Keith very generously donated the backroom of his business, Murphy’s Taproom, where we feasted on some great food items while the game played on several TVs on the wall above the the bar.

About 60 people attended including Senators Raymond White (Hillsborough 9) Senator Andy Sanborn (Merrimack 7) Bedford Reps Cebrowski, Graham, and Hawkins, and Goffstown State Rep Mark Warden.

Kevin Smith and Ovide Lamontagne, Candidates for Governor were also in attendance along with members of surrounding area GOP groups.

Thanks again Keith for the use of the room and the coffee and soft drinks.

See some candid photos here.

Click here: Shutterfly

All interested in joining a conservative group with other high school-aged students from 13-18 should contact Forrest Albiston at forrest.albiston@hotmail.com

Sincerely:
Bill Van Anglen
Chairman of the Bedford Republican Committee

Press Release
May 19, 2011

Tuesday, the 24th of May the new “Students of Liberty” group will hold their first meeting at the Bedford High School with a talk entitled “Unraveling the Mysteries of the Middle East”.

With the presidential primary season heating up and politics taking a center stage in New Hampshire the Bedford Republican Committee wanted to get our youth involved. “In a republic, the voters have a responsibility to be informed. It’s important to get our teens involved so they are prepared for that responsibility”‘ said Bill Van Anglen, chairman of the Bedford Republican Committee. A month ago a sampling of high school and middle school students got together to talk about what they wanted. The message was clear… information. They chose the name “Students of Liberty” and put together a series of programs designed to inform students of the important issues of our day. Upcoming meetings will feature the topics of healthcare, the budget, and the Constitution.

Bill Martel, professor at the Tuft’s Fletcher School of International Relations, will present “Unraveling the Mysteries of the Middle East”. “Professor Martel holds a PhD in political science and has vast experience in government and academia and has a knack for presenting things in a clear, concise manner making the most complicated issues understandable to the average citizen” said Valerie Earnshaw, mentor to the student group. She continues, “given the recent and complex happenings in the Middle East we may have a hard time limiting this informative session to the teens.”

All Bedford teens are invited to attend. Democracy in Action hours can be signed off for those BHS students attending the event.

The program will be held in room 137 of BHS at 7:00 PM followed by a question and answer session.

Bill Martel Bio
BA, St. Anselm College
PhD in Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Professional Activities
Principal investigator on space policy study with support from MIT Lincoln Laboratory (2007-2009); research support from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Office of Secretary of Defense; Member, Editorial Board of the Naval War College Review; Academic Director, Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict (2006, 2007); Professor of National Security Affairs, Chair of Space Technology and Policy Studies, Naval War College (1999-2005); Research support from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Office of Secretary of Defense, MIT Lincoln Laboratory (current); U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (2001-2002); Associate Professor of International Relations, Air War College (1993-1999); Former Director and Founder, Center for Strategy and Technology (CSAT) (1993-1999); Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harvard University (1991-1993)

It’s been a very busy couple of months in the Senate. We have many newly elected members who promised to make government work better with less of your tax dollars and to release the stranglehold government has over small businesses. Here are some of the highlights thus far:

- The Evergreen Bill passed the Senate, then the House, and became law without the Governor’s signature on March 1. This bill repeals the automatic continuation requirement for public employee bargaining agreements and gives municipalities the ability to control their town and city budgets.

- We repealed the gambling winning taxes enacted by the Democrats in 2009

- The Senate President has taken the lead in cutting spending by reducing staff payroll by 30% and hiring fewer employees in the Senate office. Leading by example is critical in the midst of severe budgetary constraints.

- Currently, we are focused on spending cap legislation for municipalities, education funding reform, and most importantly, tackling the budget-busting state government pension plan. The Senate will continue working hard and making the difficult decisions that are necessary as we deal with a projected $800 million dollar deficit.

Please feel free to email me anytime with questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Ray White
raymond.white@leg.state.nh.us

Rick Santorum at BRC 1/11/2011

The Committee also elected a new slate of officers and a new board.

Officers:

Chair – Bill Van Anglen
Vice Chair – Warner Lund
Treasurer – Bob Burns
Secretary – Jane Aitken

Board Members:

Laura Condon
John Graham
Ken Hawkins
Bill Martel
Shannon McGinley
Steve Poschman
Julie Shappals
Susan Terzakis

Jack Kimball, former candidate for Governor and Juliana Bergeron, Chair of the Cheshire County Committee, both spoke briefly about their run for the Chair of the NH GOP.

—
Photo Credits: Mike Egan Photography

Bill O’Brien ANNOUNCES TRANSITION TEAM

CONCORD, N.H.— With an historic 298 Republican member majority elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Republican Speaker of the House nominee Bill O’Brien announced today his transition team to prepare for a quick start in the 162nd General Court, that starts in January 2011.

ADMINISTRATION
Representative Bob Mead, Hillsborough 4
Representative Pam Tucker, Rockingham 17

PUBLICITY AND MEDIA RELATIONS
Representative Peter Silva, Hillsborough 26
Representative Will Smith, Rockingham 18

COMMITTEES AND COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION
Representative Robert H. Rowe, Hillsborough 6
Representative Paul Ingbretson, Grafton 5
Representative-Elect Stephen B. Stepanek, Hillsborough 6
Representative-Elect Paul Mirski, Grafton 10

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
Representative Gary Daniels, Hillsborough 6
Representative Bob Mead, Hillsborough 4
Representative Al Baldasaro, Rockingham 3
Representative D.J. Bettencourt, Rockingham 4

HOUSE RULES
Representative Robert H. Rowe, Hillsborough 6
Representative-Elect Steve Winter, Merrimack 3
Representative Paul Ingbretson, Grafton 5

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AND PENDING LSRs
Representative Pam Tucker, Rockingham 17
Representative John Cebrowski, Hillsborough 18
Representative Will Smith, Rockingham 18

PARKING AND SEATING
Representative Jenn Coffey, Merrimack 6
Representative Carl Seidel, Hillsborough 20
Representative John A. Hikel, Hillsborough 7
Representative Peter Silva, Hillsborough 26

THIRD PARTY RELATIONSHIPS
Representative-Elect Stephen B. Stepanek, Hillsborough 6
Representative David Bates, Rockingham 4

ORGANIZATION DAY AND MAJORITY LEADER CAUCUS
Representative John Cebrowski, Hillsborough 18

NEW MEMBER MENTORING STRUCTURE
Representative Jenn Coffey, Merrimack 6
Representative D.J. Bettencourt, Rockingham 4

In June, the Concord Monitor editorialized that “House and Senate Democrats balanced the state budget with a wish, a prayer and a credit card.” As campaigns approach the finish line, claims about the budget by its Democratic authors dominate debates. What’s spin? What’s reality? What’s it mean?

Democratic Claim 1: The current budget is balanced. That may prove technically accurate when the budget closes next July – after an audit. It’s pre-mature now, however and the rest of the story behind this election eve claim is critical.

In June, the Legislature faced a $300 million deficit which was closed on paper with more one-time Stimulus money, a $60 million sale of state assets that has not happened, and unprecedented borrowing for operating expenses that exceeded $150 million. Most hardworking citizens wouldn’t borrow to balance their family budget but that’s exactly what the Democrats did. And now they’re hoping we believe this Halloween trick is actually a balanced budget.

Democratic Claim 2: The current budget has a small surplus. That claim is also premature. Democratic budget writers made the first year of the budget look flush by moving $80 from the second year to the first year. This Enron-style accounting makes the first year budget numbers look good — conveniently in time for the onslaught of election eve advertising.

Will there be a surplus when the budget closes in nine months? It’s unlikely! The $60 million sale of state assets is bogged down and may not happen at all, which likely means more borrowing. Credit rating agencies may not have rapped NH’s knuckles for this unprecedented borrowing yet, but voters are fearful this Washington style behavior means looming trouble. Even Legislators who’ve voted for this unprecedented borrowing know it can’t be sustained.

If there truly is a surplus why is the State still trying to steal private property – doctors’ JUA Liability Fund — when that raid was previously ruled unconstitutional. If there is a genuine surplus why isn’t it going into the Rainy Day Fund?

Democratic Claim 3: State spending has been cut by 7%. Reality: total state spending increased from $10.4 billion in the previous budget to $11.5 billion in the current budget — an increase of 10.5%.

Democrats want to focus on the General Fund which represents one third of total state spending. They contend that General Fund spending is down $111 million. What really happened is that $208 million of spending was removed from the General Fund, only to reappear in other accounts.

This gave the appearance of a 3.5% cut — terrific political spin before an election. Add back the $208 million – because the money is being spent –the General Fund actually increased 3%. Spin that any way possible—it’s still not a cut.

Elected officials will always try to pick and choose some version of the facts which will make them look conservative with taxpayer money, but it’s the bottom line that counts. NH families realize bottom line spending increased 10.5% in NH while they were tightening their belts. There is no way to spin, misdirect or conjure away that pesky fact no matter how big your political advertising budget is.

Democratic Claim 4: Business Taxes Did Not Increase. Try explaining that statement to a small business owner who actually paid the LLC Income Tax before Republicans forced its repeal. Explain that to businesses paying higher unemployment insurance taxes. Furthermore, Democrats in the House passed both an estate and capital gains tax before Democrats in the Senate passed higher business taxes. They compromised by passing the job killing LLC Tax – without a public hearing.

Democratic Claim 5: 10% Spending Cuts Are Reckless. Irony of ironies — some Democrats who claim 10% cuts are reckless are actually proposing 5% cuts! In their world is a 5% cut — merely devastating?

In the current budget, Democrats cut $100 million of funding to cities and towns increasing everyone’s property taxes by roughly 3%. The State is being sued for that. The Court budget was cut. Civil trials have ground to a halt. The State is again being sued. So what is reckless?

Democratic Claim 6: There will be no Donor Towns. Another great political one-liner, but it’s flat out wrong. The education funding law will reinstitute 36 donor towns on July 1. I have actually filed the necessary legislation to prevent donor towns from returning. That legislation won’t even be considered until January and it must pass – not a certain prospect. So until then – donor towns return with a vengeance.

Here is the bottom line on these Democratic election eve claims: spending has exploded and some 97 taxes and fees were raised by Democrats in their two budgets to pay for this splurge. Even these 97 tax and fee hikes are not sufficient as virtually all independent budget observers expect the state to face a gargantuan budget deficit of $600 to $900 million. Voters will soon get to decide who truly is reckless.

As working families and small business owners struggle to make ends meet, voters are frustrated even furious. They are fed up with pretend spending cuts that actually are spending hikes. They are fed up with claims of a balanced budget and fictional surplus when the state will face its largest deficit – ever! They are fed up with scary borrowing that looks too much like Washington. And they are fed up with the impact that 97 tax and fee hikes has on their wallets and somehow despite all those taxes and fees, NH still finds itself on the verge of an income and sales tax if many Democrats have their way.

Facing disenchanted voters, candidates often find the narcotic of their own spin almost irresistible. Those disenchanted voters however are more likely to remember Mark Twain’s adage “figures don’t lie but liars figure.”
—

Jeb Bradley is a NH State Senator representing District 3, which includes Farmington, Middleton, and Milton in Strafford County.

Spending has jumped by 10.5% while revenues fell through the floor — $102 million behind the estimate for the first eleven months of this fiscal year. Leading the revenue plunge are business taxes — off $43 million, rooms and meals taxes — off $20 million, and interest and dividends taxes — off a whopping $27 million. With the economic recovery anemic at best, revenues are not likely to improve any time soon.

On top of that, the effort to simply expropriate $110 million from a doctor’s medical liability fund (JUA) was deemed to be an unconstitutional taking of private property. All of which created a budget deficit estimated at $300 million by June 2011 when books close — up from a $220 million projection just in April.

Governor Lynch recently called a ‘Special Session’ of the Legislature to confront this alarming deficit — about 10% of the state’s General Fund. The package that emerged from the Special Session includes unprecedented borrowing and one-time revenue sources, uncertain receipt of federal funds, and unspecified sale of State property: The Credit Card.

The non-partisan Legislative Budget Assistant projects one-time revenue sources in the original budget and in the recent deficit package exceed $1 billion. Even excluding the $110 JUA raid and a $50 million reduction of funds that traditionally has gone to cities and towns to lower property taxes – this combined budget package relies upon a whopping 27% of one-time revenue for the General Fund. Nearly $200 million of that amount is unprecedented borrowing for operating expenses rather than capital investments such as buildings or bridges. Much of the balance of one-time revenue was federal stimulus funds.

Even stimulus funds may have reached their limit. Americans, fearful of a Greece-like debt crisis have sent Congress a message. Several incumbents have lost or barely survived recent primaries so Congress has yet to authorize more state aid. Thus $48 million of even more one-time federal money Legislators counted on is in limbo. Whoops – the check is not in the mail even though desperate Legislators are declaring it will be.

The deficit package also relies on unspecified sale of State property. While this idea may make sense, in a very soft real-estate market how likely is the State to receive reasonable value? When this idea was first proposed several weeks ago the estimated revenue proceeds were $50 million. Like magic, the revenue projections just jumped to $60 million. Presto: revenue grows when Legislators simply deem the real estate market has improved.

What about cuts? There were some cuts totaling $52 million but only 1.6% of the General Fund. This so-called $300 million deficit fix in reality is limited cuts, huge borrowing, and one-time revenue — some of which may not even be real.

Where do all these maneuvers leave the budget? The authors claim the budget is now balanced, precisely what they predicted a year ago before it became a $300 million deficit. For the budget to balance now, they are counting on the unlikely prospect of revenue recovery.

The Prayer: what all the borrowing and one-time revenue does is allow the budget’s authors to cynically claim it is balanced for political purposes in November and pray they avoid the voter’s wrath for their spendthrift ways. But next year—facing nearly a billion dollar one-time revenue shortfall, New Hampshire will confront a fiscal train wreck.

While spending soared and the deficit grew, the numerous tax hikes over the last four years have hurt struggling families, besieged small businesses, while leaving New Hampshire less competitive for job growth or able to confront this looming deficit. In the previous budget, 29 taxes or fees were hiked. In this budget, 38 taxes or fees were raised including the job killing LLC Tax — nothing more than an income tax on small businesses. The LLC Tax turned out to be so toxic to both small businesses and the Democrats who voted for it, that it was repealed. Even with the repeal, New Hampshire still has the worst corporate tax laws in the nation according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation.

Other warning signs from the Tax Foundation for our State include one of the highest levels of state debt per capita, being only slightly below the national average for state and local tax burden, and having among the higher levels of property taxes in the nation.

All these new taxes and warning signs in terms of national rankings are against the recent backdrop of 50,080 New Hampshire people being unemployed and the national pace of job growth anemic at best.

Four short years ago when change came to both Concord and Washington, the unemployment rate in New Hampshire was 3.6% and 26,865 people were unemployed. In April, the unemployment rate had soared to 6.7% and 50,080 were out of work. Having the worst corporate taxes and a Legislature willing to levy an income tax on small business owners is no way to get people back to work.

There are those legislators — and now candidates — who want to ignore the taxes, spending hikes, and deficits of the last four years and claim their stewardship of New Hampshire has been responsible. They point to other states in worse shape than New Hampshire, but ignore the fact that these other states have even higher levels of spending and taxation. Comparing New Hampshire to even more profligate states is no way to govern or help struggling families and small businesses.

The Wish: many of these same folks have always wished for income and sales taxes. Next year they will likely propose an income tax and a sales tax to close the budget hole they created. There could not be a clearer choice in November or a more important election for our State’s future.
—

Jeb Bradley is a NH State Senator representing District 3, which includes Farmington, Middleton, and Milton in Strafford County.

RSVP Shay Kelly at: shay@ayotteforsenate.com.

1) Ayotte sign wave before WMUR debate at 4:00-6:45 PM outside the Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, NH.

2) Debate-Watching Party at 6:45-9:00 PM at Wings Your Way, 1181 Elm Street, Manchester, NH.