GOP Rep. Bass disagrees with Romney '47 percent' remarks

Rep. Charlie Bass (R-N.H.) added his name to the list of Republican lawmakers criticizing Mitt Romney for saying that almost half of the country is dependent on government handouts and would never vote for him.

Bass, currently in a tight reelection race against Democrat Annie Kuster, stressed in his statement that he still supported Romney.

"I support Mitt Romney, Gov. Romney, for president. I think he will make a great president. I disagree with that statement he made before that crowd of supporters," Bass said, according to WMUR on Thursday. "I would like to believe that every single American, especially the ones that are receiving more than they are giving, would hope that someday they would be in a position to give more than they receive. That is the basis upon which I approach my job and it is really the fundamental American way — that those less well-off hope to be better well-off — and I think we need to ... create an economy where that can happen."

Bass's comments come a few days after news broke that during a closed fundraiser in May Romney said 47 percent of the country considered themselves "victims." Romney added that that same 47 percent would never vote for him and thus that he should not focus too much on trying to win them over.

Bass is one of a number of Republican lawmakers — Sens. Dean Heller (Nev.) and Scott Brown (Mass.) among them — to have criticized Romney's remarks.

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