Sharron Angle ad promises to save Social Security from Harry Reid’s spending

By Anjeanette Damon

Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010 | 4:17 p.m.

Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle today released a new television ad touting her desire to save Social Security from projected insolvency.

In the ad, she tells a group of seniors — the same group featured in two of her last three ads — that the Social Security trust fund must be replenished and protected from her opponent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

This new position is an about-face from her position in the primary, when she repeatedly said she wanted to phase out both Social Security and Medicare. She’s since said she would honor the contract with senior citizens who have paid into the system.

During the primary she said she wanted new workers to be diverted into private retirement accounts so the traditional Social Security program could be eliminated.

After winning that election, she has begun to modify her rhetoric. She now says younger workers should be given the choice of staying in the traditional program or opting into personal accounts.

The Sun’s Delen Goldberg has more on Angle’s changing rhetoric.

In response, Reid’s campaign put together a video compilation of Angle’s evolving stance on Social Security. It prominently features Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, a Republican who supports Reid, saying Angle would be bad for the state.