CONCORD, N.H.―To build on the triumph of common sense in this year’s House of Representatives, the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire endorses Honey Puterbaugh for state representative in a Strafford District 3 special election on Tuesday, Aug. 9.

CONCORD, N.H.—The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire celebrates the Legislature’s decision today to send a strong message to Washington, D.C., which all of the citizens of this great state should support: “Mr. President, members of Congress, do not try to force unconstitutional laws on us. We will fight back.”

“The vast majority of Americans, including the majority of citizens in New Hampshire, told Congress not to pass the unconstitutional Obamacare law, but Congress didn’t care and forced the law down the People’s throats,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “The People fought back with the November elections, and now their voice has been heard through their representation in the New Hampshire Legislature.”

With the passing of HB 601 and SB 148, the New Hampshire Legislature has used its 10^th Amendment authority to nullify the individual mandate in the so-called Obamacare bill so no citizen in this state will have to buy health insurance against their will, and they won’t face fines for exercising their right to pay out of pocket for their medical care. The Legislature has also sent back $666,000 to Washington designed to bribe the state into implementing the law. Finally, the Legislature has set up an oversight committee to make sure that no member of the Executive Branch tries to enforce the provisions of Obamacare against the will of the Legislature and the People.

“This strong gesture by the New Hampshire Legislature is a perfect example of a state using its appropriate 10^th Amendment authority to exercise power that was not granted to the federal government, but instead reserved for the states or the people,” Hemingway said. “Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does the federal government have the authority to force people to buy a product, or to force states to fund certain medical procedures.”

The Tenth Amendment states: “The Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” As recently as this year, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the 10^th Amendment authority, saying in Bond v. United States that a person may defend himself by showing that a statute has exceeded the federal government’s enumerated powers.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor discussed the 10^th Amendment authority this way: “The Constitution divides authority between federal and state governments for the protection of individuals. State sovereignty is not just an end in itself: “Rather, federalism secures to citizens the liberties that derive from the diffusion of sovereign power.”

As recently as 2007, the New Hampshire Legislature nullified the federal REAL ID Act, considering it “contrary and repugnant” to the U.S. Constitution. The 2007 bill said “the State of New Hampshire shall not participate in any driver’s license program pursuant to the Real ID Act of 2005 or in any national identification card system that may follow therefrom.” That law has withstood the test of time, and the federal government has backed down from its unconstitutional power grab.

“The Founders gave State Legislatures and individuals the 10^th Amendment so they could tell the federal government to back down when it has gone too far,” Hemingway said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized this power and this very state has used this authority as recently as 2007. The Legislature’s nullification of the individual mandate in Obamacare is just another example of the 10^th Amendment being used properly. The people of New Hampshire should take pride in their votes last November to elect a principled, constitutionally minded Legislature, and they should thank the Legislature for standing up for their rights today with their support of these two bills to nullify the unconstitutional components of Obamacare.”

According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, only 32 percent of Americans believe the Obamacare law will be good for the country and at least 53 percent of Americans want the bill to be repealed by Congress.

CONCORD, N.H.—In a brilliant rebuke of a radical Democratic executive, House Republicans backed by the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire stood for parents’ rights and common sense by voting to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would require children to let their parents know they’re pregnant before they can get an abortion.

“Clearly, this parental notification bill is a step in the right direction for parents’ rights in New Hampshire; it’s embarrassing that Gov. Lynch would take such a partisan stance in favor of a state-knows-best mentality,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “For too long, this governor and his party have disrespected the natural rights of parents to raise and direct their own children as they see fit. I truly hope the Senate follows the common sense override vote of the House so radical ideologues will no longer be able to steal children away from their parents’ love and guidance and take them to an abortion clinic for an invasive surgery that will change their lives forever.”

The parental notification bill, a Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire campaign issue, only requires minor females to notify their parents of their pregnancy, but still gives these teens a way around the discussion with their parents through the courts. The court exemption was required by a Supreme Court ruling on a previous version of the law for the odd chance that a child’s parents would harm her if they knew she was pregnant. Rather than fix the law per the court’s request, the radical Democratic Legislature at the time repealed parental notification outright.

“With this veto override vote, House Republicans are restoring the right of parents to help their minor children make a life-altering decision,” Hemingway said. “At the same time, it’s important to note that parents’ right to actually control the decisions of their children is usually protected by the law, since parents know much better than minor children how to reason through difficult scenarios. Further, parents surely know their own children better than the government and can provide much better counseling than any paid school employee with no real connection to the child.”

Under current law, minors must have permission from their parents to go on field trips from school or to take an Aspirin from a school nurse. For some reason, the law currently doesn’t protect parents’ right to even know that their child is about to undergo an invasive, surgical procedure that could put her life in jeopardy.

“This law would at least restore the right for parents to know about their child’s pending abortion, and I am hopeful that there is no hesitation to override the governor’s radical veto of this bill in the Senate,” Hemingway said. “Again, this law is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough. I truly hope this Legislature further secures parents’ rights by introducing and passing a bill to require parental consent before a child can have an abortion.”

CONCORD, N.H.—The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire congratulates House Speaker William O’Brien and the House Republicans for passing a responsible budget that completely reverses the course of previous legislatures and historically cuts spending in New Hampshire by 11.7 percent, setting state government on a new course to fiscal sanity.

“There is no doubt that this budget is historically positive for the people of New Hampshire,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “Not only did Speaker O’Brien and the House members we elected in November actually do exactly what they promised voters they would do by cutting taxes and spending without any budget gimmickry, this Legislature has set the stage for a stronger economy, which will lead to job creation in the private sector.”

Due to principled leadership from the House Conference Committee members, the budget agreement with the Senate favored the House position in most instances. The balanced $10.2 billion New Hampshire budget for Fiscal Years 2012-2013 relied heavily on House leadership’s position that budget writers could not exceed revenue projections. The Senate was only able to shift revenue projections by 0.4 percent from the House projections in January. At the same time, House leadership was also able to convince Senators not to raise new taxes, fees or add additional downshifting to the counties, cities or towns of the state. In fact, the House was even able to secure additional tax cuts to increase business traffic from out-of-state shoppers.

In general and education trust fund spending, the House was able to secure a $4.42 billion budget, a 12.8 percent decline from the previous cycle. The budget cut is the largest in modern history—maybe longer.

“As an organization that understands the principles that lead to the most prosperity for the most people involve less government spending, lower taxes and fewer bureaucrats enforcing senseless regulations, we are looking at this budget as the first gleam of light from a new dawn of common sense governing,” Hemingway said. “I expect the voters of New Hampshire to respond quite favorably to the principled stand taken by House Republicans, and against the scare tactics and deception of those who would prefer politics as usual.”

Not only did this budget historically reduce appropriations by about $1 billion in all funds and $467 million in general funds, it also eliminated 1,500 unneeded government positions (most of them unfilled, anyway), and it reduced some of the more onerous taxes and fees instituted by the Democrats when they were in power, such as the surcharge on auto registrations. The budget also included comprehensive reforms to the State Retirement system—the first step toward eliminating an unrealistic system that taxpayers can no longer afford.

At the same time, the House compromise budget fully funds education by sending $4 million more than the governor’s budget and 9.5 percent more than the current budget to the local cities and towns. As recognition that restorative change takes time, the budget also funds Health and Human Services programs for the developmentally disabled, children in need of services, children with special needs, domestic violence programs and adoption subsidies, while also prohibiting the use of taxpayers’ money for abortions.

CONCORD, N.H.―Republican members of the New Hampshire House and Senate must find the courage to pass legislation to repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and make New Hampshire the 23^rd Right to Work state in the country, said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire.

“Both of these bills—the repeal of RGGI and the Right to Work bill—will promote jobs and economic opportunity in the State of New Hampshire, which is exactly what the people of New Hampshire elected Republicans to do,” Hemingway said. “Republican lawmakers have to stop worrying about the loud Democratic minority that is obviously against these efforts. After all, the Democrats’ spend-then-tax, big-government agenda is why the people threw Democrats out of office.

“The people who elected Republicans should not have to come to Concord to defend the clear message they sent in November to get government out of the way so the private sector can create jobs and economic opportunity,” Hemingway continued. “These voters should have the confidence that the Republicans they elected will have enough courage to see through the smokescreen created by the Democratic machine. They should have the confidence that Republicans will pass needed job-attracting legislation like Right to Work and free up more private capital for job creation by eliminating unneeded tax schemes like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie just announced this week that he would remove New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, calling the program “a failure” that “is not effective in reducing greenhouse gases and is unlikely to be in the future.” He said the initiative was simply a tax scheme designed to “tax electricity, tax our citizens and tax our businesses.”

“If Democratic New Jersey can identify the failure, false hope and negative affect on businesses and job creation of the RGGI scheme, then it is incumbent on the New Hampshire Republican supermajority to answer the call of voters and eliminate this economically crippling initiative,” Hemingway said.

South Carolina’s U.S. Senator Jim DeMint recently commissioned a study that shows Right to Work states have more new residents, more new businesses, more new jobs and faster income growth than forced unionization states like New Hampshire. The Senator pointed out how unions are taking people’s hard-earned money as they are “struggling … to put food on the table” just to keep “counterproductive work rules” in place.

“No one should be forced to give up a part of their paychecks to a private, third-party organization just go get and keep a job,” Hemingway said. “Unions should not fear Right to Work so long as they have no problem being accountable to workers who voluntarily join their organizations. If workers believe unions provide a benefit to them on the job, then they will join even with Right to Work legislation in place. Giving workers that choice will ensure companies can prosper, which will in turn allow them to hire more workers. That’s just what New Hampshire needs right now.”

CONCORD, N.H.―The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire urges New Hampshire Senators to follow the example of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said this week that he would work to remove the Garden State from the 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

In his announcement, Gov. Christie called the initiative “a failure” that “is not effective in reducing greenhouse gases and is unlikely to be in the future.” He said the initiative was simply a tax scheme designed to “tax electricity, tax our citizens and tax our businesses.”

“If Democratic New Jersey can identify the failure, false hope and negative affect on businesses and job creation of the RGGI scheme, then it is incumbent on the New Hampshire Republican supermajority to answer the call of voters and eliminate this economically crippling initiative,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “Not only does this program fail to deliver on its promise to reduce any meaningful emissions, it has also destroyed jobs by overtaxing the region’s largest producers. Ending this initiative will help fuel the region’s economic engine and give voters the jobs they asked for in November.

“New Hampshire Sens. Jeb Bradley, Gary Lambert and other Republican lawmakers had discussed withdrawing from RGGI only if another state in the region did so first,” Hemingway continued. “Here we have one of the largest states involved in this failed scheme acknowledging how economically crippling it has been and expressing its intent to withdraw. If Republican Senators in New Hampshire truly want to promote jobs and economic opportunity like they said they would during the November election campaign, they will follow through on their promise and get New Hampshire out of this program.”

CONCORD, N.H.―The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire fully supports House Speaker William O’Brien’s decision to put off the Right to Work veto override vote to account for several members who were tending to job obligations and still wanted their votes counted.

“The Right to Work bill is a party platform vote that should have no problems passing the House, but several Republicans reported scheduling problems and couldn’t attend today,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “The House speaker has the Right to Work bill at his disposal and can bring it up for a vote at any time. It is completely within the speaker’s discretion to wait until the members who plan to support the Republican Party agenda to promote jobs and economic opportunity are able to come and vote.”

The Right to Work bill, which would restore the rights of individuals to decide whether to associate with a third-party organization when shopping for a job, would create a magnet for businesses that will further advance the New Hampshire Advantage. The closest states with a similar Right to Work law are Iowa and Virginia, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Inc.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire and its members have been following the Right to Work bill and consider it a high priority for job creation and protection of New Hampshire’s working families. The caucus will continue to support any effort by the speaker to pass this much-needed bill that the voters of New Hampshire supported when they sent Republicans to stimulate job creation in November.

As liberty voters we’re very lucky this year that we have a better choice of candidates than we have had since the days of Goldwater and Taft.  With both Governor Gary Johnson and Representative Ron Paul running some of us are finding it hard to figure out which candidate to support and others are bickering and squabbling over their choices rather than celebrating how lucky we really are. Liberty is catching fire in the hearts of America and this campaign proves it.

At this point, early in the primary process, it benefits us to have as many candidates as possible talking about cutting back the federal government and reclaiming our rights.  Right now there are no delegates at stake and no serious establishment frontrunner to focus on defeating.  That will probably remain true through the primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, where it’s all about exposure and there aren’t many delegates to win. After that the race gets serious and there are more and more delegates to be won.  At that point we’re going to have to make a choice of who to throw all our efforts and resources behind and it seems obvious to me that the right choice is Ron Paul.

I’ve reached that conclusion for reasons which are both pragmatic and political, and from both perspective he is the gold standard for liberty in 2012.

Practical Advantages

Paul’s practical advantages are obvious.  He is better known, has a large established base of followers and a national organization which is well established with an extraordinary record of fundraising success. Fundraising will be particularly important in a race where the Democrats have promised to spend a billion dollars. Paul is already all over the media, especially the cable news networks.  He is better known than the other hardcore conservative candidates like Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty. He has multiple bestselling books in print and his followers promote him tirelessly.  The level of love and support he has generated says a lot about the man and his ideas.  Plus we saw his success at spreading his message in 2008 and now he can build on that base to go even further. Paul has shown he’s a strong debater and an energetic campaigner despite his age, and we need that enthusiasm to beat Obama.

Paul also has long-term associations which will benefit him in the election. He has long been a supporter of pro-liberty groups like the Von Mises Institute and the John Birch Society and was a founding member of the Republican Liberty Caucus. He has a wide base of support on the internet from groups like Justin Raimondo’s AntiWar.com and Lew Rockwell and the many political writers at LewRockwell.com, and has built powerful tools for communication on his own networks like RonPaulForums.com and for grassroots support in Campaign for Liberty. Plus it can’t be forgotten that the idea of the Tea Party originated in Paul’s 2008 campaign and many Tea Party voters are still drawn to him.

The Right Ideas

On his political positions Paul is also superior. People keep comparing him to Gary Johnson, but it’s a false comparison. They’re not nearly as similar as Johnson supporters would like us to believe and they really aren’t even competing for the same voters. Ron Paul is a true constitutional conservative and it’s a mistake to call him a libertarian, even if he has a lot in common with that movement. Gary Johnson is more of a moderate libertarian. He’s a minarchist who is a liberal on social issues. He’s closer to Ronald Reagan or the old Rockefeller wing of the party on many issues and he’s too liberal on social issues for Republican primary voters. Paul has a more clearly defined constitutional position and an established reputation for standing on principle.

Ron Paul’s positions are more appealing on a number of issues. He’s the only candidate who is willing to stand up and call for an end to the Federal Reserve, which is a dangerous cabal run by foreign bankers with no basis in Constitutional authority. He’s the only candidate who believes in sound money and a return to the gold standard rather than fractional reserve banking. He’s also the strongest candidate supporting states rights and state sovereignty and an end to federal tyranny under the 14th Amendment.

Perhaps most importantly, Ron Paul is the only candidate brave enough to have a foreign policy which admits the mistakes we’ve made overseas and the disastrous and parasitical nature of our relationship with Israel. It is Israel and it’s powerful lobby which have drawn us into war after war and made us the target of terrorism, and Ron Paul would end that relationship and he would withdraw all of our military bases outside our border and stop spending money to prop up dictators and intervene in the affairs of countries all over the world. He’d get us out of the United Nations, thumb his nose at the New World Order, and strengthen our borders to protect our workers and our jobs.

What is absolutely essential for the primary election is that Paul’s personal values can win over GOP primary voters. While he believes that states rights are sacrosanct and is willing to leave many things up to the states to decide, Paul personally believes in fundamental moral values. He believes in the sanctity of human life from conception, opposes the immorality of gay marriage, supports the right of students to pray in school and the posting of the ten commandments on public property. He believes in economic liberty, but also the liberty to practice religion freely and maintain a traditional Judeo-Christian moral code in our society without the interference of the federal government.

It is these values which do the most to differentiate Paul from Gary Johnson, and it is these values which will win him the support of key voters in the religious right so that he can win a primary victory. When traditionalist Christian voters discover that Johnson personally supports gay marriage and abortion and letting the federal government dictate social policy to the states they will turn against him in droves. Unless Ron Paul is there for them to turn to they may support a socially conservative candidate who is terrible on other issues like Mike Huckabee.

Winning in 2012

Gary Johnson is a great spokesman for libertarian ideas, but he is out of step with many in the Republican party and while he might draw Democrats and independents in the general election, he cannot win in a Republican primary because of his controversial views, and you don’t get to the general election without winning the primary. As a true constitutional conservative Ron Paul does not have that liability. Once his message gets out most Republicans will realize that he’s got the right ideas for them.

If you believe in the Constitution, states rights, ending the Fed, sound money and a non-interventionist foreign policy, then Ron Paul is your candidate. He will end the abuses of the last two administrations, cut back the overgrowth of the federal government, get us out of hock to foreign bankers and end the Bush-Obama era of imperialism, torture and murder.

CONCORD, N.H.―The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire is grateful for the strong Senate support for the Right to Work bill, which will advance the middle class by attracting good-paying jobs to the Granite State.

“This veto-proof vote is a clear sign that the Senate is listening to the voters who sent them to Concord to attract jobs to New Hampshire,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “A Right to Work law will make New Hampshire the only employee and business friendly environment in the Northeast. Everyone knows that a law that attracts new and growing businesses will attract good paying jobs.”

The closest states with a similar Right to Work law are Iowa and Virginia, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Inc. If New Hampshire passes this law, it will create a magnet for businesses that will further enhance the New Hampshire Advantage.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire and its members have been following the Right to Work bill and consider it a high priority for job creation and protection of New Hampshire’s working families. The caucus will continue to follow this effort as it heads to a committee of conference between the Senate and the House and urges veto-proof House adoption of the compromise language.

“It is important for the House and Senate to draft compromise language for this landmark jobs-creation bill so the Governor’s veto threat carries no weight,” Hemingway said. “This is the type of legislation that the people of New Hampshire elected Republicans to pass, and it is an exciting day indeed when elected officials honor their promises to do the people’s business.”

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About The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire
RLCNH, a state chapter of the national Republican Liberty Caucus, was launched in December 2004 to promote and advance traditional Republican Party values, such as low taxes and spending, limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free enterprise and loyalty to the U.S. and N.H. constitutions.

Hemingway: ‘The party is standing strong for principle, which is what the people voted for.’

CONCORD, N.H.―The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire is troubled by recent, apparent attempts by the press to drive a wedge in the state Republican Party.

In the most recent example, RLCNH Chairman Andrew Hemingway’s comments were misrepresented in a Washington Post article that wrongly attempted to pit the Sununu family against the Tea Party.

“I was having a casual conversation with a Washington Post reporter and noted that I didn’t remember any outreach between Gov. John Sununu, when he was New Hampshire GOP Chairman, and the Tea Party,” Hemingway said. “The reporter used this conversation to fabricate a quotation that made it seem as though the governor denied requests to meet with the Tea Party. On the contrary, Gov. Sununu welcomed Tea Party activism while chairman and, I recently learned, even met with my predecessor in the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire.

“It is clear to me that Gov. Sununu, current party leadership, the Tea Party and the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire all cherish the founding principles of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, low taxes and low spending as well as the state and federal constitutions,” Hemingway added. “It is important for all factions of the Republican Party to stand strong against the forces that are attempting to destroy our efforts against an ever-expanding government.”

Recently, New Hampshire Republicans have taken a lot of heat from an active minority that has used derogatory and inflammatory language to criticize the majority party and its actions. Naturally, this pressure has resulted in an over-exuberant response from a handful of legislators who are inexperienced dealing with a hostile press. Nevertheless, the people should rest assured that Republicans are united in their platform and in the clear mandate that voters gave them in November. The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire urges all party members to stand firm against such pressure in the future with the knowledge that they are doing what is right and what the majority of voters want them to do.

“I would caution any Republican when dealing with the press to be especially cautious, because some members are trying to invent a story line of party discord that simply is not true,” Hemingway said. “Republicans are not a monolith and no two party members agree on every issue, but it should be clear to any honest observer that this is true of any organization. What’s different about Republicans is that the party honors the traditions of liberty that were protected by our founders. Naturally, liberty results in occasional disagreement. The people should rest assured that such disagreement will always lead to a better result. It is clear to me that proper resolve among Republicans will bring the restorative change that voters want.”

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About The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire

RLCNH, a state chapter of the national Republican Liberty Caucus, was launched in December 2004 to promote and advance traditional Republican Party values, such as low taxes and spending, limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free enterprise and loyalty to the U.S. and N.H. constitutions.