Free Staters attain majority on NH governor's panel

[Dada Orwell]

Got this from the Concord Monitor...

Just six months after picking New Hampshire as the "Free State," and years before any of them are even required to move....members of the Free State Project have attained an overwhelming majority on one of the governor's inefficiency committees.

http://freestateproject.org/news/media_archive/0198.jsp

The FSP is a nationwide movement aimed at persuading 20,000 liberty lovers to move to New Hampshire, reinforce the feisty freedom movement there and reduce the size of government by two thirds.

[ChicagoHebrew]

Seem like they are going to be the converse of what usually happens... join a bunch of committees, get hyperactive, and make changes. Good for them.

[justshutupandtakeit]

An Inefficiency Committee? Does it study how to become more inefficient?

[StevenA]

I hope they take the ball and run with it. Gov. Benson seems rather motivated and with some able bodied support maybe there'll be more than the usual lip service some political individuals give to smaller government.

If some changes happen and people realize they aren't just at the mercy of the latest political fashions, we could have some real grassroots motivation take off to make large changes in government. The trick is getting enough of the right people in one area. I hope the Free State Project succeeds. (CA isn't becoming a haven for freedom lovers anytime soon LOL ;)

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

This was your idea, no doubt. LOL

[CurlyDave]

An Inefficiency Committee? Does it study how to become more inefficient?

I am completely in favor of inefficiency in government. The only thing worse than paying more taxes would be getting all the government I pay for now.

[drhogan]

but notice the post says "ONE of the governor's inefficiency committees". maybe the freestaters could begin by reducing the number of inefficiency committees. i mean, how many do you need?
in new york we have really inefficient government. maybe we could teach those amateurs in NH a thing or two about inefficient government!

[archy]

The FSP is a nationwide movement aimed at persuading 20,000 liberty lovers to move to New Hampshire, reinforce the feisty freedom movement there and reduce the size of government by two thirds.

Nicely summarized. PorcuPing!

[King Prout]

hmmmmmmmmmmm...

[Moonman62]

Somehow I get the impression that this isn't nearly as big a deal as it's being portrayed.

[Cultural Jihad]

Just six months after picking New Hampshire as the "Free State," and years before any of them are even required to move ....

A State wherein the people will have no right to determine the kind of society they are to live in is not a "Free State" but a "Slave State."

[ETERNAL WARMING]

Congrats Staters! I knew NH was your place!

[nopardons]

It isn't and the people of N.H. aren't going to allow a bunch of pro-dopers to take over the state. :-)

[nopardons]

You obviously know very little, if anything at all about N.H., out damned spot.Go crow over on LP, where at least you have a few friends. :-)

[cyborg]

Anyone asked NH what they think of that carpetbagging?

[Moonman62]

Congrats Staters! I knew NH was your place!

And everyone in the other 49 states is thrilled... and relieved.

[nopardons]

Well, since they've long ago been invaded by the bloody LIBERALS from Mass.,I doubt that the REAL New Hampshirites are going to view the crazy Libertarians and differently;which is to say, not kindly.

[A.J.Armitage]

The FSP won't be able to succeed unless they can persuade a huge number of native New Hampshire residents.

But I'm guessing the "right" even one authoritarian numbskull to decide what happens in everyone else's house trumps the right of the majority to repeal laws they don't like.

[cyborg]

So sorry... Kennedy's influence does spread like a bad fungus.

[nopardons]

Unfortunately, that it does.

[nopardons]

Grow up kid.

[bc2]

yes ma'am

[Capitalism2003]

Awesome news...I really hope this starts a trend. I would love to move to New Hampshire someday. No income tax...very little government intrusion on business and individuals...in short, the closest thing to what the founders intended America to be. Live free or die! :)

[archy]

The FSP won't be able to succeed unless they can persuade a huge number of native New Hampshire residents.

But I'm guessing the "right" even one authoritarian numbskull to decide what happens in everyone else's house trumps the right of the majority to repeal laws they don't like.

NH State voter registration

September ’02 2001 (after list purge) Net gain

REPUBLICANS.. 245,791 (37.3%) 233,363 (36.9%).. 12,428

UNDECLARED... 242,028 (36.8%) 232,805 (36.8%)... 9,223

DEMOCRATS.... 170,405 (25.9%) 167,062 (26.4%)... 3,343

[nopardons]

You don't know a thing about N.H. and the taxes they nickel & dime people to death with;obviously.

But don't let me stop you...........move there and do so ASAP! LOL

[archy]

Awesome news...I really hope this starts a trend. I would love to move to New Hampshire someday. No income tax...very little government intrusion on business and individuals...in short, the closest thing to what the founders intended America to be. Live free or die! :)

I'd be very glad to add you to the FSP ping list. Several of your potential future neighbors are also on it.

[Dec31,1999]

Good going. Build it and they will come. I support this initiative, even though I'm looking to go south...

[nopardons]

hehehehehehehehehehehehe...I just checked your state flag and I'm really, REALLY laughing my socks off.Move, move NOW...from Kentucky to N.H. and see the kind of reception you get and how you adapt to the weather. giggle, giggle giggle................

[Capitalism2003]

you obviously don't know KY weather ;)

Oh..this thread reminded me...I read a few weeks ago about an entire town in Vermont that voted to secede from the state and become part of New Hampshire to avoid the insane VT state taxes. They succeeded, and the residents will be saving many thousands $$$ a year...awesome stuff.

[archy]

The FSP won't be able to succeed unless they can persuade a huge number of native New Hampshire residents.

The entire point is to work with NH residents, in hopes of preventing or rolling back the sort of Massachusetts migration that claimed Vermont, and is now the scene of the *Take Back Vermont* movement effort there.

Persuading the Republican governor of NH seems to have been a pretty healthy start....

[nopardons]

You obviously don't know N.H. weather! I did my undergrad time there and still go back to that state to see old, dear friends.Kentucky weather is a walk in paradise,compared to winter (which often starts in early OCTOBER)in New Hampshire.

And I bet you have a Kentucky accent.Anyone, ANYONE,without one of the regional N.H. accents is suspect,by the natives.Once they accept you, they can be as cold as a January night on top of Mt.Washington.

Then,there's food.Oh yes, and if you're one of FR's regonalists, who keeps trying to re-fight the Civil War,claiming that " THE SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN",you'll be about as welcome there,as the black Mayflies are. :-)

[archy]

Somehow I get the impression that this isn't nearly as big a deal as it's being portrayed.

Could well be. Not every acorn grows into an oak.

But every giant oak tree starts from a tiny acorn.

[nopardons]

N.H. was long ago INVADED by Mass.Liberals and the natives do NOT like outsiders, from anywhere.

That the governor put a few local yahoos on one little committee doesn't prove a thing. It's like the crowing here,by some og FR's Libertarians, when a Libertarian gets elected dog catcher in some tiny village somewher. LOL

[archy]

That the governor put a few local yahoos on one little committee doesn't prove a thing. It's like the crowing here,by some og FR's Libertarians, when a Libertarian gets elected dog catcher in some tiny village somewher. LOL

Indeed. Or some other office of minimal import.

[archy]

You obviously don't know N.H. weather! I did my undergrad time there and still go back to that state to see old, dear friends.

[archy]

Awesome news...I really hope this starts a trend. I would love to move to New Hampshire someday. No income tax...very little government intrusion on business and individuals...in short, the closest thing to what the founders intended America to be. Live free or die! :)

One other little detail you missed mentioning:

New Hampshire named most-livable state for 2004

[archy]

Oh..this thread reminded me...I read a few weeks ago about an entire town in Vermont that voted to secede from the state and become part of New Hampshire to avoid the insane VT state taxes. They succeeded, and the residents will be saving many thousands $$$ a year...awesome stuff.

As usual, it's not quite that simple, or cut-and-dried. But details of the outreach to Killington, Vermont by the FSP, can be read here.

[BoomerBabe]

Now, wait a minute. New Hampshire weather isn't all that bad. I have been here about eight years, and the winters are much better than the ones in the Midwest. The temperature and humidity here are very tolerable compared to when I lived in the South.

I'm not sure what you mean about the food. We have a lot of small venues for grocery shopping where you can get excellent produce, a lot of it locally grown in the late summer/fall. There are many pick-your-own berry farms and apple orchards, as well. The place abounds with great restaurants.

It's getting harder and harder to find a New Hampshire native, and I definitely did not experience the cold reception so many people describe. I have more friends here than I have had anywhere I have lived. I found South Carolina, for instance, the worst place I have lived for welcoming outsiders who have a regional accent.

[ovrtaxt]

BTTT

[who knows what evil?]

I found South Carolina, for instance, the worst place I have lived for welcoming outsiders who have a regional accent.

Ditto for Tennessee...the most exclusionary CHURCHES (for crying out loud) that I have seen anywhere. It snows in New Hampshire? That's news...I know how to ski.

[Katya]

You know the NH republicans welcomed the FSP with open arms....the democrats have been very hostile.
As a republican, who would you rather see moving en masse to your state...a bunch of socialists or a bunch of Libertarians?

[cyborg]

I'm not sure if I'd want EITHER one. If I had to make a choice, I'd pick the Libertarians of course.

[jmc813]

A State wherein the people will have no right to determine the kind of society they are to live in is not a "Free State" but a "Slave State."

Only you, CJ. Only you.

[Landru]

Atta boy, Archy.

This will happen the same way the Liberal-Socialists did it, incrimentally.

...a little at a time. ;^)

[Moonman62]

But every giant oak tree starts from a tiny acorn.

And every head shop starts from the first brick.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Oh, you'll get it and GET IT GOOD.

[justshutupandtakeit]

We are not going to have smaller government unless the world changes drastically AND the American people change as well. These are pipe dreams based on misreading of American history.

Government grows through demands of War, the demands of the voters for more protection of rights and due to the complexity of modern life which makes society vulnerable to things unable to be addressed on a state or local basis.

We no longer live with the next family 20 miles away or the next nation months away.

[Chuckster]

Joining the party late but.....

About the time you were posting this, I was having dinner with a couple visiting Hawaii from New Hampshire. They are native "New Hampsters" whom we know from my wife's recent business visit to NH. Our initial contact and common ground was through the Free State Project. They welcome the FSP because they have seen the same thing happening to NH as has happened to Vermont and they believe that the FSP will help stave off the gradual liberal takeover of their state.

[nopardons]

They'll wake up, when it's too late,if the silly Free Staters ever really " take over " N.H.;which is doubtful.