NH Journal ran an article yesterday that was written by Ed Wonton, complaining about parts of HB649 being inserted into HB 2. I’d like to see the whole bill, in its original form, inserted into the budget, but there’s at least some merit to accepting half a loaf when getting all of what you want is no longer a possibility. Progress can be slow, but it’s better than nothing. However, Wonton wants to put the kibosh on the little crumb that we’re being thrown.
In his opening sentence, he says the words “that freedom is increasingly coming at the cost of our children’s lungs—and our collective safety.” Does any of that sound familiar, and does Wonton support HB361? My guess is the answer is NO to the latter question. As for the latter part of quote, note the use of the word COLLECTIVE. I’m guessing this guy is a Dem, either on the voter list as such, or one disguised as an independent, or a Uniparty RINO. Look at the fear-mongering on full display as you continue reading his rant about emissions.
Wonton goes on to say, “a few loud voices, often the same voice, repeated many times, claimed that safety inspections are a nuisance and that emissions tests are costly and unnecessary. But 50 phone calls from one ‘constituent’ do not constitute 50 constituents. Legislators know this. Or at least, they should.” Isn’t that the playbook of the enemy camp? Just look at all the NH dot gov portal sign-ins against bills addressing flagship issues, like parental rights and other trans stuff. Pot, meet Kettle! That’s what one of the readers suggested saying in the comments on my recent article called “Projection!”
Then he goes on to tell his readers that you don’t dismantle a public health and safety program based on complaints of individuals. He’s referring to specific individuals whose opinions he wants to discount because he thinks that, despite the large number of them, they are not worthy of being heard, simply because he believes they “have the time.” Who is he to talk about someone else’s time? He sounds a lot like Ms Gloria, a former Nashua Board of Education member, 5 years ago when she called the parents demanding the reopening of schools a bunch of privileged white women. Instead of addressing the merits of the talking points, it’s mentally easier to just insult the people who support those talking points, no matter how vetted in facts and numbers they are.
And speaking of Nashua, let’s talk about a word that ought to excite Gloria. Reparations. Anyone that registered cars in the city or several of its suburbs over 30 years ago will remember the emissions E surcharge, $15 in early 90s dollars. Where are OUR reparations? It’s a good time to ask about that, as we are talking about emissions, because it was seemingly ok for out-of-town/state vehicles to pollute the air in Nashua, but don’t you dare pollute the local air as a local!
Wonton then says, “This is about a handful of legislators protecting their own wallets or chasing a talking point about ‘government overreach’.” Um, the reality is that opposition to HB649 is about a handful of legislators (mostly in the Senate) protecting their own wallets (in the form of the NH Automobile Dealers Association’s donations). I’ve called attention to this in several of my previous articles, and so have many others. The penultimate sentence of the Wonton article says, “to lawmakers: please slow down. Look at the data. Talk to real experts. And stop mistaking noise for consensus.” Again, we’ve heard from several real experts and numbers people who have debunked the public safety argument. Did Wonton even listen to their testimonies? Perhaps he ought to be given transcripts of their statements to House Transportation and Senate Commerce. Video is available on YouTube, and hearing reports are available on NH.gov. Yeah, nothing to see there, keep the gravy train of bureaucracy and corruption flowing, all in the name of public safety and clean air(by definition of whatever language is yoked to federal money).
The sticker tax is akin to the COVID-19 response policy; they both need to be banished to the dustbin of history. HB 361 and HB 649 have addressed the abuse of power in the name of public safety. It’s time we do a better job working towards making NH great again. Tell your legislators to reject Wonton’s nonsense and support all efforts to nix, or at least chisel away at, the sticker tax.
