NH - Tea Party idiots kill 4th graders harmless bill

[Minimalist]

John Oliver worked these assholes over last night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nO_-SAPrUU

[CapnAwesome]

First, it wasn't state bird. We already have one. It's the purple finch. It was for an as-yet unspecified state raptor.
Second, Groen's comment about Planned Parenthood was straight out of the Tea Party handbook, and since I live one town over I kinda know what his politics are all about. Dude is a Teaper through and through.
Third, this isn't "using kids in anything political" because naming a state raptor, of all things, shouldn't be considered partisan.

Ultimately, it was supposed to be a learning exercise that actually involved the kids in the political process. Given how few people vote, let alone are completely uninterested in politics at all, that's a worthwhile thing to strive for. And then a couple of humorless, and I can only assume dickless, politicians decided to grandstand for no real reason. I can sort of see Burt's issue with the appropriateness of it all, but there's already a precedent set for it, and the vote would take, what, a couple of minutes at most without the grandstanding? It's not like this would table some proposed legislation on anything actually important.

So if the whole thing is about teaching kids how the political process works, then what is the objection to their bill failing? That is part of the political process. In fact it's the majority of the political process. Most bills fail. It's like they are going to teach kids about politics but then coddle them and not actually teach them about politics. You know why I would probably vote against this bill, because some teacher decided it would be a good idea to bring a horde of 10 year olds to where I'm trying to work and do something serious. When was the last time you were around a mass of 10 year olds? It's obnoxious, loud and exactly what that guy said, a waste of time. Best thing to do is make sure the teachers don't do this year after year.

Who cares about the planned parenthood comments, 10 year olds don't understand it anyway. What's egregious here is that dickhead 'reporters' then use it to make a partisan statement, that Republicans hate children of all things. That is exactly using children for political means, which is my objection to start with. Stop fucking using children to make a point, even one as nonsensical as this.

[Minimalist]

then what is the objection to their bill failing?

You know, you're right. Next time the little bastards will know that they have to bribe the motherfucking tea-baggers if they want to get anything passed...just like the 1% does.

[CapnAwesome]

You know what a New Hampshire legislator makes? 100$ a year. This is a volunteer position. When you are volunteering your time, you probably don't want it wasted by 100 screaming 4th graders. Not everybody finds children to be cute, especially in large numbers. Also using this to make a partisan point is such a dickhead move. You know what, Democrats voted against this to.


"Rep. Christy Bartlett, a Democrat, dismissed the bill as trivial and a waste of time"

Fucking right. It's a huge waste of time. Kids shouldn't be part of the political process and the real assholes here on the ones who are then using them to make a partisan point. You ever seen a kid at a pro-life rally and want to punch the parents in the face? Well how about someone who can't even be bothered to say that the majority of people who voted against this were Republicans (which it doesn't say in any article I've seen) and yet uses this to imply that Republicans hate children. That sort of stuff drives me insane. It's using kids to make a nonsense point. Stop using children as a political tool.

[Minimalist]

I'm sure that makes them all the more open to bribes...oh, excuse me. "Campaign contributions." We pay legislators in AZ $24,000 and they are about the most useless pile of republicunt shit you can imagine.

[CapnAwesome]

I'm sure that makes them all the more open to bribes...oh, excuse me. "Campaign contributions." We pay legislators in AZ $24,000 and they are about the most useless pile of republicunt shit you can imagine.

What Bribes? New Hampshire doesn't fund shit. You know the whole point of bribing someone, so you can get money back. New Hampshire doesn't fund hardly anything so a bribe wouldn't do much. Unlike Arizona (I have lived in both states), which spends disgusting amounts of money and despite being so socially conservative wastes so much money on worthless projects (like building a wall at the border.) It's probably one of the least fiscally conservative states. Full of entitled, old as shit white people who think they need every social service imaginable. It's just a different type of conservatism in the two places. If the government didn't spend lots of money on worthless shit all the time, there would be nothing to get out of them and bribes would become irrelevant.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Who cares about the planned parenthood comments, 10 year olds don't understand it anyway.

For your worries earlier about how the kids were being misused, you're suddenly a little complacent. Kids understand a hell of a lot more than non-parents think.

The politician was using the kids to grandstand his views, and now he's catching pushback. Perhaps he should have thought his strategy out a little better, don't you agree? And -- it's funny how some "small-government" assholes want to stick the government inside each and every woman's womb, isn't it? Even funnier is how they think that a gathering of grade-school children is the appropriate venue to opine on such a subject.

Me, I think that politician is a twat. It's a shame he can never be pregnant, never know the feeling of what it means to make such a ponderous decision, and yet he still feels fine with running his mouth -- in front of children, no less.

[Minimalist]

What Bribes?

Hey, I agreed with you. The little bastards should learn how the system really works instead of this feel-good shit they peddle in schools.

They should learn the way the world works.

[KevinM1]

First, it wasn't state bird. We already have one. It's the purple finch. It was for an as-yet unspecified state raptor.
Second, Groen's comment about Planned Parenthood was straight out of the Tea Party handbook, and since I live one town over I kinda know what his politics are all about. Dude is a Teaper through and through.
Third, this isn't "using kids in anything political" because naming a state raptor, of all things, shouldn't be considered partisan.

Ultimately, it was supposed to be a learning exercise that actually involved the kids in the political process. Given how few people vote, let alone are completely uninterested in politics at all, that's a worthwhile thing to strive for. And then a couple of humorless, and I can only assume dickless, politicians decided to grandstand for no real reason. I can sort of see Burt's issue with the appropriateness of it all, but there's already a precedent set for it, and the vote would take, what, a couple of minutes at most without the grandstanding? It's not like this would table some proposed legislation on anything actually important.

So if the whole thing is about teaching kids how the political process works, then what is the objection to their bill failing? That is part of the political process. In fact it's the majority of the political process. Most bills fail. It's like they are going to teach kids about politics but then coddle them and not actually teach them about politics. You know why I would probably vote against this bill, because some teacher decided it would be a good idea to bring a horde of 10 year olds to where I'm trying to work and do something serious. When was the last time you were around a mass of 10 year olds? It's obnoxious, loud and exactly what that guy said, a waste of time. Best thing to do is make sure the teachers don't do this year after year.

There is a way to vote against the bill tactfully and professionally. Groen certainly didn't exhibit any tact. Burt was borderline, IMO. I dunno...maybe I'm weird, but I try to not be a dick to kids. That doesn't mean I think everyone needs to cave in and give the kids what they want, but if they choose to explain why they voted against it, it can be done in a more constructive way than "your idea sucks and is a waste of time." Even if it is a shitty idea and a waste of time. Something as simple as "While I don't see a reason to vote for naming a state raptor at this time, I'd like to thank you for your interest in learning how the political process works." Boom, short, sweet, polite, and professional. The bare minimum of what the situation required.

Who cares about the planned parenthood comments, 10 year olds don't understand it anyway. What's egregious here is that dickhead 'reporters' then use it to make a partisan statement, that Republicans hate children of all things. That is exactly using children for political means, which is my objection to start with. Stop fucking using children to make a point, even one as nonsensical as this.

Fair enough. However, if you hate that, shouldn't you also hate Groen's grandstanding? I mean, he did take the opportunity to twist the thing into a tortured comparison to Planned Parenthood for no real reason other than to make a dig at something he didn't like.

I really don't give a shit that these people are essentially volunteers. They're public servants and representatives of the State's government. They should get called out for acting like dicks.

[Clueless Morgan]

There is a way to vote against the bill tactfully and professionally. Groen certainly didn't exhibit any tact. Burt was borderline, IMO. I dunno...maybe I'm weird, but I try to not be a dick to kids. That doesn't mean I think everyone needs to cave in and give the kids what they want, but if they choose to explain why they voted against it, it can be done in a more constructive way than "your idea sucks and is a waste of time." Even if it is a shitty idea and a waste of time. Something as simple as "While I don't see a reason to vote for naming a state raptor at this time, I'd like to thank you for your interest in learning how the political process works." Boom, short, sweet, polite, and professional. The bare minimum of what the situation required.

Yup. I would assume that Oliver was using the most absurd of the responses in his bit for comedic purposes, but I agree that the way to handle this situation would have been to thank the kids for their proposal but that a raptor does qualify as a bird and the state already has an official bird, or something to that effect. Basically what one of the speakers in the Oliver bit said, but without the assholery.