Extremism personified

Monday, Sept. 27, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

The more Nevadans learn about Republican Senate nominee Sharron Angle, the more they are realizing just how out of touch she is with the residents of this state, even on policies that have enjoyed broad bipartisan support.

As reported last week by the Sun’s Anjeanette Damon, a video of Angle at a Tea Party rally last year captured her mocking a 2009 Nevada law that requires health care plans to cover autism screening and treatment. It did not seem to matter to Angle that the bill passed 21-0 in the state Senate and 39-2 in the Assembly.

She told the gathering: “Take off the mandates for coverage in the state of Nevada and all over the United States. But here you know what I’m talking about. You’re paying for things you don’t even need.” She included in that category the coverage for autism, even using exaggerated air quotes to emphasize the word autism.

This callous attitude toward essential health care benefits was nothing new for Angle, who is running against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. When she served in the Assembly in 2003, she was on the losing end of a 39-2 vote on legislation that required health care plans to cover colorectal cancer screening. The same bill passed the Senate unanimously and became law.

What does that say about Angle? She’s obviously not the kind of politician who would be representing the interests of Nevadans on health care issues that come before the Senate. She has said she would repeal the national health care reforms, even though they will require insurers to cover children with pre-existing conditions, remove caps on lifetime coverage and allow young adults to remain on their parents’ policies until the age of 26.

Her views on health care, though, are only part of an extremist philosophy that would dismantle as much of the federal government as possible. She suggested that this nation get rid of the Education and Energy departments and the Environmental Protection Agency. She has spoken against the need for Social Security, even though it has been one of the most worthwhile programs in U.S. history. She once called unemployment insurance recipients “spoiled.”

She agreed with a conservative radio talk show host that Congress has “domestic enemies” within its ranks. And she told another radio personality that “if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying, ‘My goodness, what can we do to turn this country around?’ And I’ll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.”

Although Angle has backed off some of those incendiary positions, the fact is she continues to be an extremist who doesn’t understand the needs and concerns of Nevadans. No amount of backpedaling on her part will change that.