorical weight around with great melodrama, and warnings of doom, generating far more heat than light.
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The second, calmer forum, run by unlimited spending advocate Mayor Scott Myers had six panelists all from state agencies and local government; people whose compensation increases and whose jobs are more secure when taxes go up not down. This is objectivity he says, not stacking the deck to achieve a desired outcome. There were no private sector representatives and no one who’d personally experienced first-hand a tax cap…how helpful.  He then coached the panelists how to respond when he felt the need.
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On the same day that Foster’s ran its editorial against the tax cap, the Union Leader editorialized in favor of it. On Thursday, Foster’s editor publishes an unhinged, "infuriated" diatribe playing the class warfare demagogue’s card, then denying it in the next paragraph…truly embarrassing.  As if renters don’t pay increased rent when landlords’ property taxes go up. Foster’s editor must really believe all its readers are dupes.
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GraniteGrok Debate. POINT… Opposing a tax cap.

by Steve MacDonald
point-counterpoint
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The following was sent to me from Ron Tunning, the chairman of the Laconia Democrat Committee. Writes Ron,
Doug,
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I thought I’d share with you a column I’ve submitted to the Foster’s Daily Democrat regarding the proposed tax cap in Dover.  I know you’ll never agree with me, but at least you can see where I’m coming from.
He’s right about that, but, as he knows, I do like to listen to and ponder what those who stand in opposition to what I believe have to say. Ron is a thoughtful individual, and I always appreciate and enjoy the discourses and debates we have engaged. His piece follows in full as written. Tomorrow, GraniteGrok will present a counterpoint to his argument. Keep in mind that two cities right here in the ‘Grok’s neck of the woods have tax caps: Laconia and Franklin. Feel free to leave comments in the section below…

Opposing the Tax Cap Proposal in Dover, NH

by Ron Tunning
No one enjoys paying higher taxes, and it’s safe to say that everyone would prefer a lower tax bill. That is why ideas such as the tax cap being proposed in Dover garner immediate public support. But if voters are honest with themselves they’ll oppose the measure.
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Let’s be frank. We all know “there’s no such thing as a free lunch“, and experience has taught us that “you get what you pay for.” Those maxims should guide us as we evaluate the sensibility of imposing a tax cap.
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So, too, should careful consideration of the methodology proposed for determining how much municipal spending will be permitted to rise. The Dover plan mirrors the language adopted in Franklin and Laconia, limiting the annual increase in spending to the annual rise in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). After all, proponents of the tax cap argue, why should the cost of government rise more rapidly than the costs of consumer goods?
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Embarassed his taxes aren’t high enough!

by Steve MacDonald

. Sometimes you really have to wonder… In a letter found in the Foster’s Daily Democrat entitled, Don’t Cap Taxes; Increase them for the sake of the Children, a Mr. Verdenal H. Johnson writes about how distressed he is that when it comes to taxes, the people always want to say "no." He is apparently … Read more

John McCain rips the bark off of Romney!

by Steve MacDonald
John McCain…
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Wow! As many of you might have figured out, I’m the kind of guy that LOVES the heat of political battle. I can’t get enough of those able to deliver the conservative message in such a way that it becomes for all intents and purposes indisputable to all those who hear it. Additionally, I apreciate an orator that is able to define his/her oponent in an accurate, unvarnished way that too becomes essentially non-debatable it is so on the mark. Such it was for John McCain today when he addressed the NH GOP state committee at their meeting today in Londonderry.
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Senator McCain effectively shredded fellow Republican wannabee Mit Romney in the speech (which is quite excellent all around) discussing what it means to be a real Republican. Citing Ronald Reagan as the epitome of what a Republican president ought to emulate here in our times, McCain reminds us of Romney’s famous denial of Reagan and his legacy during a debate with Ted Kennedy. For me, watching the YouTube of Mr. Romney saying this is something that I have not been able to get past since I first watched it many months back. I can forgive some deviations from where I might wish my Republican candidates to be on some issues, but such a blatant dissing of Ronald Reagan is not one. Sorry. McCain nails where I am at regarding the former Massachusetts Governor…
ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain delivered the following remarks to the New Hampshire Republican Party in Manchester today, Saturday, October 13th:
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Thank you for that kind introduction.  It is an honor to speak to you. 
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I don’t usually do this but I’m going to depart for a moment from the issues I want to talk to you about today.  One of the other Republican candidates made an extraordinary statement yesterday.  Former Governor Romney yesterday proclaimed himself the only real Republican in this race.  As we all know, when he ran for office in Massachusetts being a Republican wasn’t much of a priority for him. 

In fact, when he ran against Ted Kennedy, he said he didn’t want to return to the days of Reagan-Bush.  I always thought Ronald Reagan was a real Republican.

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Giuliani wins the straw poll. No, not THAT one…

by Steve MacDonald

Ron Paul’s supporters caravanning to the straw  poll? * . In the Nashua Telegraph’s blog page, "NH Prime Cuts", Kevin Landrigan reports on another, lesser-known straw poll that took place this past weekend. Given that it took place in NH, probably a more important state than Iowa in the requisite steps a candidate must take on the path to … Read more

Welfare Poem

by Steve MacDonald
welfare sticker
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Well, I have no idea if the figures in the poem below are correct, etc., but you get the drift, huh? Read the poem (after my discourse)  and let me know if it makes you angry, okay?
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Somewhat related to this, I’ve been following some of the coverage on the Pelosi/Shea-Pompous upcoming trip to New Orleans along with the other 13-14 democratic party animals. The story is interesting. Why, you ask? The comments are overwhelmingly against them going to New Orleans for what most people believe is merely another photo op and Bush bashing expedition at taxpayers’ expense.
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What does Congress do about approval ratings in the single digits? Go on a trip, of course. They are all on vacation anyway. Many people are mad at Pompous and wondering why she doesn’t work here in NH to solve fixing the many roads and bridges that are red-lined, help those who have suffered flooding problems here, feed the one in ten children who go to bed hungry…you know work on NH’s many unsolved problems. We’re 6th in income but 49th in services to citizens right here in NH. Where’s the NH way?
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Not a big photo op here, I guess, as it probably wouldn’t get national exposure. Playing on people’s sympathies works very well many times. What some people don’t seem to understand is that you can fell sorry for somebody, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to "do" something for them, especially if they’re not willing to do something for themselves.
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We all like to give, partly because it makes us feel good about ourselves. Obviously, when there’s a real crisis as there was with Katrina, we should all try to do our part to help. But, sometimes people don’t appreciate what they get for nothing so it can be more harmful to them and what they may need is to become responsible and accountable and held to a higher standard sometimes too. I’m not saying we still shouldn’t be trying to help people in New Orleans, but sometimes "help" can actually hurt.
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I was in Vail about a year ago. I rode the shuttle van from Denver and met a New Orleans’ football player who was going to see an ortopaedist in Vail. We started talking about Hurricane Katrina.
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Blogger Conference Call: Discussing Obama’s “Comprehensive Strategy to Fight Global Terrorism” [Full text included]

by Steve MacDonald
Sen Barack Obama in Laconia recently (GG file photo)
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Here at the ‘Grok, we make no bones about the fact that we are conservative Republicans and will almost without question be voting that way barring some unforseen and monumental circumstance. That being said, we are observing, studying, and chronicling what the Democrats are doing because we’re interested and, quite frankly, believe one must know what the "opponent" is thinking and doing. As the march to the White House continues, and the various candidates tramp through the Granite State en route, it seems like a good thing to see, hear, and possibly meet each and every one from both of the parties. After all, one will become the next president. And, while it pains me to say this, one must realistically expect that there’s a good chance the next will be a Democrat. This forces me to ferret out the good points from all comers, seeking the one I believe will do the LEAST harm to the US. To believe otherwise given the current situation would be a mistake. That doesn’t mean that the situation can’t change, but that is pure hope at the moment. But I digress…
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As we inch closer to election day, we find candidates beginning to release major policy remarks and proposals. Yesterday we heard Sen. Barack Obama unveiling his "Comprehensive Strategy to Fight Global Terrorism." While I disagree with his pullout from Iraq as proposed, there are some points that make sense. It was a thoughtful speech and I give him credit for its detail. Unlike others who have built their candidacies upon a foundation of "Bush Derangement Syndrome" (BDS), offering little but rhetoric and bumper-sticker-like slogans, Obama has at least delivered a plan. I am not alone in my guarded praise. Today in his blog, the Union Leader’s Drew Cline writes
In his speech on terrorism today, Sen. Barack Obama referred to the war on terror with a term almost identical to the one Rudy Giuliani invented for his campaign. Instead of saying “war on terror,” he said “al-Qaida’s war against us. . .” and “the terrorists are at war with us.”
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Rudy’s coinage is “the terrorists’ war on us.”
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Obama clearly wants the American people to know that he is not John Edwards, that he believes the terrorists are waging a war on this country, but that he would fight back differently. Smart.
I have reprinted the speech further down in the post. Late yesterday, I had the chance to participate in a bloggers’ conference call featuring Major General Scott Gration (USAF-Ret.) in a discussion of the Obama strategy. While relatively short, it was enlightening in more than one way.

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Howie Carr update

by Steve MacDonald

  Like many folks throughout New England, I too was stunned by the news that longtime afternoon talk show host Howie Carr- the "franchise" of WRKO radio these days, is jumping ship to another station to do a morning drive time slot. Many believe he’s making a play to replace Imus as the "king" of … Read more

Democrat Priorities Killed School Funding Solution

by Steve MacDonald

New Hampshire Republican State Chairman Fergus Cullen explains Gov. John Lynch’s failure to steward a constitutional amendment on education funding through the legislature this way in a press release: “Governor John Lynch’s weakness as a leader has finally caught up with him.  A leader cannot punt on issue after issue and expect people to follow … Read more

2 Questions for NH GOP candidates

by Steve MacDonald

    . As the NH GOP works to implement party chair Fergus Cullen’s strategy of rebuilding the party structure and activist base from the ground up, which I applaud and support, I will be looking for more. In the wake of what’s happened since the Republicans fumbled power to the Democrats in the last election cycle, I will be … Read more

If only my backyard was bigger…

by Steve MacDonald

    . As sure as the sun comes up, each year at the start of the travel season for most Americans, we see rising gas prices blamed on "a refinery fire somewhere", or some other similar sad refrain. You know, it’s like the stories we hear at the beginning of the heating season– "Due … Read more

Crime Voters: A Surging Swing Group

by Steve MacDonald

As stories file in about the murder of Corporal Bruce McKay, I am sad to report that I have become a “crime voter.”  The murder of Corp. McKay began officially to push me in that direction, but then an evening visitor at my front door sent me over the edge.  Seems one of my neighbors … Read more

200 NH Guardsmen Activated for Statewide Flooding

by Steve MacDonald

Soldiers from the NHNG survey flood damage in Alstead NH on Oct. 13, 2005. . CONCORD – Gov. John Lynch today activated 200 N.H. National Guardsmen in response to statewide flooding and road closures across New Hampshire. . As of noon, 125 soldiers and 75 airmen were deploying to at least seven communities including  Greenville, … Read more

President Bush slams the Dems

by Steve MacDonald
In this week’s radio address, President Bush discusses the passage of the outragous suplemental appropriations bill passed by Democrats over the objections of many people who believe we can win the war. He also talks about Democrat spending and looming tax increases that will result. He really slams the Dems hard in thiis one. If only he had been doing this for the last 6 years, he might be working with a Republican Congress instead of what we have now…
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In recent days, the House and Senate each passed emergency war spending bills that undercut our troops in the field. Each of the Democrats’ bills would substitute the judgment of politicians in Washington for that of our generals on the ground. Each bill would impose restrictive conditions on our military commanders. Each bill would also set an arbitrary deadline for surrender and withdrawal in Iraq, and I believe that would have disastrous consequences for our safety here at home.
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The Democrats loaded up their bills with billions of dollars in domestic spending completely unrelated to the war, including $3.5 million for visitors to tour the Capitol, $6.4 million for the House of Representatives’ Salaries and Expenses Account, and $74 million for secure peanut storage. I like peanuts as much as the next guy, but I believe the security of our troops should come before the security of our peanut crop. For all these reasons, that is why I made it clear to the Democrats in Congress, I will veto the bill.
Hear hear! I must admit that the President, along with other Republicans like McCain et al, have done a pretty good job at pasting the Democrats on the so-called "pork" loaded in the bill. He continues:

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Does he wear a tinfoil hat to prevent “them” from reading his brain waves?

by Steve MacDonald

Is it any wonder that the devastated city of New Orleans is still a mess? Is it really George Bush’s fault, or might it be possible that the hapless city’s Mayor Ray Nagin is the cause? And when you consider that the city’s voters reelected him, should we have a whole lot of sympathy? Consider … Read more

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