In a recent column for InDepthNH.org, Arnie Alpert bemoaned the rise of white supremacy in NH. There have been threatening gatherings outside school board meetings, propaganda leaflets distributed, threatening emails sent to elected officials, attacks on local businesses, defacing of church signage. All of these within the past year. I remember the days of the Concord Monitor web forum, when a self-described Neo-Nazi ran for the NH legislature as a Republican. The NH GOP quickly denounced him before he was soundly defeated in that race. 12 years later, that person is again in the news for protesting an event at a small business in downtown Concord and sending threatening emails to a Seacoast elected official.
I’m afraid that were he to run again today, the NH GOP wouldn’t be as quick to denounce him, because there are too many elected officials from that party who share his views. Today’s NH GOP has another thing in common with the white supremacist movement: a desire toward anonymity. Proud Boys, NSC-131, and other such groups cover their faces and refuse to answer questions about themselves. Are they ashamed of who they are? Likewise, there are many “Republican” elected officials who actually belong to “another group,” yet won’t advertise that fact because they know they wouldn’t get elected if they did. Could it be that these two groups have more in common than just their reluctance to be truthful about who they really are? Attorney General Formella, the ball’s in your court.
Dan Williams
Concord