#NHhouse Rep Vaillancourt speaks his mind re: former Rep Bettencourt's "constant stream of lies"

Tuesday

May292012

My DJ Reaction--If It's Good Enough For The Monitor, It's Good Enough For This Blog

_____________________________________________________________________________
From: Vaillancourt, Steve
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 5:05 PM
Subject: RE: O'Brien email

I've been busy all day with the Hillsborough County budget, and since I have no computer at home, I only know what y'all in the media tell me.  I have some--many--thoughts, and will share them not only with you, but with the world.  First congratulations; I was going to do a Media Watch blog on your breaking of  Meadmilagegate...you deserve an award for that...and I trust we haven't heard the end of it.  "A fish rots from the head down."  Where's the head here?

1)  In a sense, DJ's lies in his personal life don't trouble me nearly as much as the constant stream of lies he told from the House floor which I have pointed out in my blog.  The whopper in his speech about redistricting meeting both state and federal constitutions is printed in the journal, so posterity will know of this biggest of all lies.  Last week, when we began removing things from table (which never should have been tabled), D.J. lied again saying the tabling ploy had succeeded in giving us leverage with the Senate when in fact the tabling only made the matter worse with the Senate.  D.J. had begun to feel he was above the laws which apply to normal people...interestingly, even the Speaker had to take D.U. to task twice (ever so gently of course) for saying against the rules in his parliamentary inquiries  The more I think of it, the more I see personal and public lies intersecting....DJ obviously came to believe (perhaps not even consciously, and that would be the real tragedy) that he'd been getting away with so many lies on the House floor, that he'd been able pull to wool over the eyes of members of his super majority so often, that he would be able to get away with personal lies as well.  I'm no psychiatrist but that would tend to explain him recklessly going for broke with such a stupid lie, stupid being defined as one in which you are certain to get caught.   It seems that those who take comfort in lying at will never think about getting caught, so it becomes second nature to them.

2)  If it's a rection to O'Brien you seek, as always I will be honest (and may even work in a German reference so be forewarned).  I do some of my best thinking when I either mow my lawn or ride my bike (along the Lachine Canal).   I was mowing my lawn yesterday and thought of a title for a new blog based on Cold War history of Berlin.   It would be called "The Fechterization of NH Republicans" named after the young East German (Peter Fechter) who bled to death at the base of the wall, having been shot by Vopos as American soldiers at Checkpoint Charlie did nothing to help him. New Hampshire Republicans remind me of the American soldiers who knew something terrible was happening but didn't want to rock the boat by helping the young man.  They chose cowardice over action.  Republicans who blindly follow O'Brien are choosing cowardice over what is best for society, the state, and the party today.
When I finished mowing, I went inside and ran the numbers district by district for the November election (a task I'd been setting aside for a long time).  Whether you believe it or not, I came up with exactly 200-200 for next year.  I had not planned this, but I had guessed it would be in that range.  Republican insistence on continuing to display blind loyalty to the tyrant will do irreparable (at least for this year) harm to the party, just like Peter Fechter was allowed to bleed to death at the base of the wall by those who could have helped him.  As I tried to tell the late Mike Whalley back in 2006 (prior to the Demcrats assuming control), a tsunami is building.  Republicans don't know what is about to hit them.  Bill O'Brien is like the helmsman on the Titanic....Yes, he sees the iceberg out there; we all set it, but he's almighty and no bit of ice can hurt the almighty ,so full speed ahead!
A more appropriate analogy (albeit a NAZI one, so avert your tender eyes if you are offended by such things...be forewarned) is that Bill O'Brien is like the German leader (no H words, please!) at the gates of Moscow or Stalingrad...we've come this far...sure it's getting cold; sure, we lack winter clothing; sure, we've run out of food; and sure there appear to be a lot of Russians massing out there, but I, your leader, am invincbile, so why should I allow you to turn back now.  Full speed ahead.  Victory will be hours if we only redouble our efforts to vanquish the enemy.
Such reckless conduct is truly dangerous in both a political and military leader.  Obvisouly neither DJ nor OB were cut out to be leaders.

3)  If it's about the new leader Peter Silva, I guess I should exercise a bit of self censorship here, but that's never been my style.  Let's just say the Peter Principle should have been applied to Silva long ago.  He's one of the most incompetent people I could imagine at the helm (iceberg, what iceberg?), and I believe Republicans will be wiped out espeically in his Nashua this year.
If it was a comment on the new deputy you sought, here's a nice little story. I recall when I had DJ and O'Brien on my TV show just after the past election, back in the days when some of us hoped that government could be reined in without resorting to totalitarian means.   I always ask guests if there is anything they would prefer I not bring up during the course of our interview....You're way ahead of me....O'Brien didn't want to talk about the one thing I trust Ray Buckley and Kathy Sullivan and their ilk (not that there's anything wrong with ilk) will pound home day after day now... Stepanek's DWI.  Don't get me wrong.  We all do things we wish we hadn't done; I had a DWI 25 or so years ago, and I believe I learned from it; I've discussed it on my show, but it appears O'Brien just wanted it to go away...it's not going away...and I still have the vision in my mind of this recent DWI person jumping up to the floor asking for a piece of my flesh two weeks ago...one would expect more compassion for someone who has shown very little remorse for his own transgressions.  But now he's Peter Principle's Deputy.
You just can't make this stuff up....nor would I want to try.

Enough?  Peace!