Republicans could've done worse!

The legislative year, like the school year, is almost at a close! All told, the proposed budget that passed the House cut several programs that deeply affect the state. There will likely be no additional funding for the USNH University system, of which PSU is a part of, no additional funding for healthcare, not much more to curb the heroin epidemic, and not much actively done to lower the property tax, which is generally the highest tax NH businesses and residents pay. Although the budget passed the House and is now in Committee of Conference with the State Senate (to draft the final budget between the two chambers of the Statehouse), things could've been much worse if the Republicans had a wider majority in the General Court, or if there wasn't a Democratic Governor to veto some of the social and deregulatory bills that passed. Sure, things will be fine for people making over six-figures and retirees with a fat nest egg, but for your typical college student or working class family, nothing will be done to decrease the costliest state education in the U.S. Demographically, since NH's one of the oldest states in the US, maybe it makes sense that voters don't want to pay for increased education spending, but that is not a sustainable policy. New families and businesses will not want to come to here, if there is no educated workforce or social services for their employees and their families. Hopefully, however, with the next election in 2016, the majority in the Statehouse will swing back in the control of the Democrats and the services NH needs, restored.

Link to NH and US Bill Search

Here's the link where you can find the NH General Court homepage, where you can search for bills and find voting records: General Court Here's another link to the Library of Congress webpage where you can search for bills in Congress:Library of Congress And perhaps the more user friendly and comprehensive page about voting records of officials, Project Vote Smart is very easy to find where candidates/officials stand on any issue: Project Vote Smart

Meeting Hilary Clinton

Had the interesting opportunity to briefly meet Hilary Clinton, along with the other Democratic State Representatives and various other former and current officials. Enjoyed her speech and well outlined platform she presented to us, but I do have some trepidations about Sec. Clinton for President. Hilary's in a much similar position to the one she was in, during the 2008 primary, when she led the Democratic field early on (by a wide margin), but faced heavy criticism from GOP and Democratic opponents. Many liberals and progressives within the Democratic party also don't think she's willing to follow through with seeking reforms for Wall St. and the heavy influence of money in politics. Regardless, she makes for an amazing candidate and certainly has an amazing and active group of supporters. Always good for the candidates to prove they can stand up to intense scrutiny and be strong in the debates, so I plan on holding off to lending any support or endorsements to any of the campaigns!

NH Republicans Voted to Raise our Tuition

Recently, the New Hampshire Statehouse passed its proposed, two-year biennium budget. The budget bill, proposed in opposition to the Governors budget, was a hodge-podge of proposed cuts or spending reductions to the various state agencies and departments. Republicans in the Statehouse have been undergoing an identity crisis- an idealogical battle between the more conservative Republicans and more moderate Republicans who understand that the State Government has an important role to play. Still, not many Republicans in the NH Statehouse are in favor of increased funding for things like the University System, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Transportation. It seems the State budget is one thing the Republicans managed to coalesce around, or at least pile all of their cuts into one proposal. All of this goes back to general political philosophy and the perception of what government is meant to do: be a strong force for the average, working citizen, or to pursue a smaller, de-regulated government that generally increases the profitability of larger business and wealthier individuals. Although the House budget passed, which would effectively shift university and healthcare costs from the state, to students and the elderly, the budget still has to pass through the Senate, which will likely alter it.

Vice News

If you've never heard of Vice News, you may want to check it out.  They provide news through an interesting lens, and although some of their articles may be a little 'out there', that's kind of the take they take on the news.  They also have amazing international news, very good foreign correspondents and reporters who immerse themselves in the issues and provide a very rounded view of a given issue or conflict.   Originally, they were a youtube driven media outlet, but HBO has picked them and they now produce a series, in addition to the daily news coverage the provide.  Would highly suggest liking them on Facebook or watching an HBO episode for a more satirical and comedic take on current events.

https://news.vice.com/
https://www.facebook.com/VICE?fref=ts

A group of fourth graders tried to get the red-tailed hawk listed as the State Raptor.  Their bill wouldn't have costed the State anything and it would have given some inspiration to a group of civic-minded children.  Bill went up in flames, however.  Here's what happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nO_-SAPrUU

Should New Hampshire Call for a Constitutional Convention?

Currently, there are two bills floating around the Statehouse in Concord that, if passed, would add New Hampshire to the lists of states that have called for an Article V Constitutional Convention.  Bill HCR3 calls for a convention of states to pass amendments to the constitution that would specifically revolve around fiscal restraint, term-limits and restored federalism.  Fiscal-restraint, of courses, is conservative code-word for low taxes for business and wealthier individuals, at the expense of social programs, infrastructure, education, veterans and other Federal programs.  Somewhat contradictory of restored Federalism?  No doubt term-limits and the illusion restored federalism were carrots thrown in to try to attract moderates from both parties, who may be disinclined to the "fiscal restraint", so cherished by conservative and proven to be disastrous for the economy by Bush and Reagan (tax breaks have led to the fiscal cliff, don't let them fool you...).


Proposed bill HCR2 has received more broad-based support.  HCR3 calls for a convention of states for the purpose of implementing campaign finance reform, in response to the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Supreme Court decision, which granted unrestricted campaign contributions for any corporation or organization.  Corporations are comprised of people, so they must be people, right?  Well, if you don't want your youtube, Pandora, or regular TV commercials to be flooded with campaign ads every two, four, or six years, then maybe you'll want to support this piece of legislation.  All of these massive political action committees (PAC's or Super PAC's, depending how big they are) and their plethora of billionaire and millionaire donors who aren't required to disclose their information, have the effect of buying candidates, therefore the actual seats and means for which officials get re-elected.  Many have compared this to legalized bribery, and it's not far off, though I wouldn't quite term it bribery, since candidates face strict punishment for using campaign funds for personal use. 


All in all, a constitutional convention may not be the best thing to launch into as we approach a presidential election.  Partisanship is quite heated right now and a convention would certainly convolute things even more. 

"Tens of Thousands March in Moscow to Honor Putin Critic"

By, Andrew E. Kramer

Link to article

This recent NYT article covers the recent assassination of Boris Nemtsov, the leading opposition leader opposed to Vladimir Putins regime.  Shot in the back during a demonstration, Nemtsov's assassination has galvanized the various Russian opposition groups and political parties that are at odds with Putins regime.

Unlike politics in the US, where national politics have traditionally been dominated by two political parties (since the Federalists and Anti-Federalists parties that were established shortly after the Revolutionary War), political parties and groups in Russia are more numerous.  Putin himself has come to be the dominant for<ace in Russian politics, with United Russia being the largest political party, with slightly more than half of the State Duma (Russian parliament).  The remaining Duma seats are divided amongst The Communist Party, A Just Russia, and the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia- don't be fooled by the name, it's not liberal or democratic but the far-right nationalist wing of Russian politics).  Various other advocacy groups and single issue groups control varying amounts of sway in Russian political life, like free speech and free press groups, as well as gay rights activist groups.

All in all, this is probably one of the most (if not the most) significant political developments in the world.  Given the Ukraine crisis, followed by economic sanctions on Russia, which have subsequently devastated the ruble and the Russian economy, this event may have significant implications.  Unity of the disparate opposition parties, while also generating more opposition and perhaps deep distrust of Putins regime if any ties to the assassination are linked to the state, are all potential scenarios that could ultimately lead to a regime change in Russia.

Last week, I was contacted by a reporter for Huffington Post, who was interested in doing an article about the youngest legislators in the United States.  Turns out, I'm number six on the list for youngest legislators, clocking in at twenty-two. 


Set up a phone interview time and we had about a fifteen-minute interview about my whole experience of becoming a State Legislator.  Earlier this week, the article went up on Huff-Po and can be found here:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/22/youngest-legislators-america_n_6680330.html if you'd like to read up more on some of the young people who've gotten involved in state politics.


Certainly been a bit overwhelming, being thrust into an environment dominated by (generally) significantly older and often more experienced counterparts, so it was reassuring to realize that many of the other young state legislators had similar experiences.  Also has been interesting to get in touch with them and gather more info on their policy concerns, proposals, experiences, etc.

Blog Proposal

Last semester, I was elected to the NH Statehouse as a State Representative.  Blog postings will reflect my experiences in the Statehouse, significant bills and issues being proposed and discussed and general comments about life as a college student and elected official.  A sitting member of the Election Law Committee, I'll also make posts about bills that come through the Committee.  Primary focus of my blog posts will revolve around the ideology and concepts floating around the Statehouse.  From time to time, I may draw comparisons to other states, comment about national politics and take a global, comparative perspective at policies or issues I focus on. 


This blog was initiated for my Web Expressions college course.