Lynch Assails Shaheen, Hodes, and Shea Porter In State of State

In a 45 minute state of the state speech crammed full of “it goes without saying” pablum and devoid of any specifics on much ballyhooed spending cuts, New Hampshire governor John Lynch saved his severest criticism for fellow Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, former governor and current U.S. Senator.

Without mentioning Shaheen by name, Lynch noted how a priority must be to repair roads and bridges which have suffered from years of neglect.  Lynch himself has now been at the helm for five of those years of neglect while Shaheen bears responsibility for even more of the Lynch-asserted neglect, six years.

Beyond that, Lynch, again without mentioning names, slammed Shaheen who voted for the Democrat-backed health care plan which included the Cornhusker Kickback for Senator Nelson and the Louisiana Purchase for Senator Landrieu.  Lynch said we should accept no health plan which affords special treatment to certain states.  He also indirectly attacked Democratic Congressmen Paul Hodes and Carol Shea Porter by saying we must oppose any health care plan which passes costs down to states.  Clearly, the plan Hodes and Porter voted for six weeks ago does just that.

If there was any doubt that the Scott Brown election Tuesday has created a new playing field, Lynch made it clear that he at least got the message.  If Shaheen, Porter, and Hodes take Lynch’s warning, there’s no way they can vote for any type of Obama-type health plan now.

Thank you Scott Brown; you’ve managed to get this timid governor to come out of the closet and finally take a position.

Unfortunately, Lynch was not so bold in other areas.  While affirming what everybody knows–that we must provide excellent education, health care, job opportunities, and safety for our citizens (applause lines in any state at any time for sure)–Lynch by and large failed to say how much it would cost to accomplish these ends.

At the start of his speech, he mentioned a doubling of the employment training fund, to $2 million, and offered expanded unemployment benefits which are sure to cost more in terms of state money, either to recipients or in employee offers, but specifics were few and far between.

Democrats could not have been happy and in fact they failed to applaud when Lynch mentioned the need for further budget cuts this year.  He also heralded New Hampshire as a low tax state without a state sales or income tax, a line that was going to pass without applause until your humble correspondent, also a State Rep from Manchester, stood and applauded and kept doing so until others felt compelled to join in.

Lynch reiterated his support for a constitutional amendment for educational funding, another line that fell flat with the Democratic majority in the House.  He admitted that while he supports such an amendment, it’s not going to happen in the current environment.

He then offered a sublime contradiction that even some Democrats caught.  While saying we need to spend more on towns which need education dollars the most, he said we must not go back to donor towns, the system which in fact guaranteed that towns which needed the money most got it from town which could most afford it.

Go figure.

At the end of the speech, Lynch’s words fell flat with lines that, on paper one could see, were clearly meant as a soaring rhetorical moment, ”clouds” and such.  An Obama would have received soaring applause as he left the podium.  For Lynch, the applause was tepid at best and many were left wondering that a better conclusion would have been a surprise announcement that, after blasting Shaheen, Porter, and Hodes, he planned to change parties then and there and run as a Republican come November.

Thanks again, Scott Brown.

Message received at the corner office in Concord.