Al Baldasaro

Al Baldasaro
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
from the Rockingham 5th district
Personal details
Born (1956-11-20) November 20, 1956
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Judy[1]
Residence Londonderry, New Hampshire[1]

Alfred P. Baldasaro (born November 20, 1956) is a Republican politician from the state of New Hampshire. He is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Baldasaro lives in Londonderry and represents District 5 in Rockingham County.[2]

Career before politics

Baldasaro's grandfather served as mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts for four terms, beginning in 1971.[1] Baldasaro served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 22 years.[1]

New Hampshire House of Representatives tenure

According to the Guardian, Baldasaro is "known as one of the most conservative—and controversial" members of the New Hampshire's 400-member House of Representatives.[1] Baldasaro led the fight against same-sex marriage in New Hampshire.[1] As of 2016, Baldasaro was serving his fifth term in the House.[3]

In the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, Baldasaro supported Texas Governor Rick Perry. At a Republican primary presidential debate in 2011, the audience booed and jeered a gay Marine who had submitted a debate question about the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. When asked about the incident, Baldasaro said that he was "disgusted" by the Marine and said: "I thought the audience, when they booed the marine, I thought it was great."[4][5][6] Baldasaro, who was criticized for the remarks by the Nashua Telegraph,[5] defended his comments in the media, stating that it is against Department of Defense regulations to wear a PT uniform at a partisan event.[6]

Baldasaro considered running for the United States Senate in the 2014 election but did not enter the race.[7]

In late December 2015, in response to a Facebook post made by Democratic State Representative Amanda Bouldin's supporting breastfeeding in public and opposing a New Hampshire bill that would criminalize the exposure of women's nipples or breasts in public, Baldasaro wrote on his Facebook page, "Amanda, no disrespect, but your nipple would be the last one I would want to see. You want to turn our family beaches into a pervert show."[lower-alpha 1] Baldasaro refused to apologize or retract his remarks.[8][9] The incident prompted Republican House speaker Shawn Jasper to ask state Representatives "to act with dignity, to act with respect" in his remarks the following month at the opening of the 2016 legislative session.[10]

Baldasaro is an advisor to Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president in the 2016 election, and appears regularly with him at campaign events.[1] Baldasaro is the co-chairman of the Trump campaign's national veterans coalition.[3]

Baldasaro was a delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention.[11] At the convention, Baldasaro called for the execution of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, accusing her of treason and saying she should be "put in the firing line and shot”.[3][12][13] Baldasaro declined to apologize for his remark and then repeated it. New Hampshire Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte responded that “This kind of rhetoric is totally irresponsible, it has no place in our society, and violence should never be encouraged against anyone.”[11] The Secret Service investigated Baldasaro over the remarks.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Another state Representative, Josh Moore, a Republican, made a similar "crude" comment, which Moore deleted.[8][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Livia Gershon, Trump's biggest fan: a veteran and vote-wrangler – despite his own controversies, The Guardian (February 16, 2016).
  2. ↑ Official profile, New Hampshire House of Representatives.
  3. 1 2 3 4 DiStaso, John. "Updated: Secret Service investigates Baldasaro for saying Clinton should face firing squad". WMUR. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  4. ↑ Rick Perry and gay soldiers (with audio), Dallas Voice (October 5, 2011).
  5. 1 2 Editorial, Here's something to really boo about, Nashua Telegraph (October 6, 2011).
  6. 1 2 Tim Buckland, State rep defends comments about gay soldier, New Hampshire Union Leader (October 4, 2011).
  7. ↑ Houghton, Kimberly (December 19, 2013). "Al Baldasaro may run for U.S. Senate". New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Tobias Salinger, Male N.H. state lawmakers make crude Facebook comments after female legislator expresses opposition to public nudity bill, Daily News (New York) (December 30, 2015).
  9. 1 2 Laura Newberry, Male New Hampshire lawmakers make disturbing comments in response to female legislator's defense of public breastfeeding, MassLive.com (December 31, 2015).
  10. ↑ Lawmakers spar over New Hampshire bill forbidding women to show nipples, Associated Press (January 6, 2016).
  11. 1 2 Leo Shane III, Trump veterans adviser won't apologize for saying Clinton should be shot, Military Times (July 21, 2016).
  12. ↑ "Trump adviser endorses violence against Hillary Clinton". Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  13. ↑ Mak, Tim (July 20, 2016). "Donald Trump's Thugs: Execute Hillary Clinton for 'Treason'". Daily Beast. Retrieved July 20, 2016.

External links

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