Ayotte: I’m ignoring Dems’ attacks

US Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte said she ignores Democratic attacks that she’s the darling of the Washington establishment and believes voters will reject that label, as well.

Ayotte, 41, a Republican, said the assault rings hollow since she’s a New Hampshire native who has remained here serving the state as its attorney general.

“I have such deep roots in New Hampshire, raising our kids here, serving our state in the attorney general’s office for 14 years here,” Ayotte said during a recent interview.

“New Hampshire is what matters, and I know the New Hampshire voters are going to decide this election,” she added.

While there are at least four Republicans running for the GOP nomination, Democratic Party leaders have focused their attention on Ayotte as the early frontrunner in the polls.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party has posted several Web videos chastising Ayotte for refusing to take positions and issues weekly press releases to reinforce the point.

After several months of attacks, the Ayotte campaign responded with its own Web video mocking U.S. Senate candidate and Democratic U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes’ job performance on the economy.

Ayotte said if she’s elected, she would commute to Washington from Nashua and serve no more than two, six-year terms.

“’We’re not going to live in Washington. I feel it’s important that I stay grounded and live in the state while serving,” said Ayotte, who has two young children with her husband, Joe. “We want to raise our children in New Hampshire.”

The top three issues on the minds of voters, Ayotte said, are the federal budget deficit, health care and more accountability for Congress.

Ayotte said if elected, she would pursue passage of a balanced budget amendment and vote that way on appropriations bills.

“Voters are deeply concerned about the level of federal spending, the amount of the federal deficit and public debt,’” Ayotte said. ‘’Washington needs to be more responsible for their decisions.’’

She does not oppose earmark projects but wants them to be publicly identified and posted on the Internet for several days before Congress votes on them

“We can’t look at earmarks as being outside our overall fiscal priorities,” Ayotte said. “You should know who is asking for it.”

On health care, Ayotte adopts the congressional Republican view that a public option would drive out private health insurance and lead to higher, not lower, health care costs.

“I think (there) are some things we can do to make a difference in health care costs while allowing people to keep the coverage they like. What we need to do is improve competition and reduce costs without affecting quality,” Ayotte said.

The Senate is studying whether to let states opt out of the public option, but Ayotte still would oppose that model.

“I think it’s still a path to the government takeover of health care, and that’s the wrong approach.”

She supports placing limits on damages awarded from medical malpractice suits to lower costs and letting insurance companies cross state lines to offer coverage to consumers and business owners.

The pending health care bills all would place undue financial burdens on states, Ayotte added.

With regards to accountability, Ayotte said she commits to reading all the legislation before Congress votes on bills and holding open-ended town hall meetings.

“I think people in New Hampshire just want Congress to use more common sense. That’s what I am going to focus on in Washington because we sure need more of it.”

While Ayotte and GOP leaders have criticized Hodes for not holding open-ended sessions, Ayotte the candidate hasn’t had any either. Most of her public schedule is limited to meeting with groups of Republicans across the state.

“I really enjoy meeting people and hearing what is on their minds. I did some of that as attorney general,” Ayotte said.

Ayotte urged President Barack Obama to approve a policy for advancing progress in Afghanistan and said a much longer delay is demoralizing to the military.

“I think the president needs to come up with a plan,” Ayotte said. “I am concerned we make sure the military has the resources they need.

“I hope he can come forward with a proposal soon for the sake of our troops.’’

Ayotte’s husband is a reservist in the Massachusetts Air National Guard. There are no present plans for his deployment overseas, she said.

She supports simplifying the tax code but has offered no specific proposal to accomplish that.

Kevin Landrigan can be reached at 321-7040 or klandrigan@nashuatelegraph.com.