The Manchester Free Press

Wednesday • July 2 • 2025

Vol.XVII • No.XXVII

Manchester, N.H.

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Updated: 44 sec ago

The 2023 RINO Report Card

Mon, 2023-07-03 22:30 +0000

I have crunched the numbers – i.e., the voting records of 2023 – to determine objectively which ‘Republican” members of the New Hampshire House are RINOs – Republicans In Name Only.

We want to thank Spec Bowers for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.

I looked at every vote where Republicans voted opposite Democrats. More specifically, I looked at all votes where a super-majority (two-thirds) of Republicans voted opposite a majority of Democrats. I ignored votes where both sides voted the same. A RINO vote is when a Republican votes with Democrats against a super-majority of Republicans.

Almost every Rep at one time or another casts a vote the same as the Democrats. One example is when a Republican votes against the budget because it is too large, while the Democrats vote against it because they think it is too small. Thankfully, such votes are not common.

Most Republicans rarely vote with Democrats against other Republicans.

There were 28 Reps that scored a perfect 0%. Not a RINO among them. Looking at all Republicans, the median score was 1.5%, meaning that, on average, they voted with the Democrats only 1.5% of the time.

80% of Republicans voted with Democrats (against Republicans) 4% of the time; 90% scored less than 8%.

There were 15 Republicans who voted more than 10% of the time against fellow Republicans. Clearly, they are out of mainstream Republicanism.

Even more outside of the mainstream were 5 Republicans who voted more than 20% of the time with Democrats against Republicans. The worst, as usual, was Dan Wolf.

 

Wolf, Dan 65.3% 
Bordes, Mike 32.8% 
Bickford, David 31.2% 
Guthrie, Joseph 29.5% 
Ankarberg, Aidan 24.5% 
Here is the full list: Republican Rep by name and the percentage of time they voted with Democrats against Republicans.
Wolf, Dan 65.3% 
Bordes, Mike 32.8% 
Bickford, David 31.2% 
Guthrie, Joseph 29.5% 
Ankarberg, Aidan 24.5% 
Hynes, Dan 15.5% 
Thackston, Dick 15.5% 
Nagel, David 13.9% 
Trottier, Douglas 13.7% 
MacDonald, John 11.7% 
O’Hara, Travis 11.1% 
Boyd, Bill 10.7% 
Phinney, Brandon 10.6% 
Mason, James 10.3% 
Proulx, Mark 10.3% 
Sytek, John 9.5% 
Pearson, Mark 8.4% 
Pratt, Kevin 8.0% 
Donnelly, Tanya 7.3% 
Pearson, Stephen 7.3% 
Yokela, Josh 7.3% 
Bogert, Steven 6.8% 
Cahill, Tim 6.3% 
Brown, Carroll 6.0% 
Stapleton, Walter 6.0% 
Davis, Arnold 5.7% 
Crawford, Karel 5.5% 
Harb, Robert 5.4% 
Cordelli, Glenn 5.2% 
Fedolfi, Jim 4.7% 
Kuttab, Katelyn 4.7% 
Ladd, Rick 4.7% 
McDonnell, Valerie 4.7% 
Rhodes, Jennifer 4.7% 
Vandecasteele, Susan 4.1% 
Walsh, Lilli 4.1% 
Drye, Margaret 4.0% 
Renzullo, Andrew 4.0% 
Harley, Tina 3.8% 
Beaudoin, Richard 3.7% 
Plett, Fred 3.6% 
Alexander, Joe 3.4% 
Gerhard, Jason 3.4% 
Abare, Kimberly 3.3% 
Griffin, Gerald 3.3% 
Tierney, James 3.3% 
Khan, Aboul 3.0% 
Milz, David 3.0% 
Nelson, Jodi 2.9% 
Granger, Michael 2.8% 
Merner, Troy 2.8% 
Prudhomme-O’Brien, Katherine 2.8% 
Seaworth, Brian 2.8% 
Bailey, Glenn 2.7% 
Creighton, Jim 2.7% 
Ford, Oliver 2.7% 
Harvey-Bolia, Juliet 2.7% 
Healey, Robert 2.7% 
Horgan, James 2.7% 
Katsakiores, Phyllis 2.7% 
King, Bill 2.7% 
Lekas, Alicia 2.7% 
Lekas, Tony 2.7% 
Mannion, Dennis 2.7% 
Popovici-Muller, Daniel 2.7% 
Porcelli, Susan 2.7% 
Santonastaso, Matthew 2.7% 
Foote, Charles 2.6% 
Cole, Brian 2.5% 
Lewicke, John 2.4% 
Prout, Andrew 2.4% 
Harrington, Michael 2.3% 
McCarter, Nikki 2.3% 
McMahon, Charles 2.3% 
Edwards, Jess 2.2% 
Gould, Linda 2.2% 
Pitre, Joseph 2.2% 
Gorski, Ted 2.1% 
Hoell, J.R. 2.1% 
Ouellet, Mike 2.1% 
Roy, Terry 2.1% 
Sanborn, Laurie 2.1% 
Tripp, Richard 2.1% 
Aron, Judy 2.0% 
Berezhny, Lex 2.0% 
Kofalt, Jim 2.0% 
McGuire, Carol 2.0% 
Melvin, Charles 2.0% 
Moffett, Michael 2.0% 
Nutting, Zachary 2.0% 
Osborne, Jason 2.0% 
Pauer, Diane 2.0% 
Thomas, Douglas 2.0% 
Vose, Michael 2.0% 
Connor, James 1.9% 
MacDonald, Wayne 1.7% 
Emerick, Tracy 1.6% 
Lundgren, David 1.6% 
Varney, Peter 1.6% 
Potenza, Kelley 1.5% 
Berry, Ross 1.4% 
Brown, Richard 1.4% 
Corcoran, Travis 1.4% 
Dolan, Tom 1.4% 
Hobson, Deb 1.4% 
Janvrin, Jason 1.4% 
Panek, Sandra 1.4% 
Sellers, John 1.4% 
Spilsbury, Walter 1.4% 
Testerman, Dave 1.4% 
Ulery, Jordan 1.4% 
Andrus, Louise 1.3% 
Ball, Lorie 1.3% 
Burnham, Claudine 1.3% 
Cambrils, Jose 1.3% 
Colcombe, Riché 1.3% 
Costable, Michael 1.3% 
Cushman, Leah 1.3% 
DeSimone, Debra 1.3% 
Drago, Mike 1.3% 
Greeson, Jeffrey 1.3% 
Lascelles, Richard 1.3% 
Leavitt, John 1.3% 
Lynn, Bob 1.3% 
Mannion, Tom 1.3% 
McGuire, Dan 1.3% 
Notter, Jeanine 1.3% 
Perez, Kristine 1.3% 
Phillips, Emily 1.3% 
Potucek, John 1.3% 
Qualey, James 1.3% 
Quaratiello, Arlene 1.3% 
Seidel, Sheila 1.3% 
Sweeney, Joe 1.3% 
Verville, Kevin 1.1% 
Janigian, John 0.9% 
Summers, James 0.9% 
Dumais, Russell 0.8% 
Hunt, John 0.8% 
McLean, Mark 0.8% 
Mooney, Maureen 0.8% 
Newton, Clifford 0.8% 
Ammon, Keith 0.7% 
Aylward, Deborah 0.7% 
Coulon, Matthew 0.7% 
Doucette, Fred 0.7% 
Dunn, Ron 0.7% 
Gagne, Larry 0.7% 
Kennedy, Stephen 0.7% 
Kenny, Catherine 0.7% 
King, Seth 0.7% 
Love, David 0.7% 
McConkey, Mark 0.7% 
McGough, Tim 0.7% 
Noble, Kristin 0.7% 
Peternel, Katy 0.7% 
Polozov, Yury 0.7% 
Post, Lisa 0.7% 
Rollins, Skip 0.7% 
See, Alvin 0.7% 
Sheehan, Vanessa 0.7% 
Simon, Matthew 0.7% 
Smith, Jonathan 0.7% 
Stone, Jonathan 0.7% 
Tenczar, Jeffrey 0.7% 
Terry, Paul 0.7% 
Tudor, Paul 0.7% 
Wallace, Scott 0.7% 
Weyler, Kenneth 0.7% 
Wherry, Robert 0.7% 
Wood, Clayton 0.7% 
Aures, Cyril 0.0% 
Avellani, Lino 0.0% 
Bean, Harry 0.0% 
Belcher, Mike 0.0% 
Bernardy, JD 0.0% 
Boehm, Ralph 0.0% 
Boyd, Stephen 0.0% 
Brouillard, Jacob 0.0% 
Comtois, Barbara 0.0% 
Erf, Keith 0.0% 
Hill, Gregory 0.0% 
Infantine, William 0.0% 
Kaczynski, Thomas 0.0% 
Kelley, Diane 0.0% 
Layon, Erica 0.0% 
Mazur, Lisa 0.0% 
Piemonte, Tony 0.0% 
Ploszaj, Tom 0.0% 
Reid, Karen 0.0% 
Rochefort, David 0.0% 
Sirois, Shane 0.0% 
Smart, Lisa 0.0% 
Smith, Steven 0.0% 
Soti, Julius 0.0% 
Spillane, James 0.0% 
True, Chris 0.0% 
Turcotte, Len 0.0% 
Walsh, Thomas 0.0% 

 

 

Three Reps were omitted because they cast too few votes to calculate a score.

The post The 2023 RINO Report Card appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

We Interrupt Your Peace and Prosperity™ For a Message from The Ministry of the Perpetual State of Fear

Mon, 2023-07-03 21:00 +0000

The Ministry of the Perpetual State of Fear, still doing business as The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wants you to know that XBB1.16 (COVID variant code name Arcturus) has migrated from India to the US.

We reported on the rise of Arcturus back in April.

 

Just in time for summer flu season, remember when we didn’t have those – It’s Arcturus. Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 is “causing havoc” across India, with a small number of cases appearing in other counties. OMG! Lets … do nothing, please.

How dare you, the wing-nut Karens might say. What about the community?

 

There is a moderate amount of propaganda media coverage on the recent immigration of Arcturus to our shores, but none of it seems to include this nugget.

 

If you read far enough down in either or any article that attempts to inform the public about BB.1.5 or 1.16, you will learn that “We haven’t seen a change in severity in individuals or in populations,” or that “hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths have not yet risen due to the variant.”

 

According to the Ministry of the Perpetual State of Fear (MPSF), Arcturus now accounts for 20% of all new “COVID” cases, as if that means anything.

In response, the Ministry’s hunchbacked mutant assistant (stooped over from carrying all those bags of Pfizer “ad” cash) from the soon-to-be-renamed FDA (The Food as Drugs Administration) has,

 

“…directed vaccine manufacturers to update their vaccines to target XBB.1.5.

“Based on the totality of the evidence, FDA has advised manufacturers who will be updating their COVID-19 vaccines, that they should develop vaccines with a monovalent XBB.1.5 composition,” the agency said in a statement.”

 

This now means XBB.1.16, which is why you misspelled “Quick, change the insert and marketing material on the same useless crap you’ve been pushing” because “by ‘variant,’ you mean another revenue silo at Pfizer as people get wise to their sh!tty “cure.'”

It’s also evidence of why flu vaccines are a waste of time and money, and sometimes lives – the virus mutates far too quickly for even the best guess to be of much use as anything but a revenue stream. They are effectively selling you the Brooklyn Bridge. You can pay for it, but it doesn’t mean anything.

It is also not as popular as once it was, the fear or the jabs, as millions of experimental vaccine enthusiasts have embraced hesitancy as the number of necessary injections increases.

No reason not to try because, as the old saying goes, a needle in the arm is a pocket full of cash. It’s increasingly useless cash, printed to line the pockets of the mandates to pharma to Democrat campaigns triad. But they’ve got so much of it that the inflation it causes (an actual state of emergency) will ensure they all get good seats to watch the end of America and Western Civilization.

For those wondering if there’s a cure for that, it is clean elections.

Let me know if you spot one. They are about as common as Unicorns.

 

The post We Interrupt Your Peace and Prosperity™ For a Message from The Ministry of the Perpetual State of Fear appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Dien Bien Phu … Take Two?

Mon, 2023-07-03 19:30 +0000

As of Sunday, July 2, 2023 (approximately 10 am), which is when I am typing this, the West is still being told that France is dealing with riots. It has been reported that 45,000 police have been deployed across the country in response to the “rioting.”

Following the latest night of violence, France’s Interior Ministry announced there were 719 arrests around the country on Saturday night, where a total of 45,000 police fanned out in a so-far unsuccessful bid to quell violence.

It sounds more like an “insurrection” than a riot … especially when you say the part out loud that you are not supposed to say out loud:

 

Perhaps France will be successful in quelling this insurrection … oops, I mean “riot,” but how long until the next one?

And how long until all the “migrants” the Biden regime, with the full support of the Uni-Party-Republicans, is flooding America decide to “riot.”

 

The post Dien Bien Phu … Take Two? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

No Mr. Garland, It Is You We Impugn

Mon, 2023-07-03 18:00 +0000

Attorney General Merrick Garland was right when he said that an attack on the Department of Justice is an attack on the people charged with ensuring that the legal system is administered fairly for all Americans. When we refer to the weaponizing of the Justice Department, we are not pointing our fingers at those on the front line. We are pointing them at you, Merrick Garland, the most corrupt Attorney General in modern times.

You are the person who targeted parents concerned with the curriculum at their children’s schools as domestic terrorists. You are the person who allowed protestors to torment the homes of our Supreme Court justices. You are the person who let a deranged individual attempt the assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

You are the evil we want to eradicate. Not the men and women honoring their pledge to their assigned jobs. We want to remove you from the position of power that you have perverted to enhance your own agenda. Your job was to protect the American people. You created a position to protect the President and yourself. You have to go.

Your performance is very similar to what we have seen from the FBI. From Comey to McCabe and Wray, the leadership of our FBI has embarrassed the FBI and our Country. You all have worked diligently to ensure the Democrat control of our Country and to thwart any attempt by Republicans to change course.

You have deceived and taken advantage of the American people. Americans always understood the lack of credibility in the executive branch, where every decision is based on politics and polling. You corrupted the neutrality of the Justice and Investigative departments of our government. You wanted us to fail, but the times have changed, and we are making headway on the cards we were dealt.

This arrangement cannot continue. The press is rearing up out of a feeling of self-preservation. Why have we been waiting five years for the investigation into Hunter Biden to continue and bear fruit, only to be deceived and stonewalled? Why, after all that time, does the American media still turn their backs and do the bidding of these corrupt politicians who only have themselves to serve?

It actually would behoove us to shut down these two factions of our Government, come to a common ground for those across the political aisle, and replace the entire upper level of management. These were once admirable groups that operated without a Right or Left-leaning. Things changed, and those in charge sought power over protection. Those in charge picked a horse in the race, and if it was Republican, they rode it home with pride. If that horse chose to veer Right, the Left found a reason to override and get us all facing the same description.

We do not need a supermajority. We can get by with a simple vote count, and the Democrats will ensure that count never happens. We, the people, need to make sure it does.

 

The post No Mr. Garland, It Is You We Impugn appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Monday Memes

Mon, 2023-07-03 16:30 +0000

I’m back doing my darndest to fill in for Nitzakhon and his incredibly popular meme posts. Our readers love them, and while he is away on a “special assignment,” I’ll do what I can to keep the meme alive.

Your memes are served hot and fresh with a few not-meme-inspired images (because the world is an amazing place) and some general a-political tomfoolery. I mixed them in this time.

And, as always, when viewing, consider the possibility that some material may not be age-appropriate. Feel free to decide what age or how appropriate for yourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Monday Memes appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Mr. Biden Knows He’s Vulnerable

Mon, 2023-07-03 15:00 +0000

The Associated Press reports 34% of us support his handling of the economy. Voters’ assessment of the economy is dismal. Yet, Biden continues to say and do the same things. An NBC poll says 74% of us think America is on the wrong track. So, what’s going on?

The strategy is familiar. Biden is using rhetoric as a substitute for performance; it is the Leftist way. If voters dislike what you are selling, don’t change the product.  Market it differently.  Call it Bidenomics and the battle of the “trickle-down” straw man.

His economic message isn’t new.  His arguments have been around for years. The words have no effect. You see, the cleverest slogan doesn’t disguise reality.  Mr. Biden’s claim is: Wages have been growing at a rapid clip on my watch.  That is true but completely wrong… Here’s why.

Mr. Biden is presiding over a decline in real average hourly earnings. What that means is, yes, wages are going up. The problem is inflation is up more. The result is: His policies are responsible for the loss of purchasing power. He made us all poorer. We can buy less with our higher wages; 3.6% less on his watch.

The worst inflation in 40 years came from gross overspending. It is compounded by Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act which flooded a recovering economy with $2 trillion of additional stimulus. It came in addition to trillions spent the previous year. The spending splurge, combined with ending energy independence plus restrictive trade policies, generated inflation.

Mr. Biden claims American billionaires are not paying their fair share.  To be clear, he does not describe what share exactly is a fair share. So let’s ask a couple of questions: Would that mean we all pay the same amount?  Isn’t that what equity demands; equality of outcome?   Would it mean we pay the same percentage?  Does the responsibility to pay depend only on the ability to pay?  If that’s true, where does it lead?

The average billionaire’s tax rate is 8%, according to Mr. Biden. How would he have acquired that information?  Do you want your tax return information shared with your neighbors?  Mr. Biden says no billionaire should pay a lower rate than a school teacher, fireman or policeman.   Why are all his examples, public employees?

The implication of Mr. Biden’s statement is the average American is paying far more than 8%. But is that true? No, no, it is not.

According to IRS data the top 1% of taxpayers pay an average effective income tax rate of 25%.  Those people earning more than $60 million/year pay an average tax rate of about 22.9% in federal taxes. Again that’s according to the IRS. You can check the numbers at Politifact.

Now looking at teachers, firemen, and police, let’s assume this is a proxy for those making less than $100 thousand/year. There, we find those people pay an effective federal tax rate between zero and 15%.  Mr. Biden is simply wrong in his claim, and he’s hoping he can lie and you will not have done your homework.

Mr. Biden cherry-picks positive data points to brag about instead of recognizing policy failure and changing policy.  There are some positive indicators; there always are.  For example, the unemployment rate stands at 3.7%.   Also, there is an uptick in factory construction. The flip side of the coin is: Government subsidy is almost 100% responsible for that activity.  It is not actual innate growth from the demand in the private sector.

He just keeps hoping the Federal Reserve will fix inflation. He seems like a deer in the headlights.  He’s frozen in place as oblivion hurtles toward America.

Mr. Biden also speaks about the deficit. He says the deficit went up every year under Trump, and it has gone down under him. Again Mr. Biden is correct but completely wrong. Here’s why. America has not balanced its budget in more than 20 years, since 2001, actually. During the pandemic, we did some big-time bipartisan spending. Since the Plandemic years, we have spent too much but less successively.

We are still engaging in a serious and unnecessary amount of deficit spending.  The difference in the rate of deficit spending is what Mr. Biden would claim credit for. The CBO has released a report saying the deficit reduction claims are not material. Over the next 25 year, our national debt is going to climb from 91% of GDP to 181% of GDP.

Bloomberg News reports such high and rising debt will slow economic growth, push up interest rates and payments to foreign debt holders, and pose significant economic risks to the fiscal and economic outlook of America.

Nobody in the District of Columbia should get credit for much of anything except irresponsible behavior.  We are nationally behaving like Hunter Biden. A lot must go right for Bidenomics to succeed. The Fed must avoid the long-predicted recession. Higher interest rates might continue to trigger bank failures. The Fed’s track record is not encouraging.  Inflation has been persistent.

Assuming economic success, other issues will step forward.  Biden’s fitness for office is in doubt.   There are reasonable concerns over the 80-year-old president’s physical and mental capacity.  People his age only move in only one direction.

If you worry about Biden’s health and capacity, then you are likely terrified at the prospect of Kamala Harris. She inherits the office of president should something happen to Biden.  She’s the most unpopular vice president in history. Nothing makes people feel good about Harris.

Then there’s the issue of corruption.  IRS whistleblowers have revealed the schemes of the Biden family. There are Hunter’s escapades. There is Joe’s entanglement in Hunter’s scandals. There is the House of Representatives seeking to uncover the details of the Biden family operations.

The precariousness of Biden’s political position comes from the decline in the American standard of living. It is not helped by his obvious health and diminished capacity issues. It is magnified by the inept and obvious corruption. The once generally accepted genial grandpa issuing reassuring platitudes from his Delaware basement is gone. That myth has been replaced by the cranky demented octogenarian with a troubled relationship with the truth.

The nation is on autopilot.  We are moving toward a general election.  Will the result again be determined by narrow outcomes in three or four states?  The election may depend on the MAGA/anti-MAGA struggle.  How are the parties approaching the election?   Which side are you on?

 

The post Mr. Biden Knows He’s Vulnerable appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

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