SENATOR KELLY AYOTTE: A POLITICAL CHAMELEON

…The New Hampshire Senator, Kelley Ayotte could become a 1 term GOP Senator

 

Up to now, Senator Ayotte has been seen as both a strong conservative and as a moderate Republican

 

 

As was stated in The Post, “Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) has tried for months to walk a high wire on the vexing subject of Donald Trump. This week, she fell off the wire.”

 

When in her debate with N.H. Governor Maggie Hassan, her Democratic opponent, Ayotte answered a question about whether Donald Trump should be regarded as a “role model for young children” and she answered yes, he is 'absolutely' a role model. 

 

In this very close race, hours later, the Ayotte’s campaign, quickly realizing she had made a serious gaffe, they then made a 180° turn.  The campaign issued a statement declaring that she “misspoke,” and a day later, in order to paint a broad-brush of a denial, Ayotte told reporters that “neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have set a good role model example.”

 

Since Ms. Ayotte became the Republican Senator for New Hampshire, she has been a kind of local chameleon.  She has appeared to be both a conservative and a moderate, depending on to whom she was speaking.

 

But that was back in 2010.  The time is 2016, and the political world is very different.

 

The Tea Party has changed the conservatives and the mid-tern election added a larger, local, GOP electorate.  Today, Democrats’ chances of taking control of the Senate are likely to hang on winning three states: New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Indiana. But this assumes they will maintain their current leads in Wisconsin and Illinois. The Democrats have even longer shots at holding Nevada or taking North Carolina and Missouri, but the American people have made it clear, they are ready for change.

 

All this problem between Ayotte and Trump started back in the Spring when it became clear that Trump was going to be the GOP nominee.  At that time, Ayotte was one of those Republicans that didn’t think Trump was qualified to be a US president, and that opinion obviously hasn’t changed. 

 

Because of this attitude, she caused a lot of confusion when she finally announced that she would “support” Trump, but she would not “endorse” him.  Whatever that means…..?

 

Her distinction between “support” and “endorse” are obviously for avoiding any offense to Trump supporters, whose votes she absolutely needs.  But she wants to reassure Trump’s many detractors in this very moderate state.  Ayotte fully understands why New Hampshire citizens dislike a man given to misogyny, racism, & Trump’s love of Putin and his short-tempered early AM tweets.

 

The senator has a true conundrum.  Local Republicans have complemented the senator on her separating herself from the nominee.  She has never appeared at any of Trump’s events and she has called him out six or seven times on some of his ridiculous statements.

 

Unfortunately, with Trump as the party’s nominee, Ayotte is on very shaky ground in such a moderate state.  Ayotte’s abrupt reversal on Trump reinforces the Democrat’s overall campaign theme. Governor Hassan underscored this when she was interviewed at her campaign event this week.

 

This was another example of how important social media has become in national elections.  When Ayotte said that Trump would be a role model, the social-media response was instant and devastating.

 

“What has been true about my opponent’s campaign is she seems to want to have it both ways,” Governor Hassan said. “She votes one way in Washington and then speaks a different way in New Hampshire. And I think that that’s what you saw from her [answer]. She said ‘absolutely.’ Nothing can walk you back from ‘absolutely,’ no matter how much she tries.”

 

Ayotte and Governor Mike Pence seem to have very similar problems.

 

With Governor Pence’s performance at the vice-presidential debate, he won on style points for being smooth.  However, to stay smooth meant denying what Trump has actually said and then inventing a statesmanlike Trump that doesn’t even exist.  When Senator Ayotte had to take back saying that Trump was ‘absolutely’ a role model, she was saying as Pence did, “I’m ignoring and deceiving myself who Trump is and how I really feel about him.” 

 

This is just more moral corruption within the GOP.  From this point, those that aren’t in the “Never Trump” arena, they are now required to deceive themselves about who Trump is or deceive the public about how they really feel about him.

 

But the reality for most Republicans is that until election day, they will just live from day to day hoping they don’t say the word “absolutely” where Trump is concerned.

 

Now that the video of Trump on the Access Hollywood bus, being lewd, crude, offensive and sexist has appeared, and so many Republicans are rejecting Trump, perhaps Senator Ayotte will still keep her job.

 

Stay tuned here.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2016