Well, he’ll certainly at least be appealing to Fergus

You’ve heard of the phrase "a day late and a dollar short"?  Well, after reading this Letter to the Editor brought this twist to mind: "years past and the bucks may not matter".  The writer, Jeff Hatch (either the current or immediate past Salem GOP Chair – their website doesn’t say), had this to say:

I have seen and waited long enough! The past few election cycles we’ve all sat back and waited for someone to announce their candidacy for governor of New Hampshire. This cycle I decided that waiting isn’t for me. So I have searched for a viable candidate for New Hampshire’s Corner office. Over the past few months I’ve talked to many activists throughout New Hampshire and one name keeps coming up over and over again.

He’s well known throughout the state. He would appeal to both Republican, and Independent voters. He has a tremendous amount of experience and is respected across the aisle. That man my friends is Charlie Bass. He is a Republican who can beat John Lynch and return New Hampshire to economic health!

Sure, dude.  Make no mistake, Mr. Hatch is often seen in the company of Mr. Bass, so this is certainly this is a bit of political theater (and nothing more). This was not done in a vacuum – I’d bet that tacit approval was already given for this trial ballon. Frankly, I’m putting this into the category of "out of touch with current reality".

Why?  I wrote about Mr. Bass a while ago when musing about the "political slot-hopping" that is now to happen here in NH (additional emphasis added):

The only other name I’ve heard had me exclaim:

Great – we’d get a Lynch with an R next to the name instead of a D. So, what’s the difference between a D squish and an R squish?  What’s to fight over?

I’d sit it out.

A real Choice for the voters?  Not in my eyes.  This would be back to the "pick a Democrat or Democrat-lite?" question – and we’ve seen how having a moderate / squish Republican run as standard bearers – especially this one.

No, McCain ran as a moderate and got snookered.  Charlie Bass ran as a moderate and Hodes whipped him too.  While Charlie would not be running against Hodes, I doubt he’d fair any better against Lynch, or even a conservative Democrat – two peas in a pod with nary a spit’s worth of difference between them. Or backbone, for that matter (from where I sit).  Unless he’s changed a lot (which then would give rise to the question of "Why so much in so little time?" for the former Chair of the very moderate Repub group Main Street Republicans), I just don’t see a whole lot of need for a choice – you?

It would, however, be an easy choice for voters in a primary however!  Given my post here and the involvement of the ‘Grok in the TEA Party movement, it would seem a VERY tall mountain for Bass to climb to become a liberty type candidate that ACTIVELY would advocate for a smaller government and PROMISE such a thing (and also make the statement / promise – GO AHEAD, hold me accountable right off the bat!…

…Thus, who would win that contest of strength – the horse running Leftward or the horse straining to stay on the Right?  Would the moderate money swamp the conservative message?  Or would the liberty loving, TEA Party types swarm the populace and out-hustle the squishy media squeeze play rendering the moderate money-message bomb moot and ineffective?  Many of the TEA Party types like Kimball – if they decide en masse to work for him, the air might effectively be sucked out of Bass’s campaign rooms…

Money always has talked, and talks loudly.  However, this is a strange time in NH and national politics.  Obama may have unwittingly unlocked the barn door on one hand and slammed it on the other. A large number of Americans, with Liberty coursing through their veins and Freedom buried deep within their DNA, are shaking off their decades long slumber to say "No further!" to Progressives and moderates (both of which have no problem with an ever larger Government).  Obama, with his headlong rush to Socialize the USA, may have slammed  the door shut on center right moderate Democrat-lite types but flung open a wide door, and making it easier, for Conservatives and Libertarians to put aside their differences at the edges, join together, and bring the nation and NH back to a saner political State of being. 

Which doesn’t include Republican squishes who say "Freedom?"  What’s that got to do with anything….

And that is the "years past and the bucks may not matter" comes in.  Mr. Hatch and Mr. Bass may have decided that they will rely on the typical Republican style campaign.  Problem is, I think they are out of date.  The "X Factor"?  The main thrust of my words above – the TEA Party folks.  There is absolutely NOTHING in Bass’s history that I know of would remotely pull TEA Party type folks towards him.  He’s running to the center, for gosh sake!  Conservative Republicans will not be enthused and even the Independents are showing anxiety concerning bigger government – and moderate Republicans are oft not steeled against voting against more and more government based services (yielding larger government).

I’ve seen numerous yammerings of Republican "strategists" who say that GOP candidates have to move to align themselves with the TEA Party folks, or more stupidly, co-opt the movement.  WARNING - Those that try either will be spit out like days old gum.   Any attempt at Mr. Bass trying reach out to the TEA Party type folks would probably get him stares – where was he during the April 15th TEA Parties?  Has he reached out to the Liberty focused groups here in NH?  Has he continuously spoken out on a pro-limited government basis?

The regular folk are waking up here in NH and becoming more active.  It is now seems that many in the GOP are now agreeing; it may well now be the activist groups, long shunned by the GOP,  that have the power politically as they can turn out the people most likely to do campaign work.  To whom these activists trend to may well determine the election and the TEA Party folks are crawling with them. These GOP strategists thinking to "take over the movement" have failed to note that the TEA Party folks, the Liberty loving, Constitution holding, gun clinging have railed against BOTH the Democrats AND Republicans that have failed to hold any of those ideals dear.

Tell me, what in Bass’s past would endear him to these now and newly active folks who have finally found their voices and are applying their time and talents to taking this country and state back to the Founders’ vision of limited government and individual liberty?

Really, I look at this as a "wet finger in wind" moment by Charlie Bass by proxy – "gee, what do the polls say?".  If Mr. Bass had the political fortitude, he’d make a decision – or already have made it.  Rush is oft heard to say that moderates are those that have no principles to guide them – or cannot make up their minds.  In this case, is it "in or out, should I run or not". 

N
o, the TEA Party folks will flock to those candidates that have spent their time, talent, and money in the trenches – no one that has refused to put themselves in the way of the back side political arrows (as the ‘Grok has) for running against the norm and comes in on the proverbial White Horse at the last minute will get attention from these folks.

Trust me – the TEA Party hate coattail hangers-on and they can sniff them out from miles (and memories) away.