Laconia Daily Sun

July 1, 2011 Commentary by Jeff Feingold at Sunacom.com

With the 2011 legislative session essentially behind us, you'd think lawmakers and their constituents would get a breather. But the people's hard-working representatives are already gearing up for next year's go-round.

Among those apparently working the hardest is Rep. Bob Kingsbury, a first-term Laconia Republican who has already filed more than 20 bills for 2012. They range in subject from requiring a vegetarian diet for all prison inmates to officially celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015 to setting a minimum age of 60 and a mandatory retirement age of 70 for all judges. (Younger judges, Kingsbury told Laconia Daily Sun reporter Michael Kitch, "don't have the understanding that comes from having their rough edges knocked off.")

Even among Kingsbury's rather eclectic selection of bills, a couple stand out. One would require the state to provide a firearm and ammunition to women who are granted restraining orders. Another would forbid attorneys and their spouses from holding elective office in either the legislative or executive branch.

That one's sure to raise the interest of at least a couple of reps -- namely, House Speaker William O'Brien and House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, both of whom are attorneys. For his part, Kingsbury says the legislation is necessary to prevent conflicts of interest that arise when attorneys represent clients in litigation against the state.

Summed up Kingsbury about his smorgasbord of legislation: "Some of these things need to be done."

Dollar signs

Let's put it this way: Republican State Chairman Jack Kimball's had better weeks.

First, Kimball found himself having to extricate the foot he firmly lodged in his mouth after actually saying at a Flag Day event in Greenfield that the re-election of President Obama would mean that the military personnel killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would have died "completely in vain."

To put his quote in a little more context, Kimball told his audience: "Look at who we put in the White House. You think about that and we realize the profound responsibility that we have this time. In my view, if we re-elect this man, all that all of the people fought and died for is completely in vain."

Not surprisingly, veterans groups both national and local weren't exactly thrilled with the chairman's remarks.

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