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Tuesday, September 26, 2006
NH-02: "IndyNH" Was Bass's Policy Director!
Posted by DavidNYCAll along I figured IndyNH had to be some dumb, over-eager intern. Oh no, this was no small fry - this was a big fish:
A lead staffer in U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass' office resigned Tuesday after admitting to posting fake messages on political blogs.Tad Furtado, the No. 2 staffer in Bass' Washington office, resigned after it was revealed that he posed as a Democrat on liberal blogs. Bass said that Furtado posed as a supporter of Bass opponent Paul Hodes but then discussed how difficult it would be to beat Bass.
"Tad Furtado posted to political Web sites from my office without my knowledge or authorization," Bass said in a written statement. "I have referred this matter to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for their review."
Staff members in Bass' Concord office said they were shocked to hear Furtado was responsible for the postings. He was described as a rising young star and one of the congressman's most trusted staffers.
And oh, check out the last graf:
Because Furtado used a government computer on Capitol Hill, it could represent a violation of House rules, Bass officials said.
Needless to say, I'm never surprised when Republicans engage in unethical, rule-breaking behavior. Indeed, New Hampshire Republicans seem to have a special problem in this regard - recall the huge 2002 phone-jamming scandal, which sent several people to jail. This Tad Furtado is clearly cut from the same cloth as James Tobin. With any luck, Furtado, too, will pay a price for his transgressions.
P.S. Major kudos to MissLaura, Keener and Yankee Doodler for all their efforts on this story. The tradmed has picked it up big-time, including the AP and several local outfits. And, while you're at it, give to netroots candidate Paul Hodes!
UPDATE: The story makes it on to local news. It's a good piece, I think.
Posted at 02:26 PM in 2006 Elections - House, New Hampshire | Technorati
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