Horn To Run Again In Second CD

“Oh my goodness, this is very nice, Oh.”

That was Jennifer Horn’s own assessment of the crowd at her first campaign event since last November. 30 people, give or take, isn’t huge, but it’s not bad, either. Horn’s announcement remarks were brief, and featured a two-pronged attack. She accused Democrats of being out of touch and in thrall to big government.

“Socialized medicine, nationalized financial institution, government-owned auto companies: that is not the America that our founding fathers envisioned.”

And she stressed that Charlie Bass, who she at alternately described as a “friend” and derided as a “career politician,” is not the guy to drain the swap she sees in Washington.

“Charlie is a good man and he was good Congressman in his day, however, Republicans were fired with good cause in 2006, they were fired for a reason, and that is not a Washington we want to return to.”

Horn’s most prominent supporters at her kickoff -- former Second, District Congressman Chuck Douglas, anti-tax activist Tom Thomson, and former State Senate President Tom Eaton all stressed the candidate’s newness, and said Horn is ideally positioned to excite GOP loyalists.

“Jennifer horn is a new face, a break with the past.”

“NH citizens want a new beginning, someone with a fresh face.”

“I can only echo what was said before me.”

Last year, Horn also worked this angle. At the time, party leaders tried to package her as a NH analog to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Don’t expect that this time.

“Jennifer Horn is Jennifer Horn, and I think that’s the good part, she stands on her own.”

Chuck Douglas added that, fairly or not, you can’t quite say the same of Charlie Bass.

“Look, we all like Charlie, but the problem is he was there during the Bush era, supported the budgets, didn’t vote to cut them and that’s a burden that I don’t want to see us have in November of next year. Why not just get a new face?”

Charlie Bass was unavailable for comment for this story, but a spokesman for his exploratory committee, Scott Tranchmontagne says if Bass does get in the race, there will be a clear choice when it comes to experience.

“I personally think that in today’s day and age, where this country is clearly at a very important crossroads, that it’s important to have somebody in Washington who knows his way around the block and how to get things done.”

UNH political scientist Danta Scala says name recognition and likely fundraising advantages would make Bass the clear favorite should he enter the race. Scala adds, though, that getting out of the primary, let alone back to Congress, may not be easy.

“You know Charlie Bass is returning to the GOP and the political scene and it’s changed drastically, even since 2006, and it’s unclear that there are Charlie Bass Republicans to come home to, I think that’s the difficulty, especially in a primary.”

Charlie Bass isn’t expected to make any formal decision on entering the race until the end of the year.