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June 01, 2006
THE issue
“The machine in Washington is broken, and Charlie Bass is a cog in that machine.” Bass “is a nice enough guy who has been ground up and spit out” by Washington.
“Charlie Bass has a record as a strong independent voice for New Hampshire.” He is “an agent of change.”
These were the opening words in the most important political campaign this year in New Hampshire. They were also a sign that the silly season has begun – the time when challengers stick labels on incumbents – “a cog in (the) Washington machine” – and incumbents resist them – “a strong independent voice for New Hampshire.”
The speaker in the first case was Paul Hodes of Concord, the Democrat who lost to Bass in 2004 and announced yesterday that he was going to try, try again. The speaker in the second case was Bass’s spokesman, Scott Tranchemontagne.
What today’s Monitor story about this race did not mention was the war in Iraq. On that issue the race will be decided.
Bass has been a rubber stamp for the president on the war. From Bass’s “independent voice,” his constituents have not heard a peep of doubt or disapproval.
It remains to be seen how Hodes will position himself on the war. It won’t be enough to tie Bass to Bush. Voters will want to hear a clear alternative.
And since one congressman can do only so much, the real question is what the Democrats intend to do about the war. So far, they haven’t offered much of an alternative – or they’ve offered so many alternatives, from staying the course to pulling out now – that they’ve given voters nothing to fasten on. This is not an easy issue.
Bass has been so safe in this district for so long that many observers say he’s safe again in 2006. I don’t think so. Fair or not, his fate is tied to Iraq – and to whether Hodes and his party can make a plausible case for what the country should do there.
Posted by Mike Pride at June 1, 2006 10:03 AM
Comments
You are right in that Iraq should have been in the story but wasn't. Paul Hodes talked at length about his plan, I guess your reporter doesn't think it's an issue.
Posted by: alex at June 1, 2006 10:34 AM
It might still be possible for Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. With "leaders" in Washington ducking the only issue--Iraq--voters may just stay home. You're tight, Mike, let's see what Hodes and Craig do on this.
Posted by: Burt Cohen at June 2, 2006 11:20 AM
Mike, you write that: "one congressman can do only so much", to which I add the word: impeachment; because in my book, Bass is an ass! And Hodes will get my vote IF he will put it in writing as a plank on his platform that he will file a Bill of Impeachment against Paul Barbadoro of #__ Ridge Rd., Concord. I've given Charlie's office in Concord the papers on the Andy Tempelman case of Milford, N.H. but they just collect dust. Andy, his wife Priscilla and their son had a restaurant called: Ram in the Thicket. The I.R.S. took them to Federal Court for an order of sale that was granted by Barbadoro, but when Andy complained that it was NOT conducted in a courthouse of the county as required by the U.S. Code, the judge merely said: to hell with procedural due process, the end justifies the means.
Well, I say to hell with this judge then for violating his oath of office, and send him out to pasture. In "war" you have enemies both foreign and domestic, as mentioned in the oath of all soldiers. Charlie is not a soldier but did take the oath to honor the Constitution and laws of the United States. When the laws are broken by a judge we do not want a cover-up but prosecution in the proper arena.
Yours truly, JosephSHaas at hotmaildotcom , P.O. Box 3842, Concord, New Hampshire 03302, Tel. 603:848-6059 (cell phone) & founder of VOCALS,Inc. = Victims of a Corrpt American Legal System. (R.I.P. Dick Bosa)
P.S. At the first auction against Andy at the Norris Cotton Federal Building in Manchester I was arrest for merely asking a question that the I.R.S. didn't like. The bailiffs sending me to the basement for a $50.00 ticket that was never processed; instead they cancelled the auction, held another one over at the Town Office in Milford (that was never a municipal or district court BTW), this BTW after it was supposed to be "on" the property, but them leary when word got back to them of what Ed Brown of The Constitution Rangers might do on PRIVATE property, and now look what they're doing to him!
note: for "how" to combat the I.R.S. in the lawful way and win, see their case against me in Docket #M-83-50-D for Shane Devine, and after Martin J. "Red" Beckman came to town that year running for President, and educating us to this "Black Robed Mafia" thru his books and 1/2 hour info-mercials every night on WMUR-TV Channel 9 to meet at the old Highway Hotel. Our group from Barbara Anderson's Sherwood Inn/Trojan Hourse house in Epsom there of course. See here photo both in the Wall Street Journal and in The Smithsonian Institute's celebration of New Hampshire for the old "Captive Nations" Days.
Posted by: JosephSHaas at hotmaildotcom at June 3, 2006 03:47 PM