Posted on 12/26/2005 7:35:16 AM PST by ncountylee
WASHINGTON -- With signs pointing to a resurgent Democratic Party in New Hampshire, the state's all-Republican congressional delegation is becoming increasingly at odds with the national Republican Party in a state that was long a GOP bellwether, according to an analysis of votes and other actions in Congress over the past year.
Congressmen Jeb Bradley and Charles Bass voted for expanded stem cell research and opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and Bradley notably declined to endorse Bush's Social Security plan.
Senator John E. Sununu opposed Bush's plan for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, joined a filibuster to insert civil liberties protections into the USA Patriot Act, and voted against his party leadership on several major spending bills.
Even the state's senior senator, Judd Gregg, who is a member of the GOP leadership and generally backs the party's priorities, voted against the transportation bill and the massive energy bill that grew out of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force.
The senators and congressmen say they are acting in the tradition of the state's libertarian brand of conservatism, even if the national GOP moves in a different direction. But Democrats and some independent observers, pointing to the fact that Senator John F. Kerry beat President Bush in New Hampshire, and that Governor John Lynch , a Democrat, is the most popular official in the state, say the Republican senators and congressmen are trying to distance themselves from an increasingly unpopular national GOP.
This is particularly true of Bass and Bradley, who were up for reelection next year in districts being targeted by the Democrats, said Andrew E. Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire's Granite State Poll.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
They were never actually Republicans, they were RINO's.
As are a majority of the GOP. What a bunch of wussies.
So, where is the news here? A RINO is a RINO. They are not REAL republicans in the first place.
Democrats have the same problem with the war. But are together on other issues.
Wasn't New Hampshire the "free state" project where all the libertarians moved?
Next elections..."DUMP 'EM!"
The NH Republicans enjoyed attention when Bush 41 was around, since the senior Sununu was Chief of Staff. I would hope the Republicans of the state would stay with the party and be conservatives.
So you are saying that the majority of Republicans aren't Republicans. Hilarious.
I hope so too!!
A RINO is no good to the party.
I'm not sure the working and business people who fled Taxachusetts for adjacent SE NH are the problem. NH has been attracting lots of affluent retired lefties like those who ruined VT, and it has large academic communities. Christianity is weak here, while it is strong in conservative bastions like the South and mt. West. This is shown by the low level of voluntary private charity, and the proliferation of bizarre cults like homeopathy, alternative medicine, hemp culture advocacy, New Age, and the like. It's getting to be "VT west."
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Oops. Make that: "NH is getting to be like VT East."
Charlie Bass is my congresscritter. He never bothered to respond to my e-mail regarding his disgraceful comments. As far as the next election goes, his a** is grass!
Recent threads about Bass here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1523213/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1522978/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1522666/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1519394/posts
Around here, we call those "people who got more money than they got sense."
Another reason why Vermont should not be allowed to secede unless it takes all of NE including NH when it leaves. NH might be the least of the worst, but it's trending the same direction as VT.
New Hampshire made a choice a while back. They wanted to attract businesses and wealthy people, but they did not want to have to deal with the attitude that comes with it. Unfortunately, one does not come without the other. The South is dealing with this same choice. States like TN, NC, and VA have made the choice to entice northeasterners to move down, and many natives don't like what they see.
The truth is, we have no control over what goes on. Our leaders are all of the same breed. They may differ on some issues, but they all have a common goal: to stay in power. They pay us lip-service, but nothing more.
The senior Sununu was the genius who gave us David Swish Souter as an Associate Justice of SCOTUS. There are lenty of conservatives in New Hampshire. They just do not include Sununu the Younger, much less Bass or Bradley.
N.H. stopped representing this party when they chose McCain over G.W.B.
South Carolina or some of the midwest states will be the bellweather. N.H. is done.
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