The “leadership” of the New Hampshire GOP has spent the last week and a half gaslighting the 500-plus members of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee.
Now that the Republican National Committee (RNC) has vindicated the formal complaint filed by outraged members, these feckless party “leaders” want to double down. They continue to violate—or, at best, twist—the party bylaws in a self-serving fashion.
Recently, members of the Merrimack County Republican Committee heard weak, unfounded arguments and scare tactics from then–Vice Chairman Scott Maltzie. Members passionately objected, pointing out that the bylaws were clear. Many were deeply concerned about the illegitimate process used by the Executive Committee (EC) to anoint a new chairman, Paul Callaghan.
In an effort to obfuscate the real issue, Maltzie and his cohorts tried to convince members that the controversy was the fault of “dividers” within the party. They complained that party “leadership” had been forced to spend thousands of dollars on lawyers to validate their interpretation of the bylaws.
They were wrong. The lawyers were wrong. And that law firm should never be used again.
The day after the RNC ruling, Maltzie and NH GOP legal counsel Bill O’Brien had the audacity to try to whitewash the severe rebuke they had received.
Yes, the duo confirmed that under the bylaws, Maltzie had no choice but to either assume the chairmanship or resign as vice chairman. Anyone with minimal reading comprehension already knew that—including Maltzie, O’Brien, Gov. Kelly Ayotte, and the rest of the unprincipled EC members.
But when Maltzie declined to become chairman at the EC meeting—leaving the position vacant—they chose to vote against holding a proper election at the next party meeting and instead bum-rushed Callaghan into the chairmanship.
After finally acknowledging the RNC ruling, Maltzie was forced to assume the chair position automatically. Yet in his subsequent “unity” memo to state committee members, he failed to mention the other bylaws violation documented by the RNC:
The Executive Committee elected a new chairman without having any authority to do so.
Many state party members were literally screaming at the EC that the bylaws were clear and that what they were doing was wrong. EC members who had drunk the Kool-Aid not only refused to listen but instead attacked the messengers and blamed them for “dividing” the party. They knowingly made up their own rules. And when challenged, they claimed they had to spend precious party funds on lawyers to defend their power-grab debacle.
Maltzie and his supporters resorted to scare tactics by invoking the potential loss of New Hampshire’s First-in-the-Nation (FITN) status. Members were told that if New Hampshire did not have a chairman attend the recent RNC meeting in California, the state would surely lose its first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
By all accounts I have received from that meeting, no challenge to New Hampshire’s FITN status was ever raised. It was not nearly as dire as they claimed. This was yet another Democrat-style excuse and fear tactic that showed no respect for the intelligence of party members.
And now Maltzie—who recently insisted he could not possibly serve as chairman—is miraculously occupying that position.
It is true that he was elected by the EC to replace the vacated vice chairman position, and that election was conducted properly. However, that appointment is valid only until the next State Committee meeting, scheduled for February. The full body must reelect Maltzie if he intends to hold any officer position.
The same applies to the treasurer who was recently elected to fill a vacancy.
Simply moving into the chairman’s office does not exempt Maltzie from the fact that he was never elected by the full state committee. The New Hampshire GOP must hold a fair and transparent election if it hopes to restore even a semblance of trust between party members and those who seek to lead them.