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Published Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010 | 3:38 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010 | 3:49 p.m.
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GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle was asked at a private function Saturday evening in Reno hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition about privatizing the VA. And, as she has done before, she took the opportunity to rewrite history.
Here's the exchange -- audio at right:
Guest: Sharron I wanted to task you about one of the new ads that Harry has got running against you, and that concerns the VA hospitals. I’m really big on one that we have here, and I would like to hear a clarification about what your stand really is.
Angle: Well, first of all, when we talk about Harry Reid’s ads, let’s remember that a half-truth is no truth. And what you’re finding in his ads are these half truths. We were discussing, at the time that I made that remark, we were discussing Obamacare and Medicare. And how Harry Reid has taken a half a trillion dollars out of Medicare, right out at a place where seniors have choices—Medicare Advantage, one of the programs that actually works. And I was talking about my father, who is 88 years old, he’s on Medicare, he’s on Social Security, and he’s a veteran. Not of just World War II, but also the Korean War. He had a Purple Heart. He has served this country, and yet he pays $800 a month in prescription drugs that are not covered by the VA and they’re not covered by Medicare. And, there is a lot of you that understand what I’m saying. And that was the context of those comments. I said that they could do a better job, that’s all I said, is the VA could do a better job for our veterans. And I believe that. I believe that our veterans fit in that A priority box. We should be supporting our military and their dependents (applause) and our veterans. We should be supporting them. We owe them. We owe them and we should be supporting them. And then of course he pulls out something that I said about my grandfather, and I’ll clear this up at the same time. My grandfather didn’t pay into Social Security. And so, when they sent his first Social Security check, he said “I’m not taking this. I don’t need this check. I saved for my retirement.” And that’s what that was, that was my grandfather. And of course he was quite, well he wasn’t too old, he wasn’t as old as I am now. But still he was a potato farmer, he worked in California, he raised a family, been through the Depression, and he saved for his retirement, and he had not paid into the Social Security system and so he refused to take his check (applause).
This is quite the revisionist history (again) by Angle. The context she claims is wrong, and so is her recollection of what she argued.
Here's what she said on KNPR in May -- note context and use of word "privatized" in this interview with Dave Becker:
Angle: … And my father did the same thing. He calls it his rocking chair pay but he doesn’t live on his social security, he has investments that he has made over the years in rental properties and things like that—that are actually paying for his retirement. He needs more and more supervised care. He’s 87 years old and has Parkinson’s and we have to pay more and more for his healthcare. I know he pays over 800 dollars a month in prescription drugs that we can’t get through his VA nor through Medicare—they just wont cover those things. And I know lots of seniors—
Becker: Should they cover those things?
Angle: No, not if you’re working towards a privatized system. And he can pay for them. That’s my whole point. Even with the system we’ve got, it’s broken, its not covering for every cost that he has. And if he were dependent upon that, he wouldn’t be getting the healthcare he needs and that’s why we need to fix the system.
Becker: As a senator, how would you fix that system if it’s not to say that you’re on your own? If VA is not going to cover then you have to cover it yourself. Over how long?
Angle: Well, I’m not the only person and I’m not the President. I can propose bills and then my job as a senator is to build a coalition that will get on board with my idea. And, of course, as you know that my idea may be a good idea, but the details of that idea will be worked out through that coalition. And you know there are smarter heads than mine on this and that’s what we’ll be doing.
I am beginning to wonder about this seemingly pathological habit Angle has of saying she never said something when it is on tape and so easily retrieved. Does she really not remember, or does she think this is a "Mission Impossible" world where all tapes self-destruct after five seconds?
Angle: I never said I wanted to privatize the VA -- but, of course, she did
Angle: I did not say PRIVATIZE. I said PERSONALIZE. My handlers would never let me use the word Privatize again.
Ralston, there you go again. Saying "not if you're working towards privatizing" is not the same thing as saying "I want to privatize the VA". You are the one rewriting history to fit your "smear Sharron" campaign.
I don't get the impression that Sharron Angle thinks in terms of public policy. She has a number of beliefs that serve as filters, and when she gets a question, it passes through those filters on the way in. Consequently, even a minor change in wording may trigger a completely different response, because other than the slogans, she really is just making all of this stuff up as she goes.
Sharron has a deep-seated need to have her "peers" think well of her. So if some interviewer says something goofy, she will agree, or at least not disagree. And after she leaves station K-Nutball on Your Radio Dial, when someone challenges her on her stance, she seems genuinely shocked for the simple reason that she truly didn't understand what the conversation meant to those listeners who don't live in her echo chamber. So she responds by stringing a few slogans together, and waits for someone to give her positive reinforcement.
There are still a few Republicans out there who are wonks, who think in terms of public policy, legislation, and message, but none of them are running for the Senate from Nevada this year. So let's not be too disappointed when Sharron Angle doesn't meet that standard. Especially not you Republicans. After all, you nominated her.
She says something stupid and simply LIES about it and smiles like an idiot thinking no one notices.
This is right out of the Sarah Palin's guidebook.
Is this really the representation hat Nevada needs in these tough times? Does anyone seriously think this woman would have any influence in Washington?
Sharon, why are YOU PERSONALLY ON GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE if you find it so offensive???
Jon Ralston- Sharron Angle cannot get into office and do anything like privatizing Social Security, the VA, or anything else, you play on the fears and ignorance of Voters, but the public is more informed than you and Sinister Reid thinks- Next week on face to face during your interview with Senator Reid I hope you ask him why he out right lied of Sharron Angle, in a recent TV Ad, Senator Reid said that he NEVER supported illegal aliens getting Social Security, yet his voting record says that Senator Reid voted in 2006 (YES) on a measure that would grant Social Security to illegal aliens- and the bill Specifically Said "ILLEGAL ALIENS" Every politician who voted on that bill should be arrested for harboring these criminals , how in world can the leaders of this nation vote on a bill to grant illegal alien law breakers social security? I blame Republicans, and Democrats for that even being on the table, then Senator Reid try to get a Mexican Dream Act passed. What is his thinking- I do not trust Senator Reid, he cares more for Mexican Citizens, than he does for American Citizens- I voted for him in the past, but NEVER again
On Olbermann tonight on msnbc, Angle achieved the "Worst Person in the World" for getting GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE.
Hey Sharon, if you don't like government health care GIVE UP YOURS!
The truth is Sharron Angle is a confused old heifer who woke up one morning and realized she was the republican candidate for a US Senate seat.
Then she asked herself,
"Well, how did I get here?" (David Byrne - Talking Heads)
darenodawg ... Trying some fancy footwork again, huh? Trying to say that if Sharron Angle didn't say exactly this, "I want to privatize the VA," then she couldn't have possibly said or implied it. That won't work. But what are you going to try to do to "angle" out of the day's other revelation: that Sharron Angle herself has her health insurance premiums paid by the government. I guess it works just fine if it's for her. Obviously Sharron Angle doesn't want the government to do anything unless it's for her.
Well that probably isn't a bad idea. The VA stinks and it's a running joke in the military.
"Obviously Sharron Angle doesn't want the government to do anything unless it's for her."
That seems to be a common characteristic of the Baggers.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/new...
"Scanning the thousands of hopped-up faces in the crowd, I am immediately struck by two things. One is that there isn't a single black person here. The other is the truly awesome quantity of medical hardware: Seemingly every third person in the place is sucking oxygen from a tank or propping their giant atrophied glutes on motorized wheelchair-scooters. As Palin launches into her Ronald Reagan impression -- "Government's not the solution! Government's the problem!" -- the person sitting next to me leans over and explains. "The scooters are because of Medicare," he whispers helpfully. "They have these commercials down here: 'You won't even have to pay for your scooter! Medicare will pay!' Practically everyone in Kentucky has one." A hall full of elderly white people in Medicare-paid scooters, railing against government spending and imagining themselves revolutionaries as they cheer on the vice-presidential puppet hand-picked by the GOP establishment. If there exists a better snapshot of everything the Tea Party represents, I can't imagine it."
Angle doesn't think in a logical or rational manner. She can't rail against reforming any American healthcare system, promise no tax increases, and then expect the government to pay more of the costs of the medicine that veterans and other elderly persons like her father are having to pay. Where does she think the extra money will come from to help people like her father? Could she possibly think that it will be hidden under fake grass like eggs in a child's Easter basket? It certainly seems to be the case. She is so confused on so many things, it's no wonder she doesn't remember what she says from one day to the next. If she had a good grasp of the issues she talks about, this wouldn't be happening. It seems that she tells every audience what she thinks it would like to hear. This says to me that she doesn't know where she really stands on the issues she speaks about. Our country has too many serious problems to address to send someone like Angle to Congress who doesn't understand or take the time to study anything.
Becker asked if the VA "should" cover the costs she describes her family as paying for on her father's behalf.
She replies, "No, not if you are working towards a privatized system."
Yet somehow you (Harry's mouthpiece) and Harry himself translate that into "Sharron Angle said she wants to privatize the VA!" and call her a liar when she denies making that statement?
I'm a Republican, and no fan of Sharon Angle, and certainly not Harry Reid. I'm not voting for either of them.
But plain as day, the woman did not say she wants to privatize the VA system.
Which is one of the reasons why she is such a weak candidate.
Why not come out and say the government run VA hospital system is failing and yes would be better run, more efficient and serve its purpose if it were privately held? That would be a candidate worth voting for.
Or have Democrats forgotten all of the stories about VA hospitals being dirty, poorly run and not caring for veterans' needs that had Democrats up in arms a few years ago when George W. Bush was president and Democrats were trying to bring him down by painting the Iraq war as "lost" to ACTUALLY QUOTE Senator Reid?
DarrenDawg says "Ralston, there you go again. Saying "not if you're working towards privatizing" is not the same thing as saying "I want to privatize the VA". You are the one rewriting history to fit your "smear Sharron" campaign."
Pray tell, what does her answer mean precisely when she said "NO" in response to should VA cover the cost of drugs? Who is the "you" she is referring to about privatizing? The only interpretation I can place on that is she was voicing her understanding the privatization was someone's goal. And sicne she was saying someone wants to privatize the VA in the context of "No [it is my view that the VA shouldn'te cover drugs]" Who could that someone be other than her? Did she think the interviewer was going to privatize the VA?
Why do Angle's supporters pretend she doesn't mean what she clearly means. I understand you hate Sen. Reid. Just admit she has silly policy positions but you're chosing what you see as the lesser of two evils.
PG says "Well that probably isn't a bad idea. The VA stinks and it's a running joke in the military."
If you've ever dealt with the phone company or the cable company, you know that any large service organization is bureaucratic and shoots itself in the foot regularly. As a veteran, and with a son who is an Iraq veteran, I can tell you he has had more problems with his utility company, his school administration and his landlord than with the VA. And I know of no vet who would rather see the VA in the hands of a private company looking to make a profit of their backs. "Greed is good" may work for wall streeters and their advocates but keep that out of caring for our vets.
You get to complain about the VA when your a vet. You have no credibility in that area when you're sitting on the sidelines taking potshots in support of your corporate sponsors. If you have any class, sir, you will apologize for your insensitivity to vets and their appreciation for the VA.
Patrick, tell me about your glorious military experience that qualifies you to make the comment that the VA stinks and is a running joke in the military. That is a complete lie and I dare you to quote ANY authoritive source that vaidates either of the two lies you just told. True, the VA has problems sometimes , as does any large organization, but to characterize it as "a running joke" that "stinks" shows just how out of touch you and your masters are with the military veterans.
The new VA facility (that Harry Reid was instrumental in bringing to Las Vegas) is providing much needed and much appreciated service to the large Las Vegas veteran and retired community, including yours truly. You are WRONG, dude, and I hope the Vegas vet community let you know just hows screwed up you really are.
last throes,
I am still laughing at the spector of Angle as David Byrne. DANG, that was funny!
"Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was!"
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/t/talking+hea...
By the time Election Day rolls around, Sharron Angle will be contradicting her contradictions.
I'm really tired of all the news originations portraying the news how they wish for the owners or whoever own personal means because ether have money to do it or the platform. What happen to honesty and reporting the facts period in the news. Who knows what is true that they report and what is spun. I am pretty fed up with everyone at this point. F everyone.
I am a 3 tour Viet Nam Vet. Living in reno I am very thankful for the VA system we have here and you will soon have in LV I got through kidney cancer and am fully recovered thanks to the VA My scrips cost me 9 bucks a piece from the VA if i had to go out of pocket it would be much greater. There are a lot of Vets here that depend on the VA if it was privatized as Angle wants to do a lot of us who are on fixed incomes (social security) would be in real trouble.
T want to thank Harry for all he has done for the Veterans
I m a disabled Desert Storm veteran, and i m a Reagan era Republican, so i m gonna vote Reid over Angle because i like my disability payments from the VA.
Oh, does that make me a socialist? Or a socialist fascist?
*pours hot water on a teabag*
Patrick, are you paying attention. Note the absence of any complaints about the VA let alone major ones.
Jon Ralston is as objective as the left wing media. Before he writes a column he should note that he is left wing and represents the Democratic party.You will never hear any criticism re NBC about the democrats. How come we have so much info re O'Donell of Delaware and in 2 Years of Obama campaigning we never got to know his medical records, his grades at Columbia , birth certificate. Speaking about medical records DINGY Harry had a stroke 2-3 years ago and his medical records were never revealed or we were never allowed to question the doctors. You go for a position now and u must address your education records and your medical history.
Chaz:
I'm not sure why Harry's medical records are relevant to a discussion about O'Donnell lying about what schools she attended, like claiming to attend Oxford because he went to a religious conference that happened to be on the Oxford campus but wasn't sponsored by Oxford.
As to Obama's birth certificate, I've seen it on the web and except for the date and names, its identical to my wife's who was also born in HI. Have you seen McCain's birth certificate? Did you even ask for it. He doesn't even claim to born in the US. Did you inquire into who his father really was? Why isn't that you only see a conspiracy on the Democratic side?
And Chaz, if you think Ralston doesn't criticize Harry, you aren't paying attention.
As an independent voter, I am disappointed that you have not accurately reported what Mrs. Angle commented on when she referred to "No, not if you are working towards a privatized system". If you listen carefully to the KNPR interview, Mrs. Angle was actually referring to the privatization of Social Security and was not referring to privatizing the VA. Mr. Becker questioned Mrs. Angle on whether or not she felt that the VA should pay for her father's medications while the topic of conversation was still centered on Social Security. Mr. Becker DID NOT ask whether Mrs. Angle believed that the VA should be privatized. This is a huge distinction and you appear to be taking liberty with Mrs. Angle's comment when she clearly was still responding to the issue of privatized Social Security. Politicians make enough false inferences in their own paid political ads. What this country needs is for reporters (regardless of their political beliefs) to accurately report information. I firmly believe that you have every right to bring to light any falsehoods or mistatements by any politician. I would greatly appreciate it if you would leave the smear campaigns to the politicians. AND THIS IS COMING FROM AN UNDECIDED VOTER WITH NO PARTY AFFILITIATION.
I could never agree to privatizing the health care system that serves our military folks. It's almost as insensitive as selling water to your employees or selling your wife's secrets to a tabloid for a fistful of dimes.
Sluts and politicians seem to have the same perspective on other people's lives - take the money and run. Screw 'em and grab the gold. To hell with decency, respect and humanity! I, me, my, I, me, my. Remedy and rape, sell and screw. Same ole Sharron, new targets.
The Remedy list circa October:
EPA
Social Security
DOE
Dept of Education
VA
Wanna start a get-rich-quick betting lottery scheme on the next target the SharLron aims at??
Gone so far:
clean air
clean water
gramma
grampa
chance for energy independence
chance for kiddos to learn about how stuff is
respect for men and women who lay down their lives for our freedoms
As a Vet. I am voting for Sharron Angle. She is no threat to Veterans.
Let look at Harry Reid's campaign ads, they deal with jobs, Social Security and Medicare, change in government agencies, VA, and health care, and Angles wants to change or eliminate each program. If you want the truth, its Harry Reid that is the one I would be concerned about. Harry Reid changed Health Care which will raise insurance premiums for 270 million working Americans, you don't get free prevented care, vaccinations and insurance for adult children without an increase in insurance premiums. Its Harry Reid who said just a few months ago that Social Security is safe and sound, but it was reported that Social Security is paying out more in benefits than it is taking in for the first time in 75 years, that doesn't sound safe and sound to me. Harry Reid cut Medicare by $400 million to pay for Obamacare, this will result in cut of services. Harry Reid pass job bills that only benefited union and civil service workers who did not represent the most who were unemployed. Every federal agency takes money away from states that could make better use of the money. VA is untouchable, it makes no difference what you stance on the VA is. Angle represents control government spending, reducing government involvement in state affairs, and a control of taxes for working Americans. We need Angle more than every this year when the vote on the BUSH tax cuts come up in December. We need all the BUSH tax cuts, not just those who make less than $250,000. The BUSH tax cuts included, inheritance tax, capital gains tax, mortgage deduction, property tax deduction, dividend tax, which represent a majority of taxes collected. Don't let Harry Reid scare tactics scare you into a false sense of security, the money you make is yours not the government. Obama and Reid have spent over $4 trillion dollars on bailout, stimulus and health care but have yet to reduce unemployment, foreclosures and reduce the recession. Angle will provide control spending, reduce the national debt and keep the BUSH tax cuts intact. TITUS is not better than Reid, she is associating HECK with Angle, Heck has more intgerity in his little pinky than TITUS has in her whole soul which she has none. Titus voted for bailout, stimulus and health care reform, withou knowing the impact it would have on the average tax payer. Heck knows the impact that Obama has on the nation and tax payers, we need his vote in Washington to keep the BUSH tax cuts intact. VOTE FOR ANGLE AND HECK, this is the change Obama was talking about.