Yeah, blogging has been light from me lately – let’s just chalk it up to a constantly changing schedule lately beyond my control and with it, too many interruptions to be able to concentrate properly on this “hobby”. Thus, this has been sitting for almost a week, and to be frank, I forgot what my original thoughts on this was. But hey, I took the time to transcribe it, so let’s throw something out, shall we?
I think this race is going to be shaped by who is in the best position to get things done for the people of NH. I’ve been ranked the seventh most bipartisan Senator to work with people to get things done. Been called a No Labels problem solver and had that designation so when we look at my record of standing up and working with other people to put NH first, to get results, I think that’s what this race is going to be about.
Right, Kelly. So far this cycle we have seen exactly ONE dominant theme – the base is not just unhappy, it is ANGRY. Angry at Democrats, sure, but even angrier at elected GOPers (and their attendant political classers) that campaigned on stopping the Democrat agenda. Period. End of story. She campaigned on it (and I will remind you, she was particularly strident on being anti-illegal immigration and anti-amnesty in any form – and now she’s quite partial to amnesty (she’s just been very quiet about it lately). In THIS election, it is clear that the base has turned on the Presidential candidates that come from the Establishment side of the GOP – compared to Trump, Cruz, Rubio, and Carson, those that the base has determined to be Establishment and “also-rans” are doing exactly that: being “also rans”. While the NH polls show a bit better for a couple of the Establishment candidates, the national polling is a disaster for the RICs (the Republican “In Crowd”).
It is clear that the base is saying that we have had enough of those that are perceived as the “same old, same old” hacks, even if they are first termers and especially if they are perceived as not being stalwarts of pushing, at all costs, those issues near and dear to the grassroots. So how does she rate right now?
- Heritage Action: 28% (R Senate average: 61% BTW, Shaheen is a 0%, but is it a selling point, at 25%, that Ayotte is “FAR” better than Shaheen? I don’t think so).
- Conservative Review: F 40%
She is REVELING, by her own admission (“No Labels…seventh most bipartisan”) in her actions. It is clear that she doesn’t have all that deep of a root structure and not a great of a Platform supporting activity during her first (and current term) and is running away from her “Republican roots” – and therefore she is being lumped into the Establishment bucket (or sidecar, as it were) by the base (and her own words confirm that catagorizing). For her to walk away from Conservative and Party Principles and who straddles the aisle willingly should be a notice to the base, she is making it clear: she is not our friend and certainly not supportive of the issues that matter to us. After all, she just came out in support Obama’s energy policies after originally being in favor of “drill everywhere, use everything”.
One more note for the base:
“I don’t have the influence there…the notion that I’m involved at the state level is absurd”
Absurd? Actually quite the opposite – as someone who is a Republican leader in NH, she came out in a letter supporting Gene Chandler (he of the “any person with an R after their name is a good Republican” fame) which directly led to the now Democrat appointed Speaker of the NH House Shawn Jasper. Meddling in that race precluded a solid and unified R House and some of the results thereof, I lay at her feet.
It is ALSO absurd for her to claim no involvement at the State level – being the highest elected R in the State necessarily means YOU ARE INVOLVED AT THE STATE LEVEL.
Remember, winning is only a precursor; what you do afterwards is most important. Has what she has done “afterwards” rise to your standard of spending your precious and most expensive vote for Kelly’s “afterwards”?
Not for me. Her oft claimed phrase of “getting things done” is not the same as “doing the right things” – she has a proven track record of believing that Washington should decide for us instead of moving Washington out of the way to allow us to decide for ourselves.