Jack Kimball

New Hampshire GOP Chair Resigns Under Pressure

Eric Kleefeld | September 2, 2011, 9:50AM

New Hampshire Republican Party chairman Jack Kimball

New Hampshire Republican Party Chair Jack Kimball, who won his post in the key presidential primary state earlier this year with the help of Tea Party activists, resigned the same office Thursday night at a meeting of the state party executive board -- following pressure for him to step down due to problems with fundraising and personnel, and just before the board was expected to officially vote him out.

The Concord Monitor reports:

"Don't do it, Jack!" yelled a supporter as Kimball made his announcement last night inside a Holiday Inn conference room in Concord, where onlookers gathered around a long table seating the 36-member executive committee.

"I have come to the conclusion that even if, during a vote, if I were to win - and I know the odds are against that - it would be next to impossible for me to fulfill my obligations as chairman moving forward given what's been against me," Kimball said. After speaking for four minutes from the head of the table, he received a standing ovation from the executive committee and those in attendance.

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2012

Jon Huntsman Fires New Hampshire Campaign Manager

Benjy Sarlin | September 1, 2011, 1:41PM

Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman is shaking up his staff in New Hampshire, dropping his campaign manager for the state, Ethan Elion, and replacing him with a former aide to Tim Pawlenty.

"Sarah Crawford Stewart, a seasoned New Hampshire strategist, will be taking over many of the day-to-day responsibilities in her role as New Hampshire senior adviser," a spokesman told the New Hampshire Union Leader. The campaign is very pleased with the leadership team we have in place in New Hampshire."

Stewart was Pawlenty's state director and also worked on John McCain's successful 2000 and 2008 primary campaigns.

It's a bit of a stretch to call any state a "must-win" for Huntsman given that he's barely registering in national polling at the moment, sharing the bottom-tier with candidates like Thad McCotter and Gary Johnson. But as a far as Huntsman has a path to the nomination, it runs through New Hampshire, where he's hoping he can appeal to independent and moderate voters to jumpstart his campaign.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire GOP Chair Defies Calls For His Resignation

Eric Kleefeld | August 25, 2011, 1:18PM

New Hampshire Republican Party chairman Jack Kimball

New Hampshire Republican Party Chair Jack Kimball, who won his post earlier this year with the help of Tea Party activists, has dug in against calls from state GOP leaders for him to resign as a result of problems with the party organization.

"I won't step down. I will go to that meeting and they will look me in the eye and they will vote," Kimball declared at a press conference Thursday, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports. In the face of a possible removal, Kimball also urged the board to "vote conscience instead of politics...I plead with them not to pick this fight."

The state GOP has had fundraising and personnel problems this year, since Kimball took over, and has also lost a number of special elections for the state legislature. In response, numerous state GOP leaders, including freshman Sen. Kelly Ayotte, have called upon Kimball to resign.

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Jack Kimball

Reports: NH GOP Delegation To Call For Removal Of State Party Chair

Eric Kleefeld | August 25, 2011, 6:30AM

New Hampshire Republican Party chairman Jack Kimball

Updated: August 25, 2011, 10:00AM

Kimball is set to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. ET, the Associated Press reports. The exact topic of the press conference has not been announced.

Earlier report:

Members of the New Hampshire GOP congressional delegation are on Thursday morning reportedly expected to sign and send a letter to NH GOP Chair Jack Kimball seeking his removal from office.

CNN reports that letter will be sent by Sen. Kelly Ayotte, and Reps. Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass.

The state GOP has had fundraising personnel problems this year, since Kimball took over, and has also lost a number of special elections for the state legislature.

The state Republican chairman in New Hampshire who won his post earlier this year with the help of Tea Party activists, earlier this week aired a striking allegation: That the Republican Governors Association effectively sought to blackmail him into resignation, due to recent problems the state party has suffered -- and that they allegedly held up $100,000 for the state party, conditional on his leaving.

On Monday, the conservative state blog GraniteGrok published the allegation, that top state Republican leaders had met with Kimball this past Friday to convey the message from the RGA, that they would donate $100,000 to the state party -- if he resigned.

Kimball then confirmed the account to newspapers, with the RGA denying it.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Romney Releases Web Video: 'Businesses Are Comprised Of People'

Eric Kleefeld | August 19, 2011, 1:44PM

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)

Updated: Aug 19, 2011, 2:53PM

Mitt Romney released a new web video on Friday, firing back at Democratic attacks on his "corporations are people, my friend" comment to a voter in Iowa last week, when he explained his opposition to raising taxes on businesses.

The video is entitled "Mitt on the Road: A Week in New Hampshire," and shows clips of Romney speaking at different locations around that key early primary state, and discussing the poor condition of the economy.

At just over the halfway mark, Romney declares: "Businesses are comprised of people. I'm talking about repair shops, and gas stations, and beauty salons, and restaurants. I'm talking about Apple computer, and Facebook, and Microsoft. I'm talking about businesses that employ people. It's really astonishing to me that the Obama folks would try and argue that businesses aren't people. What do they think they are? Little men from Mars? But when they tax business, they tax people."

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Rick Perry

Perry On Evolution: 'It's A Theory That's Out There' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 18, 2011, 3:28PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Rick Perry is sure about a lot of things. But the theory of evolution, or even how old the planet Earth is, are not on that list.

A woman who will probably not be supporting the Texas governor brought her young son along to a campaign event in New Hampshire on Thursday, and had the boy ask Perry his views about science. "How old do you think the earth is?" the boy asked. This was an apparent allusion to how fundamentalist Christians often insist that Earth -- and indeed, the whole universe -- is about 6,000 years old.

"How old do I think the earth is? You know what, I don't have any idea," Perry responded. "I know it's pretty old. So it goes back a long, long ways. I'm not sure -- I'm not sure anybody actually knows completely and absolutely hold the earth is.

Perry then steered the conversation to some questions the boy's mother had been asking him, about evolution.

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2012

Pawlenty's Top NH Aide Joins Huntsman

Benjy Sarlin | August 15, 2011, 4:48PM

Jon Huntsman

Tim Pawlenty's exit leaves behind a whole campaign's worth of free agents ready to be scooped up by the remaining candidates. And the process is already beginning: according to the New Hampshire Union Leader, Pawlenty's NH state director, Sarah Crawford Stewart, is joining up with Jon Huntsman.

"Governor Huntsman is committed to winning the New Hampshire primary, and I look forward to helping him and his team do just that," Stewart told the paper. "I viewed Gov. Huntsman as somebody with exceptional governing experience. And I viewed him as someone who would be the strongest competitor against President Obama in a general election."

Huntsman has yet to make much of an impact in the race despite his impressive credentials as a former governor of Utah and ambassador to China.

Herman Cain

Cain: If I Get 5th Place In New Hampshire, 'We Will Be Ecstatic' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 15, 2011, 11:33AM

Herman Cain came in fifth place in the Iowa straw poll -- two positions back from third-place finisher Tim Pawlenty, who then quit the race. But not only is he sticking with it, Cain said during an appearance Monday morning on Fox News that he is excited about fifth place.

"Before I let you go, what's your next marker?" asked host Martha MacCallum. "You know, in terms of you looking forward, at what point do you decide, 'I'm in or out based on this date, or this victory, or this place?'"

"I will finish at number five in Iowa -- that's right where we want to be.," said Cain. "If we finish in the top five in New Hampshire, Martha, we will be ecstatic, because we're gonna put the same type of on the ground effort in New Hampshire that we did in Iowa, and we're also working South Carolina simultaneously.

"All right," MacCallum responded, "a determined Herman Cain."

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Ron Paul

Ron Paul Goes All In Against Republican Leadership (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 14, 2011, 9:06AM

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

Attention Republican primary voters opposed to raising the debt ceiling and fed up with the men running the party in Congress: Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) wants you to know he's been there for you before, and he'll be there for you again.

Just days after announcing his retirement from Congress to focus on his 2012 presidential bid, Paul is going up in Iowa and New Hampshire with his first TV ad.

And he's taking direct aim at the men running his party in Congress.

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2012 elections

Bachmann To Embark On Announcement Tour Next Week In Key States

Eric Kleefeld | June 22, 2011, 4:41PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Michele Bachmann's campaign has now announced the dates for their formal kickoff tour next week -- with her making stops in three of the big early primary and caucus states.

Bachmann made the interesting move of announcing her much-expected candidacy during last week's debate -- though of course, her very participation in the debate was itself an act of running for president. However, that act did seem to be a departure from her previous statements that she would announce her decision in Waterloo, Iowa, the town where she was born.

Now, her campaign announced via press release, she will be making it up with a formal kickoff event on Monday at 10 a.m. CT, in Waterloo -- an event that the campaign press couldn't escape if they wanted to.

Then on Tuesday, she will hold a 9 a.m. ET backyard event at a private residence in Raymond, New Hampshire, and then visit Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with an event at 5:30 p.m. ET. She will then make a full-day swing through South Carolina on Wednesday, with stops in Charleston, Lexington, Greenville, and Rock Hill.

New Hampshire

Romney Jokes That Waitresses Grabbed His Butt (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | June 14, 2011, 5:57PM

Mitt Romney

Wow, the new Mitt Romney really is an easy-going kind of guy, huh?

During a campaign stop Tuesday morning at a New Hampshire diner, Romney posed for a photo with a group of four waitresses -- and then melodramatically jumped up, joking that one of them had grabbed his posterior.

He then assured the women, who were indeed laughing about the whole thing, that he was just joking.

It is true that the voting public likes to see some sense of humor and personal familiarity from presidential candidates -- but this might be a bit off the beaten path.

Here is the video of the event, courtesy of Chris Matthews on MSNBC:

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Tim Pawlenty

PAWLENTY'S BIG CHOKE: Won't Repeat Criticisms To Romney's Face (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | June 13, 2011, 9:15PM

In one of the most cringe-worthy moments of Monday's GOP presidential primary debate, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty blew his first big chance to draw a distinction between himself and his top rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. For the past 36 hours, Pawlenty has ribbed Romney for being the architect of "ObamneyCare" -- the mandated universal private health insurance plan that Romney pioneered in Massachusetts, which served as a basis for the new national health care law.

But offered a chance by CNN host John King to confront Romney with the barb in person, an uncomfortable Pawlenty demurred.

"I just cited President Obama's own words that he looked to Massachusetts as a blueprint or a guide when he designed ObamaCare," Pawlenty said. "Using the term ObamneyCare was a reflection of the President's comments that he designed ObamaCare on the Massachusetts health care plan."

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New Hampshire

While GOPers Debate, Progressives Blitz NH With Medicare Message

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 13, 2011, 6:45AM

Mitt Romney

The Republicans who gather on stage in New Hampshire Monday night for their first major presidential primary debate are all scrambling to position themselves on Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) plan to replace Medicare with a voucher system.

And thanks to a blanket of advertising in New Hampshire by progressive groups, primary voters in the Granite State watching tonight's debate will be confronted with the Democratic view of Ryan's budget -- namely, that it forces seniors and the poor to bear the burden of the federal budget woes while making life easier on the rich.

Major progressive groups are flooding New Hampshire with Medicare messaging, previewing the fight for Medicare they hope to have with the GOP next year. Online or on the air, it will be hard for primary voters tuning in to the debate to avoid the progressive position on the Ryan budget, providing contrast for the Republicans on stage who are expected to heap praise on Ryan, even while the big names try to put at least some distance between them and Ryan's unpopular proposal.

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Sarah Palin

Palin Apologizes To Romney For Upstaging His Prez Announcement In NH (VIDEO)

Jon Terbush | June 6, 2011, 10:37AM

Sarah Palin offered an apology - of sorts - to Mitt Romney on Sunday, saying she didn't mean to "step on anybody's toes" when her bus tour rolled through New Hampshire on the same day that Romney formally announced his presidential campaign.

"I apologize if I stepped on any of that PR that Mitt Romney needed or wanted that day," Palin said in an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace. "I do sincerely apologize. We didn't mean to step on anybody's toes."

Palin's summer vacation/historical site bus tour swung into the Granite State for a clambake last Thursday, an event that took place just a few miles from the farm where Romney was holding his big campaign rollout. When asked about the timing last week, Palin told CNN it was merely happenstance.

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Medicare

PCCC Ad On Medicare Not Getting Pulled, Despite NRCC Complaints

Eric Kleefeld | June 3, 2011, 6:15PM

The liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee has won a round against the National Republican Congressional Committee -- with the liberal group turning back an effort to get an ad targeting Republican proposals on Medicare pulled from broadcast.

As Greg Sargent reported, the NRCC wrote a letter to WMUR in New Hampshire and Comcast, complaining that a PCCC ad attacking Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH) for having "voted to end Medicare" was false and demanding that it be taken down.

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New Hampshire Primary

New Hampshire's Biggest Paper Puts Romney Announcement Below Palin Tour

Eric Kleefeld | June 3, 2011, 10:32AM

If Mitt Romney was looking for huge headlines from his Thursday campaign launch in New Hampshire...well, he might have reason to be a bit disappointed.

Friday's front page of the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state's largest newspaper, has Romney's launch seriously overshadowed by two other events: The death of former Gov. Walter Peterson (R) -- and Sarah Palin's tour of the state. The latter was given the banner headline just above the fold, "Palin Hits The Seacoast," plus a large photo of Palin and her daughter Piper.

By comparison, Romney's kickoff was reduced to a mere inset photo within text of the Palin piece, and a small headline, "Romney Announces."

The caption text: "INSIDE: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announces his presidential candidacy Thursday in Stratham. Story, Page A3."

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Bachmann To Join GOP Debate In New Hampshire On June 13

Eric Kleefeld | June 2, 2011, 6:23PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has yet to officially launch an increasingly expected presidential campaign -- but she is now set to take part in a Republican candidates' debate in New Hampshire, the surest sign yet that she is getting in.

Bachmann aide Andy Parrish, who is leaving as her Capitol Hill chief of staff to take an unspecified new position with her (it is believed that he will be her campaign manager) told the Associated Press that Bachmann will be on stage at the June 13 debate in Manchester, New Hampshire.

This debate would be Bachmann's first presidential debate -- and also put her on stage alongside her fellow Minnesotan, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, among the other candidates.

Bachmann has said she will announce her plans this month in Waterloo, Iowa, the town where she was born. It is hard to imagine a politician putting together a big rally in Iowa, only to deliver a speech announcing that they were not running.

Mitt Romney

Romney To America: Sorry That Obama Thing Didn't Work Out; I'm Here For You Now

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 2, 2011, 4:25PM

America, Mitt Romney understands why you did what you did in 2008. And he's not here to judge -- just help you clean up the mess.

In his campaign kickoff speech in New Hampshire today, Romney sounded like a passive-aggressive ex-boyfriend ready to take the country back after it briefly ran off with the hot new guy in school.

"A few years ago, Americans did something that was, actually, very much the sort of thing Americans like to do," Romney said. "We gave someone new a chance to lead; someone we hadn't known for very long, who didn't have much of a record but promised to lead us to a better place."

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Pres '12

Palin: New Hampshire Visit At Same Time As Romney Announcement 'Coincidental'

Eric Kleefeld | June 2, 2011, 10:25AM

Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) and former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)

Sarah Palin's bus tour is making an appearance today in New Hampshire -- the same day that Mitt Romney is officially announcing his presidential campaign in the state, and in fact she'll only be a few minutes' travel away from him. But as she says, it's just a coincidence.

CNN reports:

"I think that's exciting for him, that's great for him," Palin told reporters at her Boston hotel before touring historical sites along the city's Freedom Trail. "It's coincidental that we are in the same territory at the same time, but more power to Mitt as he mounts his campaign and best of luck to him."

News leaked late yesterday that Palin is organizing a clambake for Thursday evening along the New Hampshire seacoast, just minutes from the Stratham farm where Romney plans to officially announce his second presidential bid.

Mitt Romney

Romney: America 'Inches Away From Ceasing To Be A Free Market Economy'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 2, 2011, 9:48AM

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)

Mitt Romney is kicking off his second presidential campaign later on Thursday, and -- according to published excerpts from the afternoon's big speech -- he'll do it with a healthy dose of fear-the-coming-socialist-tide rhetoric.

"We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy," Romney will say in his New Hampshire speech, according to prepared remarks.

Excerpts of the address tease a speech that seeks to paint President Obama's America as leaning dangerously away from core capitalist principles.

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Mitt Romney

It's Official: Mitt Romney Is Running For President Again

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 31, 2011, 10:38AM

Mitt Romney

Romneyiacs, the months of patiently waiting are nearly at an end: The former governor of Massachusetts will this Thursday finally formally announce his second run for the White House.

In keeping with his New Hampshire focus, Mitt Romney's announcement will be all Granite State, his campaign said in an announcement Tuesday morning. The statement, like the announcement itself, is somewhat anti-climactic: Details of the announcement were widely reported last week. Similarly, Romney's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination has been a mainstay of politics for over a year, despite the requisite coyness about the official nature of it from the candidate and his supporters.

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Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman Running For John McCain Of 2012

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 19, 2011, 11:24AM

Jon Huntsman

Now that he's no longer a member of President Obama's administration, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) is free to campaign for president. And campaign he shall, starting today in New Hampshire.

Early signs of how Hunstman plans to win the nomination as a man best known in Republican circles as a moderate and best known in Democratic circles as Obama's ambassador to China point to Huntsman picking up where John McCain left off.

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire's Dem Gov Vetoes Anti-Union Bill

Eric Kleefeld | May 11, 2011, 1:45PM

Gov. John Lynch (D-NH)

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) has vetoed a "right-to-work" bill passed by the Republican legislature, which would have restricted private-sector unions in the state. As of this juncture, a veto override could potentially occur, but is not a certain thing.

The New Hampshire Union Leader reports:

The bill, HB 474, would bar contracts that require non-members to pay partial dues to unions that represent their rights in the workplace. The partial payments are meant to cover the costs of reaching and enforcing labor contracts.

The bill would also allow fines to be levied against companies that included the provision in a contract and deducted the payments.

...

Lynch wrote in his veto message, "States should not interfere with the rights of businesses and their employees to freely negotiate contracts. That is unless there is a compelling public interest, and there is no compelling public interest in passing this legislation.

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Mitt Romney

Report: Mitt Romney's '08 New Hampshire Manager Not Doing A Second Tour

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 4, 2011, 11:13AM

Former 2008 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R) campaigning in New Hampshire.

Mitt Romney may be focusing most of his time and attention on New Hampshire lately -- in hopes of winning the state's all-important first presidential primary next year -- but he hasn't made his case to one Granite Stater.

Mother Jones reports Bruce Keough, who ran Romney's 2008 New Hampshire campaign, isn't signing on for 2012 and is instead lobbing arrows at his old boss.

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Mitt Romney

Romney Stumbles Over 'Hang Him' Gaffe Aimed At Obama (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 29, 2011, 11:22PM

Mitt Romney

In New Hampshire Friday, Mitt Romney stumbled over a line about pinning the nation's melancholy on President Obama that found him scrambling to back away from a quote suggesting Republicans are going to "hang" Obama with America's problems in 2012.

"Uh, so to speak -- metaphorically," Romney quickly corrected, before adding, "you have to be careful these days, I've learned that."

It was a standout gaffe from the first major candidate forum of the 2012 cycle in the Granite State, where Romney joined four other presidential hopefuls at an event sponsored by the tea party-fueling Americans For Prosperity group.

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Mitt Romney

In First New Hampshire Forum, Romney Dances On Health Care

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 29, 2011, 9:50PM

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)

The first major New Hampshire candidate forum of the 2012 cycle just wrapped up and, not surprisingly, Mitt Romney -- the man leading the polls in the state that will host the first primary next year -- was asked a direct question about the health care law he signed while governor of Massachusetts.

The forum was sponsored by Americans For Prosperity, the Koch brothers-funded group that helped tens of thousands pack DC to protest the health care law signed by President Obama last year, which was modeled in part on the plan Romney put into law when he was a chief executive.

Given the audience -- and Republican disdain for the health care law in general -- it was perhaps unsurprising that Romney declined to give a direct answer to the question about his law.

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New Hampshire Primary

Poll: Trump Trails Romney By Just Six Points In NH Primary

Jon Terbush | April 5, 2011, 12:13PM

Donald Trump

New Hampshire Republicans prefer Donald Trump, the eccentric real estate tycoon and reality television host, over all but one other candidate for the party's presidential nomination, according to a new PPP poll of registered voters.

Only Mitt Romney topped Trump in the poll, doing so by a six-point margin. However, that margin is far less than the leads Romney posted in previous polls that did not include Trump, polls in which Romney bested the next closest contender by as much as 30 points.

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New Hampshire

Protesters Erupt As New Hampshire GOPers Move Anti-Union Bill That Goes Farther Than Walker's

Brian Beutler | March 25, 2011, 3:39PM

New Hampshire State House

Late on Tuesday evening, Republicans on a House panel in New Hampshire voted to advance legislation that resembles Scott Walker's law in Wisconsin ending collective bargaining rights for public sector unions. It's actually farther reaching.

Under the terms of this plan, public sector workers in the state would become "at will" employees if and when their contracts expire.

That eliminates all the leverage state employees have in negotiation with their employers, and could ultimately end up busting the unions entirely.

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John McCain

Barbour Brings On Former McCain '08 Campaign Advisor Mike Dennehy

Jillian Rayfield | March 16, 2011, 10:46AM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has hired Mike Dennehy, who served as John McCain's national political director and senior adviser in 2008, to be an adviser for his presidential campaign should he choose to run.

Read more »

New Hampshire

NH GOPer To Resign After Saying Mentally Disabled Should Die In Siberia

Brian Beutler | March 14, 2011, 5:52PM

New Hampshire State House

State Rep. Martin Harty (R-NH) has resigned from the New Hampshire House of Representatives following his comment to a constituent that mentally challenged people and other "defective" people should die in a modern-day Siberia.

Harty, who is 91, apologized for the comment and his party leaders treated his gaffe somewhat gingerly until now. William O'Brien, speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, issued this statement:

Representative Harty came to my office today to offer his resignation in person. We both agreed that this is what is best for the House to move forward and focus on critical issues, like balancing our budget without raising taxes and giving the voters an opportunity to pass a school funding amendment to ensure local control. We will move quickly to request a special election to fill this vacancy.

Harty's resignation letter will be read on the floor of the New Hampshire House Tuesday, at which point the office will become vacant.

Michele Bachmann

Bachmann Muddles American History, Puts Battles Of Lexington And Concord In New Hampshire

Jillian Rayfield | March 12, 2011, 3:17PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann got her Revolutionary War history a bit screwed up at an event in New Hampshire today, telling the crowd: "What I love about New Hampshire and what we have in common is our extreme love for liberty. You're the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord."

The Battles of Lexington and Concord and the shot heard round the world took place in Massachusetts.

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Birther

NH Birther Bill Backer: "I Don't Know" Where Obama Was Born

Melissa Jeltsen | March 11, 2011, 3:27PM

New Hampshire State Rep. David Bates, chairman of the House Election Law Committee and supporter of the state's controversial 'birther' bill told TPM he can't say for certain where President Barack Obama was born. "I don't know where the guy was born, I don't care," Bates said in a phone interview on Friday. He later hedged, saying he had to accept that Obama was born in the United States because he didn't "have any evidence to the contrary."

The proposed legislation, which was unanimously defeated in committee on Wednesday, would have required candidates competing in New Hampshire's presidential primary to provide their long-form birth certificates.

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire Republican Won't Apologize For Saying 'Defective' People Should Die In Siberia

Brian Beutler | March 11, 2011, 12:14PM

New Hampshire State House

A Republican in the New Hampshire House of Representatives regrets telling one of his constituents that the mentally challenged and other "defective" people should be sent to Siberia so they don't stand to inherit control of the world.

"The world population has gotten too big and the world is being inherited by too many defective people," Rep. Martin Harty told one of his constituents. "I mean all the defective people, the drug addicts, mentally ill, the retarded -- all of them."

Asked what should be done with those people, Harty said, "I believe if we had a Siberia we should send them to this and they would all freeze and die and we will be rid of them."

The catch -- he's a 91 year old, who was swept into office on a GOP wave, and everyone's basically too deferential to tell him he's gone too far.

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Birther

UPDATED: New Hampshire Birther Bill Dies In Committee

Brian Beutler and Melissa Jeltsen | March 9, 2011, 12:59PM

Late Update: The bill was defeated in committee Wednesday.

Don't pop the champagne yet, birthers. Yes, New Hampshire Republicans have proposed legislation that would require presidential candidates competing in the New Hampshire primary to provide their long-form birth certificates. But because you've comported yourselves so poorly over the last two years, it won't impact President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

Thanks to public scrutiny and criticism of the birther movement -- including from within the Republican Party -- the plan has been rewritten and would not go into effect until 2013, to avoid the impression that it's designed to ensnare President Obama.

As originally written, the bill "had the effective date 60 days after passage," Rep. David Bates (R) told the Union Leader. "But we recognize the potential problems. It created the appearance that it was all centered on a putting barriers in the way of President Obama," Bates said.

Bates said he changed the wording "to diffuse any perception that this was directed at President Obama."

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New Hampshire

NH Republicans Seek To Penalize State Workers Who Sue For Breach Of Contract

Brian Beutler | March 8, 2011, 11:54AM

New Hampshire State House

Here's a novel approach to blunting the power of public sector unions. New Hampshire Republicans are proposing to penalize state employees if they sue the government for breach of contract. Successfully sue us, they warn, and we'll cut your benefits.

Here's how it would work. A New Hampshire Senate panel just advanced legislation that would clawback state employee benefits more generally. According to the Union Leader, it "raises retirement ages for police and firefighters, cuts back the amount of pay that can be included in pension calculations, and requires workers to pay higher shares of their pay toward retirement costs."

But if you work for the state, and think that's a bum deal, too bad. The bill was amended Monday to force workers to contribute an additional three percent of their salaries to their pensions if they win a court battle on the grounds that the cuts violate the states contract with the union.

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Tenthers

New Hampshire House Speaker Is Special Guest At Tenther Rally

Brian Beutler | March 8, 2011, 9:56AM

New Hampshire's House Speaker William O'Brien wants to make it harder for students to vote in their districts, arguing that they distort the democratic process. It might just be, though, that he has a hard time accepting outcomes he disagrees with.

O'Brien is a scheduled speaker at an upcoming event called "Nullify Now!" which is organized by two Tenther groups -- The Tenth Amendment Center and WeRefuse. Both argue, against federal court rulings, that states don't have to uphold laws they believe to be unconstitutional.

A call and email to O'Brien seeking more information about his views on the 10th amendment were not immediately returned.

New Hampshire

NH GOP Seeks To Disenfranchise Students Who 'Just Vote Their Feelings' (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | March 7, 2011, 1:21PM

At a January 9/12 event with local tea partiers, the Republican House Speaker in New Hampshire, Bill O'Brien explained his problem with young voters.

"They go into these general elections, they'll have 900 same day registrations, which are the kids coming out of the schools and basically doing what I did when I was a kid, which is [vote liberal]," he said. "They don't have life experience and they don't have life experience and they just vote their feelings and they're taking away the town's ability to govern themselves, it's not fair."

The remarks were caught on tape by a tracker with the New Hampshire Democratic party, but up until today they haven't caused O'Brien much embarrassment.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

NH GOP Powerbroker Dumps Ice Cold Water On Huntsman 2012

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 4, 2011, 11:13AM

Former Gov. John Sununu (R-NH)

Jon Huntsman for President? Don't make former New Hampshire governor, and recent state Republican party chair John Sununu laugh.

"Huntsman won't play well here. Huntsman won't play well anywhere, because Huntsman's only barely a Republican," Sununu told Real Clear Politics' Erin McPike this week.

Sununu piled on the former governor of Utah, who's expected to ramp up a presidential bid after he resigns as President Obama's ambassador to China this spring.

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Haley Barbour

Barbour Co-Sponsoring 'Dinner And Date' (And Creationist Movie?) Night In NH

Jillian Rayfield | February 18, 2011, 8:58AM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

Gov. Haley Barbour may be trying to woo potential New Hampshire supporters with free food, co-sponsoring an upcoming "dinner and a date night" with a conservative think tank Cornerstone in New Hampshire this month.

The dinner will be followed by a screening of "The Genesis Code," a movie about the relationship between creationism and evolution, that features Fred Thompson in a small role.

Mike Dennehy, a New Hampshire strategist and spokesman for the film's producers, says that Barbour is only paying for the dinner part of the evening, and has no connection to the screening itself. "He's sponsoring the date night dinner, which is just prior to the screening," Dennehy told TPM.

The invitation itself is more ambiguous, declaring:

Cornerstone in conjunction with Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is inviting you and your loved one to join us for a FREE dinner at The Puritan on Saturday, February 26th at 7pm. Then, join us immediately following dinner at the Cinemagic Theater in Hooksett to see the movie critics are raving about, The Genesis Code - at a discounted rate!

Barbour will not be in attendance at either event.

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New Hampshire Primary

Poll: Romney Trumps Competition In 2012 NH Primary

Jon Terbush | February 15, 2011, 8:52AM

Mitt Romney

There may be warning signs in conservative-heavy states for Mitt Romney's potential GOP presidential nomination bid, but back home in New England, he looks poised to dominate the competition. According to a WMUR/Granite State poll, the former Massachusetts governor steamrolls the GOP field, leading his closest challenger by a daunting 30-point margin.

In the poll, 40% of respondents said Romney was their first choice to represent the GOP in 2012. Rudy Giuliani came in second at 10%, followed by Tim Pawlenty and Mike Huckabee with 7% each. Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin tied for fifth place with 6% each, while Ron Paul (5%) Donald Trump (3%) Haley Barbour (1%) and Rick Santorum (1%) brought up the rear.

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