Congressman Charles Bass '74, R"N.H., took time off the campaign trail Saturday to talk to the Dartmouth community about his experiences as a student and to promote other Republican candidates running in the area.
Bass began his speech to a small group congregated at the Top of the Hop by relating his turbulent years as a Dartmouth government major during the Vietnam War. He then chronicled his journey from intern in a Maine congressman's campaign to New Hampshire representative. Based on his experience, Bass discouraged students who are interested in politics from rejecting lowly starting positions at the beginning of their careers.
Instead of promoting himself, Bass devoted the majority of his time to touting other area Republican politicians, from state Senate hopeful Jim Dean to New Hampshire Executive Council incumbent Ray Burton.
Bass also offered support for two College Republicans in the audience running for state representative: Jesse Roisin '05 and Katie Racicot '06.
Dean and Burton expressed their optimism about their own campaigns and asked for help from students in winning Hanover, a town that has fallen out of Republican control in recent years.
Despite his speech's local focus, Bass commented on why he believed President Bush would make the country safer than Sen. John Kerry. He also spoke passionately about the need for Congress to save Social Security.
"We can't do nothing and expect it to stand," Bass said.
When prompted by student inquiries, Bass concluded by emphasizing the need for greater border security through Global Positioning Satellite tracking and scanning of imported containers. Bass said he fears alienating allies or reducing commerce by raising additional barriers to global trade.
