Scare quotes around “epidemic” because, once again, the common language is being abused.  Epidemics are spread by germs – not choices made by people to put needles into arms or powder up noses.  That said, this is typical when help is asked for by locals of the Feds.  That “free” money is never free – first to the taxpayers and as we see here, all the rules and “strings attached” cost plenty, too – and result in LESS help than more – Union Leader (reformatted, emphasis mine)

Drug treatment beds: Reduced by order from Washington

In the midst of a heroin addiction epidemic in which Democrats, Republicans and substance abuse experts all agree that more treatment center beds are desperately needed, the federal government is forcing treatment centers in New Hampshire to reduce the number of available beds. Such is the logic of the federal bureaucracy.

And you expected otherwise?  This is why I have said for years that local should stay local – the cost is too high.  Yes, you can get the money, but any control you had for this local problem dissipates quickly.  And in this case, the Feds go “bossy” (isn’t that the word that Hillary hates?)

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After this, then there is this from Instapundit (emphasis mine):

JOEL KOTKIN: More Local Decisions Usurped by Ideological Regulators. “Nothing is more basic to the American identity than leaving basic control of daily life to local communities and, as much as is practical, to individuals. The rising new regulatory regime seeks decisively to change that equation. To be sure, there is a need for some degree of regulation, notably for basic health and public safety, as well as maintaining and expanding schools, parks, bikeways and tree-planting, things done best when supported by local voters. But the current regulatory wave goes well beyond traditional methodology. It reflects policies more akin to those central planners, who, as Chapman University researcher Alicia Kurimska suggests, dominated city planning in the once-massive Soviet bloc.”

And as we all know, how well did all those massive Public Housing high-rises work out?  Not well – crime ridden, drug filled, and broken family filled.  Most of them were torn down.  Lesson learned? Hardly.  They do consider themselves the Smart People who know what is best for all. And instead of learning the lessons, they just keep going.  It’s like they are micro-tyrants:

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If  you are tired of the same old primary politics that inevitably anoints some cookie-cutter moderate Republican who shares few if any of your values, this is your opportunity to end the cycle of “doing the same thing every four years and expecting something different.”

On October 17th, 2015 New Hampshire will hold the first large-scale grassroots vote for a Republican Primary nominee in the 2016 Election cycle. The first national vote of its kind and an historical event in New Hampshire politics.

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Governor Hassan vetoed legislation that would have ended almost 100 years of state-sanctioned discrimination. It is now time to override her veto by letting the New Hampshire Senate know Granite Staters will not tolerate the undefined discriminatory practice of ‘suitability’ to continue.

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Yep, that’s what it is, Scott.  This time, it is Allison Gilbert whining out of both sides of her mouth in the Concord Monitor about the NH Executive Council’s vote on Planned Parenthood contract denial (reformatted, emphasis mine):

My Turn: Executive councilors have questions to answer

I am outraged and disgusted by the New Hampshire Executive Council’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood in New Hampshire. I want to thank Colin Van Ostern and Chris Pappas for voting in support of all New Hampshire women and families. We all know that Planned Parenthood in New Hampshire provides critical sexual and reproductive health care and educational services to low-income women and men.

Ah yes, like Obamacare doesn’t exist to supply ALL of our needs – including “critical sexual and reproductive health care”.  Thus, you should be able to go ANYwhere you want (er, that IS why the Incremental Socialists known as Democrats passed it) right Allison?  That’s what we were told over and over, right?  Oh wait!

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Once again, the GOP Ruling Class and Higher Than Us is taken to task for looking down their noses at those “Trumpian rubes” – how dare the great Unwashed speak up, ignore us, and dare not to give us their votes for OUR candidate to which we are entitled?  Er, boys?  Let’s go back to the original tenet of politics – you earn the votes.  David Limbaugh writes (reformatted, emphasis mine), once again, that the GOP Intelligencia is completely missing the boat at best, or joining in with the Democrat Socialists at worst. A couple of snippets (go read the whole link):

These commentators seem more disgusted with Trump defenders than with President Obama’s destructive agenda and the threat it represents to America.  Their angst, I would argue, is not primarily about Trump. Their real beef is with Reagan conservatives and others who refuse to be calm about Obama’s assaults and are sick of lectures on bipartisanship and “civility.”

Which seemingly is true.  The GOP has spent more time, from the view of Joe and Jane Sixpack, fighting what should be seen as the most passionate part of their base.  Their only sin is that, in the eyes of the Smart People, is that they actually believe what the GOP says it does (but often doesn’t do).

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