We're screwed, and it IS for want of trying.

[Pat McCotter]

I hadn't looked at the scorecard; just saw that she was endorsed by NHLA.

[rowland]

I hadn't looked at the scorecard; just saw that she was endorsed by NHLA.

Say what?

Damn, I just checked. D+ rating in 2008 AND an endorsement on nhliberty.org

Somebody has some explaining to do. And maybe somebody owes Joe Kenney an apology.

[BikerBill]

I spent the whole damn year trying to find a group that knew how to win and was willing to do what it took. I never found that group. Instead I found political hobbyists. The NHLA maybe came closest to what I was looking for but their efforts were all too little too late.

Perhaps you could start such an organization, then. Perhaps if you could ramp up the berating and browbeating a few more notches, maybe add some dehumanization techniques and public floggings, others would be inspired to join you. I trust I speak for everyone here when I say that we're all very excited to see what you come up with, and the success you'll have. Maybe more signs...

How the f--k could you just LET them win without a real fight?

"Well just kiss my ass from now on! Not me! I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer..."

While we're trying to trickle up Washington is gleefully peeing down on us.

And NH cannot stop it. We have a pathetic 4 votes out of 535. Oooo, think of it: we could have 4 times the effect in Congress of Ron Paul!  :  And I can vote for only 3 of them. How is that a satisfactory ROI, unless the metric is how much pork they steal from other states? D.C. is lost. It's a sideshow to liberty activism. It's a game we simply can't win.

[Jason Sorens]

Priscilla Lockwood is certainly a nice lady; I met her at the polls yesterday. A real New Hampshirite in the best sense and a loyal Republican. Her district is close to Concord and has lots of government workers. It's heavily Democratic, and I guess she's had to adjust her voting record in the wrong direction. Now that Jenn's in I think she might be able to appeal to the left-leaning youth vote while maintaining a higher NHLA % than Priscilla. But I don't think she can afford to be an A+ legislator next session & get re-elected.

[J’raxis 270145]

I'm thinking if you don't use your real name on these forums you should be ignored.

O RLY?

[J’raxis 270145]

Or we all too busy squabbling over ideological niceties and dissing people we should have supported?

You mean like you bitching about the non-political activists over here?

You know if a few more people here had helped Peter Bearse and he had still crashed and burned I would gladly have conceded this point. But as it is it's fair to wonder just whose fault it is that he never had a chance?

And how many of us here helped Ron Paul? And he crashed and burned. It’s already proven that trying to get someone into Washington is not going to work. How much more data do you need to collect on this, wasting hundreds if not thousands of man-hours, better spent elsewhere, in the process?

[Jason Sorens]

Jenn Coffey (Congrats Jenn!!!) won in Merrimack District 6. Unfortunately Priscilla Lockwood was knocked out in the process.

Correction - final results are finally in, and Priscilla Lockwood squeaked in at #6. Jenn finished 4th, and well, well ahead of the #5 candidate. So Republicans actually picked up a seat in this heavily Democratic district bordering Concord. A really fantastic campaign by Jenn.

[lildog]

And how many of us here helped Ron Paul? And he crashed and burned. It’s already proven that trying to get someone into Washington is not going to work. How much more data do you need to collect on this, wasting hundreds if not thousands of man-hours, better spent elsewhere, in the process?

Part of the problem is media.

The didn't want Ron because he was pro liberty and pro freedom.  McCain was the most liberal of the Republicans so they painted him out as great until they used the republican party for their goal.  They then focused on Obama because he was what they wanted.  The perfect left wing candidate.

Until we find a way to either control the media as well as the left does or create our own media that is viewed as much as the left wing media we have today we are fighting an up hill battle.  And you can be sure as hell that Obama and company are going to shut whatever sites and mediums down they can that do not take their side.

So what can we do?  Take jobs at local papers or TV or radio stations and do what you can to get the message out when they screw up.  Don't leave left wing anti liberty candidates and policies unquestioned.  Make sure people hear the counter arguments.  Keep writing letters, going door to door, create email groups etc etc etc.

The left has large email groups and they do continually flood people with the messages they want put out there.  We need to start collecting phone numbers, email addresses etc and make sure people are aware of the truth.

[rowland]

Priscilla Lockwood is certainly a nice lady; I met her at the polls yesterday. A real New Hampshirite in the best sense and a loyal Republican. Her district is close to Concord and has lots of government workers. It's heavily Democratic, and I guess she's had to adjust her voting record in the wrong direction.

This sounds like the sort of nice that gives nice a bad name and the sort of Republican that gives Republicans a bad name.

If she won't vote pro-liberty what good is she?

On a larger scale: if the Republicans aren't pro-liberty anymore what good are THEY?

[Jason Sorens]

Priscilla Lockwood is certainly a nice lady; I met her at the polls yesterday. A real New Hampshirite in the best sense and a loyal Republican. Her district is close to Concord and has lots of government workers. It's heavily Democratic, and I guess she's had to adjust her voting record in the wrong direction.

This sounds like the sort of nice that gives nice a bad name and the sort of Republican that gives Republicans a bad name.

If she won't vote pro-liberty what good is she?

On a larger scale: if the Republicans aren't pro-liberty anymore what good are THEY?

What was the median grade in the House? I suspect it was right around a D+. So in the last session, she would have been pretty mediocre, but not downright bad. I'd want to see her record from prior years to make a definitive judgment on whether she ought to have been endorsed by the NHLA.

[BikerBill]

On a larger scale: if the Republicans aren't pro-liberty anymore what good are THEY?

If Republicans were actually consistently pro-liberty, we wouldn't need Libertarians. And yet the LP, having been around for quite a while now, still hasn't succeeded in goading the GOP in that direction. The party doesn't care. Empirically, it doesn't have to, because the electorate doesn't care. The vast majority of votes always go to the Duopoly, as it instructs. Indeed, a case for the opposite direction can increasingly strongly be made. One has to wonder when pro-liberty voters will (and what, exactly, it will take) finally start to look elsewhere. As one might guess, I hope never to be perceived as an apologist for party over principle...

[dawn]

Whatever scattered victories we may have won at the local level mean little. The REAL power is in Washington and in the governor's office. Did liberty activists make any serious efforts at all to fight on those fronts?

The NHLA does not focus on Washington - NH only. So, if you want to fight the fight in Washington, I'd say you need to get active with a different organization.

[MaineShark]

Whatever scattered victories we may have won at the local level mean little. The REAL power is in Washington and in the governor's office. Did liberty activists make any serious efforts at all to fight on those fronts?

The NHLA does not focus on Washington - NH only. So, if you want to fight the fight in Washington, I'd say you need to get active with a different organization.

*we have a winner!*

Seriously, the NHLA is about liberty in NH, last I checked.  How do losses in DC relate to the NHLA?

Joe

[dreepa]

If she won't vote pro-liberty what good is she?

On a larger scale: if the Republicans aren't pro-liberty anymore what good are THEY?

NOW This is what I am talking about.
I usually follow the 80% rule.  (If you are with me 80% I will work with you)
But there are a few lines that can't be crossed:

1.  You want an income tax?  I don't.  I can't work with you (unless on a specific bill)  So maybe I should say I can't support you but I can work with  you.
2.  Gun rights?  If you want to ban them same as above.

(Close 3rd might be prohibition of drugs)

[Mittens]

On a larger scale: if the Republicans aren't pro-liberty anymore what good are THEY?

If Republicans were actually consistently pro-liberty, we wouldn't need Libertarians. And yet the LP, having been around for quite a while now, still hasn't succeeded in goading the GOP in that direction. The party doesn't care. Empirically, it doesn't have to, because the electorate doesn't care. The vast majority of votes always go to the Duopoly, as it instructs. Indeed, a case for the opposite direction can increasingly strongly be made. One has to wonder when pro-liberty voters will (and what, exactly, it will take) finally start to look elsewhere. As one might guess, I hope never to be perceived as an apologist for party over principle...

Quoted for truth. Some people simply overestimate the degree to which people actually want liberty. Remember the quote: "most people don't want liberty--they just want a just master."