At 12:59 pm on January 11, freshman Rep. Tom Alciere (R-Nashua) of the New Hampshire state legislature resigned at the request of the state governor after ensuring that the bills he had proposed during his brief tenure would be sponsored by a fellow legislator, Rep. Gary Greenburg. The resignation came in response to local media coverage of several Usenet postings (self-described "rants") written before Rep. Alciere's election, principally a diatribe in response to incidents of police brutality in which he praised a black man in Virginia for shooting a cop who had been "harassing" him: "The gentleman resolved the confrontation by fighting like a man and defending himself. The Bill of Rights never got through the cop's head, but a .38 caliber bullet certainly did." Of course, as we all know, he is the first politician in U.S. history to make a rash decision at some point in his life, and his sponsorship (prior to his resignation) of certain highly radical and unpopular bills was mere coincidence.
The bills in question include several relevant to ASFAR. The following summaries are taken from Mr. Alciere's web page at www.TomAlciere.com.
LSR 306, relative to the custody of pregnant runaways. This bill addresses the cruel reality that "I'm keeping my baby, so Papa don't preach ..." can run face-to-face with parental pressure which all too often prevails, resulting in the baby being brutally killed in an abortion. LSR 306 will stop the government from interfering with people who would harbour the minor, should she leave her parents' home to escape such pressure ... The government would not track her down and force her back to her parents who want her baby killed. For pro-life people, this is a no-brainer. Pro-choice people must remember that the girl's choice is to keep her baby and not to live with abusive parents....
LSR 504, repealing the compulsory school attendance statute. Compelling children to attend school violates their constitutional right to the enjoyment of liberty, N.H. Const. Part 1 Article 2.
LSR 529, replacing public school with computer-based learning. Under this plan the State would provide students with computer systems and Internet connections, and allow them to download all the free educational materials from the Internet they want. The computers will be equipped for parental controls. Since the child and family select whatever educational materials they want, there is less chance for government-imposed bias. The State and the school districts would provide websites where they link to educational materials they approve, giving the student a starting point.
LSR 632. To repeal the drinking age restrictions. The government has absolutely no right to make thousands of innocent people second-class citizens, which the government chooses to do, purely out of malice. It's easy for the politicians to pick on people under 21, but it's also unjust and unconstitutional. Besides, the voters can no longer claim to be concerned about drunk driving, having elected a convicted drunk driver to be President of the United States.
LSR 658. To increase the fines and license revocation periods for drunk driving. Many politicians will oppose this change, because they are drunk drivers themselves. It's easier to pick on innocent people under 21, who are politically powerless ... This should put the MADD bigots on the spot: Will they devote their New Hampshire resources to promote the bill, or squander them fighting a bill to restore liberty to innocent people. We shall see.
Rep. GreenbErg, who has agreed to sponsor these and other Alciere bills, stated that he did so "merely to facilitate his resignation" and that he will recommend the bills be killed without debate. Alciere had hoped for a roll-call vote on each bill, but eventually settled for the sponsorship alone.
Other bills sponsored by Rep. Alciere included legislation to end involuntary commitment in mental institutions, legalize drugs, and eliminate zoning restrictions. Despite these largely libertarian ideas, he is not a member of the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, which refunded his dues and revoked his membership prior to his election. The local LP claims he violated that party's Statement of Principles, which prohibits the initiation of force to achieve social or political ends, and have recommended to the national party leadership that he be expelled.
The Nashua Board of Alderman may or may not hold a special election to fill the empty seat. Mr. Alciere has refused to promise not to run in any such special election.
Senate President Arthur Klemm was quoted in The Telegraph as saying, "This means we can go back to focus on what we're here to do," echoing the sentiments of many of the legislators. Presumably this means preserving the status quo and insuring that no actual progress is achieved. Klemm mentioned such serious issues as "a two-year, $200 million education funding shortfall, judicial reform, and a new state budget," said the Telegraph.
Mr. Alciere seemed mostly satisfied in the resignation message he posted on Usenet. "The proposals I am putting forth will stir up the hornets' nest again, which is what I wanted to do." And the post, like all of his posts, ended with his typically irreverent sigfile: "Over 90% of all crimes are committed by people wearing shoes. OUTLAW SHOES 8-)".
By Eli Naeher
ASFAR Member
Since this writing, Tom Alciere has taken down his web site, removed his Usenet messages from the Deja.com archives, and issued a retraction of his angry remarks on killing cops and domestic violence. He has also announced that he has no intention of pursuing further political posts, as he finds the media intrusion to be oppressive. The mainstream media has switched from portraying him as a dangerous hatemonger to painting him as a lonely and socially inept loser in desperate need of therapy, conveniently excluding itself from any responsibility to take him seriously. In other words, the threat to the status quo has been averted; score one for the establishment spin doctors.