That’s what Rory Reid did right off the bat in Sunday’s debate, a technique that prompted my colleague Jon Ralston to jokingly question whether Reid was engaging in McCarthyite tactics. “Yes,” Reid replied, to laughter.
But is linking Brian Sandoval to Sharron Angle a stretch, or a slur? Surely Sandoval has not endorsed some of the more radical ideas Angle has touted on the campaign trail, such as eliminating the U.S. Department of Education.
Yet, Sandoval did endorse Angle, and he did it after her views on the Education Department were well known. The endorsement came in late July on Face to Face with Jon Ralston, where Sandoval said “I support Sharron Angle’s candidacy.”
Now, Sandoval didn’t have to back Angle. He could have said something along these lines: “Sharron’s got her race to run, and I have mine. She doesn’t need my help or advice, and I am certainly focused on beating Rory Reid for governor.”
Yes, he might have taken some grief from Republicans for failing to show “unity.” Yes, he might have irritated some Reid haters, for failing to reflexively bash the senior senator. But ultimately, most Republicans would have understood if Sandoval refused to say he supported Angle, who is clearly farther to the right than almost any other Nevada politician.
Sandoval might even have said he was staying out of the race out of respect and gratitude for Reid, who nominated him for the federal bench, a post Sandoval left to run against Reid’s son. Of course, that would not have endeared him to the Reid haters.
Instead, made a political calculus Sandoval spoke up to say he supports Angle, despite her remarks about the education department, transitioning out of Social Security and Medicare, coming out against unemployment benefits, opposing abortion in all cases, even rape and incest and turning to “Second Amendment remedies” in the event voters don’t change Congress.
And it’s not like Sandoval was unaware of Angle’s character; he was, after all, the attorney general who fought Angle’s 2003 federal lawsuit that sought to overturn the infamous Guinn v. Legislature decision.
But Sandoval endorsed her anyway. And that means, to a certain extend, he’s bought into her baggage, and linking the would-be governor to the would-be senator isn’t an outrageous proposition. Call it the price he’ll pay for Republican unity.
Tags: Brian Sandoval, Harry Reid, Rory Reid, Sharron Angle
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