AFL-CIO communications staffer Nora Frederickson sends us this report from New Hampshire.

The Republican Speaker of the New Hampshire House enlisted no fewer than five Republican presidential candidates today in an unsuccessful attempt to convince state representatives to override Gov. John Lynch’s veto of a “right to work” for less bill (H.B. 474).

In a callous move to bully and bore lawmakers who opposed the ”right to work” law, Speaker Bill O’Brien turned the legislative session into a Republican presidential forum, inviting the candidates to spend more than three hours giving stump speeches to a captive audience of both Democrat and Republican lawmakers. More than 100 firefighters, teachers and other workers from every edge of the state turned out to protest the potential vote on “right to work” for less and to ask the candidates to keep state issues out of the debate around the primary.

The Republican candidates were quick to endorse O’Brien’s anti-worker agenda, sucking up to him on a state issue that they knew little to nothing about. As Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) read from her prepared remarks, residents booed as she erroneously stated:

Right to work states have created more jobs than those without a right to work law. Call me—I will twist anybody’s arm you want me to [on right to work].

(Check out Granite State Progress’ video of her remark here.)

Here’s what Newt Gingrich had to say:

“I strongly support the right of workers to organize on  their own,” Newt Gingrich began in his remarks, “and that’s why I support right to work.

Clearly he has no idea that interfering with the ability of workers to negotiate through a union makes it harder for workers to organize. Gary Johnson, Rick Santorum and Herman Cain also piled on their support of the “right to work” law.

The speeches were staggered by 10-minute recesses and roll call votes during which O’Brien and his aides checked the attendance rolls to see if they had the numbers to override Gov. Lynch’s veto of “right to work.”

After the candidates left, with little hope of passing the bill, it was business as usual for O’Brien: voting to cut Medicaid for poor families and seniors, lecturing lawmakers on their failure to follow precedents (and failing to follow those precedents himself) and introducing a motion to call a third special session two days before the December holidays.

O’Brien has until the start of the new legislative session on Jan. 4 to override ynch’s veto of H.B. 474.