Free State Project members running for political office often hide
or deny their FSP affiliation.
Granite State Progress’ Free State Project Watch
exposes those connections.
Concord, NH – Today Granite State Progress is releasing a list of more than 30 Free State Project members running for the New Hampshire state legislature, including two State Senate candidates and dozens of House candidates.
“Granite State Progress has been tracking the Free State Project and its influence since 2008, paying particular attention to Free Stater activity in elections and legislation,” said Zandra Rice Hawkins, executive director of Granite State Progress. “Free State Project members running for political office often hide or deny their FSP affiliation from voters and downplay their extreme beliefs when asked. To challenge this, Granite State Progress researches and compiles a list of Free State Project candidates running for office so voters know about the extreme affiliation of those candidates.”
New Hampshire’s role started more than a decade ago when the ultra-extreme Free State Project voted on a state to move 20,000 libertarians to with the stated purpose to take over state government and dismantle it, and New Hampshire was the unlucky recipient of that vote. The Free State Project seeks to create a libertarian “utopia” void of public infrastructure and common laws, and to use their numbers to dramatically change New Hampshire. The Free State Project even threatens to secede from the rest of the country once it meets its initial goals:
"Once we’ve taken over the
state government, we can slash state and local budgets, which make up a
sizeable proportion of the tax and regulatory burden we face every day.
Furthermore, we can eliminate substantial federal interference by refusing to
take highway funds and the strings attached to them. Once we’ve accomplished
these things, we can bargain with the national government over reducing the
role of the national government in our state. We can use the threat of
secession as leverage to do this." - Announcement:
The Free State Project by
Founder Jason Sorens
To
date, the Free State Project has recruited more than 20,000 people to sign the
pledge to move to New Hampshire, hitting their goal to “Trigger the Move"
– all those who signed up are supposed to start moving once the agreed upon
goal was met. More than 2,015 people have already moved.
“Free State Project members sign a pledge to move to New Hampshire and work to change the way of life in our state. They do not move here for a job, or for family, or even because they like what New Hampshire has to offer. Instead, they move here because a political group they are affiliated with voted on a state to move to and take over, and New Hampshire is the unlucky recipient of that vote,” Rice Hawkins said. “It is not surprising that so many Free Staters run for public office. Free State Project members uproot their families and move to New Hampshire purely to enact a political agenda, and running for office only further helps them reach that goal. Local communities who have dealt with them first-hand know how extreme their ideology can be, and that’s why we’ve seen push back from both Republicans and Democrats to expose them.”
“Free State Project members sign a pledge to move to New Hampshire and work to change the way of life in our state. They do not move here for a job, or for family, or even because they like what New Hampshire has to offer. Instead, they move here because a political group they are affiliated with voted on a state to move to and take over, and New Hampshire is the unlucky recipient of that vote,” Rice Hawkins said. “It is not surprising that so many Free Staters run for public office. Free State Project members uproot their families and move to New Hampshire purely to enact a political agenda, and running for office only further helps them reach that goal. Local communities who have dealt with them first-hand know how extreme their ideology can be, and that’s why we’ve seen push back from both Republicans and Democrats to expose them.”
The Free State Project candidate list is part of the Free State
Project Watch of Granite State Progress, and can be found online at https://freestateprojectwatch.
Granite State Progress released
similar candidate lists in 2012 and 2014. Members of the media and public are
encouraged to ask FSP candidates whether they disclose their Free State Project
affiliation in campaign materials and if not, why.
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Granite State Progress is a progressive advocacy organization that addresses issues of
immediate state and local concern. Granite State
Progress works as a communications hub for the progressive
community to provide a strong, credible voice in advancing progressive
solutions to critical community problems.
