Merrimack Journal toes the Cabernet Press-Liberal Line

The Merrimack Journal is entitled to its opinion, even if it doesn’t actually have one of its own.  In this weeks edition the editors (Of the Milford Cabinet) prove me right again by endorsing only democrats for Governor, Congress, and the Senate.  They use the Journal as a natural extension of their out of the Cabinet love affair with Obama, whose endorsement the Journal printed—I believe it was last week—almost verbatim (only edited for space) from the Milford Cabinet version published the week prior.

 

But to their credit, and in the interests of unbiased Bias, the Journal did offer us this one nostrum in advance of their endorsements.

 

“…we encourage all voters not to take our word for it, but to invest the time and effort to learn about the candidates on their own.”

 

Sounds to me like they had a gun to their heads; too bad they couldn’t take their own advice.

More Morse Code: Whatever it is blame it on Republicans.

The letter below was submitted to the Cabinet Press on 9/27/08 in repsonse to a letter from Fred Morse: “Letter writer says don’t blame him; he didn’t vote republican.”  Fred, using his trademark incomplete facts and gross abuse of suppostion, takes the opportuntiy to blame Bush and Republicans for [insert issue here] the housing credit crisis. I don’t mean to keep picking on him, but he makes it too easy.  Fred is probably a great guy, and maybe someday we’ll have a beer together, but I can guarantee we won’t be talking politics.

 

To the Editor:

 

In the September 25^th Merrimack Journal Fred Morse states that “people paying attention know the origin of the sub-prime mortgage disaster.”  Well let’s hope so, because Mr. Morse would like you to believe that it was the “American Dream,” legislation passed by a ‘Republican controlled congress’ in 2003.  He claims they passed it because the “Bush GDP was sinking fast,” indicating that it provided free taxpayer money to people who couldn’t afford a down-payment on a home.  The assumption here is that increased home sales would drive up GDP.   But Mr. Morse was a bit thin on details so let me elaborate for him.

 

S.811 was passed in November of 2003 by the Senate of the 108^th congress, a senate with 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and 1 independent.  If you are not overwhelmed by the 1% Republican majority in the Senate, the House had an enormous 2% Republican majority.   You might also want to know that the measure passed unanimously in the Senate, and skimmed straight through the House without objection.   

 

This “crisis creating” legislation included housing assistance for grandparents who are raising grandchildren, renewed ‘HOPE VI’ main street revitalization money, and included a maximum of 200 million annually for each of the following 5 years to provide down-payment assistance block grants to be administered by the States in amounts not to exceed 6% of cost or a maximum of $10,000 dollars per applicant. 

 

Money could also be allocated from the grant pool for low-income home improvement assistance at the States discretion so the money wasn’t all going to first time home buyers.  Mr. Morse rightly ignores all the other limitations because they just make his argument untenable.  

 

So how much impact do you think 200 million might have in a 12-14 trillion dollar economy? Not much.  Oh, and those of us paying attention also noticed that GDP grew steadily for 25 consecutive quarters, from July of 2001 until October of 2007, but then dropped a bit, but only for one quarter.   The only thing sinking fast here is Mr. Morse argument.

Excuse me, but your Bias is (still) showing.

Wouldn’t it seem odd if a town that tends to vote Republican had a local paper whose letters page overwhelmingly printed endorsements from and for democrat candidates?  Would it seem stranger if it printed letters from “citizens” questioning republican candidates and their policies, but not those of democrats?

Welcome to Merrimack New Hampshire and the Merrimack Journal.

The Journals web portal and print editions provide the foremost in commentary from people who overwhelmingly favor democrat candidates and their polices.  Rarely will you find references  to Republicans in the letters section unless they are being questioned for their ideas, or are an actual Republican writing to the paper to seek support from citizens for their own candidacy, in which case they are clearly identified by their affiliation.

In my one month unofficial sample of letters written by “non-candidates” endorsing policies or politicians, they all favored democrats or democrat policies over Republicans.  In fact the only positive letters from any source on the right came from Jeanine Notter  who was inviting residents to hear John McManus, the president of the John Birch Society, speak, and he is actually a bit farther right than most.  Maybe that was meant to demonstrate some balance?

I think it is important to point out that the letters they are printing are not just from average “concerned Merrimack residents.”  These endorsements are coming (mostly) from people with connections to the candidates themselves, or active Democrat party members who have run for public office in the state.  These are not casual opinions from the guy with the gnomes on his lawn, or the neighbor with the broken sprinkler head that floods the street every other day from 7-8 pm.  These are very often people actively connected to the democrat party machine in New Hampshire.

Ann McCann, Peter Flood, Don Botsch, and perenial Republican basher Fred Morse.

Is it the policy of the Cabernet press to advance such an obvious bias, or do they expect me to beleive that they just don’t get letters endorsing republicans and their policies from a traditionally Republican town,  in the four weeks leading up to a major State primary?   

In this weeks edition–which is no longer delivered to my home for some reason–the Journal sells itself out again.  This time allotting its ”two letters,” to writers who are endorsing…wait for it…. democrats.

Carol-Shea gets some Flood insurance

This weeks Merrimack Journal again has a “Letter to the editor” from another relatively well connected democrat who is endorsing another democrat—Carol Shea-Porter—without any specific mention of his party particulars.  Peter Flood has a distinguished list of credits including service to his country as a 1^st Lieutenant in the 82^ndairborne, had Dick Gephardt campaign for him in his 1998 loss to Sununu for NH-01, once had the now newly minted Obama VP Joe Biden over at a House Party, and most recently lost to Shelia Roberge in the 2006 district 9 race for State Senate.

 

Hardly a disinterested party, Democrat Flood comments on the advantages to veterans of having Carol Shea-Porter re-elected and not Jeb Bradley.  Mr. Flood makes a plea to fellow veterans not to be duped by anyone with veteran’s credentials who claims to support candidate Bradley.  One might say the same of Peter Flood in this case, particularly since he made no effort to contest the Veterans policy positions of John Stephen, who also has a shot at challenging Carol for NH-01.   Candidate Stephen has a better plan than either Bradley or Shea-Porter, and his is spelled out in significant detail, a benefit Ms. Shea-Porter does not currently come equipped with. (Not that I could find, anyway) So is the Journal showing a preference again?

 

Trapped in a ‘Webb’ of deception

Merrimack, August 7th: In a letter by Fred Morse, posted at the Merrimack Journal on-line (I don’t know if it made the print edition) Mr. Morse quotes the BBC’s Justin Webb to justify his interpretation of some things McCain has said that they (Fred and Justin) both seem to believe only serves the terrorist’s warlike nature. That because of this McCain could be a dangerous president to have.  He quotes Webb…

“Islamic terrorists want war.  They want suffering – among others and their own people alike. They would surely surmise that McCain will give them what they want. I think al-Qaeda would back McCain.”

Justin isn’t even equipped to get it, and Fred can’t be bothered to do more than quote the man to justify his own agenda.  Learn why on the jump…