A real 2022 primary

Here’s what’s great about America: Anyone can run for office, even someone who’s facing 25 federal felony charges related to wire fraud, money laundering, operating a continuing financial crimes enterprise and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Yes, loyal F&Jers, it’s our old friend Ian Freeman, the Radio Voice of the Free State, who’s now running for the GOP nod for the District 10 NH Senate seat, which includes his place of residence, Keene, NH. He’s facing Swanzey Selectmen Sylvester “Sly” Karasinski.

SK’s platform, as The Keene Sentinel reported, is basically running as a low-tax, low-spending fiscal conservative, pro-life to the point of tightening NH’s abortion laws even further and claims he hasn’t read the state’s “divisive concepts” law but questions, “At what age do you think a child should be told they are racist based on the color of their skin?” (BTW, when informed that the law’s opponents say there’s no evidence of kids being taught any such thing, SK replied: “I don’t have that information, but it has been out on social media and whatnot.”) Sounds a little extreme and under-informed for a Senate district that skews among the most liberal in the state. But hey … ya never know.

As for IF, somehow he manages to make SK seem perfectly mainstream for his district.

Besides the usual Free Stater b.s. about legalizing prostitution, drugs and gambling, make taxes voluntary and letting “adults make decisions for themselves.”

But his big issue is a little more personal: Secession from the U.S. Why? Because “they are oppressing the people of New Hampshire. They are taxing, they are regulating, and that’s always been true whether Trump, Bush, Obama or Biden.” Which even SK called “crazy talk.”

And if IF were to win election to the Senate (and be found not guilty by a federal jury), he’d be in a pretty small minority, even among entire House and Senate GOPers, since the constitutional amendment backing secession that supporters sponsored in the last session could muster only 13 votes in the House. Not exactly a groundswell.

But like we said, ya never know ...

Learning to get along

One of the great mysteries of the Sununu administration remains unanswered: What the heck was the deal the guv struck with his onetime political foe Frank Edelblut when he made him his Ed Commish back after he first took office in 2017?

While other guvs may have tried to keep a guy who obviously has been running to secede them in the Corner Office on a very short leash, Guv Chris hasn’t even put a collar on FE.

While other guvs may have bristled long ago at a commissioner who uses his department as a personal self-promotion department, stirs up the political right-wing pot whenever he seems to get the itch and takes very public pot shots at public schools and their employees. But not this guv.

FE’s latest exploit involved teaming up his taxpayer-funded department with Kochfunded Americans for Prosperity-NH in an “Education Freedom Fair” that included vendors representing private schools, charter schools, homeschool support programs and organizations hosting extracurricular “Learn Everywhere” programs. No public school rep in sight.

So what gives? To recall, back in ’16, the guv, then an Exec Councilor, and FE, then a state rep, were entangled in a GOP guv primary that ultimately resulted in the guv squeeeeeezing out a 900-vote win. As a result, the guv turned to the time-tested ploy of keeping his enemies closer and made FE the Ed Commish.

Which works, up to a point. But when you’re dealing with a guy who’s been itching for your Corner Office job since he came this close in ’16, it sure makes you wonder if there was some kind of unspoken (or maybe spoken?) agreement: You don’t run for guv when I’m in office, and I don’t care what the heck you do at the Ed. Department.

Let’s be ‘friendly’

Welcome to Southern NH University, where the 1st Amendment exists … to an extent.

It turns out that the powers-thatbe at the Worldwide Powerhouse in Online Education decided that Karoline Leavitt, a bonafide candidate for the 1st CD GOP nod, was deemed a “controversial” speaker after being invited by the SNHU College Republican Club to talk at the school.

For reasons that remain as arcane as they are ridiculous, administrators decided that KL (who worked in the Trump admin as assistant press secretary) fell under the policy that they want to make sure speakers “are not so controversial that they would draw unwanted demonstrators” to campus.

Oh, and the SNHU policy also warns that they “invite discussion as long as it is friendly.”

To make the story shorter, any outside agitators (or even people who wanted to hear what the congressional candidate had to say) were locked out of the students-only event.

And, in case you were wondering, quick check of the SNHU course catalog shows no signs of a course in U.S. constitutional history. So maybe that’s their excuse.

MAKING THE ROUNDS

• Just to let you know, with about five weeks left ‘til the GOP primary, low-profile US Senate wannabe profile Bruce Fenton traveled down to Orlando to be the keynote speaker at a Young Americans for Liberty conference.

• Oh, and for all you Dems who cast a ballot for her in the 2020 prez primary, Tulsi Gabbard was there too.

• It doesn’t matter if it was legal or not, but the Gunstock Area Commission’s $500 donation to the guv’s 2020 campaign looks pretty dumb.

• Sure, it was before the passage of two key pieces of admin. legislation, but that Granite State Poll showing ex-Mayor Pete topping the prez, 17% to 16%, among likely Dem voters has to be enough to make even the most taciturn Dem pol come up with an explanation, and perhaps even an opinion.