Romney Names Ayotte as Potential Running Mate (Plus NY Times Spins Ayotte Endorsement)

Posted on November 22 2011 – 7:47 PM – Posted by: Steve Flesher

As Newt Gingrich continues to surpass Mitt in the polls, the NY Times is suspiciously pumping Kelly Ayotte’s endorsement of Romney as a sudden potential surge of support from conservatives.

Mitt Romney collected the backing of the freshman Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire on Sunday, a coveted endorsement from a conservative Republican and rising star in state politics, amid growing signs that leaders from the party’s right wing are making peace with the possibility of Mr. Romney as their nominee.

I cannot help but remember the NY Times’ blessing of John McCain during the 2008 primaries when John Broder called him a “Maverick.”  This was done in January of 2008 right before many caucus and early state-voting events. 

Of course if we have to “hold our noses” for one of the remaining candidates, you can be sure that it’s not going to be because the NY Times worked hard to paint such a narrative.

To help drive the point home, the article reminds voters of Palin’s endorsement of Ayotte:

Sarah Palin endorsed Ms. Ayotte in her Senate race in 2010, dubbing her a “Granite Grizzly.” Since then, she has become a potent force in state Republican Party politics. She has an active campaign organization in place from her recent Senate bid that the Romney team hopes to take advantage of, and her support gives Mr. Romney’s team a new network of party activists to deploy around the state.

So, beware of the new ‘conservative-by-association’ angle the media will begin to take with Romney as their beneficiary. 

Further, The Hill is now reporting that Mitt Romney is considering Ayotte to be a potential running mate.

Here are my thoughts:

First, even though many of us aren’t giving Newt Gingrich a free pass on questionable baggage, I think he’s a brilliant debater and stronger on substance than Romney.  Further, he’s been making news lately with some pretty strong statements against Obama and OWS protesters which are sending the media into a fighting frenzy.  They clearly want Newt’s momentum to fade fast.  I predict that it’s because they are beginning to suspect Obama may be in a bit of trouble if he’s stuck on stage debating Gingrich as opposed to Romney next year.

Second, Sarah Palin’s voice in this election is only growing stronger.  Clearly, the NY Times considered her 2010-endorsement of Ayotte an asset to Mitt Romney as they are now using it as an attempt to persuade conservatives to move toward him.  The mention of Sarah Palin in this kind of a context is certainly one of those ‘read between the lines’ occasions where their fear of Palin is validated.  (I.E. ‘We never want her to run for President, but we’ll remind you of how important her endorsement is as long as we can associate it to the one Republican in the race who’d guarantee Obama a re-election.’)

The bottom line: even if Newt brings baggage, he’s a bigger threat against Obama than Romney is.

The media is afraid of him.  But they are even more afraid of Sarah Palin.

Perhaps Newt will offer her a spot in his adminstration as he hinted he might do.

Article source: http://conservatives4palin.com/2011/11/romney-names-ayotte-as-potential-running-mate-plus-ny-times-spins-ayotte-endorsement.html