Articles tagged as

NH GOP Chair

NH GOP Chair Chris Ager

Breaking News: RNC Committeeman and Hillsborough County Chair Chris Ager Announces Run for NH GOP Chair

by Skip

From: Chris Ager <chrisager@aol.com> To: “nhcommitteeman@protonmail.com” <nhcommitteeman@protonmail.com> Date: 12/05/2022 9:06 PM Subject: NHGOP Chair Position State Committee Members, It has been an honor and privilege to have served as Hillsborough County Chairman for the past 4 years and National Committeeman for the last 3 years. I have decided to run for NHGOP Chairman at the … Read more

GrokTV – Interview with new NH GOP Chair, Steve Stepanek

by Skip

Steve Stepanek was overwhelming elected (300-81) to be the NH GOP Chair by the assembled NH GOP Committee members during their annual convention (held at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH). Even as he was trying to leave the auditorium for a meeting (just elected – already with the meetings!), he graciously took a few moments with … Read more

What Makes a Good NHGOP Chairman?

by

I was sitting with Secretary of State William Gardner yesterday discussing the 2018 election. He is very concerned with manner in which the Democrats fought this last election. They created Political Action Committees (PAC) upon PACs, designed to obscure the source of the money, most of which was from out of State. They began their … Read more

My personal tale on Keith Hanson

by Skip

For the record, I have talked to Keith about the problem with the NHGOP in the past. I agree that the problems are systemic and inbred; many of you have heard me say the phrase “Five Families” (you can figure out the reference). My memory goes back to the legitimate election of Jack Kimball as NH … Read more

NH GOP – Open Primaries should be done away with

by Norm Silber

I was included on an email thread that had a number of people on it and one of the issues is that of Open Primaries in NH. Here’s the initial email: <redacted> wrote (to a number of people) including Steve Stepanek who has announced that he is running to fill the soon to be empty … Read more

Keith Hanson announces for NH GOP Chair: “Here comes the comeback!”

by Op-Ed

For Immediate Release
December 6, 2018

Contact:
Karen Testerman
603-721-9933
karen@karentesterman.net

New London, NH – Entrepreneur and conservative talk radio and television show host Keith Hanson officially declared his candidacy today for the New Hampshire GOP Chair seat. Mr. Hanson resides in Grantham and has been the host of “Live and Local in the Morning, “First Look with Keith Hanson” and “The Keith Hanson Show” on Fox News affiliate WNTK and WUVR based in New London and Lebanon, respectively since September of 2015. Mr. Hanson is also the host of “Stark Reality with Keith Hanson,” a conservative television political commentary program airing weekly on the Yankee Communications Network.

“I am proud and honored to announce my candidacy for NHGOP Chair. As an active member of the community as both an engaged citizen and media personality, I have spoken with countless individuals, current and former political figures and business owners who have expressed their desires for strong, bold and innovative leadership that will break from the status quo from within the state Republican party.”

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NH GOP Executive Board Meeting – Monday, April 15th – Part II

by Skip

Well, it seem that what I wrote here about last night’s NH GOP E-board meeting pretty much happened as expected – and worse.  I’ve had a number of little birdies flying overhead and dropping little packets all day long – a seed here, another one here.  Might as well read it here, ’cause I guess those seeds may run out soon…but I digress.

Long meeting – good thing I ended up with a customer as I hate wasting time twiddling thumbs – and the meeting didn’t go short.  Those that are “merely” State Committee Members had to cool their heels for quite some time as the E-Board declared that they were out of the executive privileged session.  I guess the E-Board wasn’t too Trusting of the Members;  there was a policeman in the lobby to prevent them from entering the elevator to take them up to the conference room.  Oh, and because this was in Executive Privilege – you can’t ask for any meeting minutes (can’t have the proles knowing the goings on of their own Party, eh?).

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NH GOP Chair Jennifer Horn: another lien? This time for around $7,500

by Skip

Not from the IRS this time –  a company by the name of CACH, LLC.  I have known about the IRS liens but did not know about this one – January, 2013 (that I can remember, that is):

JenniferHorn_CACH_LLC_1

Rest of the paperwork after the jump (first page embiggen as well)

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Statement by Jack Kimball on Signatory Authority by the NH GOP Chair

by Skip

Former NH GOP Chair Jack Kimball’s statement concerning the email thread posted here on GraniteGrok of the situation concerning current NH GOP Chair Jennifer Horn’s refusal to keep to her agreement to not seek signatory authority of the NH GOP’s bank accounts (and other financial instruments) (emphasis mine): Soon after my election as GOP Chair, … Read more

Did Saturday’s boos send a response to Jim Foley’s claim?

by Skip

Well, when the call for a second for Jim Foley’s Finance report, all that was heard were “BOOS”.  Umm, no second was heard.  The call for a second was issued a second time for Jim Foley’s Finance report, all that was heard were “BOOS”.  Umm, no second was heard – a second time.

Togetherness?  Kumbaya moment?  Not so much, I guess.  But he did promise just that, once upon a time:

Jim Foley For NH GOP Chair

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“Secrecy in the name of unity” – Yet, I thought the NH GOP was about “Openness & Transparency”?

by Skip

From the NH GOP Platform:

II. TAXES AND SPENDING

Government Structure:

Expand openness and transparency to employment, expenditures and all recipients of taxpayers’ funds

“Secrecy in the name of unity” – what a phrase; anyone else see the uber-contradiction between what the NH GOP demands of its Government and what governance it is willing to hold itself to?  What a phrase from the person who held highest office in the State Party, now former NH GOP Chair Wayne MacDonald to utter.   Once again, the disconnect of “Fine for thee but not for me” rears its ugly head.  No, Wayne MacDonald and James “Jim” Foley, as we here at the ‘Grok have been pointing out for YEARS now, bloggers are not the problem.  We only hold the flashlights and flip the ON switch to ON.  What they shine on is strictly a manifestation of the internal works that folks like you have created.  Or do you not like that message either?  Good governance, either in Government or any other organization, yields trust – and that demands openness and transparency.  However, both of these “gentlemen” believes otherwise – that secrecy is the stuff of good governing, I guess.  We can only trust ourselves – the elected to rule govern.

Consistency – oh true, there are times we may continue the early practice of the blogosphere being the Wild Wild West (which does upset some of the delicates out there, or those that believe they are the be all and end all, and above criticism)  but in almost everything we say or believe in here at the ‘Grok, we are consistent.  Sure, like most folks, we do slip up now and then (heck, with almost 13,500 posts, we’ve said a whole lot a whole lot of times) – but they are the exception rather than the norm.  You read us, you know us.  Government, and the NH GOP, should be internally consistent.  They are not.

This was the most egregious fact that was brought out by Steve’s post (“Wayne Mac Donald ..”People who blog are those who are “ruining” the party”“)  linked to a piece by political newcomer Kathy Benuck about her experience at the NH GOP Annual Meeting.  Seen through her eyes, from a fresh unvarnished perspective should be viewed by those now in charge of the NH GOP.  My takeaways of her “cause for concern” items:

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Free Advice For Chairman Horn – Part II

by Skip

OK, perhaps some might think we are piling on tonite – well, sometimes, that’s just what happens.  Besides, as bloggers, this past Saturday was like finding a field full of gold nuggets.  Sure, we do have fun doing some of this (after all, none of us get paid, not even me, and if you aren’t being paid, you’d better be having fun) but it is a lot of “seriousness” wrapped in that “fun”.  Sometimes, though, it’s just a having an observation thrown into your face by someone else.

This time, by new NH GOP Chair Jennifer Horn.  Being a State Committee Member, I was on both her email list and Andrew’s – dualing messages.  Well, given her victory, she sent out one last email from her JenniferForGOPChair account (as it will be Jennifer@NHGOP.org next time). And had a facepalm moment.  After all, one of the Big Three “issues” of this campaign was Unity (“I can create this!”), another was Technology (“I can write and deploy this!”), and the biggest, in my mind, was Messaging (“I can articulate a convincing story”).  Messaging – to differentiate the NH GOP from the NH Democrats. Messaging – to give a clear and obvious choice. Messaging – to articulate the differences.

Difference.  Kinda hard to do, though, when you use their words their way, ma’am!  My immediate response to friends was:

>> And Now We Move Forward!

 PLEASE tell me that she really has no idea what she just said…...in copying the Obama campaign slogan “FORWARD!”

 FORWARD! – the slogan of Marxists and Socialist from time eternal.

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Hillary: “What Difference Does It Make??” Former NH GOP Chair Wayne MacDonald: “What difference does it make?”

by Skip

Hillary Clinton loses it Drudge BenghaziActually, in both cases, the answer to both cases is “It DOES make a difference – a tremendous one, in fact.”  And both are in the same area: trust.  Or in fact, creating more a lack of trust than what already exists.  Both questions from the top figures in the organization show a lack of concern of the perception of impropriety at best or a callous lack of concern (at all) at worst.

As Grokster Scott points out here, the question from Hillary was an avoidance of responsibility on her part.  She may, indeed, have future political plans and does not want a political albatross hung around her neck.  It was also, secondarily, a defense of Obama and of Obama’s claim that He has single handedly decimated Al Queda and made the word safe for Socialism (after all, an Obamessiah has to be blameless in order to mold us to be able to enter into his Heaven on earth).  After all, if that policy PR is shown to be false (and I believe that it has), the inference can be “where else is Obama’s foreign policies failing?”  or other policies as well.

But it matters even more – Government should be open and transparent.  It does matter, in that it is not YOUR Government, it is ours, the Citizens.  This is not YOUR nation, it is ours, the Citizens.  The reasoning of those we have elected to govern (not rule) as well as how that reasoning turns into action (and then how that action is carried out) should be able to be followed by the ordinary citizen.  When that open and transparency is violated, the lack of trust by the ordinary system rises.  Pulling down the shade by dint of her question only creates dark corners in Government in which bad things seem to sprout and create rot.

Oh, back to Wayne MacDonald, now the former NH GOP Chair…on the NH GOP Area 5 Vice-Chair race

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Well, what do you know – Andy Martin mentioned us. Is it time to swoon yet?

by Skip

“You are probably wondering why I’m running for [NH GOP] state chairman. I think we could almost adopt the slogan, “Vote for Andy: No One Likes Him!” The party “Establishment” probably shudders at the mention of my name. And the right-wing, pseudo-Brit Groksters think of me as a form of fertilizer, or religious nightmare or … Read more

Well, IS this how the Old Guard Establishment Republicans wish to operate? Well, so can we!

by Skip

We can play the game of “Sampson brings down the house” (Judges 16) as well as they wish for us to play in their sandbox.  I am on Andrew Hemingway’s email list and while I was working on the post rebutting Bruce Perlo (“Like father, like son? Like Jim Foley, like Bruce Perlo?“), I received this from Andrew:

As the face of our party, I fully expect to be attacked with false claims and baseless attacks from the Democrats. It’s disappointing to see my opponent’s campaign sink to a new low by using a committee member to send out an email to the entire Republican Committee filled with baseless claims and character attacks.

Upon receiving his email, I called Mr. Perlo today and asked him to back up his claims and he was unable to do it. His attacks on my honesty, my character, and to infer that I am anti-Semitic were disgusting.

Exactly what I said in my post – he made a whole lot of accusations and conveniently went after Andrew.  But Bruce’s problem is the for every accusation, the same can be said for Jennifer Horn – or that there is NO history at all of her even trying in these areas.

I am glad of one thing – unlike many in the Party today, Andrew was willing to make waves and stand up for his background, his history, and (better yet), his beliefs.  No tap dancing, no hiding, and no “silence is golden” (actually what I have found, is that “golden silence” is mostly like gold – you are deeply buried to the point of irrelevance).

But this next point was rather interesting – show how inbred the Establishment can be:

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Like father, like son? Like Jim Foley, like Bruce Perlo?

by Skip

NH GOP Chair race.  Heating up.  Exposing a longstanding flaw in an Establishment mindset.  A Big one -> “Activists out side the Party are worthless”.  Remember what Finance Chair and Derry Chair said:

In addition- we have a meeting of activists every month- it is know as the Executive Board

with the implication of “we are the activists that count”.  Well, that was pretty inclusive right there, eh?  In 2006 & 2008, you had the Party activists – period.  And in a lot of cases here in NH, given the “down the nose” treatment by “Party Activists” and Mucky-Mucks like Foley, a lot of the volunteer outside the Party folks either sat on their hands (and wallets) or moved a whole lot slower if they helped at all (trust me, I heard the stories).  Top-down, command-and-control; 2012 had results more similar to 2008 and 2006 than 2010.  Sure, there were other factors in play here this cycle (muchly due to the Obama Big Data for which the Establishment Republicans (and the money they represent) had no answer, but a good deal of the “down enthusiasm” of the grass roots had to do with the way they were treated – and with the way that Bill O’Brien was treated).  When hard work was put in on Constitutional and Party Platform issues and bills, only to see it defeated by “less grassroots oriented” / Establishment Republicans, why support the Party?  So instead of getting a heartfelt “thank you for your work in the election” (e.g., TEA Party / 9-12ers/ RLCNH / Constitutionalists / Libertarians, Papa Smurf (aka, the Gnome of the North) took much of the credit for the election results.  No matter.  But when the kicks were laid in afterwards during the legislative Sessions, well, one could say that the NH GOP did it to themselves.

And no one has EVAH  laid out how much better of a NH GOP Chair MacDonald turned out to be than Jack Kimball (and I can throw in Fergus “The Fringe” Cullen into that mix with MacDonald as well) when actual results are compared.

And now, former Grafton County Chair Bruce Perlow is doing it again.  Nice:

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We the People Freedom Forum – so, where IS the website?

by Skip

I had put this post up (“We the People Freedom Forum – so, where ARE the tax forms?“) a couple of days ago. Well, I just got a little tweet  – it seems that the site has now changed:     Well, well.  Questions getting a little to close about the non-profit status?  Thinking that … Read more

We the People Freedom Forum – so, where ARE the tax forms?

by Skip

We The People Freedom Forum - Taxes not paid?

Fraud?  Consider this “developing” but I have received this information from several folks independently.

Well, on the heels of the information about the IRS liens on Jennifer Horn, I have

Sidenote: we had news about this quite some time before it became public.  We were “asked” to put it up – but I asked for confirmation that the amounts outstanding were, indeed, outstanding.  Since I did not receive such before it hit the papers, the official paperwork listing the liens were not put up.  I’m still not going to.

recieved more – and this troubles me as a Member of the State Committee to which she wishes to be the Chair.  We have oft made fun and sport of Obama’s Cabinet members and wannabee hangeroners  for not paying their taxes (Really, Timmy “Turbo-Tax” Giethner, el Jefe of Treasury and head honcho of the IRS?) – if this is true, it shows:

  • A serious lack attention to detail for running a state-wide organization
  • A serious lack of knowing what she got into in forming and running a political non-profit.
  • There is no mention of that fact on the website to inform the readers
  • And still taking donations from readers thinking that they their donation is tax-free

Truthfulness?  If the below information is true (and I have cut it down / edited it to be bloggish), she has even more problems (although having IRS problems is bad enough as it is).

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Where I show that one can break Reagan’s 11th Commandment with impunity

by Skip

Oh sure, folks have castigated the ‘Grok through the years as being “purists” with respect to “who is a good Republican” (and in our case, our “purity” comes merely from two observances: 1) do you vote in line with Constitutional values?, and 2) vote in line with the Party platform values?).  We get accused of breaking Reagan’s Commandment for merely pointing out and commenting when Republicans don’t act according to Republican standards (after all, we disagree with the NH House Minority Leader Gene Chandler when, at the Belknap County Republican Committee meeting this past Wednesday when he pronounced “Any Republican that helps us regain power is a good Republican“) (and the Old Guard Establishment types were all nodding their heads and the newer Conservatives / more Liberty & Freedom types were doing facepalms) .

So, Jan 26th is the annual NH GOP meeting where the Members of the State Committee get to vote for one of two candidates, Jennifer Horn or Andrew Hemingway.  I shall repeat that ALL of the ‘Grok writers have endorsed Andrew Hemingway.  With pleasure and confidence.

Oh wait, there’s three people in the race for NH GOP chair.  Should I have said “then there’s “Andy Martin” “?  I got an email from him (being a Member).  One line stuck out all by its lonesome:

One of my opponents has made outrageous personal attacks against me on the radio

Really?  Why is it, then, when I see this:

Andy Martin
Andy Martin

It immediately gets translated to this:

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GraniteGrok endorsement – Andrew Hemingway for NH GOP Chair

by Skip

A few years ago, I got a call out of the blue one evening from a person that I did not know, was very polite (especially to this ordinary schlub blogger), seemed to know me fairly well, and wanted to talk about my thoughts about politics in general. And wanted to know if he were … Read more

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