Prog Blogs, Orgs & Alumni
Bank Slate
Betsy Devine
birch paper
Democracy for NH
Granite State Progress
Mike Caulfield
Miscellany Blue
Pickup Patriots
Re-BlueNH
Susan the Bruce
New Hampshire Labor News
Chaz Proulx: Right Wing Watch
Defending New Hampshire Public Education
Politicos & Punditry
The Burt Cohen Show
John Gregg
Landrigan
Pindell
Primary Monitor
Scala
Schoenberg
Spiliotes
NewsViewsBlues- Arnesen
Campaigns, Et Alia.
NH-Gov
- Jackie Cilley
- Maggie Hassan
NH-01
- Carol Shea-Porter
- Matthew Hancock
NH-02
- Ann McLane Kuster
NH-Senate
- D4: David Waters
- D9: Lee Nyquist
NH-Executive Council
- D2: Colin Van Ostern
- D4: Chris Pappas
- D5: Debora Pignatelli
ActBlue Hampshire
NHDP
DCCC
DSCC
DNC
National
Balloon Juice
billmon
Congress Matters
DailyKos
Digby
Hold Fast
Eschaton
FiveThirtyEight
MyDD
Open Left
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo
50 State Blog Network
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
As Kathy noted earlier, the state's attorney general has filed a civil suit against Congressman Charlie Bass' campaign for failing to identify itself as the sponsor of a "push poll" during the 2010 campaign.
"The poll in question was a legitimate message testing survey, not a push poll," claimed Bass spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne. Former New Hampshire GOP chair Fergus Cullen echoed his defense, "He appears to have conducted a standard poll of 400 New Hampshire voters," wrote Cullen, "no different in nature from the kinds of polls all major candidates, Democrat or Republican, conduct in the course of campaigns."
Their response is a red herring.
The commonly accepted definition of a push poll is that of a telemarketing call disguised as a public opinion survey. The Bass campaign, rightfully so, denies they engaged in this type of activity.
The state, however, defines a push poll as any call that meets just three criteria: it is in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate for public office; it asks questions that convey information about the character or political record of an opposing candidate; and it is likely to be construed as a survey for an organization acting independent of the candidate.
As Cullen notes, legitimate message polls — presumably including the Bass call in question — routinely meet that criteria. But here's the thing, push polls are not illegal in New Hampshire. The law only requires that the caller identify the candidate for whom the call is being made. That's where the Bass campaign went awry.
The NH Attorney General announced today that his office is suing the Bass Victory Committee for push polling violations. This is not the run of the mill push polling violation where a polling company doing message testing did not understand the NH push polling disclosure requirements. In this case, the Bass campaign knew and tried to hide its involvement. In September, 2010, the Tarrance Group was hired to do a poll. The original scrpt said, at the end, paid for by the Bass Victory Committee. Bass's campaign manager e mailed the company and asked that they change the disclosure to say paid for by the NRCC:
Could we change the disclaimer at the end to NRCC [National Republican Congressional Committee] since they are paying for half of it? I'd rather have any issues about 'push polling' be blamed on them (sorry Brock), rather than us - especially with the date rape drug question in there.
Amid all the partisan hand-wringing and fear-mongering in the debate over the future of Medicare, both sides should be able to agree on one fact: Medicare as we know it is unsustainable if health care costs continue to skyrocket.
Congressman Frank Guinta acknowledges this and responds saying, “The failure is to not act.” So what action do he and fellow Congressman Charlie Bass take? They vote to do away with a key program specifically designed to keep Medicare costs from zooming out of control!
The Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) would make recommendations to Congress to help reduce Medicare costs. The board only acts if the projected growth rate of Medicare exceeds targets; it is prohibited from recommending policies that ration care, raise taxes, increase premiums, restrict benefits or change eligibility requirements; and its recommendations are subject to Congressional approval.
Bass and Guinta both proudly voted to eliminate the IPAB. How did they justify their votes? Demagoguery. "IPAB wedges a bureaucrat between the doctor and patient," declared Bass:
What is most alarming, however, is the complete lack of accountability that this board would have to Congress or the general public. ... Simply put, the IPAB wedges a bureaucrat between the doctor and patient in the health care decision-making process, limiting patient options and the doctor's freedom to effectively care for his or her patients.
The board would “greatly restrict” access to health care, echoed Guinta:
IPAB is tasked with reducing medical costs, and it would do that by restricting healthcare access for seniors. Granite State seniors deserve better than a 15 member panel of unelected bureaucrats intruding into their relationship with their doctor. They shouldn’t have to cut through red tape just to get the medical care they need....
UPDATE: The PVI for the town of Merrimack was originally misidentified. The correct PVI for Merrimack is R+4.
New Hampshire has been one of only two states (along with Kansas) still dragging her feet in the Congressional redistricting process. Gumming the works has been a behind-the-scenes tug-of-war between Congressmen Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass.
James Pindell writes that Bass has been pushing to make CD2 more Republican by adding Merrimack, Hampstead and Plaistow to his district in exchange for more Democratic-leaning towns including Plymouth and areas further north. "House and Senate leaders don’t want any dramatic change, nor does Guinta," says Pindell.
It looks like Guinta won. Rep. Steve Vaillancourt writes that last Wednesday, a House subcommittee on redistricting voted 7-3 to accept a "behind closed doors plan." The "revised Mirski/Bates Proposal" (Amendment 1162h) rebuffs Bass' effort to shift Republican voters to CD2. In fact, if this plan is adopted, his district will become slightly less Republican.
The plan moves seven reliably Republican towns, including Atkinson (R+9), Loudon (R+5) and Epsom (R+6) from CD2 to CD1 in exchange for Merrimack (R+4) and the very small towns of New Hampton (R+1) and Hart's Location (D+4).
Using the 2008 presidential voting as a benchmark, CD2 would become slightly more Democratic (and CD1 slightly more Republican) than it is today. President Obama carried CD2 by 46,325 votes (and CD1 by 21,967 votes). He carried the towns making up the redistricted CD2 by 47,110 votes, an additional 785 Democratic votes.
(Can't wait to call you Congresswoman Kuster! - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
For the past 25 years as an adoption attorney, I have witnessed the extraordinary courage and compassion of women - from age 14 to 40 - facing unplanned pregnancy. Not once did I believe that the government should interfere with their personal and private decision. In fact, I believe in less government interference in people's personal lives, including whom to marry, when and whether to bear a child and how to raise kind and compassionate children.
But now, Congressman Charlie Bass and N.H. House Speaker Bill O'Brien want to deny access to family planning and impose their own religious beliefs on our most private and personal family decisions. For over a decade, health insurers in New Hampshire have included family planning in our health care coverage, including prescription birth control pills and the accompanying physician visits. For over a decade, no one has raised any objection to this provision.
The truth is that contraception saves lives, prevents unplanned pregnancies, improves outcomes for children and reduces the number of abortions. As an adoption attorney, I know firsthand how difficult and how private these choices are for New Hampshire women. Now, thanks to health care reform, women across the country with private health insurance have access to family planning, including birth control, without additional expense to their family budget. Women will make their own private decisions about when and whether to raise a child and children will be raised in loving, supportive families. Everyone wins.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "99% of all sexually experienced women have used some method of contraception." Congressman Bass and Speaker O'Brien partnering up to repeal the birth control coverage benefit will roll back one of the biggest advancements for women's health under the guise of respecting religious freedom. No one-not Congressman Bass nor Speaker O'Brien-should be able to pick and choose the health care women in New Hampshire can access under their private health insurance coverage.
I stand with the majority of Americans who believe that women will make the right choice for their families and everyone will win.
Click here to join me in standing up for women's access to affordable birth control.
Charlie Bass has been one of the most successful lawmakers in Congress at leveraging his influence in the presidential race for campaign fundraising.
Prior to his endorsement of Mitt Romney last month, Bass raised $10,000 from Romney and $20,000 from Newt Gingrich. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that of the 223 lawmakers who have received donations from one of the two front-runners, only Missouri Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson raised more.
Making his $10,000 bet with Rick Perry seem small potatoes, Romney has donated a total of $743,263 to 211 current members of Congress. The 51 lawmakers who have endorsed him received $163,620. That's a better record than Gingrich, who has donated $260,560 to 42 current members of Congress without receiving a single endorsement.
If you're wondering why Congressman Frank Guinta has yet to endorse a presidential candidate this year, maybe he's waiting for someone to pony up. Guinta has received just $3,500 from Romney and nary a red cent from Gingrich.
Ann Kuster says extending the payroll tax cut is a "no-brainer." If Congress refuses, she says, nearly one million Americans will lose their jobs, economic growth will slow and the country could fall into another recession. "So why does Bass want to raise taxes on hard-working New Hampshire families?" Kuster asks.
We can cut payroll taxes for hardworking New Hampshire families and help stimulate the economic recovery. A household earning $50,000 a year would get a $1,500 tax cut - $125 to spend every month on food, gas and other essentials. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office even says that cutting payroll taxes is more effective at promoting economic growth than tax breaks for the rich.
Yet Congressman Charlie Bass has voted to protect tax breaks for billionaires and Big Oil while blocking this critical middle-class tax cut. No wonder New Hampshire voters believe Congress is broken.
This debate shows Bass's true colors: He supports tax breaks for billionaires and Big Oil but opposes tax relief for 160 million hard-working Americans.
Ask Congressman Bass, whose side are you on anyway?
Remember last summer when President Obama offered a $4,000,000,000,000 deficit cut - twice - and the party of Frank Guinta, Charlie Bass and Kelly Ayotte rejected him - twice - obstructing, delaying, and finally bringing Congress unnecessarily to the brink of a government shutdown? Remember how it earned us a downgrade from S&P?
Here's what else it earned New Hampshire:
Jayne O'Connor, president of White Mountains Attractions, a marketing association for the White Mountains region, said a 15 percent drop in tour bus business started as early as July, during the Congressional standoff over increasing the nation's borrowing limit and the possibility the government would run out of money.
Many people who board the usual 3,000 buses on fall foliage tours through the White Mountains are retired and on fixed incomes. They make their plans in advance, O'Connor said.
"When they could not decide in Washington what to do, those people were not confident that their (Social Security) checks were going to be coming in the mail and were not confident enough to make their travel plans," she said. "We really noticed that, and I heard from least one of the tour operators in the state who said, `My phone has just stopped ringing.'"
As a reminder, the following is from recently departed, veteran Republican Hill staffer:
A couple of years ago, a Republican committee staff director told me candidly (and proudly) what the method was to all this obstruction and disruption. Should Republicans succeed in obstructing the Senate from doing its job, it would further lower Congress's generic favorability rating among the American people. By sabotaging the reputation of an institution of government, the party that is programmatically against government would come out the relative winner.
Congress currently enjoys a record low 14% approval rating.
They both were! That's right. Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta were named two of the most corrupt members of Congress by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). CREW's annual report on congressional corruption identifies 14 members whose actions violated the law or who otherwise engaged in serious misconduct. Both of the Granite State's Republican congressmen made the select list.
Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) fudged the numbers and cooked the books to buy a seat in Congress. Beginning in 2009, Rep. Guinta made several shady loans to his campaign committee, claiming the money was his own despite an income that seemed to preclude that possibility. ...
"It is impossible to believe Rep. Guinta simply 'forgot' about a bank account with over $250,000 - by far his largest asset. He's not exactly Bill Gates," said [CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan]. "It just goes to show, there's really no line Rep Guinta won't cross to land a seat in Congress."
Politics is a family affair for Rep. Charles "Charlie" Bass (R-NH), who abused his office to seek preferential treatment for his nephew's business New England Wood Pellet (NEWP), a New Hampshire-based company that produces wood pellet fuel for use in heating systems. Rep. Bass also appears to have lied on his personal financial disclosure forms about his interest in the company. ...
"Members of Congress should be working on behalf of their constituents not themselves or their family members. It seems some members really are just out for themselves," said Ms. Sloan. "This is exactly the kind of thing that makes Americans believe members of Congress are just out for themselves."
The White House has broken down what the American Jobs Act means for New Hampshire:
• 3,000 businesses receive a payroll tax cut.
• Immediate investment of over $132 million in infrastructure, creating around 1,700 New Hampshire jobs.
• Over $120 million in funding to support around 1700 jobs for teachers and first responders.
• Over $70 million in investment to improve and modernize New Hampshire's public schools, and resulting in a projected 900 jobs.
• Potential $20 million investment in renovating and refurbishing vital areas in local communities.
• $8.7 million in funding for our community colleges.
• Assistance for 18,000 long-term unemployed Granite Staters.
• Extending unemployment insurance for 1,700 in New Hampshire.
• A program for low income young people and adults that could create a combined 1000 jobs.
• A tax cut of almost $2000 for a New Hampshire household with the median income of $64,000
• ALL FULLY PAID FOR BY DEFICIT REDUCTION
Goodness knows New Hampshire could use assistance like that in these difficult economic times, made far more difficult by the immoral budget passed by Bill O'Brien and his GOP supermajority in Concord.
But it's clear that Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass, who represent the majority in Congress' lower chamber, are more invested in defeating the President than improving the economy.
Those suffering now will have to wait at a minimum until January 2013 for there even to be the possibility of our ruling elites' getting anything done for working families.
Was at a meeting of Dems the other night and one of the bits of PAC mail propaganda discussed was a recent flier that went out to tell "seniors" what a good job our man Charlie was doing to "protect" Medicare, and to call him to say "thanks".
It came to me that it was the same as calling Tony Soprano to say "thanks" for "protecting" your store from catching on fire.
Can't remember which PAC it was, recycled my flier already.
Anybody still have theirs so we can play connect-the-dots?
Twenty-two House Republicans voted against the Boehner debt ceiling bill because it didn't go far enough for the Tea Party constituents that elected them into office.
Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass were not among them.
Both of New Hampshire's congressmen explicitly ran as candidates aligned with the Tea Party. Charlie Bass:
"I love them. God bless every single one of them. Their agenda is exactly the same as mine."
Frank Guinta, "who rode the Tea Party wave to Washington last year," is strongly beholden to the movement:
Elected Tuesday with the support of Tea Partiers and pledging deep cuts to federal government, Frank Guinta will soon be one of many freshman House Republicans left to figure out where the fledgling movement fits within the halls of Congress.
The former Manchester mayor has said he would join a House Tea Party Caucus created this summer by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Republican from Minnesota....
...During the Republican primary, he easily won a straw poll held by the New Hampshire Tea Party Coalition, taking 81 percent of the vote. Guinta's margin of victory over his Republican challengers was the most decisive of any contest featured in the Tea Party poll.
Guinta said at the time that he was honored by the results of the straw poll and cited his attendance at several Tea Party events, as well as gatherings for the 9/12 movement started by Fox News commentator Glenn Beck.
Frank Guinta broke his word and never joined the Tea Party Caucus. Charlie Bass' committment to them was questioned almost immediately.
As we move into a 2012 presidential general election cycle, it is unlikely that 2010 Tea Party candidates Bass or Guinta will court the deepest part of the GOP base so closely again. Whether or not the Tea Party acts on that rejection is another question.
The telephone switchboard at the Capitol is being flooded with calls as Americans contact their members of Congress about the debt ceiling fight.
But don't expect to get Rep. Charlie Bass on the line this afternoon. He's got more important things to do. He'll be at Tortilla Coast in Washington for a big-ticket fundraiser. The man who raised over 75% of his contributions last quarter from corporate and leadership PACs -- but was still outraised by Democrat Ann Kuster -- isn't letting the debt crisis slow down his gravy train.
The PACs will cough up $1,000 - $2,000 each for the privilege of attending. Mere individuals can get in for $500 - $1,000. Pricey tacos.
AARP robo-called my home tonight to invite me to a live public phone forum with Charlie on Social Security and Medicare, just press a key to enter the conference! Why not, says I to the robot.
It was quite lengthy, many good questions were asked, and Charlie provided some very interesting answers. More than a few waffles were served, and it was interesting to hear some of the clarifications from the AARP policy person who was in the conference.
Second Congressional District Congressman Charlie Bass (R-NH) tells WMUR that he will seek re-election next year.
Candidate Charlie Bass, October 2010:
Bass Wants to Get In, Get Out
If the 2nd District sends him back to Congress, Charlie Bass says he will set Washington on a sound fiscal path - and then get out.
"I'm passionate about doing whatever I can over a relatively short period of time to change America, and then I want to go back to what I was doing before," said Bass, a six-term former Republican congressman who has worked in the alternative energy industry since losing a 2006 re-election bid.
Of course, now that a bright light is shining on his shady, revolving door career, maybe life in the Village is for him after all.
Default "doesn't mean that we can't make payments on Treasury bills or other obligations," Representative Charles Bass, a New Hampshire Republican, said CNN's "State of the Union" program yesterday.
"There is a difference between strategic or technical default and default where you really don't have the economy to support the spending," Bass said. "We are not at that point yet. We could be. We could be, like some European nations."
"I think the global economy will understand that the United States has the ability to meet its obligations," Bass said. "But it's not going to be able to do it over the long term if we can't control the growth of government."
Do you see how cleverly Bass finessed that?
• Default = Bad. But: US = Mighty, so US Default = Not So Bad.
• But: Without "Controlling Growth of Gov't" = US Becomes Wimpy Socialist European Nation. So Default = Very, Very Bad.
• Therefore: Medicare turned into Vouchercare = Win for US!
Of course, Bass could be talking about cutting defense, or raising the cap on Social Security, or doing something about controlling medical costs, but there's been little or no discussion of that. There's been a lot of discussion about Bass and his companion Frank Guinta voting for the Ryan plan to break America's promise to those 54 and younger. So let's not pretend for whom he is carrying water.
Back in Reality, a Reuter's "Factbox" says that "Missed payments will shatter investor faith in Treasuries and trigger a global selloff in U.S. government debt." And in regard to Bass' nonsense about "technical" versus "strategic" default, President Bush's CBO director flatly says:
"It's a bad idea," Holtz-Eakin said at a panel discussion of former CBO heads in Washington. "Little defaults, big defaults; default's a bad idea period and there should be no one who believes otherwise."
...He added that the market would not be easily reassured even after a brief default, likening it to wrecking one's house and then asking for a second mortgage on the property.
Recently down in DC the NRCC stirred to help their "most vulnerable members," including our own Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta. In addition to demographic and electoral concerns, no doubt a big reason our two congressmen are on that list is their vote to turn Medicare into Vouchercare.
Interestingly, the head of the NRCC, Rep. Pete Sessions, is now going further. He wants to destroy Social Security by "reforming" it:
House Republicans on Friday introduced legislation that would allow workers to partially opt out of Social Security immediately, and fully opt out after 15 years.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, and several other Republicans introduced the Savings Account for Every American (SAFE) Act. Under the bill, workers would immediately have 6.2 percent of their wages sent to a "SAFE" account each year.
That would take the place of the 6.2 percent the workers now contributed to Social Security.
As many will remember, Medicare foe Paul Ryan tried something similar with John E. Sununu and George W. Bush back in 2005; popular opposition to the privatization scheme was widespread and contributed significantly to the Democrats' electoral advantage in 2006.
But I am curious how this plays out for Frank Guinta, who clearly needs the NRCC's help, and who - very clearly - has expressed his desire for the abolition of America's most trusted safety net for seniors:
Will Frank Guinta sign on as co-sponsor to the Sessions bill? After all, when he debated Carol Shea-Porter on the issue last fall, he flailed around in the absence of a plan. Session's bill to destroy the "Social" part to Social Security is a plan right up his alley.
Adding: an eagle-eyed reader alerts me to the dangers already lurking (.pdf) in the Ryan plan on Social Security. So one way or another, the push to dismantling the middle class is on.
Frank Guinta, who voted to end Medicare in 2011, in 2010:
What I see going on in Washington today disturbs me.... We have a new health care bill that takes billions from Medicare for our seniors
Charlie Bass, who voted to end Medicare in 2011, in 2010:
"Unlike Annie Kuster, I will fight for New Hampshire's seniors. We need to repeal 'Obamacare' and replace it with common-sense healthcare reforms that will lower healthcare costs, improve the quality of care, increase coverage and do so without forcing senior citizens to lose their coverage,"
Kelly Ayotte, who voted to end Medicare in 2011, in 2010:
Traveling up and down our state, New Hampshire citizens tell me every day that they don't want a federal takeover of health care... Seniors and those headed for retirement are worried about the bill's Medicare cuts.
I think the privatization of medicare and destruction of social safety nets that Guinta and Bass voted for is summed up pretty well in this video.
This is exactly what the NH republicans, tea baggers, and free staters (is there a difference anymore?) in Washington and Concord are trying to do - take away everything that makes America great while throwing the elderly, middle class, and poor over the cliff in exchange for benefits for the rich. I can't wait to see more ads like this for the 2012 elections!
