In a recent mailer, which will take several posts to “depose” State Senate Candidate David Boutin came out smearing Republican Primary opponent Bill Kuch.
Boutin claims (see above) that his primary opponent, Bill Kuch, is extreme for voting against Marsy’s law. Hello! Dave? The New Hampshire House voted 284 – 51 against CACR22 (Marsy’s Law).
Dave Boutin thinks that’s extreme. As opposed to this?
The guy on the left is Henry Nicholas III. He is an out-of-state billionaire (who has spent at least 27 million nationally to push his personal political agenda). He personally funded the dozen or more lobbyists in the Granite State who ran around telling us how much support Marsy’s law had. It didn’t.
Nichols was also just arrested in Vegas for drug possession (meth, cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin) and charged with narcotics trafficking.
I don’t know if you’ve heard but New Hampshire is ‘Ground Zero’ for the battle against opioid overdoses and drug addiction. I’ve heard it called an epidemic. Well, State Senate candidate Dave Boutin just sided with the out-of-state billionaire accused of trafficking heroin the leading cause of overdoses and drug deaths in New Hampshire.
Nice choice there, Dave.
And yes, there’s more. This isn’t Nichols first dance with narcotics charges, and he’s got a few more shadows piling up on his doorstep.
Of course, Nicholas comes with his own set of baggage. The man has been indicted on SEC fraud charges as well as “federal narcotics charges that include allegations he slipped ecstasy into the drinks of business associates, maintained a drug warehouse and concealed his illegal conduct with bribes and death threats.” He was also accused of emotional and physical abuse by a former girlfriend in a $70 million lawsuit. Interesting he seems to create his own victims.
Across from Dave stand Republican Bill Koch and 283 other ‘extremist’ members of the New Hampshire House who saw Marsy’s law for what it is.
- Marsy’s law does NOT protect victims of violent crime or victims families.
- It was a (CACR) constitutional amendment, not a bill.
- It’s spelled Marsy’s law not Marcy’s Law.
- Gives victims rights to anyone even remotely associated with the crime or the victim.
- Abrogates the privacy rights of actual victims including victims of domestic violence, rape, or sexual abuse.
- Virtually eliminates constitutional due process rights for the accused.
- Gives vast power to the state with regard to defendants.
- New Hampshire didn’t even need it.
We have a victims bill of rights and some of the best victims rights and victims privacy laws in the country. Our standards of protection for victims of violent crime (or any crime) greatly exceed the disaster brought on by Marsy’s Law without sacrificing constitutional rights to due process.
That might be why Marsy’s law has been found unconstitutional in other states that passed it or is currently being challenged.
But Dave’s hanging his hat on this one which isn’t a terribly sober thing to do. It’s not terribly bright, either.
Mr. Boutin accuses Bill Kuch of voting with 85% of the New Hampshire House against a proposed constitutional amendment that was bad for victims, defendants, and New Hampshire.
Did Dave even know it was bad? Who is advising his campaign? An out-of-state funded Marsy’s Law Lobbyist? Or is Mr. Boutin’s judgment impaired?
Without having fisked any of his other claims (though I have a feeling they are as false or misleading as this one) Boutin’s mailer proves one thing. Bill Koch stood up for victims privacy rights, protected New Hampshire’s robust victim’s protections, and the constitutional right to due process.
If that’s out of Step with Republican or New Hampshire values, then Dave Boutin’s fallen off the Republican wagon, if he was ever even on it.
