Dear Friends of Marriage,

Maybe New Hampshire Governor John Lynch will learn a lesson after his antics this past week. It was just a week ago that NOM launched a 30 second issue ad, "Lynch Lied" and Lynch flipped out by throwing a world-class temper tantrum.

He called it "an attack on the people of New Hampshire" that made him "disgusted, disgusted, disgusted." He even held a press conference to denounce the ad.

Talk about playing fast and loose with the facts!

Governor Lynch is "Disgusted!" (not just once, but three times!), by the fact that NOM comes from out-of-state to inform his constituents about his record. But out-of-state "meddling" didn't bother him so much two years ago when out-of-state donors gave more than $500,000 to his re-election campaign, accounting for nearly half (42%) of his overall fundraising. 

Lynch's reaction was over the top, and generated a lot of media and public interest. It reminded me of the guy who, after having been stung by a solitary bee, takes a stick and strikes back at the hive, resulting in a deluge of bee stings from an angry swarm.

Governor Lynch's reaction has helped NOM spread the word about his disappointing time as New Hampshire's top executive and created an echo chamber much louder than we could ever have hoped to create on our own. Over the weekend, he was taken to task by the state's top newspaper, the Manchester Union Leader in a "stinging" editorial: "Lynch lashes out, but what of the facts, governor?" Consider this:

That's clever, governor. Attack the non-New Hampshire group as outside meddlers and suggest it is an attack not on your own record but 'on the people of New Hampshire.' Trouble is, we don't recall Lynch ever denouncing other outside political groups as being 'meddlers' ... and if the criticisms made in the ad are untrue, why doesn't Lynch simply refute them, point by point? Especially since this is an 'attack on New Hampshire and an attack on the people,' isn't the governor duty-bound to defend our honor? Unfortunately for Gov. Lynch, the criticisms are valid and he knows it.

Ouch.

The Union Leader summed up the facts as laid out in our "Lynch Lied" advertisement:

He DID say in his state of the state address that he had balanced the last budget, but he failed to note that his administrative service director did so by transferring $80 million from the Rainy Day Fund at the end of the year to close, in her words, "the general fund operating deficit.

He DID say in election debates that he was against raising business taxes, and then he proceeded to do so. (He is now trying to undo that horror show.)

He DID repeatedly tell voters he considered marriage to be between one man and one woman and did not favor gay marriage, and then turned around and not only did not veto but signed with great fanfare a gay-marriage law.

It wasn't just the state's top newspaper who defended the NOM ad, it was some of the state's most respected political voices.

The New Hampshire Political Report called the ad, "perfectly done," giving a thumbs up to NOM and our friend and ally in New Hampshire, Kevin Smith of Cornerstone Policy Research. The respected and widely-read chronicle of politics in New Hampshire said we, "did something that dozens of others couldn't: make Lynch act. Smith helped coordinate and convince the National Organization for Marriage to care about New Hampshire and produce and air $200,000 worth of perfectly done ads hitting Lynch. (Did you notice there was only one line about gay marriage and the rest on character and taxes?)"

In its Sunday edition, the political column of the Nashua Telegraph wrote, "New Hampshire politics are on the national radar. And for Gov. Lynch and Democratic legislative leaders this may not be a good thing."

NOM's ad also did not escape the attention of either of the two state political party committees. The state Democratic party failed in their attempt to get the ad pulled from the airwaves. An official with the Republican State Committee told the Nashua Telegraph that this is the ideal time to begin an advertising offensive. "This comes at a time when this governor's poll ratings are at an all-time low, and also, he's in the middle of a state budget deficit mess he's mismanaged and a live auction for slot machines and casinos. It makes perfect sense to start now."

Meanwhile, voters across the state are emailing their requests for "Lynch Lied" bumper stickers! We expect thousands of stickers to soon be on cars across the state.

And last Friday Lynch told WMUR that he would seek an unprecedented fourth term as New Hampshire's governor. He also has apparently promised to begin airing "rebuttal ads," presumably attempting to recast his image in light of NOM's successful ad campaign.

That should be interesting, given the independent assessment that NOM's ads were "perfectly done" and "the criticisms are valid and (Gov. Lynch) knows it." We look forward to continuing an on-air debate with Governor Lynch over his failed record of leadership in New Hampshire, and we're confident that voters will like to see that debate play out.

However, we do caution the governor to be careful what he wishes for.

While he tries to portray himself as a "good guy" moderate who shares New Hampshire's conservative values (all the while increasing spending, raising taxes and legalizing gay marriage), like the guy whose temper tantrum awakens a swarm of bees, one never knows where the next sting might come from. For instance, when visitors to WMUR's website go to watch footage of Lynch proclaiming his intent to run for reelection, they are first treated to a web version of our "Lynch Lied" television ad!

Oh, and the news report shows excerpts of the ad twice during their coverage of Lynch's reelection statement.

Ouch! Stung again, governor.

This is the type of game-changing impact we're having with our TV and radio ads against targeted officials all across the nation. We are ever-grateful for your generous support, and seek to make every dollar count toward our mission of protecting marriage. 

Will you make a generous contribution to help us produce and air ads like this wherever the need arises? With your support, we're holding politicians accountable and changing the landscape on marriage. Click here to make a secure online donation of $25, $50, or even $500 today!

Faithfully, 

Brian S. Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage
20 Nassau Street, Suite 242
Princeton, NJ 08542
bbrown@nationformarriage.org

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