(Originally published October 25, 2021 on InDepthNH.org). The original post can be seen at http://indepthnh.org/2021/10/25/op-ed-think-its-about-freedom-follow-the-money/
By Rep. Anita Burroughs, D-Glen
Most people want freedom, less regulation, and less government interference with their lives. What may come as a surprise to many is that anti-masking, anti-vaccine school protests across the state and the country are not as spontaneous as they seem.
The Washington Post has reported that the Koch political machine, "Americans for Prosperity" along with other conservative-leaning organizations are fueling and funding these protests in the deeper goal of creating an effective smokescreen for what the Free State and Liberty Republicans are really all about.
In New Hampshire, these organizations are pouring money into NH legislative races with remarkable effectiveness and success. Two political action committees (PACs) Make Liberty Win and Americans for Prosperity —together dumped $1.4 million into legislative races in New Hampshire in 2020 alone.
In 2020, Make Liberty Win endorsed 79 NH House candidates. The organization distributed between $4,933 and $10,403 to 30 candidates. The list of these candidates matches those promoted by the NH Liberty Alliance, which promotes the election of state legislators who want to shrink the authority of government at all levels while enhancing individual freedom. They are closely aligned with the Free State Project, which recruits out-of-state individuals from the far right of the political spectrum and now boasts 45 members of the NH legislature./span>
New Hampshire voters need to wake up to the fact that the leadership of the NH legislature and the traditionally moderate Republican Party as a whole is firmly in the control of extremists who want government and its democratic balances of power to be systematically dismantled. Do you believe this is an exaggeration? Jason Osborne, the House Majority leader is a Free Stater (or Liberty Republicans as they are also called) calls the shots in the statehouse. Four out of the six Republicans that make up the House leadership team identify as Liberty Republicans; 10 out of 22 committee chairs also affiliate with this group. The media reports that as many as 53 NH state legislators identify as Liberty Republicans.
All Republicans (whether moderate or right-wing) are told to vote for bills that disrupt public school funding, diminish women's rights, and defund public health measures designed to protect the public to name a few. Even Governor Chris Sununu asserted that the Libertarians are not Republicans stating, "they are their own party".
Republican House members who do not 'tow the line' are threatened with the loss of their committee chairmanships and seats and losing their seats altogether in the 2022 elections.
Public education funding is in jeopardy from programs such as the "Education Freedom Accounts" which enables homeschooling with little accountability for parents who choose to teach their children at home. The Granite State may soon be labeled as Little Texas for its restrictive reproductive rights legislation. And as we recently saw, the Executive Council decided to forgo $27 million in funding to help our state to bring down the alarming pockets of COVID. Governor Chris Sununu stated that "this action was a total disservice to the constituents we serve." I'm starting to think that the governor now wishes he had an Executive Council led by moderates of both parties.
Make no mistake, the new 'Liberty Republicans' and 'Free Staters' are not on your side.
They are funded by powerful corporations such as Koch Industries whose sole goal is to redistribute wealth back from the middle class and poor to the ultrarich.
The freedom rhetoric on the surface is but a smokescreen for the real motive to deregulate American industries in order to finally put to an end any semblance of a level playing field.
Next time you are drawn to the attractive rhetoric of no mandates and less government, play the game of 'follow the money' and see whose piper the former President Trump and the Liberty Republicans/Free States really dance to. Then talk with moderate Democrats and Republicans who are truly the ones fighting to preserve democratic institutions and the balance of powers that protect your freedoms.
In the next election, don't determine who to vote for based upon whether they are a Democrat or Republican. Vote for moderates from both sides of the aisle so that you can stop this malignant growth within our state and protect our way of life.