2012 Republican Women's Summit #2

Rep. Pam Tucker, Deputy Speaker of the NH House, on women in the legislature: interesting that until 1998, GOP women outnumbered Democratic women in the NH House. Thanks to the 2010 GOP landslide, there are now 58 GOP women in the House and three in the Senate. "Can you imagine if we had a Republican majority of women in the House?" Says "there is a massive support system in the House & Senate" for women.

As for "women's issues", "we are making a difference to the future of the state." She goes on to list those issues: education; strong economy; strong families; public safety; environment; embracing new technology; health care.

(My comment: I give Rep. Tucker full marks for staying on message. Abortion and the life issues are being supported but not stressed by House leadership. Of course, we all know that Republican does not necessarily mean pro-life or conservative. One must vet one's candidates. I could add this to every post today, but I won't.)

"You will be a role model, whether you like it or not" if you're elected. True enough. In my opinion, that's why it's so heartbreaking when an elected Republican woman votes against things like parental notification and informed consent. On the other hand, it's good to see so many pro-life GOP reps here today. May their tribe increase.

Next speaker: Susie Hudson, Vermont's GOP National Committeewoman, on the Republican National Committee: she rightly starts with thanks & recognition to Phyllis Woods, who has just stepped down as NH's committeewoman. She notes that RNC has a rule that chair and co-chair must be of opposite genders. (Affirmative action? You decide.)  She gets applause when she says she'd like to get rid of that gender rule completely (Good!), but an attempt to change that rule has thus far not gained sufficient support. Hudson goes on to encourage involvement in party leadership on the state level, and RNC is developing training programs to make that easier.

2012 Republican Women's Summit Live Blog #1

A break in form today for this blog: I am a guest at "This One's For the Girls", the 2012 Women's Summit organized by Phyllis Woods, being held at the NH Institute of Politics at St. Anselm's. I will post periodically throughout the day, reporting on the various speakers. I am in debt to Phyllis for welcoming me as representative of Cornerstone Action, even though I'm not a Republican. Call me a lapsed Republican.

About forty women are here, either officeholders or those who are giving thought to a run.  Filing period is  in June, which is coming right up.

After prayer and pledge, program begins with greeting from NHGOP chairman Wayne MacDonald followed by an RNC video on the history of American women's suffrage. Let it not be forgotten that women's history is not the exclusive province of the Democratic party.

I can't thank Phyllis enough. Her service to NH through the years has been remarkable, and her friendship and mentoring to me means a great deal. This event is happening thanks to her.

What's With the Senate re HB 217?

The NH Senate just put off the fetal homicide bill for the second time, delaying it another week. There was no public debate or discussion. I am left to speculate on reasons. Our senators need to hear from us.

Pregnancy Care Resolution HCR31 Gets Senate OK

Midday report from the NH Senate: HCR 31, the resolution commending pregnancy care centers, passed on a voice vote. I heard Sen. Larsen say "no" quietly; other opponents were either quieter or silent. It will go back to the House for concurrence on a Senate amendment, which should NOT be complicated, but then again nothing going on between the chambers is uncomplicated nowadays.

HCR 41, the resolution calling on Congress to declare the end-run grant to PPNNE "unconstitutional and void", went down to defeat on a 20-4 inexpedient-to-legislate vote. My thanks to Sens. Forrester, Forsythe, Barnes, & DeBlois for resisting the ITL.

Next up: HB 217, fetal homicide. Tune in again after 1:30 this afternoon.

On WH Tours, Preborn Children Count

Do not adjust your sets, as the saying goes. This is a truth-stranger-than-fiction item. I have not seen the original document on which the story is based, and if it turns out to be bogus, I'll be right back to offer my profound apologies.

LifeNews.com reports here that pregnant visitors to the White House are supposed to register their preborn children as visitors in their own right when booking a White House tour. This is mind-boggling, coming from a consistently pro-abortion Administration. Anyone care to ask Jay Carney about this at the next press briefing?

O'Keefe: "I'm here to tell you how to do it"

James O'Keefe is a muckraker, prankster, or crusading journalist, depending on  your point of view.  He and his Project Veritas (theprojectveritas.com) came to New Hampshire & found that getting a presidential primary ballot was so easy in some towns that even a deceased voter could do it. Governor Lynch and Attorney General Delaney are not fans of O'Keefe & his work. O'Keefe posted on Facebook yesterday that Delaney has "attempted to serve a criminal subpoena" on him.  

Lynch & Delaney ought to be thanking O'Keefe. Even if New Hampshire's election laws are sound, O'Keefe has at the very least shown that the implementation of those laws can be careless. I'd hate to see the state go after O'Keefe without going after the irregularities he highlighted.

I heard O'Keefe speak at SNHU a few months ago. He looked tired. He must have been on a lecture circuit that had kept him on the road for awhile. The hall was full of Tea Partiers who were enthusiastic fans of what O'Keefe had accomplished with his ACORN videos. He took questions after his speech, and someone called out, "What's your next project?" O'Keefe, the tired kid, replied a bit impatiently, "I'm not here to tell you what I'm doing next. I'm here to tell you how to do it." He went on to say that he borrowed $2000 on his credit card to get the equipment to make his first video. He didn't need anyone's permission. He just acquired the equipment and went to work.

I was impressed. The last thing he wanted was for all of us to tell him how great he was. He wanted us to get busy.

Week In Review: bills in Senate; odds 'n' ends

The fetal homicide bill about which I wrote last week, HB 217, is on Wednesday's NH Senate calendar after being put off a week. Last-minute objections regarding the bill's potential unintended effect on the practice of in vitro fertilization have apparently been addressed to the GOP leadership's satisfaction. I'll be in the gallery to watch this vote. If the bill passes, and it should, it will be the culmination of twenty years of work stretching from the late Rep. Carolyn Brady (R-Manchester) to current Rep. Kathy Souza (R-Manchester). If the bill for some reason does not pass or is shelved, it will be the second time since 2009 that legislators have refused to act on the state Supreme Court's request in the Lamy case to "re-visit" homicide laws as they pertain to a fetus.

The Senate will also take up the resolution commending pregnancy care centers, HCR 31 (subject of another blog post last week). I expect this to pass on party lines, although I wouldn't be shocked if Sens. Odell & Stiles voted no. Why on earth should anyone vote no? But some legislators see threats to Roe the way three-year-olds see monsters in the closet: the monsters aren't there, but there's no reasoning with the three-year-old's imagination.

I don't see HCR 41 passing. That's the resolution calling the federal grant to PPNNE "unconstitutional and void." At the committee hearing last week, the resolution got a 4-1 "inexpedient to legislate" vote, and Sen. Molly Kelly (D-Keene) will present the report to the full Senate. The Senate does not seem to share the outrage in the House about the federal side-step of a NH decision.

A couple of items not NH-based, but of interest:

• Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law late last week a bill to de-fund abortion providers in her state. The legislation she signed is similar to New Hampshire's HB 228, which the Senate recently tabled over concerns that the bill might lead to litigation and loss of federal funds. Thank God there are legislators and governors willing to take on these threats. We should be standing with them. In Texas, a de-funding law was taken to court by Planned Parenthood affiliates, and a lower court granted PP an injunction in April which was promptly overturned by a higher court. That litigation will continue.
• The Family Research Council, based in Washington, DC, will have a webcast on Wednesday called "Pregnancy Resource Centers: Celebrating Mother's Day Every Day." Details here.