I’ve known Di for a long, long time. Good person. We align well from a principles standpoint. However, in her Op-Ed, she has this line:
She “struggles to make sense of what is (now) happening” and complains bitterly that everything is politicized. Then she starts her own tirade of politicization of people who don’t think like she does. She claims (without evidence) that Republicans are in cahoots with the “Free Staters” to create an extremist utopia in our state. For some strange reason she even thinks that Governor Chris Sununu must agree with them or he’s afraid of them! I’m a Republican and have been involved in state politics for what seems like a million years and I don’t know of any Republican who identifies with Free Staters.
SurPRISE, Di! There are quite a number of Free Staters (who migrated here to NH because of its small size, where one person could make a difference, it’s (small “l”) libertarian bent (why else is our State motto “Live Free or Die”, Di? (sorry, couldn’t help myself there) in the State House. And GraniteGrok, I am proud to say, is the most popular Free State-leaning digital print media site in NH (LibertyBlock is #2 but run by a Free Stater).
And Di? Can you pick out the GraniteGrok authors (and no small number of Op-Ed submitters) that are Free Staters? If not officially a member but certainly leaning that way?
You may be surprised. You see, except for the “Keene Kiddies,” most are rather quiet about their affiliation with this political experiment. No, not like they’re scared or unwilling to admit it – they just don’t think it is important. They want to live their lives their way and be left alone.
This drives Zandra Rice-Hawkins (of Granite State Progress, the out-of-state funded uber-progressive group that hates Liberty) absolutely nuts. She’s obsessed with the idea that the Free Staters might actually slow the growth of NH Government – or even make it smaller. Gadzooks! How would we EVAH survive with her ilk’s hands around our throats?
No, Zandra, they aren’t looking to eliminate Government – that’s only in your fevered dreams and scaremongering. Unlike you who MUST get your sustenance knowing that Government surrounds you, they tend to be much more self-reliant, self-sufficient, more grounded, less apt to lean on talking points and hysterics.
In short, they’re more grounded and more adult than most Progressives I know. Much nicer as well. Ought to try leaving the Dark Side, Zandra – we have COOKIES!
No, I’m not going to out them here either – that’s part of being left alone. If they want to be known, they’ll tell you (actually it would be fun to have them introduce themselves to you – I’ve seen your “shocked face” before and it is a delight to see it come to light!
So while I’ve been here in NH for 36 years, Di, you could say that I was a Free Stater well before my time.