What Tiger Woods And Meredith Baxter Birney Mean To the Gay Marriage Debate
Sad to say, even before gay marriage has a chance to take effect in New Hampshire January 1, five Republican House members (Al Baldasaro, Jordan Ulery, Edmond Gionet, Mike Kappler, and Moe Villeneuve) have filed a bill (HB [...]
This will appear in Monday’s Manchester Express.
A handy dandy guide to paying your property taxes on time.
Exactly one week before Santa comes down the chimney, Manchester homeowners will face a more intrusive force in their midst. Property tax bills are due this Friday, Dec. 18; and you better [...]
A Rasmussen poll earlier this week, combined with a dip in generic support for Republicans, should give GOP leaders pause when it comes to assessing next year’s chances.
The message is clear. Republicans need to get back to their roots, at least the post-Goldwater roots, and not take fiscal conservatives [...]
Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series of historical book reviews we offer for you information and entertainment.
Kennedy and the Berlin Wall by W.R. Smyser
K Blows Top by Peter Carlson
On the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (and the 48th anniversary of [...]
Granite State Gambling Poll Offers Good News for Both Sides
December 3, 2009steve vaillancourt
Editor’s Note: Having waded through the 77-page gambling study report prepared by Andrew Smith at the UNH survey center, Rep. Steve Vaillancourt hits some of the highlights here. The full report is available on the New Hampshire [...]
As if I writing on this fine web site weren’t enough, I’ve accepted another assignment, as a weekly columnist for Manchester’s free weekly, the Manchester Express.
What a dilemma! I won’t know whether to break stuff here or to hold back so I don’t scoop myself in the print media.
[...]
State offices will be closed for both Thanksgiving and Friday; that means the final revenue numbers will hit on Monday, but all indications are the month should come in about as planned.
November is the month which generates the least revenues, so this is no surprise. In fact, the “plan” [...]
Those old enough will remember Howard Cossell and one of his most famous sportscasting lines, “Down Goes Frazier!”
That’s all I can think of today as I review the latest polls from Rasmussen and Zogby. Only it’s not Frazier, it’s Obama.
Down goes Obama!
Down goes Obama!
As I’ve explained [...]
By Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, Hills. 15
At last Thursday night’s dinner meeting with 18 Manchester area State Representatives at the Back Room, Millenium “principal” William Wortman asserted that the average salary for the 1000 jobs his group would create at the Rockingham Park racino would be $43,000-44,000.
Realizing that [...]
First the caveat. November is by far the least significant month for revenues coming into state coffers. In fact, a negative amount is built in for business taxes (due to refunds) and we’re already ahead on that front.
However, after being exactly on pace for October, real estate transfer taxes (which [...]
The way to a legislator’s heart is through his/her stomach.
If nothing else, the Las Vegas based Millenium Company, trying to foist a megamillion casino scheme on New Hampshire’s unsuspecting populace has learned that. Not content with the legislative luncheon it offered on veto day, Millenium is at it again, [...]
ANOTHER RED HAMSPHIRE EXCLUSIVE
Not only will Manchester Mayor-Elect Ted Gatsas endorse former State Rep Terry Pfaff of Hooksett for Gatsas’s District 16 State Senate seat tomorrow, but Gatsas will also serve as campaign chairman for Pfaff.
The announcement will come at the Market Street offices which served as the Gatsas [...]
November 12, 2009steve vaillancourt
Those four most glorious words in the English language, “I told you so”, hardly seem adequate these days as the citizens of Manchester discover what a gigantic boondoggle, a pig in a poke if you will, the civic center (referred to as the centerplex, aka “Dracuplex” [...]
Polls, polls, polls.
Good news, good news, good news, at least if you’re a Republican.
Perhaps the best of all news is that for the 20th consecutive week, Republicans lead in Rasmussen’s generic ballot survey. If the election were held today, 43 percent say they would vote for a Republican [...]
Team of Doctors Summoned To Manchester To Treat Mass Schizophrenia
No, that’s not a headline seen anywhere in the main stream media today, but well it could be.
Manchester voters, in overwhelmingly voting for the spending cap yesterday and even more overwhelmingly voting for Mayor-Elect Ted Gatsas [...]
Unlike in September, there was no last minute revenue influx, and the October report came in just about in line with the numbers reported here last Friday.
Overall for the month, revenues were off $11.8 million for $37.5 million shortfall for the first four months of the year. If you [...]
Those are the only two questions that really matter as I write this 30 hours before the polls close in Manchester.
Briefly the answers are yes and not very long. Now the details…
If Ted Gatsas had to get to 60 percent to win the Manchester mayoral race, it could [...]
ANOTHER REDHAMPSHIRE EXCLUSIVE–SOMETHING YOU WON’T GET (yet) IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
With today the final day for revenues to trickle into state coffers for the month of October, we stand $12.8 million shy of expectations ($203.1 million of an expected $215.9 million). Some from tobacco (off $1.1 million now); liquor [...]
Despite all the words being uttered to change the minds of two senators, it just didn’t happen. After the House voted 240-115 to override John Lynch’s veto of medical marijuana today, two senators need to change their positions to go from 14-10 to the 16-8 necessary for two thirds.
Not [...]
For those of us who await the latest generic ballot results from Rasmussen each week, the news is good today. The Republican lead, which was two points last week and four points two weeks ago, is up to five points. 42 percent say they would vote for an unnamed Republican [...]
Some interesting new polls are out from Rasmussen today.
For President, Mike Huckabee leads the GOP field with 29 percent to 24 for Mitt Romney, 18 for Sara Palin, 14 for Newt Gingrich, and 4 for Pawlenty. More good news for Mike and Mitt. With 8 and 9 percent, they [...]
Sununu tells Northeast Republican to focus on finances.
That’s the headline in the October 4 Union Leader, and guess what?
It’s what I’ve been saying all year. In fact, I was saying it when Chairman Sununu inisisted last winter on doing just the opposite of what he’s saying now, back when he [...]
Of all the cities in the world, Rio was my choice for the Olympics.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of these Republicans who think Barack Obama was derelict in his duties as President by bopping off to Copehhagen to push for Chicago; in fact, with other heads of [...]
Last minute receipts from tobacco taxes, lottery, and liquor eased the monthly revenue shortfall to $8.5 million bringing the quarterly shortfall to $26.1 million ($28.0 million if you include a $1.8 million shortfall in the highway fund and $.1 million in Fish and Game).
The state took in $193.4 million [...]
Until now, we’ve had numerous polls all pointing to a Republican resurgence. Rasmussen now has only 41 percent supporting Obamacare while 56 percent oppose it. Rasmussen and Zogby both have Obama in the 50 percent range in favorability. Republicans are up four or five points on the generic ballot (my [...]
I've now run the numbers for seven of Manchester's 12 wards, this little exercise in voter turnout by parties compared to the percentage or registered voters by party. I begin to detect a pattern which is especially interesting in comparing this to the numbers I got two years ago. Like' [...]
The month isn’t over yet, but the folks who crunch the numbers at the LBAO (Legislative Budget Accounting Office) are convinced that all rooms and meals tax receipts are in for September, and it’s the worse news possible for Governor Lynch and his Democratic minions.
With the one percent increase [...]
ANOTHER REDHAMPSHIRE EXCLUSIVE
Numbers crunchers have yet more bad news for Governor John Lynch and Democrats who have created a budget deficit for the state of New Hampshire.
Real estate transfer taxes, the Legislative Budget office assures me, are all in for the month, and they’re down 26 percent from [...]
ANOTHER REDHAMPSHIRE EXCLUSIVE
Game!
Set!
Match!
Any chance that Democrat Mark Roy had of beating Republican Ted Gatsas for Mayor of Manchester–and Roy was on life support systems based on Tuesday’s primary results–ended with the announcement that long-term Democratic Alderman, Bill Cashin, will endorse Gatsas.
The inconic figure from Ward [...]
If you enjoy this posting, you might want to catch this week’s Ed Mosca Show on MCAM23 in Manchester (Thursday 9:30 p.m. and Sunday at noon and available online at mcam.org). Steve Vaillancourt has been invited on to discuss the election results and promises to have more detailed numbers than he can [...]
I’m not a big believer in what has come to be called strategic voting. That’s the term used for the tendency to vote for someone in primaries who is not your first choice soas to help or hurt some other candidate. Remember, Rush Limbaugh made a big push for ”strategery” in [...]
The Union Leader is correct that House Ways and Means Chair Susan Almy is pushing for an income tax. However, you are not entirely accurate is suggesting it's a secret agenda. Susan and I are both in our seventh terms, and there's never been any doubt in my mind that [...]
Rasmussen has Republicans at their highest level in recent memory in this week’s generic ballot question. It’s a seven point margin, 44 to 37, ironically virtually the same margin Dems led by the week prior to the 2008 election (47-41).
That means that if the Congressional elections were held today, [...]
I hadn’t planned to release this private analysis publicly, but after I wrote it, I picked up the Manchester Express last night and disagreed so strongly with the Rapsis analysis that I felt the need to share this. Rapsis has the turnout in the 9000 range, a number so low [...]
AVAILABLE ON REDHAMPSHIRE.COM BEFORE ANYPLACE ELSE!
September 1 means that August revenues for the state were to be released today, and after waiting all afternoon, we finally got them, and we got the month by month projections as well (two months after they should have been ready).
No wonder the Governor’s numbers crunchers [...]
Beginning with Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe, American history is replete with examples of fiction being the best way to explore the problems and issues facing our nation. After all, “Huck Finn” (which I reread earlier this summer) provides us an insight into race relations far beyond the scope of any number [...]
In less than a week, Democratic mayoral candidate Bobby Stephen (father of John and former state senator) has graced my mail box with two flyers spelling out how conservative he is. In fact, he seems to be getting to the right of Republican Ted Gatsas.
Today, he claims to be the “only candidate [...]
Although House Ways and Means Chair Susan Almy, D-Lebanon, acknowleded there “isn’t any chance an income tax will past this year”, House Democrats continued to lay the ground work for one in their subcommittee work on House Bill 642 Tuesday afternoon.
The meeting included a scolding of Department of Revenue Administratrion [...]
ANOTHER RED HAMPSHIRE EXCLISIVE!
Here we are with just a week left before the state closes the book on not the first but the second month of the new fisal year, and the Lynch administration is yet to release its “plan” for revenues. This was supposed to be done [...]
He wasn’t universally loved by either the right or the left, but I found Bob Novak, the great columnist and pundit who died earlier today, one of most refreshing and entertaining voices on the scene.
Why? Because you could always rely on Novak to tell you the truth. He was [...]
Make no mistake about it. Sunday’s signals from the Obama administration that they are backing off a full-fledged socialistic health care reform was nothing more than an adknowledgement that the American people won’t stand for it.
Those (Dick Morris for example) who have been insisting that Obama would never retreat; [...]
Here’s a letter I wrote in response to today’s Union Leader editorial about the Manchester School Board’s need of a calculator.
TO THE EDITOR:
In an otherwise excellent editorial today, your conclusion that the School Board needs a calculator slightly missed the point. It’s not a calculator meaning a mechanical [...]
While much of the country is focused on universal health care and Governor John Lynch and his minions continue to try to hide revenue shortfalls from the people of New Hampshire, Democratic Reps met in Concord today with just the solution to our money problems.
AN INCOME TAX!
That’s right. [...]
By Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, Hills. 15
This may come across as real inside baseball stuff, but it’s actually the kind of information that has tremendous siginficance to each and every New Hampshire citizen, so step up to the plate and see if you don’t agree that Governor John Lynch, through executive [...]
In our weekly look at polls (rasmussenreports.com), numbers continue better for Republicans than Democrats with the exception that Sotomayor got a bounce from her Senate hearings (who would have figured?) to go from four points negative to four points positive overall (42-38).
Best news is that in a head to head [...]
In recognition of tough economic times we’re all facing, the 122-member Hillsborough County legislative delegation last month voted not to give a one percent performance raise for non-unionized county employees, many of whom are at the upper end of the pay scale.
The savings weren’t earth shattering (in the $50,000 [...]
Having taken a post-election hiatus from following opinion polls on a daily basis, I decided that the summer estivation season would be a good time to dip a toe back into the water by going to rasmussenreports.com.
The usual caveat is offered that Rasmussen does phone polling, but I’ve always [...]
I expected to get my Sotomayor bashing fix here, but it seems to be driven off the front page here by Hodes and Fergie plugging his voice op with Kathy The S. Guess I’ll just have to go back to Fox News or better yet, the guy filling in for Howie [...]
After being disenfranchised by no-show State Reps for much of the past three years (Michael Farley and Maureen Nagle and now Farley again), Manchester Ward 8 voters are now being disenfranchised on the city side.
Blame it on incumbent Alderman Betsi DeVries whose job it is to recommend a replacement [...]
During her tenure as Attorney General, Kelly Ayotte on at least one occasion used state monies to deceive the New Hampshire legislature on pending legislation.
The complete 65-page transcript of the Senate Health and Human Service Committee hearing on medical marijuana (House Bill 648, April 14, 2009) reveals that Ayotte’s Assistant [...]
Before I headed north of the border for some jazz and fireworks, I promised to provide proof that more and more Democrats are turning to redhampshire as the source of honest information they can’t get from their own party hacks.
A man of my word, I now provide a verbatim [...]
House Bill 648, the medical marijuana bill, has been temporarily sidelined on its way to Governor John Lynch’s desk for his signature. As reported here last week, the bill as amended and passed by both the Senate and House needed to be enrolled by the Secretary of State and sent [...]
ANOTHER REDHAMPSHIRE EXCLUSIVE!
READ IT HERE BEFORE POSTED IN ANY MAINSTREAM MEDIA!
The final numbers are out for the fiscal year, and the revenue shortfall for New Hampshire is $306.8 million. That does not include another $11.1 million shortfall in the highway fund.
It wasn’t until 4:20 Thursday afternoon that Governor [...]
I’m going way out on a limb here.
Unlike with most scoops I offer here, I have no inside information to back this up, but my best guess is that Governor John Lynch will not veto the medical marijuana bill (HB 648) when it finally lands on his desk.
I say [...]
a work in progress…I’ll edit typos and fix tomorrow, but it’s done at last
Now that Governor Lynch has signed the budget (and the trailer bill, House Bill 2 which includes the tax and fee increases and everything else that makes the budget work), and before we all head off [...]
It should come as no surprise to regular readers of redhampshire.com since it was strongly hinted here last week, but the speed of the announcement is astounding.
Parimutal/Charitable Gaming Director Paul Kelley called me at 1:30 Monday afternoon, in response to a question I’d left for him last Friday, to [...]
ANOTHER REDHAMPHSIRE EXCLUSIVE
Apparently the gambling schism in the Senate is far deeper than any of us first realized. An influential Democratic Represenative from Strafford County is spreading the word that Senator Jackie Cilley wants to run against Sylvia Larsen for the Senate Presidency after the 2010 election.
That assumes [...]
By Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, Hills. 15
FISCAL BONA FIDES UP FRONT–Before some editor decides to change the headline and refute my claim of being a fiscal conservative, check the HRA rating (House Republican Alliance, the most conservative Republican group). With 88 roll call votes scored, I get a 78, way ahead of [...]
Having apparently concluded his one-on-one or small group sessions with reluctant Democrats yesterday afternoon, Governor John Lynch Wednesday morning called in a small group of Republicans whom his people apparently think might be “persuaded” to vote for his budget.
The House Republican Alliance (that would be the more liberal or moderate Republicans; [...]
ANOTHER REDHAMPSHIRE EXCLUSIVE
There’s nothing like the Speaker’s annual ice cream social to get tongues a wagging, and that’s just what happened this noon. Redhampshire has learned that in a separate meeting with Manchester and Nashua Democrats, Governor John Lynch, in exchange for their support of his budget, has agreed to [...]
It was hardly an auspicious start to what is expected to be two difficult days of budget considerations when House Finance Committee Chair Marjorie Smith (D-Durham) right out of the shoot this morning began with a gratuitous slap at former Governor Craig Benson.
In opening a public hearing on the [...]
Before Republicans and fiscal conservatives reach for that mouse to slam me, I will note that in the ideal world, I’d be willing to cut much more than budget writers in the conference committee have done. In my ideal world, we’d reduce government spending by not just five or ten [...]
It was a rainy night in Goffstown. Tents were up to protect our food supply.
He was eating a hot dog; I was foregoing my usual vegetarianism and relishing a hamburg. I had just made the trip from Concord for the Hillsborough County budget meeting. I didn’t ask where he’d [...]
Apparently convinced that they can’t get the whole truth and are sick and tired of getting only left wing spin from their own web site, even the blues are turning into redhampshire.com these days. Don’t believe me? I have the emails to prove it. One Democrat Rep (name withheld to [...]
“This is like a train wreck in public.” That was the comment from one lobbyist who had just heard Senator Lou D’Allesandro and five of his pro gambling colleagues (and lone House member Roger Wells) sound off in a 25 minute press conference in the legislative office building. D’Allesandro took advantage [...]
Let’s use this as a place to update what’s going on this Thursday, the day, the House/Senate conference committee is supposed to finalize the state budget.
11:36 a.m. “They haven’t even started yet. They’re waiting for the Senate,” a secretary just said answering a phone. Starting time was 10 a.m., [...]
Now that, thanks to the public outcry (congratulations everyone!), the Governor’s bad idea of taxing house refinancing has been shot down, we move on to the next bad idea–the $30 increase on car registrations.
It’s time we learn the difference between a tax and a fee and stop trying to [...]
By Rep. Steve Vaillancourt
Manchester, Ward 8
Thanks for your email. I have received and continnue to receive many like it, so I’ve taken some extra time to spell out my position to you (and others). Like you, I support expanded gambling. However, I cannot support the current proposal which singles out [...]
If you saw Libertarian/Republican Ron Paul doing the interview with author Ivan Eland on CSpan’s BookNotes, you probably would have guessed that Eland’s new book “Recarving Rushmore” was not about to rank Presidents with the usual suspects (Lincoln, Washington, FDR, JFK, and other purveyors of big government) at the top.
Eland [...]
Many of you have discovered the new web site [redhampshire.com]
I think we all need to discover it and make it our primary source for taking back New Hampshire. It is extremely easy to navigate and to use, so easy to write things and respond to people.
I know [...]
Why GOVERNOR JOHN LYNCH SHOULD SIGN HOUSE BILL 436
By Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, Hills. 15
Despite the pressure from my more needlessly agitated Republican colleagues and from out of state special interest money, Governor John Lynch can make a valid argument for signing House Bill 436, the gay marriage bill. Sure, he's' [...]
Remarks In Favor of HB 436
Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, Hills. 15
Thank you Madame Speaker, I rise in support of House Bill 436. As many of you know by now, I've spent my spare time this year studying American history and I'd like to take a few moments to put this issue [...]
From: Vaillancourt, Steve
Sent: Wed 12/10/2008 4:28 PM
To: ~Republican House Members
Subject: FW:
December 10, 2008
Republican House members,
I guess we're not meeting next week, but I believe this suggestion remains a valid one. If everyone could come up with similar savings, (400 times $500,000= $200 million), we'd be close to [...]
December 10, 2008
To The Editor:
Never underestimate the capacity of Kathy Sullivan to provide us with a heaping helping of holly jolly hypocrisy. She outdoes herself with the comment that former Governor and Presidential Chief of Staff John Sununu should realize his time has come and gone and simply bow out [...]
Ed,
I've heard Sununu might run for Gov. I [...]
