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Phone Jammerama
 The NH phone jamming scandal of 2002 is winding down into predictable absurdity. The NH Democratic State Committee is suing the Republican State Committee civilly for $9 million – the cost of its entire election-year GOTV operation that year.
The Repubs claim they owe the Dems about four grand, and while that seems a little low, it’s a lot closer to the mark.
Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) didn’t lose her bid for the US Senate against then Rep. John Sununu (R-NH) because of the 87 minutes that Chuck McGee and Company foolishly jammed six ride-to-the-polls phone banks.
The reality is that at the top of the ticket in 2002, the Dems suffered the same fate as state Senator Mark Fernald, a pro income tax liberal, while the Repubs fielded the self-financed money-bags Craig Benson. And that debacle took the whole Dem ticket down. The Dem ranks were reduced to six seats in the state Senate and a busload of House members out of 400.
The Dem’s current intent is clear – to financially cripple the state Republican Party for many years to come. Kick them when they’re down, leave no prisoners. And who could blame them?
But their payback already came on election day 2006 when the NH Republican State Committee was so strapped for cash after defending itself against this lawsuit that it nearly drowned in a 100-year flood of Democratic straight-ticket votes. So chances are, at the trial that begins Dec. 4th, Judge Philip Mangones will say “That’s that.”
~Jack McEnany
Also see: Jamming1, Jammus, Abramoff
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