2020 Elected Officials

At the top of the list, we will be advocating for the next Legislature to amend or repeal RSA 4:45, the state statute the executive branch has been using to conjure up “emergency orders.” We believe the executive branch emergency orders and the statute itself are unconstitutional abuses of authority. We need to make sure no executive branch official ever again shuts down this state and issues rules and regulations on how we can live our lives without explicit and specific approval by the Legislature. Law making is a power reserved solely for the Legislature, as we can clearly see in Article 29 of the State Constitution:  

• “The power of suspending the laws, or the execution of them, ought never to be exercised but by the Legislature, or by authority derived therefrom, to be exercised in such particular cases only as the Legislature shall expressly provide for.”

We will also be supportive of efforts to reign-in the Department of Health and Human Services, and other state and local government officials, and to generally restore the rule of law and our Constitutional rights. No emergency, whether real or imagined, is big enough to justify the suspension of our rights.

Outside of these core principles, our endorsed candidates have supported these concepts:

• Public policy should be based on principles in the Constitutions of the United States of America and New Hampshire, and any threats to public health are best handled by private actors outside of government.
• Legislators and governors may consult with subject matter experts, but their obligation is to the Constitution, the law, and to the people, as they are elected for their judgment to do the right thing even against popular or expert opinion.
• The Legislature is the body of government responsible for passing laws and creating public policy, and the governor should have no role other than faithfully executing duly enacted Constitutional laws without prejudice. The rule-making process by executive branch officials needs to be reigned in so that this authority to pass laws is restored to the Legislature.
• The Legislature should either be the sole body that enacts a “state of emergency” or should provide a check on the governor’s declared state of emergency by affirmative vote after 21 days has passed, and during a state of emergency the governor cannot enact public policy that supersedes laws passed by the Legislature and the rule of law expressed within the Constitution. The state should not be able to use licensing law to punish businesses that do not follow arbitrary orders that have not been passed through the Legislative process. State law should be amended to clarify what constitutes a state of emergency and to provide a legislative check on the governor’s authority to continue a state of emergency.
• At no time ever does the state have the right to restrict peaceful assembly or peaceful religious assembly.
• Business owners should have the right to run their operations as they see fit for the good of their customers, and customers should be able to patronize the businesses that are operating in a way they prefer. Individuals should be able make their own risk assessments about how and where they voluntarily interact with others in society, with the maximum role of government being advisory in nature. The state has no role in determining whether a business or activity is essential, as this is the role of a free people acting according to their own enlightened self interest. Every individual should be treated equally under the law, and no office, position or other differentiating factor should garner special treatment.
• Parents should be able to choose the best education for their children, whether public, private, remote, or homeschooling, at all times, and no State of Emergency should interrupt the completion of the educational process according to this choice.
• The reduction of business regulations and other restrictions on commerce, such as licensing, will be the best way to expand economic growth and rebuild New Hampshire following this period. If anything, taxes and spending should be reduced to ensure individuals have the best chance to succeed. At no time should government subsidize companies or industries and pick winners and losers in the market.
• Neither state nor local officials have the authority to mandate people wear masks or accept a vaccination for themselves or their children. It is the role of doctors alone to consult with their patients and give medical advice, and it is up to the patient whether they want to follow that advice. The Constitution prohibits private information from being shared with the public or with public officials without the opt-in consent of each individual, and any public registry, including a vaccine registry, violates this precept.