Now that Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle has won an impressive come-from-behind battle for the Republican nomination to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in November's general election, what comes next for Angle, who has scarcely been seen in public since her June 8 primary victory?
Since then, Angle has been closeted with GOP political consultants in Washington, D.C., attempting to figure out how to present a more moderate image to Nevada voters in the fall. As one of those independent voters she needs to court, I doubt whether she can pull off an upset over the $25 million man, Sen. Reid, who is vulnerable this year. He got his wish, however, when Angle beat Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian in the Republican primary, both of whom could have defeated Reid in November.
Out-of-state money is already pouring into Nevada as Reid steps up his attacks against Angle's "radical" positions. She's got some 'splainin to do on Medicare and Social Security, which are sacred issues to senior citizens who turn out at the polls. On "Face to Face" with Jon Ralston, Angle said that Social Security should be phased out to give seniors an option to remain in a similar system or opt for new health care savings accounts. She also called for deep cuts in Medicare and advocated massages for state prison inmates.
As one national political observer wrote, "Democrats are eager to hang Rand Paul and Sharron Angle around Republican necks" because "they give opposition researchers endless opportunities to dig up controversial, out of the mainstream views." And closer to home, conservative columnist Chuck Muth urged "Angle-ophiles" to take a Dale Carnegie PR course. "It will take more than just Republicans to defeat Harry Reid," he wrote in the Appeal. "Angle has to get a majority of independents and a fair chunk of Democrats, too." That's a tall order.
"Do you Angle supporters want to win the argument ... or do you want to win the election?" Muth asked fellow Republicans. My guess is that too many of them want to win the ideological argument.
With apologies to my Tea Party friends, I don't understand how they can call for smaller government while telling politicians to keep their hands off Social Security and Medicare, which is government-run health care by any measure. On the other hand, Nevadans don't like Harry Reid's role as co-chief cheerleader, with Nancy Pelosi, for President Obama's free-spending, Big Government agenda.
Although Reid is in trouble with Nevada voters, Angle needs to refine her message to appeal to the political middle. Personally, I don't think she can do it. Stay tuned.
• Guy W. Farmer, of Carson City, has followed Nevada politics for many years.