NHDP - O'Brien and His Radical GOP Team Continue Effort to Hurt NH's Economy

CONCORD, NH - Having been unable to pass it last year, Bill O'Brien and the radical Tea Party fringe of the Republican party is once again trying to push the so called Right to Work bill on the hard working citizens of New Hampshire.

By a 198 to 139 margin, Bill O'Brien's radical Republican team in the New Hampshire House voted to pass HB 1677, a bill which contains verbatim the language contained in HB 474, which was vetoed by the Governor and sustained by the House last term.

"Everything that was true about this bill last term, remains true about it this term," said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley. "The median wage in New Hampshire remains higher, and the poverty rate lower, than in all 22 states that have passed similar laws."

"By passing this legislation the far right of the Republican party has shown yet again that they are merely pawns of out of state interest groups, as there are no problems facing New Hampshire that would necessitate this bill. This is a nothing more than a pay off of their radical out of state sponsors."

"For over twenty-five years, fringe Republicans have been trying to pass what Nackey Loeb termed 'right to low pay,' or 'right to freeload' legislation, and it has time and time again been rejected by business and labor leaders alike," Buckley said. "Workers in New Hampshire need to know that when O'Brien's Republican leadership talks about jobs, they are talking jobs that are lower paying, with fewer benefits than those that already exist in New Hampshire."

"Right to Work for Less is bad for New Hampshire businesses, bad for New Hampshire workers, and bad for New Hampshire's economy."

NH GOP - N.H Republicans Continue Fight to Repeal & Replace ObamaCare

With N.H. Taxpayers on the Hook for a Rising Price Tag, Will Democrats Reconsider Loyal Support?

Concord, NH -- Today, the New Hampshire House of Representatives took another step toward the Republican's goal of stopping ObamaCare and its tax hikes, government expansion and prohibitive price tag. GOP leaders in the House of Representatives today passed a plan which would prohibit a state health insurance exchange and force Washington to repeal and replace the Democrats’ government-run health plan.

“When it comes to ObamaCare, the list of problems never ends,” said New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Wayne MacDonald.  “It spends borrowed money, it raises taxes, in many ways it puts the government in charge and through these exchanges it eliminates choices for patients.”

ObamaCare requires states to establish bureaucratic exchanges that are regulated by the state and result in fewer options and less competition.  States are required to implement these government-run health programs by January 1, 2014, or the federal government will do it for them.  Speaker Bill O’Brien, Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt and Rep. Andrew Manuse have been leading efforts in the House of Representatives to stop these exchanges in the Granite State.

“If we can’t stop ObamaCare, taxpayers will be on the hook for even more government spending, and New Hampshire will be required to pay for it as increasing costs are shifted to states,” added Chairman MacDonald.  “A recent non-partisan study already estimated that the original price of the Democrats’ health plan has ‘ballooned by $111 billion from last year’s budget.’”

The Associated Press reported last week that “Cost estimates for a key part of President Obama’s health care overhaul law have ballooned by $111 billion from last year’s budget, but administration officials say budget technicalities, not changes to the program, are to blame.”  (The Associated Press, 3/2/2012)

“Knowing now that the price tag for ObamaCare continues to rise, I’d like to know if Democrat candidates like Annie Kuster, Carol Shea-Porter and Maggie Hassan regret supporting their party’s health plan,” Chairman MacDonald said.  “Our federal deficit is out of control, and New Hampshire would be forced to pay a large portion of the tab for a bill that Nancy Pelosi said we had to pass to ‘find out what was in it.’”

As part of her efforts to muscle ObamaCare through Congress, Pelosi said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”  (Watch Video)  Now that the facts show that it is actually worse than first imagined, where do Democrats stand on President Obama’s key initiative?  A recent poll found that 53 percent of likely voters at least somewhat, if not more, favor the repeal of the plan.  Forty-two percent strongly favor repeal. 

NH Republicans Continue Efforts to Enact Voter ID Law

Chairman MacDonald: “It’s absurd that so many Democrats continue to claim no problem exists.”

Concord, NH – Today, Republicans in the New Hampshire State Senate continued the GOP’s repeated efforts to prevent voter fraud.  Led by Senator Russell Prescott, R-Kingston, the Senate passed a plan that would require a form of identification in order to obtain a ballot.  This action comes after Governor John Lynch vetoed a Republican plan last year that would have prevented the voter fraud which was reported during the presidential primary. 

“Voters are rightly outraged by the reports of voter fraud during our First-in-the-Nation Primary,” said New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Wayne MacDonald.  “The fact that Governor Lynch vetoed a plan that would have prevented this is a shame, especially considering the fact that more than thirty states already have similar voter ID requirements on the books.”

In January of this year, the New Hampshire Republican State Committee adopted a resolution stating its “strong opposition to continued efforts by Democrat legislators and the Governor to defeat legislation requiring voters to present photo identification in order to register and vote in New Hampshire.”  More than thirty states, both blue and red, already have identification requirements on the books, including Democrat-controlled states such as Connecticut and Rhode Island. 

“It’s absurd that so many Democrats continue to claim no problem exists,” Chairman MacDonald added.  “Despite Democrats best efforts to preserve the status quo and the potential undermining of legitimate votes, Republicans remain committed to passing a voter ID law which protects the integrity of our elections and ensures that voters get to exercise one of their most fundamental rights.”

Prominent Republicans Among New Supporters to SUFNHF Leadership Council

New Members Urge Lawmakers to Get Back to Work on the Economy in Concord

  
CONCORD, NH – Standing Up for New Hampshire Families– the coalition working to protect the freedom to marry in the state–today announced new Leadership Council members which include prominent Republicans such as Sarah Crawford Stewart, former NH State Director for Jon Huntsman, and former NH Deputy State Director for Senator John McCain and Eduardo J. Lopez-Reyes, the National Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus.  This now brings the count to over 250 council members from across the state.
 
Working on the New Hampshire Presidential Primary campaigns for John McCain in 2000 and 2008 and Jon Huntsman in 2012, Sarah Crawford Stewart has gained a unique insight when it comes to what concerns voters.
 
“I urge the legislature not to waste any more precious time on this popular law and set a laser-like focus on jobs and the economy instead of taking away the right to marry from their fellow Granite Staters,” said Stewart.
 
“Poll after poll consistently shows that voters from across the political spectrum oppose repealing marriage equality.” She added.
 
The complete list of today’s new additions to the SUFNHF Leadership Council are:

Travis Blais, Windham - Attorney and Republican activist
 
Eduardo J. Lopez-Reyes, Portsmouth – National Vice Chairman, Republican Liberty Caucus; Management and Public Relations Consultant
 
Marie A. Lopez-Reyes, Portsmouth – Business Owner, Marie Lopez Photography; Health Care Provider
 
Frank McDougall, Hanover - VP, Government Relations at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
 
Dr. Jim Squires, Hollis - Former Republican gubernatorial candidate; Former Republican State Senator; Founding President of the Endowment for Health
 
Christopher Stewart, Manchester – Principal, b-fresh consulting, LLC
 
Sarah Crawford Stewart, Manchester – Principal, b-fresh consulting, LLC; Huntsman NH 2012 State Director; McCain NH 2008 Deputy State Director
 
Mike Whitney, Manchester - Retired Banking Executive and Business Consultant
 
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Marine veteran Craig Stowell, Co-Chair of Standing Up for NH Families and a Republican from Claremont, said he was proud to see so many people, including prominent Republicans, stand up for the freedom to marry.
 
“Our new supporters understand that focusing on a repeal of freedom and rolling back the clock on individual rights is not what the voters sent them to Concord to do," said Stowell.  "Their involvement brings new attention and prestige to defending our state’s popular marriage equality law and sends the message to lawmakers that HB437 is entirely wrong.”
 
Some other notable Republicans already on the SUFNHF Leadership Council include:
 
Irena Goddard, Hopkinton – Chairman, Hopkinton Town Republican Committee
 
Ruth Griffin, Portsmouth – Republican Former Executive Councilor and former Republican National Committeewoman
 
Chris Lawless, Hopkinton – Former Hopkinton Selectman
 
JP Marzullo, Deering – Former NHGOP Area 3 Vice-Chairman; Deering Selectman; Chairman, Contoocook Valley Republican Committee
 
Bonnie Newman  – Chancellor Emerita of the Community College System of New Hampshire; Former President of the Business and Industry Association; Former Interim President of the University of New Hampshire; Former  Executive Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
 
Sean Owen, Manchester – Chairman of New Hampshire Republicans for Freedom and Equality PAC; Business Owner, Printer’s Square and wëdu
 
Kimon Zachos, Manchester – Republican Former NH House Majority Leader; Former Deputy Speaker of the NH House; Former Chairman of the NH House Judiciary Committee

NHDP - Chair Ray Buckley on Governor Lynch's State of the State Address

Concord - New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley released the following statement on Governor John Lynch's final State of the State address. 

"Governor Lynch has once again shown himself to be a strong leader, focused on the best interests of the people of New Hampshire, and working to move our state forward. There is no wonder the people of New Hampshire elected Governor Lynch to an unprecedented fourth term.  He has helped to strengthen our successful strategy despite the best efforts of legislative Republicans who have been actively working to undo our success. 

"For seven years, the Governor's strong leadership has brought people together to make progress for New Hampshire during some of the toughest times in the last century.  I hope the Legislature will heed the Governor's call for common sense solutions at the State House and change their focus from issues such as weakening our public safety laws and discriminating against certain segments of our population.  They should join the Governor in focusing on jobs and the economy."

"Governor Lynch has stood up for our New Hampshire advantage and state he loves. Over the past twelve months, he has served as much needed check against the legislature's Tea Party agenda."