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From a political standpoint, the issue of gas prices is different. It just is.

Issues like abortion or the baby formula crisis are important. But when gas prices go to $5 a gallon and head toward $6 a gallon, it impacts every one of us, directly or indirectly. It doesn’t matter what kind of vehicle you drive or how much driving you do, because gas prices make inflation worse.

And when you go to pay, and you don’t have enough money to put gas in your vehicle to drive the kids around or go grocery shopping, it makes everything worse. But Washington just doesn’t get it.

President Joe Biden keeps talking about ‘Big Oil.’ There’s talk about price gouging. There’s talk about unused leases.

If that’s the case, if the Big Oil companies really do have the power to solve this problem, why isn’t this White House sitting down with them? Even if they don’t like the oil companies politically, why don’t they sit down and say, ‘We need more oil and gas, we need more production, what can we do to get it done?”

Instead, the Biden administration is going to crawl to Saudi Arabia to beg them to produce more oil for us. I have to say, having the president go to the Saudis is probably not in our best national security interest.

In fact, I’ll go a step further. It’s un-American. I’m embarrassed that the President of these United States is going to Saudi Arabia to kiss the ring of the kingdom so we can get more oil.

I’m not saying we haven’t taken their oil b before. I’m not saying it’s not part of the mix. I’m saying the same president of the United States could spend less money on Air Force One and, instead of the Middle East, he could go to Western Pennsylvania or Colorado or North Dakota and speak with the CEOs of the companies that produce oil and gas here.

Why isn’t the White House doing that? It’s a simple question: ‘Mr. President, why don’t you go to the producers of the oil and gas here in America to get more production? Why are you going over to Saudi Arabia to kiss the ring?’ And I’d like an honest answer.

And since he hasn’t provided one, I’ve got my own answer: It’s because members of his own White House, like his climate czar John Kerry, have him tied up. They’ve cut a deal with the extreme progressives in his own party, and now American consumers are getting screwed over politics. And the politics of this White House are basically that the oil and gas producers of America are the enemy. And we don’t want any of their products anymore.

President Biden can act like they’re the enemy, but for consumers paying these high gas prices, they could be our friends.

And the fact that he won’t go to them, but he will go to Saudi Arabia — and that nobody in the national media will ask him about it — is a blanking shame.

It’s an insult to my intelligence, and I assume to yours, too.

New Hampshire liberty advocates won a major victory on Wednesday when our State Senate voted to pass HB 440, Rep. Jim Kofalt’s Civil Liberties Defense Act. This bill will prohibit constitutional rights from being suspended during a state of emergency.

Kofalt proposed the bill because New Hampshire’s emergency powers laws have been interpreted by our state courts to allow a governor to suspend constitutional rights during an emergency. This is no exaggeration: According to the legal test used by our state courts, even “fundamental rights such as the right of travel and free speech” may be “suspended” by a governor in a declared emergency.

That means that, as Rep. Michael Sylvia pointed out during a House floor debate, “We are all enjoying our fundamental rights, including free speech and trial by jury, at the mercy of the current governor.” As long as a governor’s actions are related to a declared emergency, any constitutional challenges to those actions can simply be dismissed out-of-hand.

Although HB 440 faced some initial setbacks, on Wednesday every Republican State Senator joined in sponsoring an excellent floor amendment that restored the key substance of the bill. Senate Republicans then voted unanimously to pass the bill and protect our constitutional rights. It’s important to contact your Republican state senator now and thank them for their vote.

During Wednesday’s Senate floor debate, Republican Sen. Sharon Carson made a powerful argument in favor of HB 440. During World War II, the legal theory of “suspending constitutional rights” was used to uphold the internment of Japanese Americans in detention camps. Carson pointed out those Americans had their property confiscated and their lives destroyed by a government wielding unchecked emergency powers. As Sen. Jeb Bradley noted, abuses of that kind should be unthinkable in the “Live Free or Die” state.

Republican Senators wisely made clear this bill is not a repudiation of Gov. Chris Sununu. As Rep. Matt Simon said during the initial House floor debate, the bill is necessary to “shore up our constitutional defenses during a state of emergency so the responsibility for any potential future abuses will not rest upon our shoulders.” Accordingly, Sununu is likely to sign the bill. When he does so, he will deserve our thanks for helping to protect the fundamental rights of Granite Staters from his successors and their subordinates.

While Wednesday’s vote is a great victory, it should also serve as a dire warning about the intentions of New Hampshire Democrats. In the House, HB 440 did enjoy a modicum of bipartisan support, including from Democratic former House Speaker Steve Shurtleff. In the Senate, however, Democrats unanimously voted against the bill.

Democratic Sen. Rebecca Whitley rose to speak against the proposal. In her remarks, she claimed it would prevent judges from balancing the public interest against individual rights in times of emergency. But that is false.

Courts balance the public interest and individual rights in perfectly ordinary constitutional challenges every single day. As a trained lawyer, Senator Whitley must know this. Our problem in New Hampshire is that a “suspension” theory is not a balancing test: It is a rubber stamp on government action. So long as an executive’s actions are factually connected to a state of emergency, New Hampshire courts have said they will simply set constitutional rights aside. That is not “balancing.”

Aside from Whitley’s ambiguous remarks, Democrats offered no explanation for their votes to allow “suspending” the Constitution. The only thing we know for sure is Senate Democrats have just voted to uphold the same legal doctrine that Franklin Roosevelt once used to put an entire race of people into camps.

As recently as the first candidacy of Barack Obama, many Democrats claimed to be champions of civil liberties. Rep. Steve Shurtleff seems to represent this form of Democratic politics—one that is increasingly rare in his party today.

Instead, in today’s Democratic Party, authoritarian cultural progressivism is the order of the day. Many Democrats appear eager to wield unchecked power over their political adversaries, and Wednesday’s vote was a startling reminder of that fact. Granite Staters should be wary of what Democrats could do with that power if they regain control of the state government.

To learn more about HB 440, see Cornerstone’s page of resources on the bill. Don’t forget to thank your Republican senator for voting to safeguard our constitutional rights and to thank Kofalt for his tireless efforts on behalf of liberty.

During a conspiracy-spinning interview with radio host Jack Heath Tuesday retired Brig. Gen. Donald Bolduc called fellow Republican Chris Sununu a “Chinese Communist sympathizer” whose family business “supports terrorism,” and claimed he drove the governor from the U.S. Senate race.

“I derailed Gov. Sununu from running for Senate,” Bolduc said. “Let’s face it — the most powerful political family in New Hampshire made a decision not to run against a political outsider for the United States Senate.

“We ran a Sun Tzu-like campaign that brought to the forefront all of his flaws for serving at the national level as a U.S. Senator. And he surprised all of his supporters because in the 11th hour, he looked at the polls and there was no guarantee could beat Bolduc. And he can’t afford a loss based on his future ambitions in the political arena.”

A UNH Survey Center poll released in October found that while Sununu led Sen. Maggie Hassan 45-42 percent, Bolduc trails her 47-42 percent.

Bolduc also called Sununu a “Chinese Communist sympathizer” who’s “in business with Saudi Arabian companies that give money to terrorists. He’s a globalist world-government guy.”

While some of Bolduc’s rhetoric appears to be motivated by personal anger at Sununu’s unwillingness to back him in last year’s Senate primary, the retired general has embraced conspiracy theories as a central part of his campaign.

Bolduc is touting Trump’s fact-free claims about the Biden campaign stealing the 2020 presidential campaign.

Bolduc was also one of 124 retired generals and admirals who released a letter in May claiming the election was rigged in Biden’s favor. And his most recent campaign event headlined disgraced former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

“He was a lousy candidate when he was sane,” one NHGOP insider told NHJournal. “Running as a lunatic isn’t much of an improvement.”

Corey Lewandowski says he’s made his decision about a possible 2020 U.S. Senate race and, while he won’t say what it is, he does have a message for the New Hampshire Republicans already in the field:

Don’t bother. You can’t win.

“If I decide to get into this race, it’s going to send shock waves not just across New Hampshire, but through the country,” Lewandowski said on the John Fredericks radio show Thursday. “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think I would be successful.”

He doesn’t have the same confidence in the rest of the GOP field: Retired Gen. Donald Bolduc, attorney Corky Messner and former NH House Speaker Bill O’Brien.

“I hear the other [NHGOP] candidates can’t raise money for a litany of reasons. If I said today ‘I’m out of the US Senate race’… it’s not like they’re going to raise $10 or $20 million tomorrow. Let’s not kid ourselves.

“The only person who potentially can get in this race who has a national profile is Corey Lewandowski. And the only person who’s going to send Jeanne Shaheen home permanently, if I do get in the race, is going to be me.”

“People can argue it,” Lewandowski added, “but that’s just the truth.”

Lewandowski, who says he’s currently advising the Trump/Pence 2020 campaign, told Fredericks he’s discussed his possible candidacy with President Trump, Vice President Pence and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale.

Lewandowski also predicted that impeachment would make Democratic incumbent Shaheen easier to beat in November. “I’ve weighed my calculation based on what impeachment will mean for a U.S. Senate race and I think Jeanne Shaheen is very vulnerable because I believe she will vote in lockstep with AOC and Speaker Pelosi to remove a duly-elected president.”

When Fredericks said it sounds like Lewandowski’s decided to run, the former Trump campaign manager didn’t disagree.

“Well, I’ve been brushing up on foreign policy,” Lewandowski said. “I’ve spent an enormous amount of time understanding some issues that I wasn’t as well briefed in as an incumbent U.S. Senator would be. If that gives you an indication of what my decision is, I’ll leave it at that.”

Every quarter the polling firm Morning Consult releases a ranking of the most/least popular governors in the U.S.  Today they released their numbers for Q4 of 2018–when the midterm elections took place. And for the third quarter in a row, New Hampshire’s Gov. Chris Sununu is the fourth most popular governor in the country, with an approval rating of 60 percent and a disapproval of just 23 percent.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker also remains the most popular governor in America (72/14 percent) and nine of the 10 most popular governors in the U.S. are Republicans, despite the #BlueWave that crashed over American politics in November.

Gov. Sununu’s 60 percent approval is significantly higher than all four governors considering a 2020 POTUS bid:  Democrats John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Jay Inslee of Washington and Bullock of Montana; and Republican John Kasich of Ohio.

It’s also higher than Sununu’s own 53 percent of the vote in November’s election against a weak Democratic nominee, former state senator Molly Kelly. That’s not necessarily surprising–an approval poll doesn’t ask respondents to pick sides–but it is likely to renew the conversation NH Republicans are having off the record for weeks:

Why didn’t Chris Sununu cruise to victory?

Just south of the border in an even more deeply-blue state, Republican Baker won his re-election bid 67-33 percent–a two-to-one margin. Next door in Vermont, Republican Phil Scott–who upset his GOP base by flip-flopping on a gun-control promise– won re-election by 15 points. Even Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a GOP governor who had to run in a state that’s part of the Washington, DC media market– won handily, 56-44 percent.

“There’s no reason [Molly Kelly] should have been so close. And there’s no excuse for fundraising parity by a weak candidate like Kelly with an incumbent governor,” one longtime NH GOP insider told NHJournal.

Still,  the Democrat-controlled NH legislature has a formidable opponent in an incumbent governor with veto power and one of the highest popularity ratings in the country.  Democrats may want to raise taxes and increase business regulations, but getting that agenda past Gov. Chris Sununu is going to be an uphill battle.

The most memorable thing about Gov. John Chris Sununu’s second inaugural address (other than Speaker Shurtleff’s gaffe) was how much fun the governor had giving it.  It’s the defining aspect of the Sununu style of governance:  In a time of seemingly non-stop political anger and partisan anguish, Chris Sununu is having a great time.

A little too great, based on the 60+ minutes run time. (“This was 20 minutes when I read it at home last night,” Sununu assured the assembled). Still, by peppering the speech with personal stories and anecdotes– along with classic Sununu self-deprecation–the governor kept things moving. And any speech that can work in quotes from Harry Potter and Adam Sandler can’t be all bad.

Most of the speech was spent cheerleading–another Sununu staple. He celebrated the state’s economy, the previous work of the legislature, the efforts of healthcare and public safety employees, the life of George H. W. Bush, his wife’s charity work with Bridges House, etc.

If Gov. Sununu’s speech had a soundtrack, it would have been “Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie.

But everything isn’t quite awesome, as the governor acknowledged, as he spoke about suicide rates in a way that echoed the discussion of opioid addiction a few years ago. He also talked about the ongoing drug abuse issue, the “hub and spoke” approach, and lingering concerns about the performance of DCYF, etc.

Not surprisingly for a Republican governor who must work with a Democratic-controlled legislature, Sununu avoided partisanship. In fact, the words “Republican” and “Democrat” appear but once in his prepared remarks:

“Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, Independent or Libertarian — we all share a passion for making our communities the strongest they can be.”

But that doesn’t mean Sununu avoided partisan politics. New Hampshire Democrats haven’t been shy talking about the tax increases that are part of their “Granite State Opportunity Plan.”  Though the Democrats in the House and Senate haven’t come together on a single approach, they all involve at a minimum taking away tax reductions scheduled for the future, if not raising tax rates on businesses outright.

Gov Sununu didn’t pick any fights from the podium, but he was very clear:

“Look at the data. Revenues are rising. Costly regulations have been eliminated, and we are investing surplus funds into smart one-time investments.
 
I implore this legislature to learn from the mistakes of the past.  The last thing we should be doing is raising taxes or pushing a budget that does not live within our means.  And it should go without saying -There will be no sales or income tax of any kind on my watch.”

Sununu also used that rarely-heard word in energy-policy debates: “ratepayer.”

“I have always said we should view energy policy through the lens of the ratepayer.  And I hear a lot of talk from legislators that say YES, they will fight for lower electric rates, but then vote for legislation that raises rates and burden our citizens.  You can’t have it both ways.”

The irony is that Sununu has his own “both ways” policy on energy, calling for continued subsides of inefficient/expensive wind/solar, but targeted to benefit low-income residents.

“The Office of Strategic Initiatives and Public Utility Commission are currently working out a plan for the multi-million-dollar Clean Energy Fund which is being made available this year.  I want to see renewable energy projects for low income families and communities to be a priority for those investment dollars.”

Not exactly the policy of a full-throated free marketer, but a politically-smart position for a Republican who just survived a #BlueWave in a purple state and doesn’t want to lose a job he loves.

[To read Gov. Sununu’s entire prepared text, click here.]

New Hampshire is the home of the “First In The Nation” presidential primary, and on November 7th it will be home of the first event of the 2020 presidential election cycle when nationally-known conservative leader Bill Kristol joins a panel of Granite State GOP insiders on the day after the 2018 midterms.

This free event, hosted by NH Journal and the SNHU College Republicans, will feature a panel analyzing the results of the midterm elections and the performance of the Republican Party.  Did the GOP hold the House? How did Republican candidates fare in swing districts like NH-01? And is a serious GOP primary challenge of President Donald Trump more or less likely?

All these topics will be covered by a panel to include:

• Bill Kristol – Co-founder of The Weekly Standard
• Chris McNulty – Causeway Solutions, Former RNC Political Director
• Ovide Lamontagne – 2012 NHGOP Gubernatorial Nominee
• Sen. Sharon Carson – NH State Senator
  
• Daniel Passen – Chairman, NH Federation of College Republican

So make plans now to join NHJournal and the SNHU College Republicans on Wednesday, November 7th, noon-1:30pm at SNHU’s Walker Auditorium in Manchester, NH.

The event is free but seating is limited, so advance registration is strongly recommended. Click here to reserve your seats.

According to the attorney representing Rep. Frank Sapareto’s alleged assault victim, the reason behind the New Hampshire Republican’s violent outburst was his “poor performance” during his porn shoot the day before.

“He wasn’t performing very well in his scenes or with the adult film actresses,” attorney Eric Dubin told NHJournal. “He was apologizing a lot to the female talent and his frustration carried over into the attack.”

When asked what the nature of the performance issue was, Dubin told NHJournal: “It’s not that they were going badly. Apparently they weren’t going at all.”

Dubin’s client, Jonathan Carter, alleges that Sapareto broke into his apartment and assaulted him, beating him so badly that Carter lost consciousness. According to the emergency department report from Adventist Health Simi Valley, Carter suffered a “closed-head injury with LOC.” [Loss of consciousness].

“Pt [patient] has scrapes to right chest, arm, left knee. C/O dizziness, disorientation. Left mandibular pain, headache, neck stiffness and mid back pain following assault when a very large man broke into the patient’s apartment and started punching him in the face,” according to the emergency room report.

Rep. Sapareto was previously found guilty of assault in 2013 and ordered to take anger management classes. He denies that the assault took place and points to the fact that local authorities in California declined to press criminal charges. Sapareto also told NHJournal that, while he admits to being the man seen with an adult film actress in a video released by Carter’s attorney, he claims it’s been “doctored.”

“I don’t know how he did it,” Sapareto told NHJournal. “He just does it. This [manipulating video] is what he does. He said he was going to destroy my political career and that’s what he’s trying to do.”

Sapareto says he went into business with Carter to create tourism videos for a Japanese audience, even creating an LLC called Standard Video here in New Hampshire. But then, Sapareto says, he was “set up.”

“The guy had me shoot all this video, in unusual positions, I didn’t know why,” Sapareto said.

For example, Sapareto admits that he is standing in the doorway of a video clip released by his alleged victim, but says the rest of the shot was manipulated to make it appear that he’s speaking to an adult film actress as she exposes her breast.

In response, Carter’s attorney released another, more explicit, clip showing a nude Sapareto in bed engaged in sexual activity with an actress.

A screen capture from video viewed by NHJournal

“I’m only talking to the press to respond to what Sapareto is saying,” Dubin told NHJournal in response. “I have a duty to my client. It’s been shocking to listen to Sapareto lie about every single aspect, from never having met my client, to claiming he was only stopped for a traffic ticket, to making a tourism video.”

Dubin, who was involved in the successful wrongful-death lawsuit against actor Robert Blake over the death of his wife, said he thinks the sex element is a sideshow. “The porn part isn’t relevant to me. It’s his willingness to lie that relates to my client’s case.”

But, Dubin added “it is surprising to see how far someone like Sapareto has made it up the political ladder in New Hampshire, even with a previous assault charge.”

As for the claim that the video is fake, Dubin told NHJournal: “I have seven hours of film that includes four separate sex scenes with four different actresses.  It’s 1000% him.”

Documents, images and videoclips obtained by NHJournal appear to back claims made in a lawsuit against Republican state rep and House Speaker candidate Frank Sapareto of Derry, claiming he was involved in a video project to produce porn–and that the male lead in the movie was the Republican legislator himself.

“Yes, I have seen the video. There’s hours and hours of it,” Eric Dubin told NHJournal. Dubin is representing Jonathan Carter, the plaintiff in a lawsuit claiming that Sapareto assaulted him due to the representative’s displeasure over the quality of the filming.

“My client lost consciousness. He was treated for a concussion in the emergency room,” Dubin said. “The idea that an elected official would completely lie about this is very disturbing. I’m not judging anyone’s personal behavior, but there are jobs that require public confidence.”

Dubin supplied NHJournal with images and a video clip to support his client’s claims.

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING CLIP CONTAINS NUDITY:

Dubin also provided an extensive email chain of communications between his client, Rep. Sapareto and at least on other person involved in the porn project. Many of the communications involve potential female performers and their willingness/availability to participate in the movie.

As of late Tuesday morning, Rep. Sapareto was assuring NHJournal that he was the victim of a “scam.”

“The guy [Jonathan Carter] is a dirtbag. He’s making a living off scams like this,” Sapareto told NHJournal. “This is a political hit job. He said he would kill my political career unless I paid him $5,000. And now he’s keeping his word,” Saparto said.

According to email correspondence between Sapareto and another person involved in the project, possible titles considered for the porn film—based on the premise of Rep. Sapareto playing the last male on Earth available to continue the human race after a horrific disaster—were:

• Last Sperm on Earth
• Armageddon Sperm Donor
• Doomsday Babymaker

Rep. Sapareto’s choice: Creampie Apocalypse.

The AP’s Amy Taxin and Holly Ramer broke the story:

A New Hampshire state lawmaker producing and starring in a porn film assaulted his business partner in California after he felt his scenes didn’t go well, according to a civil lawsuit filed by the partner.

Jonathan Carter filed the suit Friday in Southern California, seeking unspecified damages following a June incident that he claims involved state Rep. Frank Sapareto.

Sapareto denied the allegations or knowing Carter or having any business involvement with the adult film industry.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sapareto said in a phone interview.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sapareto said in a phone interview.

“Wow, that’s a great story,” he said, laughing. “I haven’t heard that one. I thought we were all done going after men.”

Now anyone can file a civil suit alleging anything, so the part of the AP story that makes this interesting is that there’s a police report from Simi Valley, CA involved:

“In the police report, authorities say Sapareto told them that he met Carter online while seeking a business partner to make an adult film and that he went to his home to return camera equipment. According to the police report, he denied assaulting him…

When asked about the police report, Sapareto said that he was stopped for a traffic violation. In a follow-up email, he said police didn’t find the allegation credible and that he has not been accused of anything.”

So we’ve gone from “what police report?” to “I was stopped for a traffic beef” to “Ah, the police didn’t believe it anyway…”  Yeah, not a good look for the Republican from Derry. And it’s not the first time he’s been accused of assault.  Sapareto was convicted on multiple counts of simple assault in 2013, involving an ex-girlfriend and some of her family members. Rep. Sapareto was sentenced to 30 days (suspended) a $500 fine and anger management classes.

Apparently he didn’t study….

The question now is how his GOP colleagues will respond on the eve of the midterm elections. Unlike the Sen. Jeff Woodburn case, the details here are sketchy (for the moment) and Sapareto doesn’t face any criminal charges.  Voters and Republican leaders are left with a civil lawsuit and some vague details.

Oh–and PORN.  

If this were about a shoving match at a bar or baseball game, it could be shrugged off. But when the guy you punched was in charge the camera crew zooming in on your actions areas during a steamy scene in “Lascivious Legislators IV,” that’s a political problem.

What are Democrats going to say about it? Thanks to Sen. Woodburn, not much.  The Democratic state senator is charged with a crime and, unlike Rep. Sapareto, we’ve all seen the photos. (And please, Frank–let’s keep it that way!).

Best guess is Sapareto is re-elected, but he can pull down his page promoting his election as House Speaker down now. That dream is over.