Last Thursday, I spent a good portion of the day at the New Hampshire state house, waiting to film a dramatic performance by two artists identifying themselves as Adam Sutler and Edgar Friendly. It was a harrowing experience, as the budget analysis is among the most drawn out public hearings in the state each year. Bureaucrats and their supporters from around the state gathered to plead for their slice of the pie.
Adam’s testimony went over the heads of most as it was the first one called following the dinner break. Edgar was called hours later, and his presentation drew the suspicions of the senate panel chair, who questioned its relevance to the budget and called for an end to the performance after two minutes.
The record of these performances is scheduled to appear on the internet shortly, but in the meantime, the Concord Monitor’s Ben Leubsdorf and satirical blogger Susan the Bruce have published their own analysis of the theatrics. From the Monitor:
The Senate Finance Committee got punk’d Thursday night.
The committee’s public hearing on the state budget was already past the four-hour mark (en route to a final running time of six hours) when a man who had put his name down as Edgar Friendly was called to testify.
He spoke and then shouted for a couple minutes about democracy being a “dying giant” and wanting to be able to choose his own food at a greasy spoon diner. Eventually, Sen. Chuck Morse told him to get lost.
“You’re done, okay? You’ve had your two minutes,” said Morse, a Salem Republican and the panel’s chairman. The man continued to yell for a bit, then stormed out of Representatives Hall.
Here’s what we know: Part of the man’s rant came from the 1976 film Network, and another portion was verbatim from
the 1993 classic Demolition Man. (Edgar Friendly is the name of Denis Leary’s character in the latter movie.)
“Friendly” was being filmed during his testimony by Garret Ean, a former Republican House candidate and blogger at FreeConcord.org. Ean said the man was a performance artist – in fact, the second of two who spoke at the hearing.
Susan the Bruce’s blog hosted two articles on the hearing, both referencing the theatrics. The first is appropriately titled NH Senate Finance – One of the Worst Hearings Ever. The second, Free State Cult Puts on a Clown Show, focuses specifically on Sutler and Friendly’s performance.
Garret Ean is affiliated with the Free State Project, the cult that is moving 20,000 people here to take over our state, dismantle our state government, and threaten to secede. There were other members of the FSP present in the House chambers for this hearing.
It wasn’t just the committee that got punk’d. It was every NH resident who took the time to drive to Concord and testify. It was every resident that loaded up a wheelchair, and packed a bag full of supplies and medications they would need to sit there for hours, while they waited to testify. It was every resident that brought a child. It was the family that brought 2 ASL interpreters for their deaf son.
We know the FSP has no respect for NH government. Now we know they also have no respect for the people of this state.
