Thank you for your ‘welcome’

Fending off any attempt to criticize Governor Benson for his relationship with the wannabe settlers of the Free State Project, the governor wanted to make it clear the other day that while he’s glad to help them build their bandwagon, he doesn’t actually want to jump on it.

Benson – who spoke to a Free State Project-connected group last month – said he wanted to make it clear that “I welcome” the Free Staters’ libertarian efforts to colonize New Hampshire but he doesn’t “support them.”

Added the governor: “They’re good, hard-working people and they want to create a society here in New Hampshire.”

Whether you want to call it “welcome” or “support,” there’s no doubt that he’s been encouraging the Free Staters to bring their possessions and ideals to Mr. Benson’s Neighborhood, from signing on as a “friend” of the Free State Project to speaking at the Liberty Alliance gathering.

And let’s not forget the pilgrimage to Benson’s office last June by some Free Staters, who — according to Amanda Phillips, the project’s New England representative – were told by the governor, “Come on up! We’d love to have you. I probably have more in common with some Libertarians than with my own Republican colleagues.”

But we won’t call it “support.”