TAD FURTADO

GOP political operative Tad Furtado resigned from his role as a top advisor to New Hampshire Republican Charlie Bass after it was discovered he had posted comments on blogs purportedly in support of Bass’ challenger and eventual winner, Democrat Paul Hodes. Hodes’ supporters and liberal bloggers complain Furtado was pretending (or “sockpuppeting,” as it is known in blogger lingo) to be a Hodes supporter to demoralize the Democrat’s backers. Among his comments were arguments that Bass held such a large lead in the polls that New Hampshire Democrats would be better off going after lower-hanging fruit.
Following is CNN.com’s account:

Bass staffer resigns after blog posts

A top aide to Rep. Charlie Bass resigned yesterday after admitting he used a government computer to post misleading messages on liberal Web sites. Tad Furtado agreed yesterday to resign as policy director, the number-two job in the Republican congressman's office. Bass said he requested Furtado's resignation after Furtado acknowledged he was responsible for the postings. "He came right out and said to me, 'I'm sorry. I'll do whatever you say I should do,'" Bass said yesterday. "Although this is a rather severe way of resolving the problem, in my mind it's the only way to do it." Bloggers at two New Hampshire Web sites, NH-02 Progressive and Blue Granite, say they became suspicious when a writer purporting to support the congressman's Democratic challenger, Paul Hodes, posted messages commending Bass' vote on a minimum wage increase and defending his stance on stem cell research.