by Terri O'Rorke
We have all watched in horror the rapid descent into fascism in this country, but do we really know what it is?
A local activist group, Monadnock Women for Action have been peacefully and visually showing people. They’ve been holding “Pop Up Signs of Fascism” events in the Monadnock region. These are individual signs verbalizing what fascism is and does. I joined the group one recent day in Troy and was given the sign “Banning Books. This is a sign of fascism.” As I stood on the main road in Troy along with about fifteen other people holding individual "fascism" signs, I began to wonder if this is what has been slowly, insidiously happening in New Hampshire.
What are the signs of fascism?
Rewriting history
Glorifying war
Demanding absolute loyalty
Threatening political opponents
Suppressing the vote
Ignoring the courts
Prosecuting personal enemies
Inciting violence
Undermining elections
Banning books
Ignoring science
Threatening other countries
Sowing hate & fear
So, let’s explore this possibility with a few of these “signs.”
Banning Books: yes, the Republican Free Stater majority have proposed bills to do just that.
Examples; In 2023 HB 514 was a book banning bill that would also increase the Commissioner of Education’s (Edleblut) power to ban books and other materials.
Last year’s HB 324 was another effort at banning books in school libraries. It’s already illegal to give obscene or harmful sexual materials to minors and schools already have steps in place to address complaints. The bill did pass, but to her credit, the governor vetoed it.
This year it’s the Senate’s turn. SB 434 will allow one parent with a complaint about any book in a public school, have it removed.
Ignoring Science: yes, the Republican Free Stater majority have proposed bills to do just that.
Examples: In 2025, the Republican majority introduced a bill to repeal the NH Vaccine Association.
That same year, Free Stater Rep. Kelley Potenza sponsored a bill to end the requirement of children receiving vaccinations before entering public schools, such as diphtheria, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, rubeola and tetanus.
Again in 2025 a Free Stater bill meant to phase out required childhood vaccinations for chicken pox, Hepatitis B and influenza type B passed in the House but died in the Senate. When a Senate bill having to do with horse racing came before the House for a vote, Free Stater Rep. Matt Drew added a floor amendment, word for word to the original bill. An amendment to get rid of childhood vaccinations, added to a horse betting bill, got passed again. Those vaccines now come to an end in June.
Last year there were Democrat sponsored bills for creating commissions, one to study the short and long-term impacts of national and regional carbon pricing systems on NH’s citizens, businesses, institutions and environment and one to ascertain the financial costs of climate damage to the state and the best way to recover such costs. Another bill was to establish a climate change and damage division in the Dept. of Environmental Services. All were voted down by the majority party. Even the Chairman of the Science, Technology and Energy Committee, Republican Free Stater Michael Vose spoke against the bills. From a Citizens Count 2024 survey, he wrote, “Should NH government do more to address climate change? NH can do nothing to address climate change, which needs worldwide attention."
In other words, why bother?
This year? Any bill for off shore wind projects was voted down.
Suppressing the vote: yes, the Republican Free Stater majority have proposed bills to do just that.
As far back as 2018, Free Staters have made it harder for out of state college students to vote here by amending the definition of the words “resident” and “residency.”
In 2024, the biggest advocate for voter suppression, Rep. Bob Lynn, proposed a bill requiring a photo ID at the polling place, no exceptions. At that time, a first time voter could confirm identity and residence by filling out an affidavit and had a week to mail the proper documents to the Secretary of State’s office. Failure to do so simply meant their ballot was disqualified from the final count. NH law already exists for voting with a false address or identity and being investigated by the Atty. General’s office. As of this writing, HB 1569 is still being heard in the courts thanks to the ACLU and other voting rights groups.
Last year Free Stater Potenza sponsored a bill to make it harder for students to vote, which did not pass. She wanted to get rid of college ID’s as an acceptable form of identification. Free Staters persevered and this year got HB 323 passed and signed by the governor. College and high school ID’s are now not an acceptable form of identification for students.
Sowing hate and fear: yes, the Republican Free Stater majority have proposed bills to do just that.
In 2024 a bill was introduced giving NH the right to invalidate out-of-state drivers licenses of immigrants. By two votes, the bill failed.In 2025 HB 452 took away the right to renew a driver’s license for any person who is not a US citizen and can’t prove they are a lawful permanent resident of the US. When it ended up in the Senate, it was referred to Interim Study.
This year, the Free Staters want to make renting an apartment a crime for undocumented immigrants. HB 1709 passed in the House, now we’ll see what the Senate does with it. But wait, there’s more cruelty. HB 1499 “adds new grounds for termination of tenancy based on a tenant’s immigration status, certain criminal convictions, or status as a registered sexual offender.” They have lumped immigrants in with sex offenders and criminals. Immigrants have families too, wanting only to make a life for themselves by working and going to school. Both bills are sponsored by Republican Free Stater Joe Alexander, whose ancestry somewhere doesn’t include an immigrant or two?Republican Free Stater Travis Corcoran sponsored a bill calling for the repeal of NH’s refugee resettlement program which is run by NH’s Dept. of Health and Human Services, funded by the federal government. “Granite staters are suffering from a plague of illegal aliens and fraudulent asylum seekers who put a drain on our resources, thus I look forward to permanently abolishing the NH office of refugee resettlement via HB 1706, and I extend my warmest welcome to ICE as it ramps up operations in NH.” The bill passed in the House, but died in the Senate.
Fun fact: As of 2022, NH had about 82,000 foreign-born residents, comprising 6% of the population. Hardly a “plague.”
Corcoran recently came under fire for his social media remarks directed towards a House colleague about needing “a final solution for theater kids in politics.” This colleague happens to be Jewish and anyone who knows history understands what the words “final solution” mean. But he didn’t stop there. He had contacted the Dept. of Homeland Security requesting the deportation of another House colleague, who happens to be a naturalized citizen. The following is from about three years ago, posted on his Twitter account: “We must all say or type the word’ n*gger’ in a public place, as a declaration that the progs can’t control our thoughts or our behaviors — EVEN IF WE DISLIKE THE WORD.” There’s more just as ugly, meaning there’s no need to continue. The Legislative Administration Committee voted (scroll to 21:00 min. mark) to recommend censure for Corcoran, so we’ll see how the full House votes on this in a few weeks.
Not to be outdone is Free Stater Rep. Matt Sabourin dit Choinière who in Jan., brought three people, including Germar Rudolf to testify before the New Hampshire Commission on Holocaust and Genocide Education. Rudolf, a German chemist has called the Holocaust a “gigantic con.” The others were also Holocaust deniers.
Republican Free Stater and House Majority Leader Jason Osborne apparently couldn’t wait to get in on what he anticipated to be a good time in Merrimack once the human warehouse detention center was completed.
Curses! Foiled again. No human warehouse will be forthcoming.
Ignoring the Courts: yes, the Republican Free Staters have been doing just that since moving to NH in the early 2000’s.
These are the court decisions going back more than 30 years:
- Claremont School District v. Gov. (Claremont I) Decided: 1993 The court held that education is a fundamental right under the NH Constitution and NH has a duty to provide it.
- Claremont School District v. Gov. (Claremont II) Decided: 1997 The court ruled the existing system unconstitutional, requiring NH to define an adequate education, funding it with proportional and reasonable taxes.
- Londonderry School District v. State Decided: 1999 Reinforced. The state must fund an adequate education with constitutional taxes, striking down reliance on local property taxes that created disparities.
- ConVal v. State Decided: 2019 Superior Court Judge David Ruoff found the adequacy statute unconstitutional as applied to ConVal leaving the legislature to define the amount. The NH Supreme Court in 2021 reversed, saying the statute was clear and the legislature must determine the cost of an adequate education.
- Rand v. State of NH Decided: 2024 (currently under appeal) The court ruled that the statewide property tax system violates constitutional requirements for uniform taxation. In Aug. 2025, Judge Ruoff found the current adequacy funding and special education aid insufficient, ruling the model unconstitutional and allowing the legislature to respond.
- Contoocook Valley School District v. State Decided: 2025 The court found the state’s base adequacy amount, $4,300 per pupil, unconstitutionally low, setting a guideline closer to $7,300+ per student.
As an aside, in June 2024, then gubernatorial candidate Kelly Ayotte participated in a candidate forum stating she hoped the US Supreme Court would reverse Ruoff’s decision. Claiming, “When it comes to education funding, I personally think that that Superior Court decision was wrong. I’m glad that the governor (Sununu) has appealed that to the Supreme Court.” Her Atty. General John Formella filed a mandatory appeal earlier this year to have the two Claremont case rulings overturned, stating they are an incorrect interpretation of NH’s constitution.
This year Republican Free Staters sponsored HB 1815 reducing state responsibility (ignoring court orders) and defunding public schools even further. The governor signed the bill at the end of March. They also voted down HB 1799, a Democrat sponsored bill addressing the required state funding for providing an opportunity for an adequate education.
So much for court orders with this crew.
Fascism: A mass political movement that emphasizes extreme nationalism, militarism and supremacy of the nation over the individual. This is in contrast to liberal democracies that support individual rights, competitive elections, and political dissent.
Sound familiar?