Conservative rhetoric flies in primary. General — not so much

By J. Patrick Coolican

Sunday, May 23, 2010 | 2 a.m.

Former Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt summed up the feeling at Saturday’s Conservative Leadership Conference, “It’s kinda nice to preach to the choir.”

Hunt went on to castigate Democrats in Washington as “the enemy that lies within.”

It’s fun to preach to the choir and rail against the other party as “the enemy,” but it doesn’t win elections.

That is a fact Republicans might want to keep in mind as they watch U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle surge in the polls.

The campaign of Angle, the former assemblywoman running to take on Sen. Harry Reid, seemed all but dormant about a month ago. She had her fervent supporters, but seemed destined for a third-place finish in next month’s Republican primary.

Since then the race has shifted markedly. Angle won the endorsement of the Tea Party Express, which meant money that boosted her name recognition and bona fides in some conservative circles.

And then Angle got lucky. Front-runner Sue Lowden, casino owner and former chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party, stumbled by suggesting and then defending the notion that bartering for health care is viable plan. Then news surfaced that Lowden mistakenly allowed her name to be put on the title of a luxury RV she was using as her campaign bus and that belonged to a supporter. It allowed Danny Tarkanian’s campaign to argue the RV violated the $2,400 federal limit on campaign donations.

Neither stumble was fatal, but both were handled badly, dragging out the days of bad press. Polls now show Lowden having sunk at least 10 to 15 points.

She has responded by attacking Angle for voting for a legislative pay increase, and saying she is not electable.

It’s the second argument that Republican voters should heed, and they should look to Rand Paul’s experience as they consider Angle.

Paul overcame the Republican establishment in Kentucky to win the Senate primary there, and that’s when the problems began.

Once in the spotlight, questions arose about his positions. Paul offered awkward defenses of his previously stated opinions that government shouldn’t ban discrimination on the part of private businesses. In other words, a landlord should be allowed to choose not to rent to Jews, and a lunch counter should be able to not serve blacks.

He later walked back the comments and said he favored the 1964 Civil Rights Act, including its ban on discrimination.

Kentucky is one of the few states where Paul’s not-ready-for-prime-time performance wouldn’t be fatal.

But Nevada Republicans might consider how Angle and her record as the most conservative legislator in recent Nevada history would play in a state that went for candidate Barack Obama by 12 points. Democrats have a 65,000-voter edge, which is down but still substantial.

Angle wants to privatize Social Security and Medicare. She doesn’t believe Wall Street is in need of reform and would vote to abolish the U.S. Education Department.

So while she preaches to conservatives with gusto and joy, her positions would receive a far different reception from a general election audience.

A revealing facet of the Angle boomlet has been the Reid campaign’s silence — it can’t wait to run against her.

The conservative choir isn’t big enough to win in November. If a Republican defeats Reid, it will be with the support of unaffiliated voters, and even some of those enemy Democrats.