OPINION: New Hampshire Democrats Want to Sue You Into Silence

The latest fad among New Hampshire Democrats — or as many of us have come to call them, the Demo-rats — isn’t passing budgets that make sense, or fixing our broken property tax system, or giving relief to hardworking Granite Staters. No, their weapon is intimidation. Post something online that cuts against their narrative? Make a joke about a liberal city councilor or a Democratic legislator on Facebook? Drop a spicy comment in a public forum? The threat is now: We’ll sue you for everything you’ve got.

They whisper it behind the scenes, and some are already boasting about it openly: “We’ve got pro bono lawyers ready to go. It won’t cost us a dime, but it will cost you everything.” This is nothing short of political lawfare — weaponizing the courts to crush dissent and silence opposition.

The Myth of Easy Tracking

Here’s the truth they don’t want you to know: proving who wrote an online post is far harder than the Demo-rats pretend. They make it sound like they pull up a URL and — presto — your name, address, and bank account pop up on the screen. That’s Hollywood fantasy, not reality.

A URL from Facebook or a forum contains almost nothing but internal codes. Without Facebook’s cooperation, those strings are meaningless. And in a civil suit — which is what they’re threatening — it’s a long uphill slog to compel Facebook, ISPs, or anyone else to cough up data.

Every step requires subpoenas. Every subpoena requires a judge’s approval. And unlike law enforcement, who can issue warrants in criminal cases, a civil lawyer must convince a court that invading someone’s privacy is absolutely necessary. Judges are cautious, and rightly so.

The Cost of Intimidation

And then there’s the cost. We’re not talking about a few hundred bucks. We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, digital forensics, motions, and expert witnesses. By the time a Demo-rat lawyer has run the gauntlet of Facebook subpoenas, ISP subpoenas, and data analysis, they’ve spent $20,000 to $75,000 to maybe prove that you wrote a post.

Now, if you’re a billionaire tech donor backing a Democrat lawsuit, maybe you can afford that. But the average Granite Stater can’t. And that’s the point: this strategy isn’t about winning in court. It’s about scaring you into silence. It’s about making you think twice before criticizing Claremont’s tax hikes, Concord’s regulatory insanity, or Washington’s socialist schemes.

The Technology Barrier

What they also don’t want to admit is that ordinary citizens now use technology that makes this fishing expedition even harder. A New Hampshire conservative using Linux Mint instead of Microsoft Windows isn’t leaking the kind of telemetry data investigators dream about. A browser with Privacy Badger or uBlock Origin isn’t feeding trackers to Google or Facebook. And a network configured with OpenDNS forces any would-be litigant to fight Cisco’s corporate lawyers just to get a sliver of data.

At the end of the day, all they can usually prove is that a certain device connected to a certain website at a certain time. That’s a far cry from proving that you, personally, wrote a particular post. Shared Wi-Fi networks, family devices, spoofed browser fingerprints — all of these introduce doubt. In other words: their “ironclad” case is actually paper thin.

Standing Up to the Lawfare Bullies

Granite Staters should see this tactic for what it is: lawfare by the Left. The Demo-rats know they can’t win the argument in the marketplace of ideas, so they try to shut down the debate in the courtroom. It’s a sleazy attempt to replace persuasion with intimidation.

But here in New Hampshire, the “Live Free or Die” state, we know better. We know that free speech — even sharp, cutting, controversial speech — is a cornerstone of liberty. And we won’t be cowed by a handful of pro bono lawyers working overtime for Democrat political machines.

Conclusion

The next time a Demo-rat councilor or legislator shakes their fist and threatens to sue you for a Facebook post, remember this: it’s bluster. The legal path they boast about is costly, messy, and riddled with uncertainty. Their real goal isn’t justice — it’s fear.

Granite Staters have never been a people easily silenced. Let’s keep it that way. Speak boldly. Call out corruption. Expose the waste and abuse. And when the Demo-rats say they’ll take you to court, just smile and remind them: truth is not defamation, and intimidation is not justice.

Authors’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers.

Got Something to Say, We Want to Hear It. Comment or submit Op-Eds to steve@granitegrok.com

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