Everyone should read!!

By Sens. Jack Barnes and Bob Letourneau
New Hampshire Union Leader
Friday, August 27, 2010

LIBERAL BILL Binnie has spent millions trying to buy one of New Hampshire’s seats in the U.S. Senate. But with his campaign down in the polls, Binnie appears to have decided that his only hope is to use a registered lobbyist to make false accusations against conservative Kelly Ayotte.

It’s important for GOP primary voters to separate fact from Binnie’s fiction. We served in the state Senate when Kelly was our attorney general. Take it from us: We know that Kelly was a tough, conservative attorney general – and we know she will be a strong conservative voice in Washington. That’s why we’re supporting her.

You may have seen a TV ad Bill Binnie’s campaign is running that uses Bob Clegg to falsely attack Kelly Ayotte. We served with Bob in the state Senate and know him well. He’s a paid lobbyist now, representing the special interests in Concord.

It’s disappointing to see Bill Binnie and Bob Clegg make these ridiculous accusations against Kelly. Having served with Bob, we don’t recall him making a peep about either of the two issues he references in Binnie’s attack ad.

In fact, just a year ago, Bob made a $500 contribution to Kelly’s campaign. And he lavished praise on Kelly, saying: “I think she’s one of the most thoughtful people on the political spectrum.”

Here are the facts. Kelly Ayotte is the only candidate in the GOP primary who has a record of standing up for our Second Amendment rights. As attorney general, she cleared individuals who used deadly force to protect themselves. She also received praise from the National Rifle Association for being the only attorney general in the Northeast to oppose reinstatement of the federal ban on semi-automatic assault firearms.

And when Second Amendment cases went to the U.S. Supreme Court, Kelly stood on principle. She joined briefs filed with the high court supporting gun owner rights in two key cases – District of Columbia v. Heller and National Rifle Association vs. Chicago.

Contrary to Binnie’s false claim, Kelly pursued every avenue within the law to address our illegal immigration crisis. Everybody knows Kelly was a tough Attorney General who stood firm for law and order. That’s why she has the support of nearly 60 police chiefs, 31 police advocacy groups and the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire. When Kelly gets to Washington, she’ll roll up her sleeves to secure our borders and strongly enforce immigration laws.

Binnie is falsely attacking Kelly to hide his own liberal views on immigration. Bill Binnie has publicly stated that he opposes Arizona’s new law to crack down on illegal immigration. And earlier this year the Washington Post reported that Bill Binnie supports a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants. Conservatives know what that’s code for: amnesty.

No matter how much money liberal Bill Binnie spends, he will never be able to buy Kelly’s record of tough conservative leadership. To the contrary, the only thing Binnie’s record shows is that he closed a California factory – which had hundreds of workers – and moved those American jobs to Mexico. Based on recent news accounts, he has a lot of explaining to do on his own background.

It’s sad to see Bill Binnie and Bob Clegg stoop to this level. This is an important election and we need to elect the most conservative candidate in the race. That’s Kelly Ayotte: a tough leader who we know will stop illegal immigration and protect our cherished Second Amendment rights.

That fact won’t change, no matter how many lobbyists liberal Bill Binnie puts on TV.

Jack Barnes is a Republican state senator from Raymond. Bob Letourneau is a Republican state senator from Derry.