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Undeterred by the news reports about his failure to stop when a unionized government police bureaucrat caught him speeding, Republican State Rep. Andrew Manuse has issued a new campaign video, with a catchy theme song:
(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.
Ann McLane Kuster has been endorsed (as she was in 2010) by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. This from their email announcement.
We saw over the last couple years that just electing "Democrats" is not enough.
Even with full Democratic control of government -- including 60 seats in the Senate -- corporate Democrats killed the public option and watered down Wall Street reform.
In 2012, we can't just focus on electing Democrats. We need to focus on electing bold progressive fighters.
The endoresement will help put feet on the street and provide financial support for bring NH-02 back in to the D column.
If you would like to see that happen you should consider a small end of quarter gift to show your support! PCCC is suggesting $3.
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.
(Remember when partisan politics stopped at the water's edge? - promoted by William Tucker)
Rep. Charles Bass, on Libya, June 3rd:
there is no apparent end in sight to our involvement there.
Rep. Frank Guinta on Libya, June 3rd:
Withdrawing U.S. troops from this operation is the right step
Rep. Charles Bass on Libya, June 12th:
I'm willing to make Libya a European problem, not a U.S. problem.
Rep. Frank Guinta on President Obama and Libya, March 28th:
"His administration clearly has not been up to the challenge of this crisis," Guinta said. "I hope he rises to it very quickly."
Adding: this isn't some exegesis on the authority of the war powers act. It's a gentle reminder that the primary goal of the party headed by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News is to defeat democratic presidents, no matter what the issue. It's always party first, country... some place after that.
Heck, Charlie's been at this game so long now you can go back to the same nonsense he trotted out for Clinton during Kosovo a millenium ago.
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.
Over at the Great Orange Satan (Daily Kos) David Nir (nee DavidNYC, BH User #5) [comments on PPP polls on NH Congressional Races.
Public Policy Polling (PDF) (6/30-7/2, 7/5, New Hampshire voters, no trendlines):
Carol Shea-Porter (D): 41
Frank Guinta (R-inc): 48
Undecided: 10
(MoE: ±5.7%)
Ann McLane Kuster (D): 42
Charlie Bass (R-inc): 43
Undecided: 15
(MoE: ±5.1%)
While somewhat optimistic about NH-02, David expresses some concern regarding Dem chances in NH-01, even postulating
I wouldn't be surprised if other Democrats decided to get in here, especially since Guinta has weaknesses of his own that are ready to be exploited by a well-equipped challenger.
My take? We are going to have to give and work hard if we want to flip these seats. I know NH Dems are up for it.
Not sure its even worth polling this race. Based on the strength on the strength of Ann Kusters campaign infrastructure and success in 2010 it's hard to imagine a viable primary here.
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.
This private mandate and voucher system sets up an unstable, hurtful and discriminatory system for seniors. In essence, the only element it keeps from our current successful program is the name "Medicare."
At town hall meetings across New Hampshire in the days after the vote, Bass defended his vote by attempting to argue that his plan relied on "premium support systems," not "vouchers." It was Washington-speak from his partisan leadership's talking points - and we flinty constituents in New Hampshire are not buying it.
-snip
But ending Medicare as we know it in order to make room for corporate tax breaks?
No way. That's not the America I want to pass on to my sons. It's not the country that Nanny worked hard for her whole life, nor the country that is looking out for her now. We can do better.
This stuff gets me charged up. I'm stoked to go to the 2011 McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner.
_
Frank Guinta is so scared about his vote to destroy Medicare he went begging for mercy to the President of the United States. Not to be outdone, Charlie Bass suspends reality by claiming a voucher is not a voucher.
What are these men so frightened of? Mothers.
Carol Shea-Porter, (campaign email):
I spent Mother's Day with my 87 year-old mom. I told her how lucky I was to still have her, and asked her if she was surprised by how long she has lived. She laughed and replied that she never expected to live this long. My mother's generation clearly benefited from the best medical care in our history, thanks to Medicare. Medicare works!
Annie Kuster (op-ed):
My 87-year-old mother-in-law lives on her own in a small apartment on a widow's pension and her Social Security. A few weeks ago, she was hospitalized for a few days with pneumonia, and her hospital stay was covered by Medicare.
In 2008, more than 200,000 people in our state received benefits from Medicare, which is why I am so disturbed that our congressman and his colleagues voted to jeopardize the health and well being of future retirees.
Making matters worse for Guinta and Bass, Sununu's old Social Security privatization pal Paul Ryan is going to try, try again this week to convince Americans 54 and younger that getting rid of an extremely popular program that we have all paid into in some cases for three decades plus should be scrapped in favor of vouchers we are not allowed to call vouchers.
>140 on birch paper; on twitter <140
Recently, outside special interest groups have started a campaign to tell seniors in New Hampshire that I voted to "end Medicare" and turn it into a "voucher" program.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is unfortunate that some are using political scare tactics to try and derail a debate before it has even begun.
-- Charles F. Bass, Sentinel and other outlets
...are beginning to waver on one of the centerpieces of his plan, which is the idea of a major overhaul of Medicare and turning it into a voucher system.
-- Chris Wallace, Fox News
The future of Medicare has again become a political hot potato in light of a Republican plan to dismantle the government-run program and replace it with a voucher system
-- AARP
...but also end the existing Medicare program for Americans 55 or younger, replacing it with a voucher (or premium-support) system in which government would provide seniors a stipend to buy private insurance.
--Ronald Brownstien, National Journal
Nothing could be further from the truth, except the truth apparently.
According to the poll, 45 percent of those polled in the 2nd Congressional District have an unfavorable view of Bass, and only 29 percent approve. In February, Bass was viewed favorably by 41 percent of residents and unfavorably by 28 percent.
Of course, we didn't need UNH to tell us this; as Colin notes, this is almost identical to the most recent PPP poll earlier in April (and with a bigger sample, smaller MoE):
34% of voters in Guinta's 1st Congressional District have a favorable opinion of Guinta compared to 41% who have an unfavorable opinion. Bass is even less popular in his 2nd Congressional District, where 31% have a favorable opinion of the Republican lawmaker and 49% have an unfavorable opinion.
Still, flipping upside down in two months is quite an achievement. Heckuvajob, Charlie. You should vote to abolish Medicare more often.
(first posted on birch paper; on Twitter @deanbarker)
Bass defends abolishing Medicare, saying it won't matter until 10 yrs on, as if it'll be bygones then
and:
Thanks to Guinta, Bass, a person 54 today would give earnings from 16-67 to a health insurance system that will not exist for her.
Bass is already losing indy votes over this, so today in WaPo he unveiled his plan:
The GOP's challenge was evident Friday to Rep. Charles F. Bass (R-N.H.), who fielded questions at a senior center in his district and said later that Democrats "have beaten the world record for getting misinformation out fast."
"The first thing [the seniors] asked me is whether or not I'm planning to vote to end Medicare completely," said Bass, elected last year in a swing district that he had previously represented for 12 years.
Bass said the encounter has convinced him he needs to compile a "fact sheet" to distribute to the senior centers in his district that would include the assurance that nobody 55 or older would be affected by the changes.
Take notice, voters; this is what Charlie Bass thinks of you.
Seniors, he's banking that you vote entirely based on self-interest. Too bad for everyone else, so long as I get mine, is what he thinks your values are.
Gen-Xers and Millenials? Bass knows you're not as reliable a voting bloc as seniors, and he's banking you'll be less informed about his vote to destroy a health insurance system you have been paying into in some instances for over two decades.
(birched; on Twitter @deanbarker)
SUNDAY UPDATE: Wow, the BassMaster hits a nat'l media triple play - he has become the poster boy for backlash on the Medicare vote:
Here in Hillsborough, a bedroom community in a state known for a fiscally conservative streak, Bass painted a doomsday picture, saying the country would be "basically ruined" if it did not curb the growth of government. But a group of gray-haired constituents - most later identified themselves as Democrats - quickly pushed him back on his heels. He struggled to defend the GOP plan vigorously, once mischaracterizing a key element. By the time he left, he seemed less than wedded to the details.
...Bass, for his part, struggled with the tax part of the plan, flatly denying that the proposal would cut taxes on wealthy individuals and saying incorrectly that the reduction applied only to corporations.
He later told a reporter he wasn't sure exactly what the budget resolution would do:
(First polls coming Friday, Get your nominations in. - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
I am going to put three comments in this thread to allow folks to nominate names we should include in straw polling for Gov, NH-01, and NH-02.
Governor Lynch is polling strongly and could be considering a historic 5th term, but for the sake of this polling we'll assume he is not.
Ann Kuster has announced (much to the relief of folks like me who have not removed their bumper stickers!) that she will run again in NH-02, but are there any other folks we should poll there?
NH-01 could be very interesting with Guinta's weak numbers (-7 favorability) and an open Dem seat. Whom should we poll for that race?
Please let us know who we should include. Wannabees get your mail lists ready!
