lobbyist

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Why Are Gun Control Lobbyists So Violent?

May 24, 2019 by 3 Comments

Photo by Manchester (NH) Police Department

Don’t be this guy!

Robert Blaisdell, 44, of Manchester, New Hampshire is a well-known lobbyist in the New Hampshire Statehouse. Blaisdell is the managing partner in the lobbying firm of Demers, Blaisdell, and Prasol, Inc. Among his many clients are the NH Troopers Association, the NH Police Association, Everytown for Gun Safety, Bank of America, and Walmart.

Why not be this guy? Other than being a lobbyist, his bio make him sound like an upstanding citizen serving on numerous municipal boards and school foundations.

Well, according to The Patch, he was involved in a “domestic disturbance” on the evening of May 2nd.

From The Patch:

(He) was arrested on May 2, 2019, and charged with domestic violence-simple assault, false imprisonment, and criminal mischief. According to court documents and scanner chatter, a large police presence was sent to a Union Street address at around 9 p.m. for an incident that had escalated from a domestic disturbance.

When they arrived and after conducting an investigation, police charged Blaisdell with three counts. They allege that he “knowingly” confined a family member “so as to substantially interfere with their ability to physically movement by holding the laundry room door closed over a period of several minutes” when the person tried to leave the room. Blaisdell is also accused of stepping on the person’s hand during the disturbance. Court documents also allege that he grabbed the victim’s cellphone and “using his hands in a twisting motion thus cracking the screen and rendering the phone useless, causing damages in excess of $100.”

 I wonder if when gun controllers push for more gun control it is because they think most people are violent like them. Hint — we aren’t.

H/T Rob Reed

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It’s Hard To Feel Much Empathy

October 3, 2013 by 1 Comment

BLT: The Blog of the Legal Times posted a story today about the impact of the semi-shutdown of the Federal government and its impact on a certain segment of workers inside the Beltway. Unfortunately, I find it very hard to generate much empathy for this segment of workers.

I think the title of the story explains why I, normally a very empathetic person, feel nothing for this class of workers.

Lobbyists Face Uncertainty Amid Shutdown

The story is about how hard work is for these lawyers and ex-Congressmen as they try to explain what is going on to their clients and how they don’t have good answers.

Life is tough all around. These leeches and parasites just need to get used to it.

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Reading Between The Lines

February 21, 2013 by 2 Comments

Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) represents the district in which magazine manufacturer Magpul is located. He plans to tour the Magpul plant in Erie, Colorado today and had invited Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) to join him. Hickenlooper won’t be able to attend because he is headed to the East Coast for meetings in New York, Philly, and DC as well as attending the National Governors Association meeting.

In making the invitation Gardner said:

Gardner, R-Yuma, said the governor could benefit from the tour because, “as elected officials, I think it is important that we educate ourselves on how legislation can affect our constituents.”

As so often happens, the Congressman’s office didn’t coordinate with the Governor’s office before announcing the invitation.  I’ve read two reports on this invitation in the Denver press. In one report (the Denver Post), the story stops there. Moreover, the headlines in both stories are about the invitation and the governor’s inability to make the tour with Gardner.

However, in the other report on this tour put out by KDVR Fox 31 Denver, there was this little tidbit about HB 1224, the Colorado magazine ban bill, and the governor’s position on it.

Hickenlooper told reporters last week that he supports the high-capacity magazine ban; but, during a panel discussion about gun restrictions Tuesday night, the governor appeared to waffle on the matter.

“We haven’t taken a position on that bill yet,” Hickenlooper said. “But I from time to time have said contradictory things on it.

“It’s a tough issue: I mean, how many lives do you save, and how real is the inconvenience to the people who want to have a larger capacity magazine and feel it’s essential for defending their house?”

Hickenlooper’s former legislative lobbyist, R.D. Sewald, who left the administration last year to start his own private lobbying firm, now represents Magpul.

In terms of whether or not a magazine ban is enacted in Colorado or not, forget the news about the tour. That is just publicity seeking by a politician. The important stuff is the relationship between Gov. Hickenlooper and Sewald, the fact that Sewald now represents Magpul, and whether or not Sewald can convince either Hickenlooper or enough Democrat State Senators to can HB 1224. That’s the real story.

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Heath Becomes A Dookie*

November 28, 2012 by 1 Comment

My soon to be former congressman, Heath Shuler, has a new job lined up. He’s becoming the top “Federal affairs official” for Duke Energy aka Duke Power. That is Beltway-speak for lobbyist.

From The Hill:


The conservative Democrat won’t vote on any matters affecting Duke Energy for the remainder of his time in Congress, the company said in a statement that touted the hiring of the one-time Washington Redskins quarterback.

“Heath is well known in Washington for working with leaders from both political parties and for bringing people together in his district in Western North Carolina,” said Keith Trent, a vice president with Duke Energy’s regulated utilities.

Shuler, who announced in February that he was not seeking reelection, will be based in Duke’s Washington, D.C., office.

A Duke spokesman, citing House ethics rules, said Shuler would not be “actively lobbying” for one year but could do so after that period. Shuler will be overseeing and determining how to strengthen Duke’s D.C. office, spokesman Tom Williams said.

The environmental activist new site Grist offers this rather snide comment on the revolving door between Congress and K-Street:

That’s the commitment to ethical integrity our Congress is known for: No voting on issues related to your future employer. Strictly verboten. Hard line in the sand.

Plus, he’ll have to wait an entire year before coming back to Capitol Hill.

Wow! A whole year. That must suck.

If you wondered about his commitment to living in Waynesville with his wife Nikol and kids Navy and Island, wonder no more. His house is for sale. If you have $2.7 million lying around it can be yours.

If you listen carefully to the video below, you will notice Heath saying that they have enjoyed living in the house for six years. Hmm. How long did Heath serve in Congress? Six years. Do you think Rahm Emanual parachuted him into Western North Carolina to run for Congress? Yep.

*Dookie. A term of “affection” traditionally used for graduates of that politically correct university in Durham, NC where one is guilty until proven innocent if you are male and white. The same family that endowed Duke University founded Duke Power thus my use of the term Dookie.