June 1983 Legislative Journal

Well, the shit hit the fan. Madame Chair is up to her tricks. Without the knowledge of the full Committee, she cut a deal with the Governor regarding a Department of Administration and Control. Rumor control has it that the Governor committed himself to HB-1 if she would support a twenty-five-page footnote to the budget reorganizing the Department of Administration.

This totally subverts the process by removing it from the scrutiny of the public and without the policy committee's total input in either the House or the Senate. If this comes to pass, the whole of reorganization is jaundiced in its wake. It will appear tawdry, irrespective if his plan is well structured. This undercutting the regular order will put reorganization in the gutter.

I went to see Speaker Tucker and he is outraged by this "around-the-end" move by the Governor and Madame Chair.

The abrupt break in my narrative results from my being summoned to see the Governor. Jean Barnes, Secretary to Steve Merrill (the Governor's council), came down to the snack bar and informed me that the Governor wanted to see me. So, I took my coffee and strolled up to the corner office to chat with the Governor.

It was possible that the Governor had gotten wind of my visit to the Speaker. Well, the minute I was seated in his office, he ripped into me. "I want you to know that Kay Ward sat in that chair and told me that the subcommittee voted unanimously to support me on this." The Governor was certainly upset. I acknowledged what the subcommittee did, but I countered by informing the Governor that when the full committee met, we concluded that reorganization was stalled. Therefore, we passed a resolution that a bill of intent, which included Administration and Control and four other key areas of government, should be introduced to give us the right to work on reorganization during the summer.

The Governor said he did not care what the Committee did after the fact. All he cared about was the deal he had cut with Kay Ward regarding HB -1 and the agreement to allow Administration and Control To be reorganized in the budget. He was aware that some of us wanted to approve a committee letter to the Senate asking them to remove the footnote. He was bullshit with me. He threatened to veto every piece of reorganization that reached his desk. After a pause, he asserted that he would reorganize the government by executive order.

I reminded him that most of the authority given to him was not given to him in the state constitution, but by legislative statute; and he most certainly could not reorganize government without the support of the Legislature. In addition, I told him that I don’t cotton to those kind threats, anyway. I thought he was being shortsighted and failing to address his responsibility for this whole sordid affair.

Steve Merrill and Jean were seated behind me, and they were astounded by the reaction of both the Governor and me. The Governor suddenly sat back in his chair and his eyes glassed over. He pondered for a moment and abruptly said, "That will be all, Representative Hutchings; have a nice day." I stood up, slowly, and gently picked up my coffee cup off his desk. Which, incidentally, never having been able to drink because of the intense atmosphere. Without replying, I walked out of his office and tugged the door smartly behind me.

I told Steve Merrill that I am not some courtier at the Sun King's palace to be summoned out of the dungeon, the basement cafeteria, just so the King can kick me out of his office. I immediately went to see the Speaker. It is not every day one gets into a heated exchange with one's governor. The Speaker did not have anything substantive to add, but he was interested in all the gory details of my meeting.

I was charged up. I remained so for a couple of days. In fact, even as I write this, I get shivers when I think about the victory we chalked up in the wake of these events. Rep. Wayne King (D) and Rep, Rick Newman (D) and I met, and we decided to press Madame Chair to the wall. That evening Wayne King and I called every member of the Committee to inform them of our intent to introduce a motion that calls for the Committee to be formally demonstrative in its feelings, generally, regarding reorganization. The rough draft was a little sharp, but we knew that the language was going to change in the give-and-take of debate.

The following morning, the three of us cornered Madame Chair in her office. In retrospect, allowing all three of us into her office simultaneously was her fatal mistake. I worked her over and into tears. Rick Newman moderated. Wayne King came in with the soft glove approach. This grilling of Kay Ward lasted around an hour. When we left, she was a beaten woman. She had put herself in a position that no matter which course she choose, she will piss off either the Governor or the Speaker.

In the end she agreed to a draft that meant one thing to her and another thing to the rest of the Committee. It was a major coup. The committee endorsed the letter with a simple voice vote. Everybody felt that we had stated our case fully, that is, except for the poor subcommittee and the Chair. The press was there, and people were too upset to argue openly out of fear of saying the wrong thing.

It was a pure victory.

Following the meeting, Rep. Newman, Rep. King, and myself spent quite a while gloating over it. Not Kay Ward. Nope. She held an impromptu news conference, where she stated that the Committee’s statement should not be construed to mean that the Committee was against the Governor's power play. However, the Vice Chair, Hal Watson, contradicted her by stating the opposite. He said the committee's written statement clearly means that the majority of the committee objects to the Governor's footnote.

I ate it up.

The battle still rages. A Senator who folded the day before under extreme pressure, now claims that he has the, "fodder” he needs to have the Senate remove the footnote on the floor on Monday. I hope so.

The Speaker also has the ammunition he needs during a Committee of Conference dealing with the budget. He has a document that clearly states the policy position of an important standing Committee of the House. He is certain to use it to his advantage against the Governor.

The Governor is left holding a very stinky bag all by himself. Madame Chair is of no use to him now. She has had her ox gored. And here I sit on a lovely summer day with a warm feeling about the past few days. The grass is fully green and the ground a comfortable place to sit.

Well, the Governor won round two.

The Senate voted 12-12; therefore, the motion to remove the footnote failed. Senator Rod Allen voted the wrong way but changed his vote to tie it up. However, the motion still fails. This, even after the Senate heard statements opposing the footnote by two standing policy committees of the House, ED&A and the Appropriations Committee. Both condemned the footnote. I was rather depressed regarding the Senate's vote. If something was clearly wrong, it was this footnote. But the battle rages. Hopefully, the Speaker will carry the day and enforce the House position.

Well, while we won round three on the House floor, we were mildly betrayed by Speaker Tucker. I was supposed to make the motion to instruct the House conferees on the budget to reject the footnote. However, when it was down to the wire, Madame Chair got the honor, much to our surprise. Presumably the Speaker wants to rehabilitate her standing while, at the same time, not elevating my standing.

Yesterday was devastating. We had the Governor, the Speaker, the President of the Senate and the Minority Leader before our committee attempting to resolve the conflict. Unfortunately, it appears the major players have staked out their respective positions.

The pressure has been unbearable. No single player is willing to give way to allowing the regular order of the legislative process to create a solution that emerges from ED&A. Those of us on ED&A opposed to the footnote are being used as pawns and whipping boys by the rest of House. I sincerely believe we are in a no-win situation. If any Republicans move over towards the minority position, they will be accused of being co-opted by the Democrats and the reverse holds true if any Democrat moves towards the majority. Those who side with their party's position will be accused of buckling under to partisan pressure tactics. One cannot win for losing.

One unfortunate outcome, no matter which position prevails, will leave clear blemishes on the process. Leadership in both houses and the Governor, while satisfying their own private agendas, have lost sight of the key victim in this specious battle: conflict resolution by honest debate and the regular order of the legislative process.

At this juncture I even question my own motives. In fact, I am not even convinced I can define my motives. I sure do not have a clear set of objectives. If I could resolve the conflict within myself, then I may be able to move quickly with some suggestions. Whatever I do, ultimately, will satisfy someone else's agenda, whether I like it or not. I need to avoid that trap at all costs. I do not want to be made to look like someone's tool. It does not matter if it's true or not. What matters is the perception that it may be true.

No one at the top is to be trusted, on either side of the aisle. Too much ego. Too much face is at stake for them, individually. The ego strength of the major players has been forged by their previous experiences in other intense process battles. These people are used to getting what they want. I wish they would, rather, focus on upholding the regular order of the legislative process.

Well, the Democrats on the subcommittee took a walk. The Republican members finished the 7th draft of the proposal and sent it out by State Police courier. The issue is not the document at this juncture. Nothing can vindicate the process. No one wins by the decision being made today by our committee.

We won a very limited victory in this instance. We need to see it this way for our own individual sanity. We stuck our necks out on this one. The final tally was 12-11, with three Republicans, including myself, voting against the document. Madame Chair ran the meeting like a dog and pony show. She sat in judgment, making editorial comments about the statements made by members on both sides of the issue. She did everything she could, from a parliamentary standpoint, to stack the deck. Her behavior and her tactics only served to further discredit her in the eyes of members on both sides of the issue.

The Press ate it up. The tension in that room was absolutely the most oppressive I have been subjected to in my adult life. While the Chair kept her antics up, I decided that I had enough, and I moved the question. People were surprised that I made the motion to move the question to an immediate vote, but we were not getting anywhere, anyway.

The limited victory from last week turned into a defeat today. By a nine-vote margin, the leadership ‘kissed and made up’ with the Governor. The Republican party was under attack on all fronts. The Party cannot allow people like me to have free rein. The Press has labeled us dissidents. I think that is a bit overstated.

The Governor spent a lot of the political capital that he had banked with his election six months ago. He ran roughshod over the Republican leadership of the legislature, in both houses. I wonder how many self-inflicted wounds he can sustain before he bleeds out. The Governor, in his haste, fails to recognize the human element at play in politics. His strategy, or lack thereof, has caught even his supporters off guard. Though the Leadership stood behind the Governor in the end, they did so against their will; and, I think, their better judgment.

Kay Ward's "children" have completely abandoned her in her time of need and personal crisis. She deserves to pay the butcher’s bill in full. The rest of the Leadership will pay the Governor back for his high-handedness someplace down the road. This crisis, however, was an appropriate time to stand up and be counted. This has developed into a classic struggle between the Executive and Legislative branches of government. This time the Legislative branch blinked and rolled over.

A part of me died yesterday. The tiny sliver of idealism that was left in my character was subjected to a beating. My outlook has certainly hardened as it relates to the "process.” There is nothing inherently wrong with the process. There is something wrong, however, with how we ignore and abuse it. Some executive leaders find it expedient to dismiss and violate the regular order of the legislative process in pursuit of their political agenda. They will actively thwart others in the pursuit of their goals, by running end-around plays without remorse.

We did, however, achieve our limited aim of removing the reorganization footnote from the budget. Regarding the Governor, it seems apparent that he does not care how he achieves his objectives. He holds himself blameless for the crisis he precipitated. He does not accept any responsibility for the means, as in this case, the ends justify his efforts. He won. He got his Department of Administrative Services designed by him.

My feelings continue to harden. I dismiss the people who claim that the result achieves harmony in the Party, apparently that is the ultimate positive result. I expect my disposition to recover soon; I need to reclaim my sense of jovial collegiality with my fellow politicians soon.

Yet, I will forever believe that the party system can be an obstructionist force in creating good public policy. Those who vote solely based on party considerations, are simply voting for themselves, their own clique. They treat the party as an entity. Like a child that needs protection, that needs constant attention and nurturing. The life and welfare of this “child” is put before good government and the people’s welfare. Their only interest is self-interest. This is true on both sides of the aisle.

In this case, the Republican leadership called in their markers and the Troops paid up. They voted for their parking spaces, their seat numbers, the special cocktail parties, and for the ever-elusive appointment to some board or a commission.

People, in Republican leadership, came up to me, privately, during this sordid affair and patted me on the back for doing the "right" thing. Then they immediately excused themselves for not being able to vote against the reorganization package, because of their leadership position, etc.

To be fair, had Leadership been divided on the vote, factionalism would be the result almost immediately. The net result would put the Governor in the driver's seat for the remainder of his term. From a Leadership viewpoint, one can empathize with the Speaker and his leadership team. His decision to kiss and make up with the Governor allows him to live to fight future battles. In the long run, though, they taint themselves.

Me? I got pushed out the door, whatever I do now I do without paying any attention to the majority leadership's goals and aspirations. Clearly, they believe that I have been co-opted by the Democrats. They fail to realize that I would be a bigger pain to the leadership on the other side. Of course, they may believe it would be better to have me causing problems for the Minority Leader's Conference. This is rather shortsighted. If Republican leadership steered my energy towards their own ends, brought me into the tent, I would have become an asset. The Republican party cannot continue to close the door on young people who show a commitment to conservative ideology. They make the gross assumption that I am a liberal. On the contrary, I fancy myself to be a neoconservative.

My views embody some of the liberal agenda, but in my conservative outlook, functionally, it all comes to cost vs. benefit. I do not approve the means used by the Democrats to achieve their stated goals. Most of their policy goals are shortsighted. They do not weigh, in their final analysis, the dependency they create among the lower classes as a result on their various programs. Conversely, the Republicans do not recognize the utility of helping the masses reconcile themselves to the dynamics of a capitalist economy. That policy must, additionally, be flexible enough to undergo constant structural change. If the masses are not assisted to withstand the constant churn of our economy, they shall surely take things out on the “process.”

Yesterday I read a highly critical editorial about me in the Concord Monitor. I immediately ripped off a reply. The editorial took me to task for voting to close the meeting between ED&A, the Governor and the Speaker. Following that meeting I made a statement to the press regarding my vote. I was the only member of the thirteen voting to close the meeting that had the balls to make a public statement. Yet, I was accused in the editorial, along with the others, of being afraid to let my constituents know what I was doing. That certainly is ironic, since I made the statement voluntarily.

The editorial implicated my remarks as being representative of a broad group of legislators that truly believe in closed government. I was highly offended. The author made no attempt to gain a more nuanced explanation from me regarding my vote. As I said in my rebuttal, "The irony for this legislator, is the Monitor’s failure to record my public opposition to government reorganization by governmental fiat. On the one hand, I was working to preserve the doctrine of separation of powers. Yet I was outflanked by the sovereignty of the people."

We only have two more days to go before the session comes to a screeching halt. That is, if a budget agreement is worked out on time. The high drama keeping us from having a budget is over an intra-legislative battle over representation on two committees: ABCC and the Fiscal committees. It is interesting that the House rolled over in its contest with the Executive branch, but we are engaged in a tough fight with our sister legislative body over a truly insignificant issue. I guess leadership thought this fight was a safe one in which to engage.

Stayed late to have dinner with Ray Burton and Wayne King. Following dinner, Wayne and I went over to the LOB to watch the House and Senate Committee of Conference on the budget. At about 10:00 pm the Speaker, who chaired the Conference Committee, announced to the audience of state officials and gathered media, that a budget agreement has been reached.

Today is the last day of the 1983 Session of the New Hampshire Legislature.
The final decision on the budget will be made today. A vice cop in the city would call it extortion. In the state house it's called compromise. If we vote against the budget, then the University system will be strapped. The state employees will not get their long-promised raise. The Division of Welfare will operate on a bare bones budget. If we vote for it, the real estate tax will be doubled. Video gaming will become a fact of life. And a whole bevy of other nickel and dime user fees will be increased.

It passed. I wonder if I will run again. More reorganization appeared in the budget again. I wonder why the Governor plays it as a zero-sum game.

Unfortunately, freshmen legislators are not allowed to build things. If they do construct something, then someone else takes credit. Very little that is constructive is done by freshmen. Not because of lack of effort, but because the veteran players frustrate or co-opt their initiatives.

Private political agendas vary, and the origins of these diverse efforts are difficult to ascertain. The closer to the center one finds oneself, the cloudier the picture. When bad things happen, it is too simple to attribute a defeat to organized conspiracy. There is none. The driving force behind events is dynamic. Situations remain fluid until, suddenly, positions solidify. Once positions are delineated, they do not change unless they become mutually advantageous to the major players. If there are any conspiracies, then they are just deals made during brief encounters designed to meet specific needs at critical moments. After that, the deal is off and there is a brief battle to get everything they want again. If that struggle fails then the search begins anew for a compromise.

All-in-all, it was a whole lot of fun. A real forging experience. Part of me died: a new part of me was born. I hope I can continue to develop the new me. I am certainly a different person after these six months. I am not quite sure what exactly makes me conclude that I am different, but I am convinced that the change is real. This has been a forging experience that I can only liken to my military duty. I have undergone a radical change. As radical as I did during my first six months in the military. My lifestyle has changed; my attitude towards people has changed. Much has endured, but the way I relate to other human beings has changed. I am not the same person I was on January 4, 1983.