An Open Letter from Jon Huntsman to John Sununu

Manchester - Jon Huntsman sent the following letter to Governor Sununu regarding his endorsement of Mitt Romney:

Governor Sununu,

Over the course of this campaign you have made it abundantly clear that you would endorse a conservative governor – a laudable criterion.

However, I am surprised that you believe Mitt Romney meets that threshold. Consider some of the fundamental issues:

• While Mitt Romney opposed the Bush tax cuts and raised taxes and fees by $750 million in Massachusetts, I signed the largest tax cut in Utah history which helped our state lead the nation in job growth.
• While Mitt Romney implemented government healthcare in Massachusetts – which included an individual mandate and became the blueprint for Obamacare – I signed free-market healthcare reform described as “the other end of the spectrum” from the Obama-Romney approach.
• While Mitt Romney once declared that he does not “line up with the NRA” and pledged to not “chip away” at Massachusetts’ onerous gun control laws, I signed landmark legislation to defend the Second Amendment.
• While Mitt Romney was once ardently pro-choice – stating in 1994 that “abortions should be safe and legal” – I am proud to be a lifelong defender of the sanctity of life.
• While Mitt Romney proudly declared himself an independent during the Reagan-Bush years – even saying during his Senate campaign that he was “not trying to return to Reagan-Bush” – I am proud to have served in President Reagan’s administration which ushered in a golden era of prosperity in America.

When you look at his past statements, positions and voting record, the idea that Mitt Romney is a principled conservative is an impossible conclusion. It is more than his one term dealing with a liberal legislature; it’s a lifetime and record of inconsistent and liberal positions.

One last thing I almost forgot to mention: while we both served President George H.W. Bush – you as Chief of Staff and me as ambassador to Singapore – Mitt Romney supported and voted for Democratic presidential candidate and potential Bush opponent Paul Tsongas.

Mitt Romney and I have two very different records and visions for America’s future, which I look forward to sharing with voters in New Hampshire and across the nation. I even look forward to sitting down with you at some point if you ever care to learn the truth.

Sincerely,

Jon Huntsman

NH House Leaders Praise New State Laws to Thwart ObamaCare

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) today praised two new bills that became law at midnight without the Governor’s signature.  House Bill 601 creates an ObamaCare advisory committee, from which state agencies must get approval before implementing the federal health care reform law, while also requiring that the state return $666,000 on ObamaCare funds to reduce the federal debt.  Senate Bill 148 protects individuals from being forced either to purchase health insurance or to face a fine or prison if they have not purchased health insurance.  The ObamaCare bill has an individual mandate to purchase of health insurance, an unconstitutional defect for which 28 states are currently suing the federal government to stop.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“The vast majority of New Hampshire residents rejects ObamaCare and wants this outrageous federal takeover of our health care system to end immediately.  These new state laws protect New Hampshire citizens from a blatant intrusion into their freedom by forcing them to buy health insurance or potentially go to jail.  State agencies also will need to get legislative approval before they try to implement this seriously flawed federal law.  Furthermore, given the strong possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court could find ObamaCare unconstitutional, we are sending back the federal taxpayer dollars that they sent us to build an infrastructure for this law, so that they can be used to cut the federal debt, something our taxpayers certainly would support.  Unfortunately, Governor Lynch could not find the courage to stand with our citizens and support these two important bills to defend New Hampshire citizens.”

House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt

"A  major reason why the voters repudiated the big-government Democrat agenda last November was because of their plan to take over Americans’ health care.  Republicans campaigned on a clear message of restoring the freedom to make our own health care decisions and we kept our word by passing  two bills that will pull the hand of government interference off the backs of our citizens.  What is truly discouraging is that Governor Lynch did not have the courage  to sign these two bills to stop ObamaCare in its tracks.  Given that he has refused to tell his Attorney General to join the majority of the states in fighting to stop this disastrous law, it’s clear that the governor has fully embraced ObamaCare and remains in lockstep with his Democrat allies in having the government take over one-sixth of our economy.  He needs to know that Republicans will continue to take every opportunity to block this assault on our liberty.”

NH House Leadership Statement on the Passage of SB 148, Healthcare Mandates

The following statements were issued today following the passage of SB  148. 

House Speaker William O’Brien:

“A mandate that New Hampshire citizens must purchase health insurance or pay a fine or be thrown in jail is an affront to our values.  This bill ensures that no resident will be forced to buy goods against their will.  This legislation is a clear repudiation of the Obamacare mandate and we will join the many states who have told the federal government that we won’t accept their overreaching attacks on our freedom,” said O’Brien.

House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt:

“The Democrats rammed Obamacare through despite the wishes of the public but that’s no reason that we should saddle our citizens with higher taxes and the freedom to run their own healthcare that Obamacare mandates. New Hampshire stands ready to do its part in rejecting this unconstitutional mandate,” said Bettencourt.

NH House Leadership Statement on the Passage of HB 601, Obamacare Funding

Today House Republican leadership offered the following statement  on HB 601, which sends back federal money to implement an insurance exchange in the state for Obamacare:

House Speaker William O’Brien:

“This bill sends the Obamacare money back to Washington with specific instructions to use it to reduce our massive federal deficit. New Hampshire can do its part in rejecting this expensive mandate. Obamacare has been found unconstitutional by two federal courts and we are awaiting the final decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. Spending that sort of money to comply with a mandate that is three years away and stands on very shaky ground makes no sense. It is irresponsible to knowingly waste tax dollars, be it state or federal, when we face historic budget deficits in Washington and Concord. No bit of money should be considered ‘insignificant’ in the ongoing discussions of balancing the budget. We simply have to be better stewards of taxpayer money. We also must send a strong message that New Hampshire intends to preserve our Tenth Amendment rights,” said House Speaker Bill O’Brien.

House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt:

“The Democrats rammed Obamacare through despite the wishes of the public but that’s no reason that we should saddle our citizens with higher taxes and the freedom to run their own healthcare that Obamacare mandates. The voters elected to fix this mess and that’s just what this legislation does,” said House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt.

NH House Majority - Leadership Statement on Supreme Court Decision Regarding HB 89

The following statement was issued by House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (r-Salem) in response to today's decision by the New Hampshire Supreme Court that HB 89, as passed by the House, violates the Separation of Powers Clause and is unconstitutional.  

"HB89 is not about usurping the powers of the executive branch, but rather it is about protecting the people of New Hampshire against Obamacare, unfunded mandates and the tremendous costs associated with a program that our taxpayers will have to pay for out of their own pockets.  

The New Hampshire Supreme Court’s opinion that HB 89 is unconstitutional represents an egregious example of judicial activism and an abandonment of originalism in judicial interpretation.  The Court’s opinion is based on a completely untenable reading of Part II, Article 41.   While the justices claimed that history revealed that legislation like HB 89 usurped the governor’s powers under Part II, Article 41, they simply ignored the historical evidence presented in the speaker’s and majority leader’s brief that the 1964 amendment to Part II, Article 41 was not intended to give the governor constitutional authority over the State’s civil officers. 

Moreover, the Court did not cite a single source of New Hampshire legal authority or history to support its claim.  Instead, as the Court did in the Claremont II case where it wrote a 1989 decision of the Kentucky Supreme Court into Part II, Article 83 of the New Hampshire constitution, the Court wrote court decisions from Alabama and Mississippi and elsewhere into Part II, Article 41.     

Rather than defining the executive power based on what the voters of this State intended when they amended Part II, Article 41 in 1966, the Supreme Court has rewritten Part II, Article 41 to give the governor powers which the governor was never intended to have," said Bettencourt.

    Further inquiries should be directed to House Legal Counsel Edward Mosca 603-289-3662