When Sarah Palin endorsed Kelly Ayotte, she said that, in a parental notification case, Ayotte had fought Planned Parenthood "all the way to the Supreme Court and won." In fact, Ayotte had lost that case, as many in New Hampshire immediately noted.
But what we didn't know at the time was just how badly Ayotte lost, or how costly it was for New Hampshire.
[A]s attorney general in April 2009, Ayotte approved spending $300,000 in taxpayer money to settle the case and pay the legal costs of the opposing party, after a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge decided Planned Parenthood of Northern New England was the winner.
The state paid Planned Parenthood with two payments of $150,000 each in April and August 2009. These payments quietly passed through the state’s budget office and did not require the approval of the Legislature or Gov. John Lynch.
Good for Planned Parenthood getting back money they spent thumping Ayotte in court. But with Ayotte being found partially responsible for failing to investigate a massive Ponzi scheme, primary opponent Ovide Lamontagne getting an important endorsement, and a Republican poll showing Lamontagne gaining quickly on Ayotte, do you think this was the news she was hoping would break?