Kelly Ayotte possible presidential campaign, 2016/Federalism
From Ballotpedia
 Kelly Ayotte |
U.S. Senator (2011-2017) Former Attorney General of New Hampshire (2004-2009) |
 Republican candidate: |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Judiciary
- When asked about the role of the Supreme Court in a 2010 debate, Kelly Ayotte said, "When it comes to Supreme Court Justices, we need a single standard, not a double standard. And that single standard would be are they qualified and do they adhere to the Constitution."[1]
- In 2010, Ayotte expressed her support for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia, whom she called “strong, conservative justices.”[1]
- In 2010, "Ayotte said Elena Kagan is unqualified to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court," according to The Concord Monitor.[2]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On January 3, 2015, Kelly Ayotte posted the following tweet: "No country or entity should be permitted to use cyber-attacks to intimidate Americans or undermine freedom of speech."[3]
- On July 15, 2014, Ayotte and Sen. Deb Fischer published an op-ed about the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case in The Wall Street Journal. They wrote, "Those who distort the court's decision insist that one cannot support religious liberty and also support access to safe, affordable birth control. But these are principles that we, and millions of others, support. Americans believe strongly that we should be able to practice our religion without undue interference from the government. It's a fundamental conviction that goes to the very core of our character—and dates back to the founding of our nation. The Supreme Court's decision in the Hobby Lobby case, which protects rights of conscience, reaffirmed our centuries-old tradition of religious liberty."[4]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In April 2013, after voting against the Manchin-Toomey background check compromise, which would have required background checks before purchasing a gun, Kelly Ayotte said, "What we need to do is focus on mental health, ultimately. But I understand and respect that you have a different viewpoint." According to The Washington Post, Ayotte said that "she voted against the plan because it was flawed and that it wouldn’t have stopped the Sandy Hook killer. She said she did not believe that it would have stemmed the flow of illegal guns or compelled the Justice Department to aggressively enforce or prosecute existing gun laws."[5]
- According to Politico, on May 9, 2013, "The American Future Fund launched this ad praising Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte for her opposition to the Manchin-Toomey gun control bill."[6]
- In May 2013, the National Rifle Association released and ad defending Ayotte after Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group released an ad criticizing her vote on the Manchin-Toomey compromise. The narrator in the ad said, "Seen this TV ad paid for by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg? Don’t believe it. Kelly Ayotte voted for a bipartisan plan to make background checks more effective… Ayotte voted for a bipartisan plan to reform our broken mental health system. Ayotte voted for resources to prosecute criminals who use guns. Kelly Ayotte stands with prosecutors and police for New Hampshire values."[6]
- In a 2013 op-ed, Ayotte wrote, "Out of state special interests are running false ads attacking me and even lying about my efforts to prevent gun-related violence. I want to set the record straight: I support effective background checks and in fact voted recently to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Some of my colleagues want to expand the broken background check system we have now. In my view, we shouldn’t be expanding a flawed system. The focus should be on fixing the existing system, which criminals are flouting."[7]
- According to the National Review, Ayotte "didn’t support a 'Stand Your Ground' proposal" when she served as New Hampshire Attorney General.[8]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Kelly Ayotte voted for S.990 - the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011, which “Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to extend until June 1, 2015, provisions concerning roving electronic surveillance orders and requests for the production of business records and other tangible things. Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to extend until June 1, 2015, a provision revising the definition of an 'agent of a foreign power' to include any non-U.S. person who engages in international terrorism or preparatory activities ('lone wolf' provision)."[9]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- When asked by Reason.com in August 2012 if she was a Libertarian, Kelly Ayotte said, "I really consider myself 'me,' and just evaluate every issue by asking if it is the proper role of government and if it is consistent with the Constitution. Should this be something that should be handled by the federal government or the states?"[10]
- When asked about states' rights during a 2010 debate, Ayotte said, "We should be going back to our Constitution, to local control, to people, to families, and our elected officials who are here to represent you. And that's been lost unfortunately in Washington."[11]
Crime and justice
- In September 2014, Kelly Ayotte co-sponsored S.1323 - the Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act of 2013, which, among other things, sought to combat the use of the synthetic drug "spice."[12]
- Ayotte co-sponsored S.47 - the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, by a vote of 78 - 22.[13]
- In 2013, Ayotte explained that she opposed repealing the death penalty in New Hampshire. She said, "Particularly in cases for our police officers, it is important that in that narrow set of cases, that the death penalty is one of the penalties the attorney general can consider depending on the case."[14]
- Ayotte co-sponsored several bills to combat human trafficking, including: the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act (S. 1733), the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2011, S. 1249, "a bipartisan bill that would elevate the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to a full bureau within the State Department" and the Boko Haram Terrorist Designation Act of 2013 (S. 198).[15]
- According to National Review, "Ayotte was chief of the homicide unit in the AG’s office. Her reputation from those years, when she tenaciously went after cop killers, remains the keystone of her political persona. She often refers to that experience when speaking at political events — and she’s empathetic without getting drawn into the emotion of the issue, much in the same way she once handled tricky murder cases."[8]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Kelly + Ayotte + Government
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Political Guide, “Kelly Ayotte on Supreme Court Justices," accessed January 15, 2015
- ↑ Concrod Monitor, "Ayotte calls Justice Kagan ‘unqualified'," accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ Twitter, “Kelly Ayotte,” accessed January 21, 2015
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, “The Hobby Lobby Decision and Its Distortions,” accessed January 21, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, “Sen. Kelly Ayotte becomes focus of gun-control groups’ efforts,” accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Politico, “NRA ad defends Kelly Ayotte," accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ Politico, “Kelly Ayotte says she backs gun checks," accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 National Review, "The Ayotte Delusion,” accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.990 - PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011,” accessed January 15, 2015
- ↑ Reason.com, "Sen. Kelly Ayotte, on Libertarianism: "I really consider myself ‘me’," accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ Political Guide, “Kelly Ayotte on The Tenth Amendment,” accessed January 15, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.1323 - Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act of 2013,” accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.47 - Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013,” accessed January 14, 2015
- ↑ NHPR.org, “Sen. Ayotte Says She's Confident Supreme Court Will Uphold Death Sentence,” accessed January 15, 2015
- ↑ Senate.gov, “Human Trafficking,” accessed January 15, 2014
