Posted on 11/16/2003 5:04:26 AM PST by RJCogburn
The first man to sign up for the New Hampshire primary won’t be on the campaign trail for a while. Republican Robert Haines is in prison, arrested Friday on a parole violation.
Haines called The Associated Press from prison Friday night to say he had been arrested because he didn’t give his parole officer a telephone number where he could be reached.
The conservative and convicted felon from Manchester has been a familiar site around the state, holding large “Haines for President” signs on street corners, at other candidates’ appearances, at the consecration of Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson and outside the Statehouse. He always wears a cowboy hat, sometimes wears what looks like a priest’s robe and usually carries a lasso.
Haines’ criminal record stems from an earlier presidential bid. While campaigning in Manchester in 1995, he was arrested for pulling a rifle on a man while wearing a bulletproof vest. Haines maintains the gun was not loaded, that he pulled it in self-defense and wore body armor because he was a candidate.
Corrections Spokesman Jeff Lyons said it was not clear how long Haines would be held, but Haines said he would be out around Dec. 19.
Haines, 56, first made headlines in 1994, when he wrestled a gunman to the ground outside the White House. The man had fired shots at the building.
The state Supreme Court and U.S. District Court have rejected appeals of his conviction. Another is pending in federal appeals court.
Haines was first in line to file officially for the 2004 primary last week. Before signing up, he placed a small wooden cross on a desk in the secretary of state’s office and took issue with the words of New Hampshire statesman Daniel Webster, who said, “There is nothing so powerful as the truth.”
“There is nothing so powerful as God, the most high almighty,” Haines said.
Haines is a native of Moscow, Pa., and has lived in New Hampshire for eight years.
He advocates pro-family legislation and is against abortion. He would tighten America’s borders against illegal aliens, tighten requirements for foreign students and have the United States reclaim control of the Panama Canal.
He also would hire military veterans as a “Silent Force, in an all-out, covert war on terrorism and drugs, at their sources.”
Haines also would move some government operations out of Washington.
“Washington, D.C. is too accessible,” he said. “The British proved that in 1812. You can sail right up the Potomac.”
He wants to rebuild some government operations in more secure, and less accesible areas, such as the Rockies.
Enjoy it.
Are these the proper accessories for a priest's robe? The cowboy hat I can see, but the lasso seems a bit over the top.
I see a Haines-Byrd ticket in the future.
Notice that they mention the party in the first paragraph. If he were a Democrat, you'd have to hunt for it.
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