About
Learn More about our progressive online community for the Granite State.

Create an account today (it's free and easy) and get started!
Menu

Make a New Account

Username:

Password:



Forget your username or password?


Search




Advanced Search


The Masthead
Managing Editors


Jennifer Daler

Contributing Writers
elwood
Mike Hoefer
susanthe

ActBlue Hampshire

The Roll, Etc.
Prog Blogs, Orgs & Alumni
Bank Slate
Betsy Devine
birch, finch, beech
Blue News Tribune (MA)
Democracy for NH
Live Free or Die
Mike Caulfield
Granite State Progress
Seacoast for Change
Susan the Bruce
Tomorrow's Progressives

Politicos & Punditry
The Burt Cohen Show
Krauss
Landrigan
Lawson
Pindell
Primary Monitor
Scala
Schoenberg
Spiliotes
Welch

Campaigns, Et Alia.
Paul Hodes
Carol Shea-Porter
Ann McLane Kuster
Katrina Swett
Jennifer Daler

ActBlue Hampshire
NHDP
DCCC
DSCC
DNC

National
Balloon Juice
billmon
Congress Matters
DailyKos
Digby
Hold Fast
Eschaton
FiveThirtyEight
MyDD
The Next Hurrah
Open Left
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo

50 State Blog Network
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Kelly Ayotte is Not Judd Gregg, Pt. II. She's Much Worse

by: Dean Barker

Thu Jun 10, 2010 at 05:59:34 AM EDT


One of the hurdles we have in the senate race, imo, is the general, and false, impression, that Kelly Ayotte may be a little better than Judd Gregg, so in the celebrated and confused spirit of bipartisanship the voter might be tempted to go with her.

But Kelly Ayotte is no, slightly better, 21st century Judd Gregg.  She's much worse.

DiStaso notes that Ayotte, who will not rule out oil drilling off the coast of New Hampshire, is collecting dollars again in DC, this time with the help of notorious climate change denialist James Inhofe, the man who has perhaps done the most harm  in efforts to get our nation away from fossil fuels:

Inhofe, who has also contributed to Ayotte's campaign, led GOP efforts to block a Democratic initiative to raise the private company liability cap on oil spills from $75 million to $10 billion.
Inhofe's celebrity status as America's least believer in science (he enjoys using Nazi references to refer to the EPA, e.g.) sometimes overshadows his other beliefs, well outside the mainstream of Granite State values. For example:
Inhofe has generally been seen as overtly hostile by LGBT advocacy groups, earning a 0% in every one of his terms on Human Rights Campaign's position scorecard.[35] Inhofe is in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, against adding sexual orientation to the definition of hate crimes, and voted against prohibiting job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[36] Inhofe's office has said he "does not hire openly gay staffers due to the possibility of a conflict of agenda."

Inhofe campaigned for his Senate seat in 1994 using the phrase "God, guns, and gays," reflecting his ability to master political support in opposition to gay rights in general (and gays in the military in particular).[38][39] This phrase came to be a popular term for GOP campaign strategy, with Howard Dean and other politicians using it in the 2004 election cycle.[40] In 2008, his campaign was noted by the Associated Press for running an ad with "anti-gay overtones" featuring a wedding cake with two male figures on top, fading into his opponent's face.

Dean Barker :: Kelly Ayotte is Not Judd Gregg, Pt. II. She's Much Worse
Tags: (All Tags)
Print Friendly View Send As Email
Guilt by association always leaves me feeling queasy. (0.00 / 0)
However, we are known "by the company we keep" and keeping company with James Inhofe does not speak well of Ms. Ayotte.  Never mind that whatever war chest she accumulates is not likely to trickle into the coffers of New Hampshire media enterprise.

On the other hand, the idea that Ms. Ayotte is some sort of partisan probably needs to be shot down.  So far, there's every evidence that Ms. Ayotte, like her role model, Sara, is entirely self-centered and self-absorbed.  Indeed, these characteristics may well account for her inability to be environmentally aware.  

As far as the liability issue is concerned, being responsible after the damage has been done doesn't prevent it from occurring.  Not only would new legislation not be applicable retroactively, but liability and insurance go hand in hand as a moral hazard.  That is, the prospect of relief from risky behavior often leads people to engage in risky behavior.



Connect with BH
     
Blue Hampshire Blog on Facebook
Powered by: SoapBlox