Representative Bass Plays Lead Role in House GOP Leadership Reform

By Julie Donnelly on Wednesday, January 25, 2006.

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Republicans in the US House of Representatives plan to hold leadership elections next week to replace indicted former majority leader Tom Delay.

NH Congressman Charlie Bass will be stumping for a conservative Arizona Republican he says will clean up Congress.

The second district Republican has put himself front and center in the debate on reforming ethics in the House.

He and other Republicans hope cleaning house now means they won't lose control of the House come November's election.

NHPR correspondent Julie Donnelly reports from Washington.

Congressman Charles Bass says he's endorsing Arizona Republican John Shadegg to be the next majority leader of the House of Representatives.

That endorsement comes despite Bass's membership in the moderate Main Street Republican caucus and the fact that Shadegg is considered the most conservative candidate running.

Congressman Bass says he's spoken to Shadegg, and is confident he'll work with moderates in the party.

"what I want all moderate republicans to know is that shadegg is philosphically indistinguishable from the other candidates, but if you want real reform, he is the one of the three that best fills that requirement"

The endorsement is the culmination of Bass' campaign to replace embattled House republican leader Tom Delay.

Delay was indicted on corruption charges in late September - and was forced to temporarily step down from his leadership post.

In November, Bass was the first congressman to publicly call for Mr. Delay to be permanently replaced.

Over the holidays, New Hampshire's second district Republican teamed up with a leader from the conservative wing of the Republican party - Arizona congressman Jeff Flake.

The two began circulating a petition to force new elections - then earlier this month Tom Delay said he'd step down permanently, so the party could move on.

In addition, Bass and Flake are calling for reforms that include limiting or eliminating gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists.

They also want to revise the budget process, to get rid of earmarks for individual members' pet projects.

This could mean NH Congressmen would no longer be able to bring back extra dollars to New Hampshire - a strategy that often garners votes.

But Congressman Bass says while he wants to enact programs that benefit his constituents, the reforms may be a needed change.

"if we decide as a congress that we are going to get rid of that process for everybody, including democrats and republicans, that it's more about taking steps to reduce the deficit, reduce spending, which I also support. so I think there's a tradeoff."

Congressman Bass' interest in government reform has raised his national profile over the past few months.

It's also raised the ire of the Democratic party in New Hampshire.

The party accuses Bass of being part of the culture of corruption that swirls around Tom Delay.

Party officials point to Bass' refusal to give back thousands of dollars in campaign money that he received from Delay's political action committee.

And they have another gripe - they say Representative Bass has misled voters about his previous support for the former majority leader.:

State Democratic Party Chair Kathy Sullivan??

"he claimed that tom delay had no ethics problems before this term. but the reality is that delay was cited twice for ethics violations, and then, after that, congressman bass voted for him to be the majority leader in congress"

Bass likes to remind critics that Delay has not been convicted of any crime.

Bass adds that he has been at the forefront of the movement to replace Delay as leader, and that democratic attempts to paint another picture are - quote - pathetic.

"I admire their imagination, but when I voted for Delay, he had no opponent, so there was no one else to vote for"

State democrats have vowed to link Congressman Bass to Republican corruption in November's election.

As the demographics of the second district continue to shift, the seat is no longer a safe one for Republicans.

It's also a target as the national democratic party looks for seats to go after.

But Congressional Quarterly's politics editor Bob Benenson says that tactic often fails.

Polls show it's hard to overcome the power of incumbency.

"people hate congress in general, but they love their own congressman, and they are not likely to blame them for the ethics violations of another member, or pork barrel spending in another part of the country, so the individual member has a lot of insulation"

Benenson says it would likely take a perfect storm - a string of unpopular votes, a well funded challenger with name recognition, and continuing trouble for the Republican party - to unseat Charlie Bass.

But the national party is concerned about the possibility that they could lose the majority if they don't clean up the party - and quick.

After all, ten months before the nineteen ninety four Republican revolution, when Bass was first elected, no one predicted that Republicans would take over the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years.

For NHPR news, I'm Julie Donnelly in Washington.