A Rake’s Progress

The following list was compiled by the Washington Post. It offers some good insights if you are from New Hampshire and are wondering which “winners” your legislators supported.

There are some important names not on this last, either because they are not legislators or they endorsed someone late in the process.

As we know, state legislators Gail Morrison and Beth Arsenault endorsed Obama. Belknap County Democratic Chair, Lynn Chong, endorsed Edwards. Former NH Democratic Party Chair Kathy Sullivan showed her smarts by endorsing Hillary, as did Dick and Katrina Swett. Bill Shaheen, of course, was once upon a time, Hillary’s co-chair until he had the audacity of questioning Obama’s fitness for the nomination.

As other names and endorsements are pointed out to me, I will be happy to list them here. (Dems only, please.) 

Hillary Rodham Clinton
57 (of 139) of Democratic endorsements
Terie Norelli State Representative (D)
David M Pierce State Representative (D)
Claire D Clarke State Representative (D)
Iris Estabrook State Senator (D)
Margaret Hassan State Senator (D)
William V Knowles State Representative (D)
Jane Wood State Representative (D)
Michael J Reuschel State Representative (D)
Deanna S Rollo State Representative (D)
Michael S Rollo State Representative (D)
Trinka Russell State Representative (D)
Joan H Schulze State Representative (D)
Barbara E Shaw State Representative (D)
James R Splaine State Representative (D)
Mary A Sysyn State Representative (D)
Hector M Velez State Representative (D)
Edgar H Mears State Representative (D)
Lori A Movsesian State Representative (D)
Stephen A Johnson State Representative (D)
Eleanor G Kjellman State Representative (D)
Angeline K Kopka, State Representative (D)
Bette R Lasky State Representative (D)
Alfred C Lerandeau State Representative (D)
Melanie A Levesque State Representative (D)
Anthony P Matarazzo State Representative (D)
Thomas M McGuirk State Representative (D)
Martha McLeod State Representative (D)
Patricia M McMahon State Representative (D)
Anne C Grassie State Representative (D)
Jill Hammond State Representative (D)
Roger G Hebert State Representative (D)
Roland P Hofemann State Representative (D)
Doreen Howard State Representative (D)
Jean Jeudy State Representative (D)
John DeJoie State Representative (D)
Carole J Estes State Representative (D)
Thomas R Fargo State Representative (D)
Carol H Friedrich State Representative (D)
Raymond G Gagnon State Representative (D)
Delmar D Burridge State Representative (D)
Jane A Clemons State Representative (D)
David E Cote State Representative (D)
Peter R Cote State Representative (D)
James E Cyr State Representative (D)
Peter H Allen State Representative (D)
Suzanne E Beauchesne State Representative (D)
Catriona D Beck State Representative (D)
Bernard L Benn State Representative (D)
Roger R Berube State Representative (D)
Sylvia Larsen State Senator (D)
Deborah Reynolds State Senator (D)
Betsi DeVries State Senator (R)
Molly Kelly State Senator (D)
Kathleen Sgambati State Senator (D)
Mary J Wallner State Representative (D)
Janet G Wall State Representative (D)
Deborah H Wheeler State Representative (D)

John Edwards
34 (of 139) of Democratic endorsements
Sharon L Nordgren State Representative (D)
James G Phinizy State Representative (D)
Timothy N Robertson State Representative (D)
Robert A Srnec State Representative (D)
Frank A Tupper State Representative (D)
Dennis P Vachon State Representative (D)
Judith E Day State Representative (D)
Vincent E Greco State Representative (D)
Suzanne Harvey State Representative (D)
Robert J Watson State Representative (D)
Carolyn M Lisle State Representative (D)
Ron J Mack State Representative (D)
Susi Nord State Representative (D)
Jessie L Osborne State Representative (D)
Jennifer M Brown State Representative (D)
Donald A Brueggemann State Representative (D)
Jacqueline A Cali-Pitts State Representative (D)
Claudia A Chase State Representative (D)
Frank W Davis State Representative (D)
Peter Burling State Senator (D)
Joseph Foster State Senator (D)
Timothy Butterworth State Representative (D)
Charles F Weed State Representative (D)
Gary B Richardson State Representative (D)
Robert L Theberge State Representative (D)
Joseph M Miller State Representative (D)
David Gottesman State Senator (D)
Marlene M DeChane State Representative (D)
Stephen T DeStefano State Representative (D)
J. Timothy Dunn State Representative (D)
Peter S Espiefs State Representative (D)
David E Essex State Representative (D)
Linda T Foster State Representative (D)
Patrick F Garrity State Representative (D)

Mike Gravel
0 (of 139) of Democratic endorsements

Dennis Kucinich
2 (of 139) of Democratic endorsements
Barbara C French State Representative (D)
Lee M Hammond State Representative (D)

Barack Obama
32 (of 139) of Democratic endorsements
Dennis F Abbott State Representative (D)
Kris E Roberts State Representative (D)
Cindy Rosenwald State Representative (D)
Tara A Sad State Representative (D)
Kimberley S Casey State Representative (D)
Jacalyn Cilley State Senator (D)
Eileen C Flockhart State Representative (D)
Martha Fuller Clark State Senator (D)
John W Henson State Representative (D)
Sarah A Hutz State Representative (D)
Lucy McV Weber State Representative (D)
Nickolas J Levasseur State Representative (D)
Jesse J Martineau State Representative (D)
Margaret E Porter State Representative (D)
Susan W Almy State Representative (R)
Deborah L Billian, State Representative (D)
Elizabeth D Blanchard State Representative (D)
David A Borden State Representative (D)
Carla M Skinder State Representative (D)
Harold Janeway State Senator (D)
Nancy H Warren State Representative (D)
C. Pennington Brown State Representative (D)
Shawn M Mickelonis State Representative (D)
Bonnie G Mitchell State Representative (D)
Kay Oppenheimer State Representative (D)
James F Powers State Representative (D)
Jane P Kelley State Representative (D)
Sally H Kelly State Representative (D)
James E Kennedy State Representative (D)
Sid Lovett State Representative (D)
Edward A Butler State Representative (D)
Jennifer Daler State Representative (D)

Bill Richardson
14 (of 139) of Democratic endorsements
Jane E Beaulieu State Representative (D)
Susan R Kepner State Representative (D)
Joel F Winters State Representative (D)
Daniel W McKenna State Representative (D)
Lily Mesa State Representative (D)
Mary Ann Knowles State Representative (D)
Eileen S Ehlers State Representative (D)
Armand D Forest State Representative (D)
Dana S Hilliard State Representative (D)
Candace C W Bouchard State Representative (D)
Stephen P Spratt State Representative (D)
Scott A Merrick State Representative (D)
Tara G Reardon State Representative (D)
John K Knowles State Representative (D)

Word from within the Obama New Hampshire campaign is that the Illinois Senator plans to announce that Dennis Kucinich will be his running mate after the New Hampshire primary.

According to a source close to Obama New Hampshire campaign chair, Ned Helms, Obama believes that among potential VP candidates, Dennis Kucinich is the best voice for the kind of fundamental change Obama is promising voters.

“Dennis has always been the ‘worker bee’ in this fight to end the war and change the way American works,” said Danie Zeiss, an Obama insider from Sanbornton.

A key factor in Obama’s decision is the generous offer Kucinich made in Iowa to have his supporters switch to Obama if he, Kucinich, did not reach a certain threshold of voters during the caucuses.

As reported on The Raw Story:

Obama was pleased with the development. “I have a lot of respect for Congressman Kucinich, and I’m honored that he has done this, because we both believe deeply in the need for fundamental change,” he said in a statement. “He and I have been fighting for a number of the same priorities — including an end to the war in Iraq that we both opposed from the start, reforming Washington and creating a better life for America’s working families.”

My own speculation is that aside from the ideological connection this is payback from Kucinich to the Clinton campaign for discussing with John Edwards the idea of dropping Kucinich and other “marginal” candidates from the debates.

Kucinich was livid.

The Kucinich for President Campaign is expressing “outrage” over rival candidates Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, who “were overheard collaborating on a strategy to eliminate other Democratic candidates from future debates and forums…..Candidates, no matter how important or influential they perceive themselves to be, do not have and should not have the power to determine who is allowed to speak to the American public and who is not,” the congressman said. Imperial candidates are as repugnant to the American people and to our Democracy as an imperial President.”

According to sources in the Obama campaign, the Senator will not formally name Kucinich until after the New Hampshire primary in the belief that Obama already has enough momentum to win the Granite State. Kucinich will be of better use to him in the weeks running up to the big February 5 contests, the source told us.

OK, it was my second call to the newsroom. After watching the furor build since I started posting about this last night, I thought I would give it another try.

As of right now, they don’t care. The woman who answered the phone listened politely, but basically said, “these are the debate rules we are going to follow.”

The bottom line is that they don’t care what we voters think. They don’t care what the political parties think. What they care about is their own limited point of view: what will make good TV and give us the kind of sparks that will make for good TV.

If the Democratic party in New Hampshire — if Hillary and Obama do not take a stand now — we are throwing away our right to hear from all candidates. My candidate, Hillary, might win this time, or your candidate — Obama — might win. But there will come a day when other voices that we need to hear are silenced because some network executive thinks he knows what we ought to hear and how we ought to hear it.

Once again: I implore you to call WMUR at 1-800-257-5151.

I have just read a statement from the Clinton and Obama campaigns stating their opposition to the decision by ABC News and WMUR-TV to refuse to allow all Democratic candidates to participate in the next New Hampshire debate.

John Edwards, showing how readily he puts politics over principle, said he would not object and that it is up to the news media to decide who will participate.

The following statements were published late today in the Union Leader:

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama this afternoon issued statements prodding ABC and WMUR not to narrow the field.

Obama said: “The voters of New Hampshire deserve to hear all the Democratic candidates’ views on who can best lead America in a fundamentally new direction, and that’s why I urge these networks to allow full participation in this week’s debate.”

Clinton said: “I believe in the true spirit of the New Hampshire process, the candidates who have participated in past debates should not be excluded from this one.”

In contrast, John Edwards told UnionLeader.com this afternoon, “I’m staying out of that. I don’t get to set the rules for the debates. I’ll let the people who are in charge of the debates set the rules. And I’ll be there.”

In an earlier statement, one of Clinton’s top local supporters, former state party chair Kathy Sullivan, had said that anyone upset by the debate’s format should call WMUR and complain. The toll-free number is 1-800-257-5151.

Interestingly, the so-called liberal New Hampshire blog, Bluehampshire.com, had practically nothing to add to this important story.

I still believe this protest needs to be taken to the next step: Clinton, Obama, and Richardson should withdraw from the debate until ABC News and WMUR TV relents and puts ALL candidates back into the debate.

This primary belongs to the voters of New Hampshire and the respective political parties, not the elite media.

That was the somnolent Charlie Gibson referring to the non-reaction of the candidates after explaining in a conference call the exclusive rule keeping several candidates off the debate stage next weekend.

Maybe they were stunned into disbelief, Charlie, or were too polite to tell you where to shove it. Maybe your so-called low-key style put everyone to sleep, as you do me, and they never heard how a noose was being thrown around their candidacies so that you could maximize the amount of fireworks during your debate show.

Of course, the less time for those “marginal” candidates, the more time the camera can focus on you — right, Charlie?

And, just as a reminder, Charlie, the New Hampshire Primary belongs to the voters of New Hampshire, not to you, ABC News, WMUR-TV, or the candidates.

I am guessing that once the implications of what you are doing sinks in, you will hear from lots of people loud and clear: LET ALL THE CANDIDATES DEBATE!

What amazes me is that all those so-called leading political blogs out there — Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, etc. are totally oblivious to the demise of democracy in the Life Free or Die state. As long as their candidates win, they don’t give two shits about freedom of speech or the excessive powers of the electronic media in controlling who we do and do not hear from.