Charlie Bass

Charles Foster Bass was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives representing the Second District of New Hampshire from 1995-2007. He was defeated in the 2006 congressional elections by Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.), but prevailed against Hodes in a rematch in the 2010 election.

Bio
Bass was born January 8, 1952 in Boston, MA. He lives in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1974. During 1974 he worked for Maine congressman William Cohen and from 1975 until 1979 he worked for another Maine congressman, David Emery.

His father, Perkins Bass, was a Republican congressman from New Hampshire from 1955-1963. His Grandfather, Robert P. Bass, was a Republican Governor of the state from 1911 - 1912, a founder of the Progressive Republican movement, and a friend and confident of Teddy Roosevelt's.

Congressional career
Bass was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary for Congress in 1980. He continued in public office, serving three two-year terms as a state representative, then two two-year terms as a state senator. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1994.

Bass is a Moderate Republican - mainly conservative on fiscal issues and more libertarian on social matters.

Bass was one of the first and most vocal Congressmen to call for Tom DeLay to step aside as Majority Leader in early 2005, a move seen by some as hypocritical considering DeLay's ARMPAC contributed $14,233 to Bass as well as voting with him 89% of the time.

Record and Controversies
Bass voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Fake blogger scandal
In late September 2006, a staffer to Bass was caught posing as a liberal blogger. The aide, working from the congressman's office, had registered at several liberal discussion sites and would enter discussions about Bass's race for reelection against Paul Hodes (D). The aide would then disparage Hodes' chances in the upcoming election and note that he would be sending his money and resources to liberal candidates in neighboring states instead and suggest that his fellow posters do the same. Noting the incongruity of this position with poll numbers, bloggers at Blue Granite, a New Hampshire political blog, traced the aide's IP address to the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Bass's office admitted culpability and released a statement saying that the staffer had exhibited "a serious lapse of judgment" and would be "appropriately disciplined." 

On September 26, 2006, Bass's office issued a statement stating that they had traced the messages to policy director Tad Furtado. Furtado resigned the same day. 

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Paul Hodes to face Bass in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Hodes defeated Bass 53%-45% to take possession of the seat. 

Money in politics
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Committees in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Energy and Commerce
 * Subcommittee on Commerce Trade and Consumer Protection
 * Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Its My Party Too
 * The Republican Main Street Partnership
 * The Republican Majority For Choice
 * Republicans For Choice
 * Republicans For Environmental Protection

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Democracy for New Hampshire
 * Graniteprof
 * Blue Granite

Articles

 * Mary Ann Akers, "Phony Blogger Busted," Roll Call, September 25, 2006.
 * "House aide resigns over fake blog posts," Associated Press, September 26, 2006.