Flotsam & Jetsam
Nobody does it better
You weren’t alone if you were a little confused by the absolutely fulsome praise heaped by Dem Party chair Ray Buckley on 1st C.D. Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter after her decision not to run in the 2010 U.S. Senate race.
After all, it was the same Ray Buckley who tried his best in 2006 to keep Shea-Porter from winning the Dem nomination, and it was the same Shea-Porter who – to put it mildly – hasn’t always been greeted with open arms by party regulars.
But in a statement on the announcement Buckley certainly heaped it on, almost to the point of sugar shock. Read on, unless you’re watching your weight:
“Carol Shea-Porter is the best to ever represent the first district in Congress. Since her election back in 2006, no one has fought harder to protect working families, veterans and our children. She is an independent leader, and has a long record of providing real results for her constituents.
“With so much at stake, the people of the first district can take comfort in knowing that Carol Shea-Porter is their Congresswoman. I know she will continue to fight every day to better the lives of the people she serves.”
Bathetic
With budget crises, property tax fears, financial markets in turmoil, a world economic meltdown – you get the picture – the best the state GOP can do under its legendary chairman, John H. Sununu, is stir up anger and resentment over a bathroom bill?
Changing the subject is one thing, but flushing away political opportunity is another.
Guess who?
In case you were wondering, it is true that only one former or current state attorney general hasn’t come out against casino gambling. It’s Tom Rath, the man at the head of a high-powered team hoping to help keep Rockingham Park alive.
Anger management
Considering what he’s got on his plate, you’ve got to hand it to Chief Justice John Broderick for keeping his sense of humor.
During a recent legislative hearing on the plan to spend $3 million more on court security, the C.J. recounted the story of an elderly Superior Court bailiff in Manchester.
It involved a bitter divorce case. At the end of a hearing, the man began getting angrier and angrier at his ex-wife. He became so angry and animated, in fact, that the judge, fearing for the woman’s safety, caught the attention of the bailiff, and suggested that he intervene.
When the bailiff reached the couple, Broderick said, “he took out his can of Mace – pffft, pffft – and he sprays himself in the eyes.”
When the bailiff began to holler that he couldn’t see, he was able to defuse the situation.
“Somehow, it worked,” Broderick said.
F&J TOTE BOARD
| Frank Sapareto: | The attention-getting Derry state rep manages to get the Boston TV cameras directed his way with his two-state anti-I-93 tollbooth movement. |
| David Welch: | The Republican rep from Kingston says during a House committee hearing on the death penalty that repeal of the penalty will pass after an inmate has been executed in New Hampshire. |
| Terie Norelli: | In order to make sure an overloaded week of legislation is considered by the House, the speaker orders the placement of three-minute egg-timers at the speaker’s podium – just a hint. |
| Joe Nadeau: | The former state Supreme Court justice insists a primary race against Paul Hodes for U.S. Senate “is absolutely a consideration.” |
| Ovide Lamontagne: | The Manchester attorney and former GOP gubernatorial candidate says he’s mulling a run for the 1st C.D. nomination. |
| Jim Wieczorek: | The son of Executive Councilor Ray Wieczorek adds his name to the list of possible candidates for 1st C.D. GOP nod. |
| John Lynch: | Calling predictions of an economic rebound later this year “premature,” the governor tells Foster’s Daily Democrat the current situation is a “2-1/2 year problem.” |
| Cale Parking Systems USA: | The Florida-based maker of “pay and display” parking meter systems threatens legal action against a Portsmouth man who questioned the security of the system while speaking at a public hearing. |
| Alex Lee: | The Merrimack County Democratic chair loses his bid to become the state party’s second vice chair and to end the practice of state committee members signing their ballots. |
It’s been making the rounds…
• Jeb Bradley, the new state Senate candidate, really, truly honest-to-pete says he doesn’t want to run for Congress again.
• Yes, you read it correctly: Judd Gregg actually used the word “incompetent” to discuss the Obama administration. What word would he have used if he hadn’t had his last-minute re-conversion to conservative Republicanism?
• And now that he’s once again concerned about deficit spending, it might help to remember that, when he was chair of the Senate Budget Committee all those years during the Bush administration, Gregg was among the willing participants in allowing all that off-the-books funding of the Iraq War.
• Before the event, he claimed he had 100 New Hampshire lawmakers “on board” his fight against tollbooths on I-93, but at the event, Rep. Frank Sapareto unveiled the names of 68 — 62 Republicans and six Democrats.
