WASHINGTON - Republicans raising cash for U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle on Wednesday shrugged off her criticism of the GOP in Washington and instead focused on defeating her opponent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Angle, for her part, wasn't talking to reporters days after a campaign opponent taped a conversation with her and released it to the media. In that conversation, Angle said that GOP leaders have "lost their standards, they've lost their principles."
"That stuff didn't come up. It was more about how to beat Harry Reid," said campaign spokesman Jarrod Agen in describing the meetings with GOP officials.
On Tuesday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee sponsored a fundraiser featuring Angle and several other GOP candidates. She appeared at the NRSC for a second fundraiser on Wednesday. Donors were greeted by a trio of Angle detractors handing out orange juice containers labeled "crazy juice," playing on the Reid campaign's efforts to portray her as "pathological."
Supporters dismissed the effort as they left the fundraiser, which called for donations of at least $500 per person and $1,000 per PAC.
Larry Hart, director of government relations for the American Conservative Union, said Democrats didn't want to talk about the programs they've put in place over the past two years.
"So they concoct a character flaw and use that as an issue in the campaign," Hart said.
Hart said there's nothing in Angle's policy proposals that hasn't been talked about over the years by conservatives. Democrats have said her views are extreme, pointing to comments about phasing out Social Security and Medicare in favor of something privatized as an example.
In the state Senate in Nevada, Angle was known for casting lone, dissenting votes on bills. But Casey Hayes, who works at Haws Manufacturing in Reno, said he believes that Angle is versed on the issues of importance to Nevada.
"She's good for business, which is why I'm here," Hayes said as he left Wednesday's fundraiser.
Agen said Angle would not be made available to reporters during the Washington visit, a tactic that the Reid campaign focused on in a news release.
"Sharron Angle's flailing campaign - which even Republicans say is 'in panic mode' - continues to avoid any and all contact with the press corps," said Reid campaign spokesman Kelly Steele.
Agen said that declining to make Angle available for interviews during the Washington trip was strictly "a timing issue."