We take shots at the Pravda on the Merrimack (Concord Monitor) and just like everyone else we thank them when they’re right. In an article in which both the headline and the lede gets it correct Ethan DeWitt nails it and properly confirms my title.
Emphasis mine.
Leapfrogging Legislature, Sununu signs executive order to allow town meeting postponements
New Hampshire towns can go ahead and postpone their town meetings in 2021 due to the coronavirus, after Gov. Chris Sununu pre-empted a bill in the Legislature with an executive order Friday. The order – Sununu’s 83rd since the pandemic began – allows towns to postpone their meetings and voting days to as far as July, “where concern exists for conducting the annual meeting and election during the COVID-19 health emergency.”
Why are the Republicans in both the House and the Senate letting him do this??
This is the old Obama phone and pen trick, right here in Concord.
“Leapfrogging”, “pre-empted”; I’ve been joking about “Elected Kings” in which those we’ve chosen to represent us as the head of the Executive Branches have ended up making the Legislatures irrelevant.
Who needs them? Obama certainly said so in that infamous “phone and pen” remark, when he said he “had to do something” because there was gridlock in Congress.
Gosh, the Constitutional Scholar refused to see that this was PLANNED by the Founders to have the separation of Powers ensure that gridlock would happen on stupid ideas. Or in this Age, partisanship.
I really don’t care which reason for this post because now Sununu is playing Obama’s role. There is no reason why Sununu should be doing this. As DeWitt points out, SB2 which does this has passed the NH Senate but not the NH House.
Sure, town meeting season is starting up but IT ISN’T SUNUNU’S ROLE to second guess the Legislature’s role and POWERS. This doesn’t even come close to his “Public Safety trumps EVERYTHING” mantra in doing away with the Constitutionally mandated processes. If the House passed it in time, fine. If it doesn’t, that should be fine as well.
It’s not your role to circumvent that process just because he doesn’t like the Legislature’s timing or desire for proper deliberations.
Remember, he is only supposed to carry out the Laws that the Legislature gives him and in the time of their choosing. It is NOT supposed to be that HE determines which laws are passed and the timing thereof. He’s only supposed to make sure that his branch, his people, faithfully do what they’ve been told to do.
WHY are the Republicans in both the House and the Senate letting him do this??
Why does the NH Legislature continue to blithely hand over what should be their “jealously guarded Powers” to King Sununu?
How long are they going to act like cuckolds and whipped dogs? Look, I know how Sununu is doing in the polls but where is your Political Will is doing this? Issue the danged resolutions revoking the Emergency Powers so you can do your own jobs??
Or is this what you Republicans want given that you run both the House and Senate? How long is this supposed to go?
Did you run for office simply to have Sununu do it for you?
And if so, why should we Conservatives again vote for Republicans?
