Immigration - The Rule of Law

I hear a lot of rhetoric about immigration.  Let’s be clear, the issue is not immigration.  With very few exceptions, all of our ancestors are immigrants, and all of them came to this country under a variety of conditions, whether they were in the cramped quarters of a sailing ship or on an airplane.  We are a nation of immigrants.  We are a state of immigrants.  This is what makes this country great. When we become the melting pot our forefathers envisioned, the whole society is greater than the sum of the individual citizens. 

The real issue is not immigration, it is the rule of law and whether or not we are a nation of laws that respects these laws.  My grandparents came to this country in the early 1900’s under the laws of that time.  These laws were not always easy, but they were the laws of their new country and they abided by them.  During WWII, my grandfather worked with Governor Carr* of Colorado to resettle many displaced Japanese in Colorado.  All during that time, they lived according to the laws of their chosen country.  Whether we like the law or not, the way to change laws is not by mass violations as we see happening today all along our borders.  The way to change our laws is through the legislature and courts that adhere to the constitution.  I want to reframe the argument on illegal immigration and address the rule of law.  It’s quite simple:  If you come to this country (or this state), you follow the law. The New Ipswitch case a few years back was a travesty.  The officer should have been encouraged, rewarded, not reprimanded.  Our Courts and the Attorney General should have backed the law enforcement officers who were enforcing the rule of law.

Like a lot of issues, some people like to frame the issues with terms that fit their argument.  Or, place bogus arguments on the table such as “... how can we deport 20 million illegal immigrants?”  The answer is actually simple... arrest the employers and show them in handcuffs on the seven o’clock news.  The illegals go home and our business ALL compete on a fair basis.  Too many of our small businesses who follow the law are forced to compete with businesses who break the laws and hire illegals.  Too many of our skilled citizens are unemployed because employers who follow the law can't compete with those who do not and are going out of business.

 As your Governor I will enforce the laws, and I will work with the legislature to pass requirements for proof of citizenship before receiving State aid, including health and public education, and I will seek prosecution of business owners who hire illegal aliens.  It is time we remember that we are Americans and we must follow the law.

*P.S. If you want to know my model for a great Governor, read the book "The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story."

Transparency

Many politicians like to talk about transparency but really never understand or define it in a meaningful way to you.  I’m going to change that.  It’s simple.  Transparency means that you, the person paying the bills, know what you are getting for your money.  As an example, take the Financial Resource Mortgage Ponzi scheme.  Friends of mine called all the agencies responsible for overseeing companies like FRM before they invested.  The response from these supposed "watch dogs" of the health of companies like FRM: Don’t worry, we have no issues with FRM ... this, despite the fact that there were nearly ten years of reports about the vermin.  Based on this "clean" report of FRM’s health, my friends proceeded to invest and lose several hundred thousand dollars!  I just looked online at the Manchester Health Department’s inspection record of eating establishments and found that on March 11th, one restaurant had “...openings [that] have not been tightly sealed to prevent the entry of vermin.”  Why couldn’t all the financial regulatory and oversight agencies of FRM put what we now know was years of similar findings about “...the entry of vermin” into FRM?  At a bare minimum, we should know that there are "pending investigations" on these institutions.

As your governor, this practice will change.  We will post all findings from agencies, regardless whether they are inspecting restaurants or financial institutions online immediately so you, the person paying the bills, know what you are getting for your money.  This is true transparency.

While we are on the subject of transparency, let’s talk about checkbooks (or more likely today, credit card statements).  Most of you can go online right now and find all your charges or checks for any given period-of-time, in most cases up to yesterday, if not sooner.  Why can’t you do this for all the expenditures by all the departments in the State?  Sure we can find a copy of the budget on line, but that is just how those in Concord plan to spend of our money.  What you really want to know is who receives that money, why and when.  And, I want you to know this because you are the best auditors we have.  That’s how vigilant Windsor citizens found discrepancies in the town’s property tax system.  As your Governor I will put our state’s checkbook online.  Well run companies know this level of detail, and so will you.  Join me in bringing real transparency to New Hampshire.  

See you at the polls on September 14th!

Scouting... Our Next Generation of Real Men

At a time of celebrating the Centennial of the Boy Scouts of America, President Obama just thumbed his nose at the Boy Scouts and decided an interview on “The View” was a more valuable use of his time.  In 1988 my husband and I had the honor to watch our youngest son, Matt, receive his Eagle Scout award at the World Jamboree in Australia as a "Lone Scout."   A few years before that our oldest son, Pat, earned his Eagle award while we were stationed in Ohio.  Today three of our five grandsons are in Boy Scouts and in a few years all of them will follow in the foot steps of their father, grandfather and great-grandfather.   Without a doubt, the Boy Scouts is a beacon of light in a dark sea of political correctness. 

Scouting helps dads mold their sons into men in a society that tries to feminize and degrade them.  When was the last time you watched a sit-com on TV that didn’t portray the husband or father as a doofus who but for the smart females, or children would be a complete failure?  This is what Hollywood believes.  We can do better.  

We need to change this and make organizations like the Boy Scouts an important part of our son’s lives.  When we do this, we raise them to be responsible men.  When we do this we strengthen our families. When we strengthen families we reduce fractured families and the cost to our citizens and our state.  Help me do this.  Become a Scout leader and enroll your sons in Scouting.  As your Governor I will be honored to pin the Eagle Scout award on your son’s chest.