'Tea party' favorite Sharron Angle takes aim at Harry Reid
In his uphill race to hold onto his seat as Senate Majority Leader, the best thing beleaguered Harry Reid has going for him seems to be his Republican opponent.
Sharron Angle is a favorite of the burgeoning 鈥渢ea party鈥� movement. But she brings with her fight to enter the political big time a set of controversial positions, statements, and affiliations that GOP leaders are having to scrub, explain, or make excuses for.
Still, a Rasmussen Reports poll of likely Nevada voters last week had by a substantial 50-39 percent 鈥� as much a reflection of Reid鈥檚 unpopularity as a four-term Washington insider as anything else.
Reid, quite naturally, is keeping the focus as much as possible on Angle.
鈥淪he may be the only Republican alive Harry Reid can beat,鈥� Eric Herzik, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada-Reno,
Take her recent comments on 鈥渢he right of the people to keep and bear arms,鈥� the powerful gun lobby and its millions of supporters鈥� favorite amendment to the US Constitution.
Citing Thomas Jefferson鈥檚 notion about the periodic need for revolution, Angle 鈥淚f this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies.鈥� She鈥檚 said essentially the same thing in other venues.
Whether or not Angle is actually suggesting armed opposition to political opponents, she鈥檚 also associated herself with some of the tenets of the 鈥�Oath Keepers,鈥� a controversial group that claims a membership of law enforcement officers and active duty military personnel ready to disobey any 鈥渙rders to disarm the American people鈥� (among other things).
At a press luncheon this week, former House majority leader Dick Armey (R) of Texas suggested that Angle (who was member of the Nevada State Assembly for eight years) probably regrets her comments about any need for 鈥渁 Second Amendment remedy鈥� to a Congress led by the likes of Harry Reid.
鈥淧eople in the public arena are often going to say things they wish they hadn鈥檛 said,鈥� Armey told reporters. 鈥淚鈥檒l bet you five minutes after she said that, she said 鈥楧ang! I wish I hadn鈥檛 said that鈥�.鈥�
On her visit to Capitol Hill this week, Republican leaders hustled Angle between closed-door meetings, avoiding journalistic entrapment.
Sen. John Cornyn (R) of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, found himself having to explain why Angle had once been a member of the , founded in Nevada (according to its website) because 鈥渢he Republican Party was growing too corrupt and socialistic.鈥�
Meanwhile, Angle鈥檚 campaign is hustling to put its own spin on her history.
鈥淯ntil just a few days ago,鈥� 鈥測ou could find Sharron Angle鈥檚 policy positions on her campaign website 鈥� even ones as controversial as pulling the country out of the United Nations, privatizing Social Security and abolishing the Energy and Education departments. But no more鈥�. her website has been scrubbed.鈥�
Now, the main message on Angle鈥檚 website is a bid to raise $1 million in campaign funds. She鈥檒l need that and a lot more. Reid plans to spend between $20 million and $25 million on his reelection campaign.
But at this point, Angle 鈥� riding the wave of tea party enthusiasm for ousting establishment incumbents 鈥� appears to have at least an even chance of beating Reid.
"Angle can be competitive simply because a big part of this race is about Reid," Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report But as for Reid, Ms. Duffy added, 鈥淗e must feel like it's Christmas. He got exactly the candidate he wanted, someone with a record that provides plenty of fodder to exploit."
