Rising Republican Stars

Thanks to folks at PolickerNH.com, who had some nice things to say about me this morning:

Grant Bosse: Bosse might have finished fourth in a four-way Republican primary in the 2nd Congressional District, but Bosse redeemed himself by skillfully managing Bill Denley's State Senate campaign. In addition, Bosse's work with the Josiah Bartlett Center will serve as talking points for Republican legislators.

They'll be doing their year-end lists all week, and started with the Top Ten (actually 11) Rising Republican Stars, and I appreciate the mention. It's a great list, and shows that the GOP has a lot of talent on tap. You can read the entire list here.

The Future of the NH GOP

Former Governor John Sununu and State Republican Chairman Fergus Cullen joined Sean McDonald this morning on WMUR's Close-Up to discuss the future of the New Hampshire Republican Party:

Part I:


Part II:


Part III:


Part IV:

Yes, Virginia...

The Union Leader publishes my favorite column of the year:

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following editorial, among the most famous ever written, appeared in The New York Sun in 1897 and remains appropriate for this Christmas season 111 years later.

We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old.

Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.

Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun it's so." Please tell me the truth: Is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon.

115 West Ninety-Fifth Street

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except (what) they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal life with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world, which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

President Bush and the Horrible, Awful, Really Bad Idea

Awful, awful, awful decision:

The White House announced a $17.4 billion rescue package for the troubled Detroit auto makers that allows them to avoid bankruptcy and leaves many of the big decisions for the incoming Obama administration.

Speaking from the White House, President George W. Bush said the administration decided against forcing a bankruptcy to compel cost-cutting, in order to avoid the risk that consumers would desert one or more of the companies and touch off an industry collapse, deepening the current economic downturn.

Good for Ford for passing up the cash with strings attached, and good for Senator Gregg:

"The Administration's decision to use funds from TARP as a bridge loan to the auto companies to stave off bankruptcy is inconsistent with the purposes of TARP. These funds were not authorized by Congress for non-financial companies in distress, but were to be used to restore liquidity and stability in the overall financial system of the country and to help prevent fundamental systemic risks in the global marketplace."

Heeere's Reggie! Cap and Trade comes to New Hampshire

New Hampshire has netted $4 million by selling the right to emit carbon dioxide. Read all about it over at NHWatchdog.

Also, here is a great resource for all of your questions about the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Making a bad idea worse

Bailing out automakers for their bad decisions in a bad idea. Putting the federal government in charge of them is even worse.

Congressional Democrats and the White House worked to resolve their last disputes Monday over terms of a $15 billion bailout for U.S. auto makers - complete with a "car czar" to oversee the industry's reinvention of itself - that's expected to come to a vote as early as Wednesday.

Cullen Stepping Down; Sununu Stepping Up

New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Fergus Cullen will not be seeking a second term following Governor John H. Sununu's decision to seek the post. Fergus is a friend of mine going back to high school, and I'm a fan.

The Party Chair is a truly thankless job. The State Party has never won an election, and gets the blame for every loss. In New Hampshire, it's a volunteer position. Fergus worked hard in an awful year for the GOP. He could have done better, and could have done worse. I want to thank him for her service to the party, and hope he stays involved.

Right to Carry in National Parks

This seems like good news.

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), through the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has announced the final amended version of its changes to rules on carrying of firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. DOI’s move will restore the rights of law-abiding gun owners who wish to transport and carry firearms for lawful purposes on most DOI lands, and will make federal law consistent with the state law in which these public lands are located. NRA led the effort to amend the existing policy regarding the carrying and transportation of firearms on these federal lands.

I spoke extensively about the right to carry in National Parks on the campaign trail, and am glad that this right has been restored. Let's hope the Obama Administration decides not to go to the trouble of reversing this sensible and overdue decisions.

Organization Day in the NH

The House and Senate met today to take their oaths, and elect officers.

Check out all the day's events at NHWatchdog, including a brief profile of 17-term Secretary of State Bill Gardner.

Budget Cuts and Gas Tax Increases

This morning at NH Watchdog:

How deep are the Governor's proposed budget cuts, and should New Hampshire tap the Rainy Day Fund?

Will New Hampshire will increase its gas tax?

Should the Executive Council give up its oversight over low-dollar state contracts?

GrokCast

Here's the podcast from my Saturday appearance on Meet the New Press with Doug and Skip from Granite Grok.

On the air

I'm in studio with Doug and Skip on Meet the New Press this morning at 9am.

We were pleased both for our friend Grant, who we enthusiastically endorsed in the NH 2nd CD Republican primary, and for the Josiah Bartlett Center, an excellent Granite State public policy think tank. Grant will join us in the studio to discuss his new position, Governor Lynch's budget cuts in Concord (yep-- they all made fun of Joe Kenney for his cell phone usage reduction to save $$ and, guess what?!) and proposed budget requests for next year. What's a couple billion dollars more among friends?

Deal With It

Sarah Palin doe the whole pardon-a-turkey thing.
TV cameras interview her.
Turkeys are killed.
HuffPo freaks.

After the pardon Palin proceeded to do an interview with a local TV station while the turkeys were being SLAUGHTERED in the background!! Seemingly oblivious to the gruesomeness going on over her shoulder, she carries on talking for over three minutes.

Ann Althouse has the only proper response.

Deal with it, you candy-asses. If you eat meat, something like that is going on in the background for you too.

Oh well, I guess this is what's going to make news while we wait for the 3rd Clinton Inaugural in January. Enjoy your tasty, no-longer alive, turkey next week.

TWO BILLION DOLLARS

I feel like Doctor Evil. The annual kabuke theater of state agency budget requests kicked off this afternoon, and by the end of the biennium, our bureaucrats are asking for over $2 trillion a year in General Fund spending. That would be a record.

Thanks Wally

Thanks to the folks at PolitickerNH, who seem to think I'm a good fit at the Bartlett Center.

Winners and Losers

Winners

Grant Bosse

Policy wonk lands on his feet at the Bartlett Center. About as good of a fit as you could dream up.

Of course, I was on their Winners List a lot during the Primary, and we all saw where that got me.

Budget Cuts

Governor Lynch is proposing roughly $56 million in budget cuts to the Fiscal Committee.

I'll be covering the hearing at NHWatchdog.

Lynch proposing limited cuts to budget

Read about the Governor's proposed budget cuts at my new blog, NH Watchdog.

Sununu Against Auto Bailout

In the morning's Union Leader, our outgoing Senator nails why the currently proposed bailout in an awful idea:

It is simply not the role or the responsibility of government to provide subsidies, support or special benefits to specific businesses. Using government funds for such purposes is unfair to taxpayers, especially those working for businesses that are left out. Instead, the government's role should be to create the best possible environment for investment, job creation and economic growth, and then to let businesses compete for customers on a level playing field.

Government subsidies for the auto manufacturers or any other business also create a moral hazard -- the significant risk that bad behavior and investments will only be encouraged in the future. We have seen the very real implications of moral hazard in the spectacular failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Senator Sununu's support of the Wall Street bailout package was both bad policy and bad politics, though not enough to have changed the outcome of his race. Glad to see he's making such a clear case against this latest incarnation.

Where was this in October?

Okay, the toxic atmosphere of the Bush Presidency probably wasn't going to allow a Republican victory in 2008, but jumping feet first into socialism certainly didn't help. Today, Mitt Romney finds the message that the GOP should have adopted at the beginning of the Wall Street Meltdown:

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

This is the New York Times, which may require a password to access.

Forget next election, worry about now

In this morning's Union Leader, Charlie Arlinghaus reminds us that there's something between the last election and the next one, governing:

In New Hampshire, we face a significant budget crisis, perhaps the greatest in recent history. Partisans on all sides will be tempted to look ahead to the next election. They need to avoid that temptation and follow Gov. Palin's advice to focus on the task at hand, the job they were elected to do.

In doing that job, they can focus on principle or abandon principle in search of some mythic consensus or middle ground. Lamar Alexander suggests action based on principle.

Voters elect people to represent them. We expect each to do the right thing, to adopt policies he or she believes will be effective and to accomplish something. Sometimes a policy choice might achieve consensus or something close to it. However, consensus is necessarily rare. If it weren't, it would be because there were no policy differences and elections wouldn't matter.