Fund raising with a blast

Yesterday's Manchester Republican Committee fundraiser was a blast. Literally.

GOP boosters got the chance to fire machine guns in exchange for a $25 contribution. About 300 people came to the Pelham Fish & Game Club to shoot tommy guns and M16s at bowling pins three feet in the air.

They raised between $2,000 and $2,500, split between the Manchester GOP and the club.

"Isn't it exhilarating?" said Jerry Thibodeau, president of the Manchester Republican Committee, amid the rattle of machine gun fire. "It's like driving in the Indy 500. Vroooooooom." . . . .