Female choices for Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate: Kelly Ayotte

Mitt Romney’s wife has disclosed her husband’s vice presidential search includes choosing a woman, according to Fox news.

New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte walked with Romney in a July Fourth parade together with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who failed in her attempt to get elected governor of California when she lost to Jerry Brown in 2010.

Each of these women have something to bring to the Republican ticket, and choosing a woman could improve Romney’s electability. According to redstate.com, Romney is trailing with the women’s vote and is weak in attracting female voters.

The top 3 most admired women in America – Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama -- all support President Obama for re-election.

Right now, Obama has the women’s vote; therefore, Romney needs to make a strategic move to recruit women to his ticket; taking a page out of John McCain’s approach book and choosing a female vice presidential running mate is the best idea.

Picking Condoleezza Rice to run on the Republican ticket could be Romney’s best move to attract conservative female voters and boost his ticket’s foreign policy experience in doing so. However, this might not attract cross-over Democrats and independent women.

Oprah Winfrey is the most admired woman by Republican voters, but she has been a staunch Obama supporter and boosted his candidacy initially. Winfrey first endorsed Obama in September 2006 before he had even declared himself a candidate. In May 2007 Winfrey made her first endorsement of candidate Obama, and in December 2007, she made her first campaign appearance for him. Some economists estimate that Winfrey’s endorsement was worth more than a million votes in the Democratic primary race.

While the women who walked with Romney in the July Fourth parade do not have the following of Oprah Winfrey, they could boost his popularity.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte

Her website touts she is a prosecutor at heart. Kelly was the first woman to serve as the state's Attorney General. Appointed to that position in 2004 by a Republican governor, she was twice reappointed by a Democratic governor. In her first bid for public office, she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 with 60 percent of the vote. In the Senate, Kelly serves on the Armed Services, Budget, Commerce, and Small Business Committees. She is the ranking member - top Republican - on the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support.

Position on Abortion and Stem Cell Research:

• Pro-life important for Supreme Court nominee, but not litmus. (Jun 2010)
• Pro-life, with exceptions for rape, incest, and emergency. (Aug 2009)
• Opposes both federal abortion funding & judicial activism. (Aug 2010)
• Supports prohibiting human embryonic stem cell research. (Aug 2010)
• Opposes federal funding for abortion. (May 2011)

Budget and Economy

• Stop professional politicians from bankrupting our country. (Aug 2010)
• Demand a Balanced Budget amendment. (Jul 2010)
• Limit federal spending growth to per-capita inflation rate. (Jul 2010)
• Disapprove of increasing the debt limit. (Jan 2012)

Corporations

• No tax increases on any business, including overseas jobs. (Sep 2010)
• Reduce corporate tax rate; it's world's second highest. (Jul 2010)
• Understands the importance of small businesses. (Dec 2009)
• Rated 14% by UFCW, indicating a pro-management voting record. (May 2012)

Energy and Oil

• Responsibly tap U.S. reserves of natural gas and oil. (Aug 2010)
• Responsibly expand domestic gas and oil. (Jul 2010)
• Global warming is real, but should not cost jobs. (Aug 2009)
• Voted YES on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. (Apr 2011)
• Signed the No Climate Tax Pledge by AFP. (Nov 2010)
• Cap-and-trade has no impact on global temperatures. (Jul 2010)
• Explore proven energy reserves & keep energy prices low. (Jul 2010)

Foreign Policy

• There are still terrorists who want to kill us. (Jun 2010)
• Rated -1 by AAI, indicating a mixed Arab/Palestine voting record. (May 2012)
• No stance on free trade

Health Care

• Health Reforms should lower costs and improve quality. (Jul 2010)
• Voted YES on the Ryan Budget: Medicare choice, tax & spending cuts. (May 2011)
• Opposes government-run healthcare. (Aug 2010)
• Defund, repeal, & replace federal care with free market. (Jul 2010)
• Repeal any federal health care takeover. (Jul 2010)

Immigration

• Stop the dangerous flow of illegal immigrants. (Jul 2010)
• I support English as the language of our country. (Jun 2010)
• Supports Arizona law against illegal immigration. (Jun 2010)

Job Creation

• Government won't create jobs; it's our small businesses. (Sep 2010)
• No minimum wage increase; no card-check; no mandatory leave. (Sep 2010)

Social Security and Tax Reform

Favors raising the social security age for retirement.

• Wrong philosophy to raise taxes during difficult economy. (Sep 2010)
• Keep zero federal estate tax; don't return to 50%. (Sep 2010)
• Eliminate death tax once and for all: it's double taxation. (Jul 2010)
• Taxpayer Protection Pledge: no new taxes. (Aug 2010)
• Opposes both marriage penalty & federal tax increases. (Aug 2010)
• Adopt a single-rate tax system. Flat tax. (Jul 2010)
• Repeal tax hikes in capital gains and death taxes. (Jul 2010)
• Supports the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. (Jan 2012)

Government Reform

• Praised Sen. Gregg for earmarks; but pledges against them. (Oct 2010)
• Ban earmarks; Hodes voted for 9,000 of them. (Sep 2010)
• Make Congressional pay "performance-based". (Sep 2010)
• End earmarks; post donations online. (Jul 2010)
• No Pork Pledge: decrease earmarking; increase transparency. (Aug 2010)
• Identify constitutionality in every new congressional bill. (Jul 2010)
• Audit federal agencies, to reform or eliminate them. (Jul 2010)
• Moratorium on all earmarks until budget is balanced. (Jul 2010)

Ayotte is in line with a conservative ticket both fiscally and socially and leaning toward less government by eliminating federal agencies and a flat tax, which has also been at the forefront with Libertarian candidates. Her foreign policy experience is limited, however, and does not bring experience to the ticket in comparison to Rice, who shares many of Ayotte's views.

Subsequent reports will focus individually on Haley, Martinez, Rice and Whitman, with a closing report on a comparison and projections.

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Resources

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07/05/ann-romney-says-woman-being-eyed-for-husband-ticket/#ixzz1zlKYEjpb

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey's_endorsement_of_Barack_Obama

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Kelly_Ayotte.htm