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John Brummett
Veiling the face of an Angle
The only thing wrong with Sharron Angle is that she carries contemporary Republican conservatism to its inevitably illogical conclusion.
National Republicans seem to want to insulate her from the objective media in her challenge to Majority Leader Harry Reid's re-election.
They seek to soften her edges because, absent any filtering and permitted the free and honest expression of her views, she threatens to force voters to consider whether they really want to embrace the contemporary conservative Republicanism that Angle so bluntly, or brutally, represents.
She conceivably could force the more sane and non-zealous conservatives in Nevada, and beyond, to consider whether this contemporary conservative Republicanism is scary.
For a few examples:
1. Angle has said there's a "Second Amendment remedy" to President Obama's supposedly socialist-leaning undercutting of American sovereignty. Presumably that would mean that people would take their guns, the ones ostensibly under threat, into the streets to fight to restore this country and its purportedly imperiled ideals.
That sounds radical, even crazy, you might say. But contemporary conservative Republicanism alleges that Obama is selling out the country's constitutional principles and ideals; that gun ownership is a basic right for purposes including a well-armed militia; and that true patriotic Americans are obliged to "take their country back."
Angle just goes with that.
2. The Huffington Post came into receipt of a tape of a right-wing radio interview that Angle gave in June. In it she said abortion shouldn't be allowed for anything, even the case of a 13-year-old girl raped by her father.
She said the little girl ought to take her "lemon," meaning being raped and impregnated by her father, and make "lemonade," meaning the carrying of the fetus to term.
That sounds horrid, even crazy, you might say. But contemporary conservative Republicanism holds that abortion is wrong because it takes an innocent life. It also holds that the convenience of the mother should not be considered.
Angle just goes with that.
3. A couple of weeks ago, Angle criticized Reid for going to banks to encourage them to arrange financing to keep the CityCenter construction project moving, thus saving jobs. She likened that to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic and said it wasn't a senator's role to save jobs that way.
Confronted on that later, she said she'd merely intended to make clear her opposition to the notion of creating jobs by the stimulus bill. But what Reid did had nothing at all to do with the stimulus bill. He worked with private lenders.
That sounds cold, even nutty, you might say. But contemporary conservative Republicanism pooh-poohs the notion that government should pester the private sector to do a helpful turn for the unemployed, for whom, by the way, Republicans recently denied extended benefits.
Angle just goes with that.
4. The other day Angle said that it was appropriate that Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah got defeated for renomination in his own caucus. She said Bennett had "outlived his usefulness."
Democrats pounced absurdly to suggest that Angle was saying it was time for the 77-year-old Bennett to die, perhaps at the hands of a "death panel." Clearly, she was talking about his political usefulness.
Bennett has talked about the need for bipartisan cooperation. But contemporary conservative Republicanism scoffs at the notion of trying to work with these sinister persons across the aisle who, after all, are trying to destroy America.
Angle was merely going with that.
This woman may well be the nation's most honestly representative face of contemporary conservative Republicanism. That's why national Republicans would like to put a veil over that face.
John Brummett is an award-winning columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and author of "High Wire," a book about Bill Clinton's first year as president. His e-mail address is jbrummett@ arkansasnews.com.
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renostarman, you are the smartest liberal socialist wacko ever!
Are there any new polls out today?
Deep.Thoughts wrote on July 18, 2010 11:56 AM: "If Hitler, Stalin and Obama's cousin Saddam ware all democrats, I bet these tools would back them without logical reason other than Bush was president. You guys are so smart!" Now tell us your not a racist-Sadam's cousin? Angle must be SOOOO PROUD TO HAVE YOU AS A SUPPORTER! Given her statments-I guess you could be her speech writer ha ha ha.
Google=tea party racism pics.--- There are 1,580,000 results (0.26 seconds)
It's So easy to just slam dunk the baggers-they have no thoughts worth reading-ever. They don't quote-probably never even read- Goldwater or Buckley, the fathers of modern conservative thought.-------------- Quick teabaggers what was Buckley's publication?-------------------- See I told you!(look it up when Beck lets you down) In a way I want the teaparty to be completely destroyed, then they can go back to the militia's from whence they came;-but in a way I'll be sorry not to see Palin rip apart the GOP further in 2012. I was really looking forward to that. Between Limdruggy, Hannity, and Palin and Beck-the Democratic party could have controlled to Congress for the next 50 years! Shhh don't let the baggers in on that. Please keep those intelligent post's coming baggers! For every "Obama is Hitler" comment Reid gains another 5 votes! Oh sorry I was supposed to keep that quiet too.
Gosh if someone writes the truth on baggers you guys get real defensive-hack journalist? Opinionated at best? lmao oh God how the truth hurts huh? Why can't you stand to see the truth in print? is your belief system that bankrupt? More stimulus money? huh? wouldn't that just be wasting your tax dollars? You should thank Reid if your views are correct he is saving your tax dollars.
Nothing in this article is more than spin theory. Opinionated at best, I could tell this guy went to ILOVEREID.com and found all this info. Dang sheep BAH BAH BAH
Here's some more liberal honesty: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39875.html
Just what we need, more clarification from some hack journalist who calls Pigsknuckle, Arkansas his home. I would like to see one definitive plan that Harry Reid has for Nevada, going forward. Oh yeah, he's to busy telling us all how dangerous Sharron Angle would be for Nevada. I got news for you Pinky, she'd probably start by at least trying to get Nevada more stimulus money. Couldn't swing that as senate majority leader, huh? Yeah, we really appreciate you standing by and letting our "Fearless Leader" bad mouth Las Vegas(twice), then letting the chips fall where they may. Tell you what, I'd rather have someone/anyone who cares for Nevada, than some elitist who is content to toe the party line and back this administration's socialist agenda.
Who is Deep Throats?