The NH State  Supreme Court Upholds NH Education Tax Credit.  The ACLU, Bill Duncan, Maggie Hassan, Barry Lynn and others…lose.

Kids and parents who want their kids to have a shot at attending the better schools or just having more choices – Win!

Court (Lewis, J.) ruling in favor of the petitioners, eight individual New Hampshire residents and taxpayers and LRS Technology Services, LLC (LRS), on their petition for a declaratory judgment that the Education Tax Credit program (the program), see RSA ch. 77-G (Supp. 2013), violates Part II, Article 83 of the State Constitution. Defending the program are the State and the intervenors. The intervenors are three New Hampshire citizens, who wish their children to receive scholarship funds under the program, and the Network for Educational Opportunity, a non-profit organization involved with the program. The trial court ruled that the petitioners had standing under RSA 491:22, I (Supp. 2013). We do not reach the merits of the petitioners’ declaratory judgment petition because we conclude that: (1) the 2012 amendment to RSA 491:22, I, which allows taxpayers to establish standing without showing that their personal rights have been impaired or prejudiced, is unconstitutional; and (2) absent that amendment, the petitioners have no standing to bring their constitutional claim. Accordingly, we vacate and remand with instructions to dismiss the petition.

More?

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An email received Tuesday from the Seacoast Republican Women’s organization advertises an event being held by Senator Nancy Stiles.  Stiles is up for re-election in the Seacoast region in district 24.  Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal except they haven’t done the same for any other candidates in the area.  Steve Kenda is Nancy Stiles’ primary opponent and they have never posted any activities or events for him.  Sexist much?

Maybe it’s just bias because they haven’t bothered posting anything for other females running for Senate in the Seacoast Region either.   Have they completely jumped the shark since they claim they do not endorse candidates in the primary?  Or are they just showing their bias against candidates that aren’t in bed with the “Establishment”.   Either way they wouldn’t comment when asked so assumptions will be made.

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UPDATE: I forgot this from Instapundit as the setup:

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS? The thing is, the NRSC went all-in to deep-six Milt Wolf in favor of doddering nonresident Pat Roberts. Now Roberts faces a “tough re-election fight,” with this observation: “It’s difficult to see how Milton Wolf would have done appreciably worse in this case, and he might have held the Republican base together better.” Especially as the NRSC pissed off — and pissed on — the base in backing Roberts.

When you’ve crapped on the base, don’t expect them, any more, to be good little soldiers and meekly vote for their least worst.  Not happening anymore.

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Republican Wave?  Wave?  Wave it good bye? 

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Why is it so secretive for Republican office holder Kelly Ayotte to openly publish her “public meetings”?  I got this yesterday from a disgruntled Republican who is tired of Republicans acting just like the Democrats in this matter (emphasis mine):

From: a ‘Grok Friend that wishes to remain anonymous
To: “skip@granitegrok.com” <skip@granitegrok.com>
Sent: 8/26/2014 10:19:47 AM
Subject: Ayotte Town Hall Scheduled for 8/28 @ 4P in Littleton

I know that its shocking that this isn’t posted on Ayotte’s website……..but

Was on phone with NHGOP this badgering them over the hypocrisy of berating Shaheen over lack of town halls while not calling out Shea Porter, Kuster or our own Ayotte

Indeed.  Why is it that the NH GOP Leadership – that would be NH GOP Chair Jennifer Horn, NH Senate Republicans Morse and Bradley, and US Senator Kelly Ayotte

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And now for the Closing Remarks by Brendan Kelly, Dan Innus, & Frank Guinta in concluding their part of the Seacoast GOP (Exeter Town GOP, Rockingham County GOP, and the Seacoast Republican Women) NH GOP Candidate Debates for those running in NH’s First Congressional District for US Congress:

 Next to go up will be the Senatorial Debate series later on today (I hope – life has been a bit topsy-turvy at Chez Skip’s the last couple of weeks) between Bob Smith, Jim Rubens, and Scott Brown.

Previous Videos: 

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Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.  Mostly.  Oh sure – the elected GOP officials, especially in DC, are listening, but as Hugh points out (a noted West Coast talk show host, lawer, syndicated columnist and author), they are listening to the wrong people and proving to the base that there is such a thing as Potomac Flu, the DC Bubble, the Beltway Worldview. Like Hotel California, you can check in but never seem to want to check out.  They are ignoring their base – and in doing so, can’t seem to grasp why the base is angry with them and like Eric Cantor (and Frank Guinta here in NH last cycle), lose.  They have lost sight that the Principles in DC ought to reflect the Principles from home – those that brung ya to the dance as it were.  Except after the elections, “were” becomes the operative phrase.

I’d suggest you read Hugh Hewitt ‘s whole piece, but here are a few bon mots that the base (er, that would be us) is upset about while the Party officials merely party on (and failing to watch what happens to a Party that strays at the top from the bottom below – e.g., UKIP) – some reformatting and emphasis mine.  The list of “influencers” is rather impressive as well.

• The “electeds” who make up the Beltway GOP Elite barely consult with many of its own “public intellectuals” within the nation’s capital, and apparently not at all with those who live outside of the Oz that D.C. has become.
• The elected GOP, to put it bluntly, hears the noise from the grassroots and it concerns them –even scares them– but the elected GOP does not actually listen to what those grassroots are saying. The policy proposals put forward and the strategy developed on the Hill do not reflect what the grassroots want and thus the friction between the Beltway GOP and its voters is large and growing larger.

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We here at GraniteGrok have blogged about the NH Senate Majority PAC – pretty much run by NH State Senate President Chuck Morse and NH State Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley – here, here, here, here, here and here for starters.  I do wonder, given those posts and the others, if it really is (as it name connotes) trying to actually have a Republican majority in the Senate of good Republicans that stand for Party Principles – or is it just another group of self-righteous crony politicans that have been backslapping themselves over what they’ve accomplished contra the base (e.g., what Hugh Hewitt describes for DC transplanted here and writ a bit smaller for Concord):  “but the elected GOP does not actually listen to what those grassroots are saying“, “The electeds are attempting to dictate“, and “downright indifferent via silence or openly hostile to much of what the grassroots holds dear“.  Simple evidence to that hostility was their votes to establish Obamacare’s Expanded Medicare, the broad base Gas Tax, and the silencing of political dissenting speech (SB120).

They like their cronies – thus all of the expenditures on propping up with lies of omission on the most vulnerable of their clique during the Primary season (e.g, drunk Dave Boutin and Nancy “I don’t care what the US Supreme Court said – Medicaid Expansion HAS to be passed because it is the Law” Stiles.  And this dismissal of anyone wanting to crash their little Senate Rogue Republican Party.  It seems, from what I’ve been told, that the NH GOP invited all of the NH Senate Republican candidates in for a meeting…

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This from Erik Erikson at RedState – more indication that the Republican Wave may turn out to be a drip (reformatting (some) and emphasis mine):

Throughout primary season, the National Republican Senatorial Committee in alliance with groups like the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Partnership have treated the Republican base as their enemy.

Running scorched earth campaigns, they have attacked conservative groups, they have attacked conservative activists, and they have funded third party campaigns to paint the tea party and its candidates as racists. They have been able to win a number of primaries doing this. In conservative events around the country, conservative activists still use Mississippi as a rallying cry against the establishment.

So let us not be surprised by this news…

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Tom Flaherty already did the heavy lifting for this RINO Alert back in July, so I will make a few quick observations about Steve Hattamer, and leave you with Tom’s research and remarks.

Steve Mad-Hattamer is a RINO.

Steve Mad-Hattamer can’t even explain why he is running for Executive Council, let alone answer questions about the position or his goals if elected.

Steve Mad-Hattamer may be one of the least qualified  candidates  for Executive council,  ever to run for the post, based on interviews I have had with people who have met him, or heard him speak.   Thankfully, Republicans have more than one candidate to choose from in the September 9th EC District 5 primary, coming up in less than two weeks.

And here, as promised, is the bulk of  Tom’s post from July, which I have included below.

Hattamer and his wife, Elizabeth, have made a habit of donating to Democrats since 2006.

As you can see here from the FollowTheMoney.org website, Hattamer and/or his wife contributed to Democrats Sam Page (D-MO) $6400 and Michael S Katz (D-DE) $1100 (click image to enlarge).

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