Steven Hepburn: Belknap County Republicans need a new slate of members

To The Daily Sun,

Soon to be ex-Rep. Norm Silber (but still chair of the Belknap County Republican Committee) and his executive committee, including hopefully soon to be ex-Rep. Paul Terry, are continuing to use their alt-right bully pulpit of the Granite Grok blog to smear and malign fellow Republicans.

When their favored primary candidates lost en masse, they reluctantly endorsed all of the winning Republican candidates, and finally produced their scaremongering political signs about food costs and energy prices. Remind me, who has had full control of the New Hampshire governorship, Senate and House for the past three years? That’s right, Republicans. Republicans who were too busy defunding our vital county services, attacking our beloved ski mountain and supporting an effort to advance New Hampshire secession.

Yet still now, Silber and his executive committee are attacking Republican candidates like Rep. Mike Bordes — someone who is willing to listen to multiple positions before coming to his own independent conclusion. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they are behind or funding the write-in campaign of primary loser Jeanne Tofts in Meredith, who has decided that the winning Republican candidates are not right wing enough for her tastes. Silber claims that politicians can disagree “without stooping to personal attacks” in the same blog post where he calls another Republican a “useful idiot.”

Terry has taken exception to his own words being used against him by a fellow Republican blogger. After he said, on video, “my fellow representatives in Belknap County have betrayed their God, they have betrayed the Constitution, they are committing a great wrong, and sending a man to his doom,” comparing the David Strang ouster to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Republicans in Belknap County have to clean house and get some reasonableness back into their party. This QAnon-Libertarian-Christo-Republican alliance is untenable.

Steven Hepburn

Gilford