by SethCohn | Jan 15, 2013 |
In response to the 2 recent editorials Foster’s Daily Democrat has published, “
Co-opting our way of life” (reprinted at the bottom of this, for context) and “
FSP Has Some Growing Up to Do” (link to previous FK post), I wrote the following piece which Fosters’ published today:
What Free Staters are and aren’t
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The two anonymous editorials that Foster’s has printed in the last week regarding the Free State Project reflect a lack of understanding that I’ve found only in the most closed minded individuals, left or right, here in New Hampshire.
In early 2001, Yale doctoral student Jason Sorens brainstormed about what might happen theoretically if libertarians got together in one place. In the ensuing 10 years, the reality far surpassed anything young Sorens could have imagined, and he’s said so many times. Quoting his original essay as gospel or blueprint misses the boat entirely, nobody but the most strident opposition are even reading it. Certainly the 13,500+ current signers to move aren’t, nor the 1,000+ who have moved over the last 8 years. Professor Sorens wrote a “10 years on” sequel essay refuting much of what he wrote back then. Theory: 20,000 activists. Reality: Far less are needed, and more effective than he imagined.
(more…)
by SethCohn | Jan 4, 2013 |
More in the ongoing saga of Rep. Cynthia Chase‘s bold faced “honesty” about her willingness to use passing new laws to limit existing freedoms just to push out certain people and/or make sure they won’t come to New Hampshire in the first place…
Today’s Union Leader coverage includes these choice words from Kathy Sullivan, the current national New Hampshire Democratic Committeewoman:
Democratic National Committeewoman Kathy Sullivan said that while she could not speak for Chase, the lawmaker is entitled to her opinion, “just as the Free Staters are entitled to their opinions.”
Sullivan said Free Staters have a variety of opinions on various topics, but must “contend with” opinions sometimes expressed by leaders in favor of secession, even though not all Free Staters support secession.
Sullivan said that if Free Staters run for office they should “disclose that they are part of that organized effort,” but she said she disagrees with the idea of trying to keep anyone from moving into the state.
“Would I prefer that more people of my political persuasion, who support strong public education, for instance, move into the state? Yes, but that’s not what our democracy is,” Sullivan said. “Walls don’t work.”
She said she was not surprised Limbaugh picked up on the matter, but added, “Maybe everyone on either side needs to calm down and talk to each other.”
Hmm, sounds like Kathy isn’t calling for Rep. Chase’s head… but you know she would be, if a Republican had said “Hey, let’s limit the freedoms that progressives value (or blacks, gays, unions, women, or really insert any group here), so they won’t be welcome here in NH.”
Hmm, who said this, Kathy?
‘If you’ve got people saying we just want to mind our own business, keep government out of our lives, hey, we all feel that way. But if they want to have a radical change in our form of government, no, you’re not welcome here.”
Oh right: Kathy Sullivan, then NH Democrat Chairwoman, in 2003, nearly 10 years ago.
That sound you are hearing: the hypocrite alarm going off…
Kathy Sullivan is a Manchester attorney and a member of the Democratic National Committee. She was chairman of the NH Democratic Party from 1999-2007… and she says wants us all to sit down and calmly talk now. Well, let’s see:
“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Does that mean we’ve won?
by SethCohn | Nov 9, 2012 |
The night started off with a bang, as my phone buzzed with a text from a friend, with the cryptic “FTW”, which I confirmed quickly to mean he’d been elected as NH State Representative. Not bad for what started as a write-in campaign during the Republican Primary, and grew quickly with his being attacked in the press for being a freestater.
Would Election Eve be full of this sort of awesome news? I hoped so. Would Romney lead a strong Republican coat tail to help the NHGOP retain control of the House and Senate and maybe gain the Governor’s office too? Or would Obama’s organizers sweep in and help the NH Dems into victories, perhaps only some, perhaps by a great deal.
The tide was clear, though, when a sitting Republican Rep lost in a seat I figured was very safe. The bad news of loss after loss of “good” reasonably proliberty Republican Reps was bad enough, but then even not so good R Reps were losing… the “blue tide” was back.
In 2004, a blue tide slowly began crept into NH’s State House, taking over the Governor’s office and enough House Democrats to skew the House to the moderate middle for even control of the leadership. In 2006, the blue tide rose higher, and washed nearly every R who expected a easy win off the map, leaving the Democrats in firm control of both House and Senate with the popular incumbent Governor Lynch on top. 2008 remained much the same, though some pro-liberty Republicans returned, despite national Blue wins with Obama (a good sign that the tide was perhaps receding here). The fiscal woes, taxes and fees, social changes (some for the better, IMHO, like same sex marriage passing) and the many many Nanny State bills passed into law, finally caused the electorate to rethink sending so many Democrats to Concord, the New Hampshire capital, and instead send a huge Red wave of Republicans. Me among them, and thus I spent the last two years in Concord, fighting for freedom.
The 2011-2012 legislature was strongly split in many ways, (more…)
by SethCohn | Nov 6, 2012 |
[For a final wrapup – see this post]
We’ll track results as they come… how many pro-liberty politicians will be elected?
First results: Michael Sylvia of Belmont, freestater, elected as State Rep!
Losing with almost 1500 votes and 10% of the vote total: FreeKeene’s own Ian Freeman. Despite a strong outspoken polarizing activist in Keene, running as a Libertarian, and against 2 Democrats, Ian got more votes than many Libertarians elsewhere in the nation tonight.
Other good liberty leading votes reelected: Guy Comtois, Kyle Tasker, Joe Pitre, Stella Tremblay, and the only Rep (in different years) elected as Democrat, Libertarian, and Republican, Rep. Steve Vallaincourt, all back to Concord.
Carol and Dan McGuire reelected!
AntiFreeStater Lee Quandt loses. Too bad, so sad.
Poster Child (according to the Dems, the sign if the FSP will succeed) Rep. Mark Warden reelected!
Laura Jones wins re-election by 134 votes!
Dual Freestater win in Ward 11 in Manchester, Former Rep. Joel Winters relected as Dem, and Emily Sandblade as Republican!
Still waiting on a few results, but it’s getting late. Looks like the ‘Freestater’ number will remain about a dozen by my rough count, despite a massive leftward shift in the overall House. I’ll review and post a longer summary later.
by SethCohn | Sep 25, 2012 |
After a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Sept 19th, Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson took time to shoot an ad with the NH activists on the steps of the State House in Concord that featured Red and Blue zombies.
In the ad Johnson walks down the stairs and shouts to the zombies. “We’re not mindless zombies in this country! We’re not mindless!” he declares. The ad is now out, please spread it far and wide!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgnyZdClTpM
Yes, I’m in the video, as is Free Concord’s Garret Ean, and many other NH liberty activists. Disappointed by the small number of zombies?… Encourage more liberty activists (or you?) to move to NH, and we’ll have more folks available for quick activism like this. (From concept to production was 1 week with a tiny tiny budget!) Kudos to JJ for his awesome directing and editing, and Bill, Ed, Dale, and Garret for camera work, Tara for makeup effects, and the many folks who showed up to help!
Zombie ads are nothing new in the 2012 political cycle. Former NH gubernatorial candidate Jackie Cilley made national political news during her unsuccessful run at the corner office earlier this year with her “pledge zombie” ad. The ad was good, but she still lost the Democratic nomination which was captured by Maggie Hassan during the recent primary. But the concept was too good for NH activists to go of, because really, the zombies are everywhere.
