Niel Young

To the editor:

I congratulate Tom Brown Jr. on becoming chairman for the city Republican Committee. He has the enthusiasm for the job, in these tough times for the GOP at all levels.

And, of course, that brings me to why the Republican Party lost so badly last November and, with Bush still in office November 2008, the GOP may very well suffer the loss of even more seats in N.H. and D.C.

My suggestion to Tom was to begin showing some leadership from Republicans by seeking and ensuring that there be an open process in the selection of an interim sheriff for Belknap County. Last I knew the GOP was the majority of the delegation. We went through this with the choosing of a new county commissioner — where the delegation refused to inform of us of who the applicants were, for our input — considering the commissioner is elected.

This is not a personnel matter. The person chosen to fill the job now will automatically become the “incumbent” for next year’s election – and since it is an elected office, why can’t we be told who wants the job now?

Candidates are probably from within law enforcement, or at least I hope so, then what is the big secret for those candidates? Their current employment should not suffer should they not be chosen, so why the secrecy, Belknap County legislators?

We have a Republican President who insults me and the “base” — a number of Republican elected representatives in the county who don’t think we deserve to know who wants to be sheriff without being elected — and a former state GOP chairman Steve Duprey reportedly saying: "I'm glad I'm not the Republican Party chairman. In my day and age, we'd take them out behind a woodshed and beat them thoroughly until they got smart. The idea of the Republicans, being in the minority party, now having litmus tests over who is a good Republican is a recipe for losing, not winning."

Wow Steve! You’re angry because some darn good conservative Republicans – have decided to organize a group known as the N.H. Reagan Network with the goal of winning back the NH House in 2008 – and they are having a dinner to raise funds to assist in that endeavor?

Questions: Steve when did we throw principle out in the name of winning, and who decides who is going to the woodshed?

Niel Young

Laconia