DEMOCRATS BELIEVE COMMSISIONER EDELBLUT NEEDS SCHOOLING IN FREE SPEECH

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – On Sunday January 10th New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut tweeted 2 images claiming companies like Apple, Google, and Twitter, in suspending from their sites accounts posing credible threats, are violating Americans’ right to free speech.

House Education committee member Rep. Linda Tanner (D-Georges Mills) released the following statement:

“Commissioner Edelblut’s tweets, defending the right for violent insurrectionists and those who embolden them to plan their attacks using private social media sites, is an affront to our state.

The businesses he references simply do not want their technology to be used to enable terrorists to organize attacks on the United States. Scores of companies like them have pulled their financial support from political action committees and from politicians who promote conspiracy theories and disinformation to attack our democratic institutions, institutions that Commissioner Edelblut has sworn to uphold.

Yesterday, the FBI released a bulletin confirming the threat of armed attacks on state capitols and the US Capitol, plans which originated on the social media site, Parler. Conspiracy to attack the United States is not protected by free speech. It is a criminal activity called sedition and the heinous act to attack the Capitol is not free speech either, it is called treason. The state’s top education official should know the difference. The people of New Hampshire deserve an explanation from Commissioner Edelblut.”

DEMOCRATS RESPOND TO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL TAKING ON UNSUSTAINABLE CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING GRANT

DEMOCRATS RESPOND TO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL TAKING ON UNSUSTAINABLE CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING GRANT

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Yesterday, the Executive Council voted 4-1 for the state Department of Education to accept a federal grant for charter school startups. Last term, the Fiscal Committee rejected the grant citing concerns over how the grant would impact existing charter and public schools. In response to the vote, Former Fiscal Committee Chair Rep. Mary Jane Wallner (D-Concord) released the following statement:

“Last year, the Fiscal Committee had grave concerns about accepting start-up funding to double the number of charter schools in New Hampshire while 25% of seats in existing charters remained vacant and the Department of Education failed to answer questions surrounding the sustainability of funding new schools. Today, those concerns persist and are even increased by the harsh strain that COVID-19 has undoubtedly put on taxpayers, our state budget and on public education. It is more important now than ever to fight to sustain the record-setting school funding that Democrats in the legislature achieved in the last state budget and ensure that taxpayers do not have to pick up the tab for unsustainable expansion.”

DEMOCRATIC LEADER CUSHING RESPONDS TO ANTI-SEMITIC POST BY REPUBLICAN HOUSE MEMBER

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – January 7, 2021, it was brought to light that Representative James Spillane (R-Deerfield) posted an anti-Semitic image on the social media site Parler, one of the sites used by the far-right to organize and execute the pro-Trump mob attack on the Capitol yesterday. Following reports of the post, Democratic Leader Renny Cushing (D-Hampton) released the following statement:

“Yesterday at the Capitol in Washington D.C., the country and the world got to see exactly what happens when hate speech and bigotry go unchallenged and promoted. The same day back here in New Hampshire, House Republicans voted to deny introduction of a bill that would have clarified that hate speech, bullying, and all other forms of harassment are not appropriate conduct for elected officials.”

“Today it has come to light that another member of the House GOP has posted a disgusting and dangerous anti-Semitic photo online. This hateful behavior has no place in the New Hampshire House, and I urge the Republican leadership to denounce this action and join me in requesting Rep Spillane to step down from his position.”

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On Background:

· A screenshot of Rep Spillane’s post can be found here: https://twitter.com/miscellanyblue/status/1347176562815283200

· Last fall, Rep Jim Spillane was investigated by the State Attorney General’s Office for a Facebook post that read “Public Service Announcement: If you see a BLM sign on a lawn, it’s the same as having a porch light on at Halloween. You are free to burn and loot that house.”

· On September 1, 2020, Speaker Stephen Shurtleff called on Representative James Spillane (R-Deerfield) to resign over his comments regarding the Black Lives Matter movement and inciting violence in his community. Full release here: https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/spillanestatement-converted-1599177610.pdf

· As reported by the New York Times, Parler is one of the social media sites used by the far-right to plan, and then communicate in real time, the mob attack on the Capitol yesterday.

o https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/protesters-storm-capitol-hill-building.html

· The late filing request that was defeated by House Republicans at session on January 6 was initially made during the House Rules committee meeting on December 15th, but Republicans failed to support it. This request was made in response to the news that newly elected Representative Dawn Johnson (R-Laconia) had shared a post from a neo-Nazi website on Facebook.