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Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 | 2 a.m.
If you are one of the most powerful men in America and you have portrayed your opponent as unfit for office, you cannot stand next to her and not tower over her. You cannot appear side by side with a person you have described as essentially straitjacket-ready and make people wonder who is less qualified to be in the U.S. Senate. You cannot allow a woman who has reduced your quarter-century in the Club of 100 to a caricature to continue to paint that portrait without a spirited rebuttal.
But on Thursday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid let it happen, appearing more bloodless than Michael Dukakis ever did and seeming lost in his own rhetorical world — the Hyde amendment and pink football helmets? I’m surprised he didn’t talk about reconciliation and bill markups.
So by the immutable laws of expectations, and by his own apparent disgust with having to be there, Harry Reid lost the debate to Sharron Angle.
But.
But.
But.
There has to be — or at least should be — some sense of proportionality. Although any political campaign, especially by the end, is reduced to a mind-numbing superficiality where only buzz words reverberate, the most salient question about the U.S. Senate race, for which that debate provided a microcosm, is this: Has Sharron Angle, who makes stuff up, changes her positions and revises history, gotten away with it? And, more to the point, and this is occurring all over the country: Can candidates who are historical deniers and demagogic inciters cause passion to overrule rationality?
I understand many, many people think Harry Reid has been in the U.S. Senate too long (the most benign feeling) or believe he has been corrupted by his time in Washington (the least benign view). But if you get beyond the notion that Angle looked reasonably credible Thursday — and she did — you cannot get away from some truly mind-boggling and frightening things she said, which she has been doing for months, if not years.
When asked whether insurance companies should operate unfettered, not being mandated to provide any specific coverage, Angle seemed astonished at the question (“Anything at all?) and declared: “I think … what we have here is a choice between the free market and Americanism.” What?
Angle also flatly averred “Obamacare is destroying our economy” even though most of its provisions have yet to have any effect, accused Reid of giving “Social Security to illegal aliens,” a claim in several of her ads that has been debunked by objective observers, and flatly denied several positions, including eradicating the Education Department, that she is clearly on record as having taken.
There were several other examples, too, in the hourlong debate. And she said it all with a straight, smiling face.
But all that aside — and it is hard to put it aside — days later, I remain flabbergasted that during a U.S. Senate debate, one candidate flatly accused the other of venality, without any facts, and the other hopeful responded like Wally Cox to this calumny.
Here’s what Angle said: “You came from Searchlight to the Senate with very little. Now you’re one of the richest men in the U.S. Senate. On behalf of Nevada taxpayers, I’d like to know, we’d like to know, how did you become so wealthy on a government payroll?”
And while we’re at it, Senator, when did you stop beating your wife?
Reid, who is hardly one of the richest men in the Senate, tepidly responded that this was a “low blow” and talked about being a successful lawyer (brilliant!) and a good investor (more brilliant!), instead of directly confronting Angle with the facts.
Reid was a millionaire when he arrived in Washington in 1983. As veteran journalist Dennis Myers pointed out, the senator reported a net worth of $1.1 million on his first House disclosure 27 years ago.
Angle either knows that or doesn’t care. And she was doing what she has done the entire campaign, with her “Second Amendment remedies” lunacy and her “domestic enemies” echo of a deluded radio host: Play to the worst fears and visceral beliefs of voters despondent about the economy, alienated from government and looking for someone to be a repository for their bilious unease.
You know what that is, folks: It’s dangerous. But, alas, these days I don’t think it’s that extreme.
I know most people have made up their minds. I know many people in this state are upset with the country’s direction and Reid has to be, perhaps should be, a lightning rod. I know some folks are mad as hell and don’t want to take it anymore.
But.
But.
But.
ralstonflash@gmail.com / 870-7997
Twenty plus years in the Senate and you can't come up with another lie to a simple yes or no question, kind of sums it all up.
...again, I'm left to wonder;
What kinda nasty Angle-Juice did Jon DRINK on Debate Night???
Jon knows Harry Reid.
Jon is being TOTALLY disingenuous when he professes to be flabbergasted at Harry Reid's performance during the debate.
It was CLASSIC HARRY.
Complete grasp and control of the facts.
Wise as the day is long.
A real, genuine love for the state he represents.
A champion of "The People".
And a little eccentric and a lot quirky.
What IS your agenda here, Jon???
Sharon Angle made Harry Reid look like a tired, senile, old politician.
Isn't it time for Reid to take the millions of dollars he has made since being in office and enjoy his retirement?
Great analysis Jon. I appreciate the fact that you don't pontificate too much on your own political views, save the need for better education. I agree, Sharron Angle isn't my first choice for the job. I would have enjoyed seeing John Chachas get the nomination. He would be a better fit and not as controversial.
Many of us who cannot vote in Nevada nevertheless watch this race closely for it is truly a matter of national significance. In his tenure as Majority Leader he has with his Yucca Mt. scare campaign singlehandedly made it impossible for this nation to gain the energy independance it needs. He created a $16 B monument to demagoguery and blatant hypocrisy. Nevermind his duplicity in leading the nation down the path to bankruptcy. Please Nevadans!!! Toss him out.
Reid wasn't an attorney long enough to pay for law school. Reid used his position to get rich off of land deals. Argue all we want about who won the debate, but it Reid's lousy performance in office is why I vote for Angle this time.
Harry lost the debate, only because he didn't put her away when he had the chance. He came off as he normally does, that is who he is, mild mannered.
Too many people that I know and respect are so disillusioned, are either not going to vote or going to vote for Angle. To be truthful, I do not want to vote for Harry, I feel that he has let the State of NV down. He has the majority in the Senate and he can't seem to get his agenda accomplished. He is not cable of getting his message across to the public and the republicans can. For example, "Man up, Harry" in the debate.
I agree, if he is the most powerful man in the Senate, I must admit, I don't think so, he comes off as he is a weak old man. If someone that reads this can reach him, tell him he needs to show that he is the most powerful man in the senate, if it is not too late.
Although, Angle's beliefs with the exception of stopping the taxation and government spending is a complete contradiction to mine, keeping more of my money is almost important enough for me to put the rest of my beliefs on hold for this election.
What to do, what to do?
Actually Reid made his money on real estate deals. There is nothing wrong with that but at least be honest about it. But then again Reid has not been the most truthful guy out there. I am sure that he will enjoy retirement this fall.
Do you know that pursuant to the laws of the State of Nevada, it is VOLUNTARY for a candidate to sign the oath of fair campaign practices. Read the Nevada Revised Statutes. That's what it says. In other words, candidates don't have to sign and can say whatever the heck they want about their rival and it doesn't matter that it is a lie. This has to change folks. Not only should they be required to sign the oath in order to even become a candidate, it should be made a Class A felony if they violate it. You want smaller government. That's how you get it. Make it a law for these people to tell the truth.
The short answer (if she wins the election) is yes.
Crazy Angle already lost.
Crazy Angle wants to phase out Soicial Security.
Crazy Angle wants to steal health care reform
from low wage Americans.
Greedy republicans are the minority in Nevada.
After the first day of voting, more Democrats
voted than republicans.
Harry Reid is on his way to a solid win.
It felt good voting for Sharron yesterday. The debate confirmed it, but most Nevadans were already convinced that Harry deserves to be voted out.
Yesterday, all of my family and friends went
out and voted for HARRY REID.
Angle will be going back to Reno.
It's over for her.
Jon, there was no slander, Reid voted Yes on allowing illegal aliens social security, what independent source are you talking about. the facts or in his voting record. Stop lying for Harry Reid
You TeaHeads should of gone with Wayne Newton instead of Sharron Angle, think about that as you collect social security-medicare-veterans administration payments next month.
You betcha. . . .
Failure to stop the wars; failure to provide enough infrastructure-updating jobs despite spending billions; a health care plan that is incomprehensible.
Bailing out the banks but not the homeowners, who are being made crazy by the likes of Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc. - you didn't send in your papers, on hold for hours, nobody knows anything - but they're still rich while homeowners are losing their houses, or can't afford to keep them, or won't be able to retire, or are stuck in limbo.
But what pushed me over the edge and made me finally decide to vote for None was the teacher-bashing, school-privatizing that was simply co-opted lock, stock, and barrel from the Republicans who originated it.
Ralston, do you ever read Chip Mosher's column? Maybe you should this week. He and I are thinking the same way. I hope many teachers are.
Had Reid broken ranks and called for an end to the vilification of teachers by his party, I'd be voting for him. But. But. But he didn't.
Never, ever vote Republicant.
Oh, and how could I have forgotten the support for amnesty for illegal immigrants without doing anything about the employers who hire them?
Notice how on all of these threads, the *only* thing Angle supporters have to say is that they hate Reid. Even her supporters have nothing good to say about her, no reason to support her other than she's not Reid.
And that's why Reid is going to win. Election day, four or five percent of the electorate that hates Reid will select "None of the Above". That will siphon enough votes off from Angle for Reid to squeak through.
Am I the only person that watchs CNN? The bonus is they do not allow political ads to air there. Did any one see Crazy Sharron running away from a CNN reporter? How embarrassing for Nevadans. People running for office would kill for national free coverage. Wolf Blitzer to Jessica Yellin "How did you feel about the hide and seek game Sharron Angles just played?" Yellin's answer "It was a bit unusual" . Angles claim that her door would always be open to the people she represents. OH YEAH??? The door may be open, but you won't see her, she's hiding.
Angle did, in fact, defend her position on abolishing the DOE in the debate. She stated that she believes the control of the education of our children is better kept at a local level than being controlled in DC. I think she's right.
To "NevadaConcernedCitizen": You asked why Reid can't get much of his agenda done? I submit that he is getting way too much of his agenda (and Obama's) accomplished! The "stimulus porkulus" and "Obamacare" issues alone are crippling us! How much more of this destruction can we stand? If they aren't stopped, they want to pass "cap and trade", another boondoggle that will blow the lid off energy costs to us consumers under the guise of "raising taxes on big energy-producing businesses". Not enough for you? How about the "value-added tax" and "national sales tax" initiatives they have waiting in the wings? They (Reid, Obama, Pelosi, etc.) aren't going to stop until they have all of us in soup lines. Then they will have total control of us, which is the secret agenda behind it all. I hope Reid is stopped in his tracks on Nov. 2.
Is job creation part of a Senator's job description?
Not unless the Senator is expecting paybacks and nice contributions to his reelection fund.
Sharron Angle said it correctly when she said:
"Once again, Harry Reid: It's not your job to create jobs," "I believe my job is to create the policies that will encourage private sector to do what they do best."
LarryVegas, your much beloved but untrusted commenter...
John: Your headline is way off base and speaks to the reason this nut-job is winning"
"Will Angle win by revising history, slandering Reid?"
No, if she wins, she will win because people are so fed up with the current status quo that they will vote for ANYONE but Reid.
She will win in spite of herself.
And that kind of a win should be speaking VOLUMES to people in Washington (but it probably is not being heard).
People are sick and tired of being powerless while corrupt politicians take money (and deliver favors) to the fortunate few. People are powerless to change this disgusting system, but they can at least shake things up a little bit.
Harry got his wish, Harry paid heavily in the primary in order go up against Angle; if he loses he should REALLY WONDER how bad the beating would have been if was running against a credible candidate.
Angle is a complete and total disaster.
Harry Reid will win by a landslide.
Teamster. Your gibberish is exposing your true feelings. Your scared huh!
"SLANDER"? That's a powerful word, Ralston! Telling the truth is not slanderous. Reid tries to hide from his record, and for Angle to identify his record and call him on it is proper procedure. What is it about this procedure that gets to liberals? Oh, yeah, they hope that the things they do in the dark of night won't be brought to the light of day. Reid and his gang have to hide behind closed doors to pass their Marxist agenda. What happened to "open and transparent"? Oh, yeah, just another liberal lie.
I watched this debate from New York with a group of friends who like me are interested in facts. We found Ms. Angle totally unprepared for higher office. Her grasp of policy was flimsy and regarding healthcare simply wrong. Sen. Reid is clearly no great debater, but he was clear on the facts, challenged her when she was wrong and stood strongly for the positions he championed. I am not certain what criteria were used to declare Ms. Angle the "winner," but her grasp of facts as well as her positions made her look silly not statesman like. This is not American idol. Nevada is a state which needs a helping hand; it needs someone with a grasp of the details of government to bring jobs to the state. Most important, it needs its citizens who have suffered greatly during this recession to understand what eliminating the safety net, which is essentially what Ms. Angle proposes, will mean in their lives. For us, there was no contest. I heard nothing from Ms. Angle that would explain what she would do to alleviate Nevada's distress. How could someon who tells a classroom of Hispanic students that they appear Asian be taken seriously here--or more importantly in Washington. The question the debate was meant to answer was who would be the better advocate for the State in the Senate, and I think that contest was won by Sen. Reid.
Recently I watched an attack ad against Dina titus
asking if I was better off now than I was two years ago. Of course the ad goes on and on negitively against her. But. Thankfully I am better off than I was two years ago. My income tax refund was twice as much as it had been in the past years for a single person with no dependents. I get taxed less than prior years, my property tax went down this year along with my mortgage payment.
Yes, I know my property value went down but that doesn't matter so much to me as I plan to stay in my home for a very long time. Also, thanks to the "ObamaCare" law I'm helping my 23 year old non-insured son by putting him back on my insurance plan for next to nothing. By the way, I'm non-partison and in no way side with either party 100%
Just felt I had to share that "YES" I am doing much better than I was two years ago and I'm sure there are more people out there like me.
I am better off now than I was two years ago because Harry and Barak tells me so..
Sharron Angle is in a fight that represents something very important: a flawed candidate who is still far better than the flawed Senator she is going to replace.
We have enormous work to do as a country:
** Social Security must be fixed...really fixed...which takes enormous political courage.
** Medical spending is out of control, and Mr. Obama's idea of the "fix" may be worse than the disease itself as it will run employer-based insurance off the reservation (witness McDonald's already considering abandoning its program.
** We're deficit financing to the tune of 11% of GDP -- akin to Greece -- and wondering why our U.S. dollar is depreciating.
** 24% of all U.S. homeowners have a mortgage larger than the value of their house, but Dems and Republicans can't even engage to help fix this.
** American competitiveness is declining along with education performance.
Sharron has some ideas that many of us don't agree with. But, at her core, she believes in small government and the will of individuals to govern the nation. And she can learn and evolve as a senator.
Harry Reid has had 1/4 of a century to prove to us Nevadans how he basically believes in the Washington bureaucracy. Harry Reid can't distinguish between a government subsidy or hand-out from a private sector wage.
So as flawed as the debate was -- and to me it was like looking at a car wreck...you hate to peak, but you must -- Sharron's our best hope for change, as we know Harry is the king of all things Washington. And if Sharron goes to Washington and spends too much precious time on nonsensical gibberish, rest assured she'll be thrown out, too.
By politicod
Oct. 19, 2010
2:07 p.m.
Flag
I can't think of one person in Nevada who cares what you and your group thinks, or don't think.You got enough problems in NY don't you?-------------------
As a Republican I think parts of the obama care is probably okay my guess is about 4% of the entire package is good, the other 96% is communist/socialism- how can you force Citizens to buy health insurance?
You can't expect a lunatic to get anything done.
Harry Reid gets the job done and is doing what
we Americans voted him to do.
We needed health care reform.
We needed financial reform.
HARRY REID GOT IT DONE.
Sharron Angle and the rest of you greedy
republicans are on THE WRONG SIDE OF LIFE.
Bottom line is that Americans don't care if Tea Party candidates have ever been elected to anything. They don't care that Tea Party candidates have some skeletons in their closet. They don't care that Tea Party candidates don't have golden tongues. Those attributes don't matter.
The Americans I meet on a daily basis in grocery stores, restaurants, airports, gas stations and on Main Street USA -are- mad as hell and want true change in Washington. They know the only way they will achieve corrections is to send a new breed of politician to Capitol Hill. Let's send as many Ms, Mrs. and Mr. Smiths to Washington with their crowbar of common sense and tell them to swing it often. It is a target-rich environment. Jail-break that zoo and we jail-break ours.
The only way out of this mess is new senators and new representatives enacting time-tested successful ideas and rejecting the time-tested failed ideas. Both lists are long.
Our Founders made that first selection well. Now it must be our turn or we will get sicker and die.
Clean house and clean it well this time.