New Hampshire Politics
Merrimack, NH 03054
The Rasputin letters were distributed anonymously with the cover letter below. Why would someone write a series of political broadsides, attacking the Court anonymously? Why the name Rasputin?
Rasputin was a notorious character and confident to Russian Czar Nicolas II. When the Czar went to the front during WWI, Rasputin was reputed to be the most powerful man at court.
Perhaps our anonymous writer is trying to suggest that he's hiding in plain sight within Governor Shaheen's court.
Incidentally, after the infamous Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward decision in 1819, N.H. Gov. William Plummer was reputed to have penned "a remarkable series of newspaper essays written under the name of `Cincinnatus' two years after the Supreme Court rebuff." 1
Cincinnatus was a Roman statesman who gained fame for his selfless devotion to the republic in times of crisis and for giving up the reins of power when the crisis was over.
Like Cincinnatus Governor Plummer was stepping down from public service.
Seems it's becoming a New Hampshire tradition to anonymously publish political broadsides at the Court after unfavorable decisions. In any case, don't under estimate the names people choose for themselves.
THE LETTERS TO THE EDUCATORS Enclosed are copies of LETTERS TO THE EDUCATORS, Nos. 1-7. These have been mailed seriatim to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House and the 14 newspapers of major circulation in the State, beginning in early January, 1998 and continuing through last week. Not one newspaper has published a single one of these, either as a letter to the editor or as an op-ed piece. Whether this is because they are longer than some prescribed word length, whether it is because they are anonymous or whether it is because of what they say, the fact remains that none of them have made it into print. The Governor, the Senate President and the Speaker presumably have their own reasons for keeping their existence a secret.
It was my hope that the LETTERS TO THE EDUCATORS would provoke a public debate about an aspect of the Claremont decisions that may, in the end, be far more important than what they say about educational policy or tax policy, i.e., the doctrine of separation of powers. My interest is in the New Hampshire Constitution and in constitutions generally. It was not my intention to become embroiled in the partisan aspects of the current controversy. However, since no one else seems to be interested in these issues (unless, perhaps, the information is reduced to a sound-bite length), I have decided to provide copies of the Letters to anyone and everyone who may have an interest in using them, even if it is only to advance your own agenda.
Please feel free to make whatever public distribution of the Letters you think may be appropriate. As far as I am concerned, you can circulate them to every member of the Legislature, publish them in a pamphlet, post them on the Internet, etc., etc. The only thing that I do request is that, if you decide to make use of them, please do not state or suggest that they were submitted to you in order to support any particular political proposal that you or anyone else may have. If you think that the Letters favor your side of the debate, that is for you to decide. Their purpose, however, is not to advocate in favor of a particular proposal; it is to stimulate responsible debate.
Rasputin
February 11, 1998
P.S. There are another three to five Letters in the works. As each new one gets issued, I will put you on my mailing list. If you are no more interested in them than anyone else has been, so be it. However, I will take my chance that the stamps won't be wasted.
New Hampshire Politics |
P.O. Box 1120 Merrimack, NH 03054 |