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Nevada Senate Candidate Sharron Angle Sits For First MSM Interview, Survives

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by Jocelyn Rousey | 2:34 pm, June 30th, 2010

» 14 comments

Last night Rachel Maddow spent her show hyping up Sharron Angle‘s first interview with the mainstream media since Angle won the Republican nomination for Nevada’s U.S. senate seat, currently held by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Angle, of course, has come into the national spotlight over the past few weeks not so much for her policies as for her controversial sound-bites and her unwillingness to give interviews the outside friendly, non-confrontational conservative media. Considering Angle literally ran away from a reporter last week, Angle’s first post-nomination outing in the mainstream media certainly sounded promising. But Angle’s interview last night with Jon Ralston on Face to Face turned out to be not as exciting as Maddow’s comedic popcorn prop would imply, though it did feature a fair amount of Angle’s shallow policy arguments and question dodging.

Ralston asked Angle to clarify her stance on Social Security given the seemingly contradictory remarks she had made in previous interviews about wanting to both “personalize” and “save” Social Security. Pot shots at the “thieving” Reid and his “cronies” aside, Angle proposed that the government’s role in the program should be gradually phased out by giving younger workers a choice between a personal/privatized program or the government run system as it is. Angle had little to respond with, however, when Ralston pointed out without younger works buying into the system, seniors would likely see a huge reduction in their benefits. Phasing out the government is a great conservative sound-bite but it’s not really plausible policy.

On jobs, Angle stood by her belief that unemployment benefits have “spoiled” American citizens by discouraging out of work Americans from taking lower wage jobs. Her welfare trap argument has some merit, but Ralston missed the chance to grill her on its appropriateness given how dire the economic climate is. After all, employers are less likely to hire over-qualified candidates for the entry-level jobs that Angle thinks Americans are too snobby to accept. Still, welfare trap well explained. Angle gets points for that.

The latter half of the interview, however, went downhill for Angle. Ralston gets Angle to admit that her oft-quoted “second amendment remedy” rhetoric (used to suggest what might happen if conservatives don’t win the election next fall) was a bit strong. But perhaps the most unfortunate exchange for Angle concerned her stance on abortion. Ralston points out a fundamental hypocrisy in Angle’s political philosophy. If Angle is so against government regulation, Ralson wonders, how can she reconcile that with her pro-life views? Angle’s response utterly fails to undercut the vivid imagery of Ralston’s question, however:

Ralston: You want government to go tell a thirteen year old girl who’s been raped by her father that she has to have that baby. Do you want government to do that?

Angle: I didn’t say that.

Ralston: But that’s your position.

Angle: No, I always say that I value life. My position has always been that government should stay out of this matter. But in 1973 they chose to get involved in this.

Ralston: But you said this in 2010.

Angle: But since then [1973] there have been a lot of things that we’ve seen happen that have not been pro-life. And I’ve always been pro life. But what I’m saying to you is that the government decided to get involved in this. I’m just defending my position.… and I’ll always err on the side of life.

In the end, the interview could have gone worse for Angle, but it wasn’t the strongest start to her mainstream media campaign. The full video of the interview is below:

Abortion, Face to face, Harry Reid, Jobs, Jon Ralston, Nevada senate race, Rachel Maddow, Sharron Angle, Social Security, Unemployment

Liberty Banned

Jocelyn wrote: “Phasing out the government is a great conservative sound-bite but it’s not really plausible policy.”

Typical liberal claim. Reality is that it is very possible.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Noland/1343446359 Dave Noland

First of all these videos repeat. From what I saw she doesn’t seem to be backtracking from all of her cooky statements from the primary. She made no sense. I’m not sure anyone was accusing her of being Sarah Palin but, she for sure has some radical views. She is supposed to be a US Senator. So if you think this was a well done interview then your bar is might low.
Liberty Banned

OMG…..Dave….how dare a person not goose-step to the usual status quo of NeoCons/Liberals. Her remarks point to the fact that Social Security is nothing but a Ponzi scheme. The original intent of it was to be an actual savings account controlled by the federal government. You got what you put in. It was not supposed to be a form of redistribution as it has become. Now with thousands and thousands of baby boomer retiring everyday, it is projected to be giving out more than it takes in. She is just acknowledging that fact.

her views on the Department of Education are also sobering but they reflect reality. The DE, with the exception of the student loan program, is a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. The DE does not educate one child. In fact, the DOD with it’s on base schools, educate more children. Give that money back to the local communities or at least the taxpayer.

Guess what partisans, the status quo is not working. I don’t care if you are a liberal or a neocon, we are going bankrupt.
notsofast

Jon Ralston must be the local DNC spokesman.

And, Jocelyn, you would appear much more professional if you left out YOUR commentary in the headline:

“Nevada Senate Candidate Sharron Angle Sits For First MSM Interview, Survives”

And people, there is already a privatized retirement account.; it’s called a 401 (k).
Grammie

“Angle had little to respond with, however, when Ralston pointed out without younger works buying into the system, seniors would likely see a huge reduction in their benefits. Phasing out the government is a great conservative sound-bite but it’s not really plausible policy.”

Don’t look now but that is exactly the problem. At some point, left as it is now, it will collapse as all Ponzi schemes do.
ConcernedCitizen3

Yeah I don’t believe that her views are going to deep into anything. Her view on SS kind of scares me, her view on the unemployed scares me. Granted alot of conservatives hold the same opinions, I don’t think that it is right to say that people are spoiled when there are 6 people to every job. We have millions of people that are out of work or underemployed and foraging for whatever work they can find. She keeps referring to Paul Ryan’s roadmap and that actual “plan” doesn’t call for partial privatization to my knowledge, it gets rid of SS and Medicare. She refers to Harry Reid a million times, but I don’t think her strategy is anything other than blaming Harry Reid. I personally think the Chicken Lady was a better candidate.

PS… nosofast your right about the 401(k)’s, although you may disagree I think SS is completely necessary, given that your IRA may tank due to unforeseen circumstances and your left with nothing. It does need to be fixed, not abolished…
Grammie

ConcernedCitizen3 said:
It does need to be fixed, not abolished…

Exactly!!!!!!!!!

The last politician who tried was excoriated by the Dems who all screamed in unison that there was no problem.

It has to be done and the sooner the easier the cure will go down.
TfT

I saw part of this last night and laughed at Maddow….she tries way too hard. Her declaration that Sharon didn’t survive the interview was typical liberal obama suck-up dnc media talking point.

MSNBC is the place for propaganda.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Stewart-Margaret/1330738383 Stewart Margaret

DEM/LIBs always distort and misconstrue! Way to go Sharron, LAMBAST them and Reid! They have emptied our treasures!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Noland/1343446359 Dave Noland

OMG Liberty Banned way to vomit out conservative propaganda.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Noland/1343446359 Dave Noland

I dare a politician to get rid of any of the social safety nets. It will never happen. It’s political fodder for Tea baggers. Wake up from the dream. You want to stop spending? End the Damn wars!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dave-Noland/1343446359 Dave Noland

You misrepresented this. First you don’t show the whole interview and second now that I’ve seen it She bombed.
Stewart D

I am FOR this woman winning the election (full disclosure), but she needs a better answer for Ralston. Account Receivables or Factors is NOT same as (should be having) or having cash or CE on hand.

Government jobs actually TAKE JOBS away from the private sector since public sector feeds directly like mosquitos off the private individuals or entities. Social prorgrams must be cut, and waste should be REMOVED and ERADICATED from Medicaire and Medicaid immediately- we do this through better technology, and harsher punishments for abusers. The savings would be nothing short of remarkable.
busbus

In my opinion, Sharron Angle and her supporters hope to kill all entitlement programs. I do not want my money to get into the hands of the private sector to do with it as it wishes. There is no such thing as a “locked box.” With a locked box, the private sector can not use any money on deposit for Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. However, we know that is not true. The private sector will use these monies for their own benefit and squirrel away for themselves the majority of the profits. If their investments tank, the “depositors” will be left without, as happened with the individual 401K investments in this recent economic downturn.

Big Government is Big Government whether at the federal, state or local level. What I have been hearing from Sharron Angle and her ilk leads me to believe that they wish to put the states ahead of the federal government. In essence, to create 50 independent “countries” with — not a governor; but a president at the helm of each. We would no longer be united; each entity will be separate and independent to say and do whatever they wish to the citizens within their individual borders and not be under constraints of Federal Laws that protect ALL AMERICANS. Actually, Sharron Angle and her ilk would like to get rid of all protections afforded all Americans in the federal Bill of Rights, the federal Constitution and the federal statutes. so that these individual states/countries will be in control – “Big Government!”

Sharron Angle’s former website has been scrubbed and a new one set-up. Just because the new one does not have the controversial verbiage as the former and she is being very careful in her interviews does not erase what she actually stands for and represents. I do hope that the voters see through her deliberate political deceptions.