Sharron Angle Ad: 'Our Turn'

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Good closing argument by the Angle campaign:


h/t: Jim Hoft

- JP

Kill 'em with kindness

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From Elizabeth Crum at National Review's Battle 10 blog, we see that Sharron Angle's team is right on top of things:

In response to Joy Behar’s vicious remarks on The View, the Angle campaign sent a lovely flower arrangement with a note enclosed.

“Joy,

Raised $150,000 online yesterday. Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,
Sharron Angle”

Behar's parents must have had high hopes when she was a baby, naming her "Joy" and all. Too bad that didn't work out. Kind of like naming a daughter "Chastity," and then she takes a job offer from a brothel...

- JP

Mama Grizzlies Raise Real Money

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Chris Cillizza at The Fix:

Former Nevada state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle (R) raised an eye-popping $14 million between July 1 and Sept. 30 for her challenge to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D), a stunning number that far eclipses the cash-collection totals of other prominent candidates seeking Senate seats next month.

ABC's The Note:

Tea Party-backed Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, raised an extraordinary $5.4 million in the third quarter, possibly smashing a congressional fundraising record for a three-month period while pushing her total fundraising haul for this election cycle to almost $10 million.

- JP

Las Vegas Sun: Sharron Angle seeks a push from Sarah Palin

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The Las Vegas Sun reports that the Sharron Angle campaign in Nevada is preparing to announce an endorsement of its candidate by Sarah Palin. Angle staffers are hoping that an endorsement from the the first woman to be both governor of Alaska and the GOP's vice presidential candidate will motivate the Republican base and turn out voters in their tight race against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

Although Angle’s campaign has actively pursued the former Alaska governor’s endorsement, the effect of Palin’s seal of approval remains an open question in a race with so few undecided voters.

Republican operatives acknowledged that Palin is a polarizing figure unlikely to sway independent voters, who are key to the race, or persuade new voters to join Angle’s camp. But a visit by her to the state could motivate volunteers and help get Angle’s much-needed base to the polls.

“Sure there are some Republicans who aren’t impressed with her,” said Robert Uithoven, a Republican consultant in Reno. “But she’s still a significant force in the conservative movement. And I think in a race that could be decided by a few hundred votes, it’s important to use every tool.”

Indeed, Angle hopes Palin will fill the role of party motivator just as her opponent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is counting on President Barack Obama, who plans to headline at least one October campaign event for him, to rally the troops.

And if there’s a party that needs motivating this election cycle, it’s the Democrats.

“I never thought I would say this, but Sarah Palin actually is a bigger draw for those loyal supporters on the right than Barack Obama is for supporters on the left,” said Eric Herzik, a political scientist at UNR. “The left is a little dispirited and a little fractured right now.”

Angle spokesman Jarrod Agen said the campaign is working out the details of an event to make the official endorsement announcement. He would not confirm whether Palin would visit the state to stump for Angle.

Although Gov. Palin has not formally endorsed Angle, she has already provided some support to the former member of the Nevada Assembly. In June, an Angle spokesman said the campaign had received a "generous donation" from SarahPAC, and the governor offered some moral support the same month via Twitter, encouraging Angle to "stay strong" in the wake of politically-motivated attacks against her. In July, Gov. Palin defended Angle, again in a Twitter message.

The Daily Caller inaccurately reported in July that Angle had Sarah Palin's endorsement. While the candidate may have had the governor's implicit approval, it has never been made explicitly.

Speaking of inaccuracy, the Sun's article has a few errors, including this one:

"Palin has mostly endorsed women, all of whom are conservative — “mama grizzlies,” as Palin likes to call them."

Actually, Gov. Palin has endorsed 23 men and 18 women for national office in the 2010 elections. She has also endorsed three women for statewide office, but even counting those endorsements, the governor has endorsed two more men than women.

- JP

Quote of the Day (August 21, 2010)

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Sherman Frederick at the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

"So, as summer breaks into fall, the Angle/Reid race shapes up to have President Barack Obama in Reid's corner and Sarah Palin in Angle's corner. In the political parlor game of who helps who the most, it's not even close. One Sarah Palin equals three Barack Obamas when it comes to energizing and connecting with the Nevada voters."

- JP

The DC claims that Sharron Angle has Sarah Palin’s endorsement

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The Daily Caller is reporting that Sharron Angle has Gov. Palin’s endorsement:

Palin’s brother, Chuck Heath, told The Daily Caller that his sister plans to “actively help” Angle and “do whatever she can” to help take out Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate’s majority leader, in Nevada this fall.

“She’s got GUTS and is putting up with more crap than she deserves because the libs don’t know what to do with her and the support she has,” Palin said in a email provided to TheDC by Heath.

While Palin has not yet formally endorsed Angle in public before now, she said her support was offered to the Angle campaign when she recently made a donation to her. It is not clear if Palin was referring to a personal donation she made to Angle or the money her SarahPAC has contributed to Angle’s campaign. Palin has also supported Angle on Twitter, writing that Angle was “right” about wanting to allow workers to invest Social Security in private accounts.

Actually, Gov. Palin has not formally endorsed Sharron Angle. Donations and public expressions of support may show where the governor's sympathies lie, but they are not tantamount to an official endorsement.

Read the full DC report here.

- JP

The DC: Calling Obama agenda ‘backasswards,’ Palin defends Angle

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In a series of Sunday morning tweets, Sarah Palin called President Obama's agenda “backasswards,” slammed Senate Majority Reid Leader Harry Reid for not understanding that "The System is Going Bankrupt," and defended Reid's GOP challenger Sharron Angle from an attack made on the Nevada Republican by the president for Angle's position on Social Security. The former Alaska governor also endorsed a leading Nevada newspaper's editorial which was critical of the president.

The Daily Caller's Jon Ward reports:

“LasVegas RJ editorial recaps Obama lecture 2 Runnin’ Rebs,” Palin wrote to her 187,000 followers on Twitter Sunday morning, referring to the president’s speech in Las Vegas Thursday night and using the name of the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ mascot — the Running Rebels — to characterize to his audience. “He’s got most disconnected, backasswards plan ever imposed on the country we love,” Palin said of Obama. Palin was following up a tweet linking to a scathing editorial in the Review-Journal that blasted Obama for his criticism of Angle on Social Security Thursday evening at a fundraiser for Reid. The editorial also said Obama has offered no alternatives to fix the problem with entitlement programs that are on the path to insolvency and is running the economy into the ground with anti-business measures. Top White House spokesmen David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs were on the defensive during Sunday morning’s talk shows, following a week in which questions about whether Obama is anti-business hit the mainstream.

Though Gov. Palin did not endorse Angle in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Nevada, the first woman to be the vice presidential candidate on a GOP ticket came to the defense of one of her fellow "mama bears":

“Sharon Angle’s right,” Palin wrote, misspelling Angle’s first name, “New workers should get to invest some Social Security withholdings in their own savings accounts & Washington to pay promised benefits to older workers.”

Though Angle was criticized most loudly on Social Security by Obama Thursday at a fundraiser for Reid, Palin instead addressed her response to Reid, a Democrat and four-term senator.

“What part of ‘The System is Going Bankrupt’ don’t you understand, Mr. Reid?” Palin wrote.

Obama’s criticism of Angle Thursday had a decidedly derisive tone.

Memo to Jon Ward: You do realize that Twitter limits the length of each tweet to 144 characters, so the Twitterati frequently abbreviate -- yes, even people's names -- to avoid having their messages truncated?

Anyway, The DC's full story is here.

- JP

Angle campaign receives "generous donation" from SarahPAC

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Although Sarah Palin did not endorse Sharron Angle in the Nevada GOP primary race to challenge Majority Leader Harry Reid for his seat in the U.S. Senate, Gov. Palin's political action committee has made a "generous donation" to Angle's campaign and will likely come to Nevada to campaign for the former state assemblywoman, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

The former Alaska governor is the keynote speaker next Wednesday at the 2010 International Bowl Expo put on by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Las Vegas Hilton. Palin’s appearance raised the question whether she might be doing or saying anything while in town to advance Angle’s bid to unseat Sen. Harry Reid.

Maybe later but not now, according to Angle campaign spokesman Jerry Stacy.

“Sarah Palin has already funded Sharron Angle’s campaign with a generous contribution, and we will work to coordinate an event at a later date,” Stacy said by email.

He did not elaborate on how much Palin gave and when. Presumably that will show up when both Angle’s campaign and Palin’s political action committee update their public disclosures at the end of the month.

While the first woman to be the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate chose not to endorse a candidate during the Nevada primary, her brother and father supported third-place finisher Danny Tarkanian, son of the legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Update: Angle leads Dirty Harry by 6 points in the latest Rasmussen Reports survey of Nevada's Senate race.

- JP

Quote of the Day (June 18, 2010)

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Sharron Angle:

"Sarah Palin’s decision for life — bringing Trig into the world — had the greatest impact on the pro-life movement."

- JP

Sarah Palin to Sharron Angle: Stay Strong

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Sarah Palin reached out to Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle late Sunday night, offering her support and encouragement via Twitter:

"@SharronAngle Great job Sharron!Reid's overspending will blow up r economy.Stay strong;People see through the spin&sparks.Do well 4 America!"

A poll released by Rasmussen Reports Thursday showed Angle with an 11-point lead over Senate majority leader Harry Reid, 50 percent to 39 percent.

- JP

TPX calls for Danny Tarkanian to drop out of NV U.S. Senate race

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A leading Tea Party organization is asking Danny Tarkanian to drop out of the U.S. Senate race in Nevada. A news release from Tea Party Express (TPX) claims that the latest polling results indicate that Tarkanian has dropped into third place in the race for the GOP nomination, behind Sue Lowden and TPX-endorsed Sharron Angle:

The Tea Party Express is formally requesting U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian terminate his campaign for U.S. Senate as new polling data confirms Tarkanian has fallen into third place and dropping.

"Danny Tarkanian has been a strong supporter of the tea party movement, and he can best help this movement by ending his campaign for U.S. Senate," said Bryan Shroyer, Political Director for the Tea Party Express.

[...]

"We really like Danny. He's been personable, intelligent and straightforward in his dealings with us," said the Tea Party Express's Shroyer.

"Sadly, it has become increasingly clear, however, that his campaign has failed to catch fire with voters. He is receiving less support in the polls now than when he first announced his candidacy despite having spent over $800,000 to reach voters (according to the most recent data reported by the FEC).

If Danny Tarkanian listens to the tea party group and ends his campaign, it could head off a potentially awkward situation for Sarah Palin. Her father and brother have endorsed and campaigned for Tarkanian, but the governor has yet to make an endorsement in the race. The withdrawal of Tarkanian would clear the way for Gov. Palin to endorse either Sharron Angle or Sue Lowden without any appearance of divided loyalties withing the Palin camp.

But judging from the defiant stance taken by the Tarkanian campaign in response to the TPX request, the son of successful and colorful college basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian isn't about to go quietly anytime soon:

A spokesman for Tarkanian's campaign issued a statement calling the request a "money grab" by a consulting firm "making big money off the Tea Party Express."

"The Tea Party Express is leading the corporatization of the Tea Party movement and it's distasteful," said Tarkanian consultant James Fisfis.

It's not clear which of the two women the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate would support should Tarkanian finally relent and exit the contest. The Susan B. Anthony List, parent organization of Team Sarah, has endorsed Lowden, as has Sen. John Kyl and Jerri Thompson. In addition to the Tea Party movement, Angle has the backing of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, Club for Growth, Concerned Women for America, and conservative talk show host Mark Levin. If Tarkanian refuses to exit the race, we're not sure if Gov. Palin would want to get involved in what is rapidly becoming a contentious Republican primary.

A new survey just out from Democrat firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) in Nevada finds Sharron Angle has surged ahead of Lowden and now leads with 29 percent of likely voters. Sue Lowden now follows at 26 percent and Danny Tarkanian has 24 percent of the vote. A recent Mason-Dixon poll of 500 likely Republican primary voters in the Silver State, conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, had Lowden in first place with 30 percent, followed by Angle with 25 percent and Tarkanian at 22 percent. All three leading GOP candidates have taken pro-life positions.

- JP