Spending Out of Control in NH

The Dems may think they have a mandate, but if they think that being this fiscally irresponsible is what they were put in place for, they may want to consider what will happen in the next election.

Democratic lawmakers, thanks to their new majority in New Hampshire's Legislature, have pushed through spending and social legislation that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

State Republican leaders who long have championed conservative spending and low taxes say Democrats are moving New Hampshire closer to its big-taxing and big-spending neighbors in Massachusetts and Maine — to the point where at least one of them jokingly calls the state "Maineachusetts."

"We're just spending money wildly," said Rep. Frank Tilton, R-Laconia, who chairs the Belknap County Republican Committee. "This isn't New Hampshire. New Hampshire has always been thrifty and tight with the money."

Fergus Cullen, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, said Democratic lawmakers have endorsed liberal spending when the House approved a state budget that was even higher than the 14 percent increase Gov. John Lynch proposed. House lawmakers added another $200 million to the state's $10.4 billion spending package, which represented a 16 percent increase and the first 11-figure budget in state history.

The Dems might want to remember that the state has far more independents than Repubs or Dems. If they continue to show no restraint, the public will likely show them how little their present mandate means.