Flotsam and Jetsam

The weaker sexWe won’t get into the psychology of the whole thing, but obviously anyone who runs for political office craves attention. Still, it’s probably safe to say that the klieg lights the GOP has been shining on Carol Shea-Porter over the last several months may be a little much, even for a two-term congresswoman.
The most recent all-hands-on-deck GOP offensive involves the congresswoman’s appearance at a Manchester forum during which she was said to have opined, ‘We go to the ladies room, the Republican women and the Democratic women, and we just roll our eyes at what’s being said out there. And the Republican women said when we were fighting over the health care bill, ‘If we sent the men home, we could get this done this weekend.”Predictably, Republican women and men alike tore into the Rochester Democrat, saying her comments were ‘divisive, uninformed and totally embarrassing’ and ‘bizarre.’ Each of her potential Republican opponents didn’t miss a chance to take a shot at her either, of course.But, considering the Manchester comment was immediately followed by laughter from the audience, it’s safe to say she made the remarks in a less threatening tone than some would have us believe.It’s also safe to say that, save for a very few women, the leadership of Congress is a male-dominated elite on both sides of the aisle. And, judging by how much has been ‘accomplished’ over the last several months, Shea-Porter actually has a very good point.The power of print

Bill Binnie, the Republican U.S. Senate hopeful from Rye, may have been getting under some people’s skin for helping, and then glomming on to, Scott Brown’s successful U.S. Senate campaign in Massachusetts.
But folks in the newspaper industry may want to be a little more understanding. After all, it was Binnie who took out a full-page ad in The Boston Globe to congratulate Brown a day after the election. And anyone who takes full-page ads out in daily newspapers nowadays really should be cut a little slack.A Democrat walks into a bar ‘

What do you call a dead body with no arms and no legs wearing a fedora’ I don’t know, but whatever you call it, it’s got more fight in it than congressional Democrats.Revisionist history

On the surface, the debate over taxing LLC distributions has all the makings of a perfect vehicle for the anti-tax crowd to vent their frustrations and turn up the anger volume among voters.But their unbridled enthusiasm over being handed the issue on a silver platter may have resulted in an occasional burst of over-enthusiastic hyperbole, and a tendency toward historical embellishment.Actually, in the case of N.H. Sen. Jeb Bradley, it wasn’t historical embellishment, but more like selective historical memory.In a long-winded e-mail titled, WELCOME TO ‘NEW TAX-SHIRE’ SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS BRACE FOR BIG TAX HIKES, Bradley lambasted the tax and Democrats, giving both his ideological reasons and then a little history.The ideology was tried and true, but the history ‘ not so much.Bradley’s essential point was that the LLC tax is yet another step in the direction of an income tax ‘ in which Democrats are more than eager to head.According to Bradley, the last big step in that direction was the business enterprise tax, which he says ‘in reality ‘ is a .75% income tax on business owners.’He adds: ‘Supporters of the LLC tax took another giant leap forward ‘ and supporters should be honest enough to call it what it is ‘ a narrow but hefty income tax on business owners.’All well and good, but if memory serves then-state Rep. Jeb Bradley wasn’t bashful in supporting creation of the BET in 1993, when ‘ once again, if memory serves ‘ was wholeheartedly endorsed by the Republican-dominated Legislature. And whose idea was it’ Gov. Steve Merrill’s of course. Last we checked, he remains a member in good standing of the Republican Party.F&J TOTE BOARDN.H. Public Radio: After a misguided producer starts the rumor that House Speaker Terie Norelli resigned, during the live broadcast of the governor’s State of the State address, the public radio network engages in a mad scramble to unscramble the egg.Jack Kimball: The Dover businessman officially launches his bid for the GOP nomination for governor.Paul Hodes: The congressman who wants to be senator tells the Nashua Telegraph the broken federal appropriations process has prompted him to swear off earmarking.George Hurt: The Laconia insurance agent tells Belknap County Republicans he’ll be a candidate for the Senate District 4 seat held by Kathy Sgambati, D-Tilton.Bank of America: The nation’s biggest bank announces that, starting Feb. 8, it will end the controversial practice of fingerprinting non-bank customers who want to cash a check in New Hampshire.
It’s been making the rounds…’ Paul Collins didn’t waste any time in beefing up Bill Binnie’s profile in the GOP U.S. Senate race, did he” George Pataki is the featured speaker for the Rockingham Republican Committee’s Lincoln Day Dinner, proving that he really wasn’t paying attention when he last visited the state as a potential presidential contender.’ Maybe Judd Gregg’s decision not to join the Obama administration was all part of a plan to keep him in the Senate to insure the reappointment of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.’ If John Lynch isn’t running for re-election after his State of the State speech, then he wasted a good campaign speech.’ Now that they’re redoubling efforts to lift the State House gun ban, how about ending Concord’s apparent longtime prohibition on common sense while they’re at it” Looking to balance the state budget this year’ Keep the adultery law on the books, raise the fine ‘ and enforce it.