There were more than a few Republicans and Libertarians who refused to vote for Kelly Ayotte. They perceived her as a RINO working the TEA party line to get elected. The alternative, Paul Hodes, was rightly viewed as the constitutional threat that he was and Ayotte won handily without the votes of the ideological squeamish. And Senator Ayotte has not disappointed until now.
Her endorsement of Willard ‘Mitt’ Romney stands to undo every scrap of goodwill she may have accumulated to this point but should we be surprised? Romney, while certainly capable and undoubtedly preferable to Obama, shares a similar indictment as Ayotte did during her Senate Race. The same people who insist that they would risk letting Paul Hodes become a US Senator are the same people who would risk letting Obama pull the levers for another four years is Romney is the nomination.
And for those who have come around to Ayotte, this will smell like political opportunism inspired by Judd Gregg and Gov Sununu, casting her lot with the centrist ‘Establishment.’
