Why Sen. Harry Reid is pulling for a conservative Republican

LA Times ^ | 060510 | Kathleen Hennessey and Ashley Powers

[Fred]

If Republican Sharron Angle wins her party's Senate primary Tuesday, it will be a victory for the soft-spoken perpetual candidate, Nevada's conservative diehards, the national "tea party" movement and underdogs everywhere.

It will also be a huge win for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The Nevada Democrat has been working for months — some might say years — to cast his own opponent in the against-all-odds drama that is his reelection campaign. With dismal approval ratings and an anti-incumbent political climate, Reid is so vulnerable that Washington insiders have been debating who the next majority leader might be.

But Reid, known to some in Nevada as the "meddler-in-chief," is considered a master of nudging pieces to fall just so. And so it appears he is trying during the GOP primary — with some success — to boost his chances of a general election victory.

Angle, a strict fiscal conservative and political loner during her days in the Legislature, is widely viewed by political strategists as the weakest candidate against Reid, a perception some polls back up. The 60-year-old former teacher supports dismantling the Department of Education and federal income tax code, phasing out Social Security and withdrawing from the United Nations.

Angle has long had a devoted grass-roots following, but she has never proved that her appeal extends to independents and moderates. Still, Angle appears to be surging past former state legislator and casino owner Sue Lowden, once considered the front-runner, and businessman Danny Tarkanian.

[Paleo Conservative]

Be careful what you ask for Dingy.

[Mobties]

It seems the liberal newspapers are bending over backward to help the GOP pick its candidates. Reminds me of the NYT picking Maverick McCain as it’s choice in the GOP presidential primaries.

[Gay State Conservative]

I think I read recently that something like 20% of all homes in Nevada are in some stage of foreclosure.I'd say that that *alone* is cause for Dirty Harry to start filling out his Congressional retirement forms.

[avacado]

"The 60-year-old former teacher supports dismantling the Department of Education and federal income tax code, phasing out Social Security and withdrawing from the United Nations. "

The media thinks this is a bad thing? LOL! Are they ever in for a surprise!

[Vigilanteman]

Jimmy Carter was tickled pink when Ronald Reagan beat George H.W. Bush in the 1980 Republican Primaries. He thought Reagan would be a pushover in the general election. How did that turn out?

[Brilliant]

If she wins the primary and loses the general election, that will be a severe blow to the conservative movement, though. Reid is about as pathetic as they come. If you can’t beat Reid, then you don’t belong in politics.

[americanophile]

My personal opinion is that it’s going to be a real struggle if Angle is the candidate. I’m not at all sure that she can beat Reid.

[Mobties]

The recent evidence is that conservatives win and that moderates lose. It’s one of those “rules” like “buy low, sell high” that is obvious in retrospect but often hard to convince oneself to follow when making decisions.

Learn from the past.

[MplsSteve]

“My personal opinion is that it’s going to be a real struggle if Angle is the candidate. I’m not at all sure that she can beat Reid.”

There are several other Nevada Freepers who’ve said exactly what you did. One of them (I can’t remember his/her name) has met her several times and described ehr as “looney-tunes”.

[Mobties]

The recent evidence is that conservatives win and that moderates lose. It’s one of those “rules” like “buy low, sell high” that is obvious in retrospect but often hard to convince oneself to follow when making decisions.

Learn from the past.

[RckyRaCoCo]

People are angry right now, they want a smash mouth, not a mush mouth politician.

[ScottinVA]

I would never count out Dingy Harry until the election’s over. He has a massive war chest and owns the democrat political machinery in Nevada. He still has a LOT of cards to play.

[Clint Lippo]

This is no time to get wobbly.

[WorkingClassFilth]

The NRA gave Dingy Harry a nice write-up in the past issue of the American Rifleman for being such a strong supporter of the 2A by sponsoring a gun range in Nevada someplace.

Made me throw up and question the sanity of Wayne and company.

[mono]

.....not sure she can win....

The latest polling shows Reid with small leads over all GOP contenders. He seems to always pull a victory out. I guess its the union vote in Vegas.

[counterpunch]

It doesn’t matter who Reid runs against.
His ass is toast. So the best the left wing can do is try to psyche out Republicans from nominating a real conservative with a Liberty agenda.

And the best thing Republicans can do is ignore them.
This is our time to elect whoever we want.
We’re not going to compromise, nor do we need to.

[Dogbert41]

Anything coming out on liberal rags is for Democrats. So if they say Reid really wants the person who is actually ahead in all the polls, you better believe he is shitting his pants and so are they.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

its the union vote in Vegas.

It's the union vote-fraud in Vegas.

[Kahuna]

This primary contest in Nevada is very tricky and somewhat confusing. The unions, with Reid’s assistance, have formed PAC’S branded in conservative logos and titles to intentionally mislead Republican voters. Much of the slime has been targeted at Sue Lowden that you, at first glance assume came from Sharon Angle or the Tea Party. Some directed at Angle appear to be launched by Lowden. Dirty Harry can not win any honest election and he knows that.