SHOT: Gov. Chris Sununu: “My job is to be the central economic planner for NH”
That’s what a tipster just sent me a few minutes ago. The video is up on Facebook by WMUR here: https://www.facebook.com/wmur9/videos/vb.6439768716/1917626108370329/?type=2&theater. I was rather shocked at the quote so I went and listened to it from 1:04:00 as the tipster said. And there it was – Sununu up at the podium and said:
My job is to plan for the economic long term situation of this State.
Same difference is no difference. Contemplate that statement – HE is our Economic-Planner-In-Chief by his own words. An entire state of 1.3 million people who make (or did) 10s to 100s of economic decisions every day. The HUBRIS of knowledge (F.A. Hayek). He has basically just said that he’s fine with top-down economic centralized model. And he’s doing it (or rather, he believes he can). In the Live Free or Die State?
The tipster says that he’s captured the audio in the case that WMUR pulls the video down.
CHASER: From the NH GOP Platform:
- We, the people of the New Hampshire Republican Party, do stand united in our dedication to preserving freedom, limited government and unlimited opportunity for all.
- We believe, above all else, in the founding principle that all people are created equal, endowed by our Creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, unimpeded by intrusive government regulation and control.
- We believe that the New Hampshire and United States Constitutions were written by our forefathers to limit our government, not our freedom.
- We believe that individual liberty is guaranteed under the Constitutions of the United States and New Hampshire, that the liberty of the people must be protected above the power of the government, and that it is only through an adherence to our founding documents that we will continue to grow as a free, Constitutional Republic.
- We believe in free people, free markets and free enterprise.
And the titular elected official of the NH GOP just tossed them all into the trash can. Govt over people. Not my words – his words and his current actions. I can’t explain it in any other terms.
HANGOVER: Where is the Power enumerated
Back to the NH GOP Platform:
-
- We believe that we the people are strongest when we stand together, that it is our responsibility to hold government accountable and that it is through the integrity of the ballot box that we do so.
NH Constitution, Part 3
Art.] 41. [Governor, Supreme Executive Magistrate.] There shall be a supreme executive magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of New Hampshire, and whose title shall be His Excellency. The executive power of the state is vested in the governor. The governor shall be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws. He may, by appropriate court action or proceeding brought in the name of the state, enforce compliance with any constitutional or legislative mandate, or restrain violation of any constitutional or legislative power, duty, or right, by any officer, department or agency of the state. This authority shall not be construed to authorize any action or proceedings against the legislative or judicial branches.
I see nothing there (or the succeeding Articles) that enumerate that a NH Governor has the Power (Governments have Powers, Individuals have Rights) to be a Chief Economist.
For years, many have said that the NH GOP hasn’t had the political will or internal discipline to protect its brand when those calling themselves Republican go rogue. They have ignored:
Consistency breeds Trust yields Votes
And more importantly:
Winning is only the precursor – it is what you do afterwards that is of most importance.
“Pragmatism over Principles” rings only a hollow bell. Pragmatism requires NO Principles whatsoever – yet it is / was the NH GOP Principles that most of us voted for and depended upon.
I’m betting that GraniteGrok is no longer in the good graces of the NH GOP given the absolute POUNDING we’ve been doing on Gov. Sununu. To wit: it’s been a while since some of us have received any eblasts from them. The the main purpose of a political party is to win elections and I’m betting they think we’re dousing those chances at the top. Yet…
…it is our responsibility to hold government accountable…
That’s what we do – Government and those that represent us in running it be they have an R, D, G, I, S or any other letter(s) after their names. WE especially hold Republicans to a high bar and with good reason – we expect more from them. As I have said to a number of GOP groups:
Don’t want us to write about you? Don’t say or do stupid stuff. Especially a second time (or more).
In this case, thinking that you can run the ENTIRETY of economic concerns of even a small State is dumb. VERY dumb. EXTREMELY dumb. I don’t care about the verbal overrun I heard in the video before he announced he’s for central planning – he’s wrong. And if he THINKS he’s right, where are the models that show that he’s right? Or is he winging it? Either means we’ll keep writing.
And influencing folks. Your call.
