Sharron Angle Vs. Harry Reid: Framing the Fight

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Campaign 2010

With Sharron Angle now set to take on Harry Reid in the Nevada Senate race, both sides are now trying to frame the race to their advantage.

Their strategy? Make it about the other side.

To that end, the Democratic National Committee today released a video called "Meet Sharron Angle...In the Extreme." (Watch at left.)

It highlights Angle's Tea Party affiliations and some of her more controversial positions, including abolishing the Department of Education, getting the United States out of the United Nations, and privatizing and/or phasing out social security. The video also points to an interview in which Angle seemed to suggest she might support banning alcohol.

Republicans, meanwhile, are suggesting the race is a referendum on Reid.

"From the beginning, this race has been about one person and his five-decade record in Washington," Brian Walsh, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, wrote in a memo released to the media. "...The Reid campaign believes that an old quote or vote by whoever the GOP nominee might be will trump his abysmal record? Of course he doesn't."

Sharron Angle speaks to supporters after winning the Nevada Republican U.S. Senate primary election race Tuesday, June 8, 2010 in Las Vegas. Angle will face Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. in November.

(Credit: AP)

Added Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele: "In Nevada the unemployment rate is 13.7 percent, which is the second highest in the country. Harry Reid has been more focused on advancing the liberal agenda of government-run health care and cap-and trade than helping the Silver State."

Both sides have good reason to try to focus the spotlight on the opposition. Reid is extremely unpopular in his home state, with a sub-40 percent favorable rating and an image as a Washington dealmaker in a year where Washington insiders are decidedly out of fashion.

Angle, meanwhile, is the candidate that Reid backers were not-so-secretly hoping would get through the primary: The deep-pocketed Reid campaign is eager to spotlight the positions outlined above and paint their candidate as essentially the acceptable alternative to an out-of-the-mainstream Republican.

The deciding factor in the race may ultimately be whether the anger directed at Reid - Angle supporters were chanting "dump Harry Reid" at her acceptance speech last night - is offset by concerns about Angle, a relative-unknown to most Nevada voters whose image both sides are now fighting hard to establish.

More CBSNews.com Coverage of Tuesday's Primaries:

Winners: Blanche Lincoln | Nikki Haley | Meg Whitman | Carly Fiorina | Sharron Angle | Roundup
Anthony Salvanto: What's Next for the Big Primary Winners?
Jeff Greenfield: California Vote to Alter Primaries Could Have Huge Impact
Bob Schieffer: Money and Melodrama Shape Primaries
Marc Ambinder: How Did Sen. Blanche Lincoln Pull Victory From the Jaws of Defeat?
Women Win Big on Primary Day
Interactive Map: CBS News Campaign 2010 Race Ratings

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by tigereon69 October 27, 2010 4:01 AM EDT: BREAKING NEWS! MSNBC finally snagged an interview with Sharron Angle and she absolutely creamed them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0HE1HUnWcY; Reply to this comment


by TheHawaiianGecko September 17, 2010 8:52 PM EDT: The United States is ranked near the bottom of the list in education compared to all other industrial countries.

What position was the U.S. in before the establishment of the D.O.E.?

What position was the U.S. in before the teacher's unions became politically powerful?

Debugging any problem is a simple exercise in looking for what changed between 'when it was working' and 'when it broke.'; Reply to this comment


by acerjoe128 July 10, 2010 8:23 PM EDT: Harry Reid says, "We have already lost the Iraq war." Fitting commentary for a senator from Nevada, isn't it. It seems that Harry is benefitting greatly from his position as Senator from Nevada, all of those land deals, etc. If he will steal from the government, he will surely steal from the folks of Nevada.; Reply to this comment


by StudentofGU June 25, 2010 1:47 PM EDT: Sharron Angle vs Harry Reid: Framing the Fight

The purpose of the CBS online article at first glance is to, contras the confirmed candidates for the Nevada Senate seat currently held by Harry Reid. The underling purpose of Brian Montopoli is to paint Sharron Angle as a controversial, out of touch fare right wing conservative with extreme political views and his support by omission for Harry Reid. Brian attempts to identify questions that need to be solved by allowing the DNC to put forth their ad campaign on video (a picture is worth a thousand words) and relegating the RNC to short written statements. His article makes the assumption that the reader possesses in depth knowledge of Harry Reid, so fails to provide information that would truly help the reader form a true picture of the Senator. After reading the article a few times I concluded that it was written from the point of view of a Harry Reid supporter due mostly to the lack of information I learned about the Senator. Of all the information, data and evidence about both candidates on record, I found it very disturbing that no real questions were asked or attempted to be answered. I have seen political cartoons that are more thought provoking and had more real time impact. Brian fumbled an opportunity to define the senate race by bring both candidates concepts and ideas to light, thus allowing the reader to make an informed chose between candidates. In this article Brian infers that one of the candidates is less than truthful. He identifies controversial extremist ideas as possible norms for one candidate. He fails to note any data that is controversial or extremist from the other candidate. Over all the conclusion and meaning of the information Brian sites is superficial. The article is sensational coloring for eye appeal. The implications I draw from this story is the writer had done very little research on the subjects and by omission he is supporting one candidate over another. The consequences are that some voters may only read this short DNC support article and may make an uninformed voting chose.; Reply to this comment


by samtsco June 13, 2010 11:57 PM EDT: Call me names all you want, I think passing the health care bill and promoting abortion were more radical than phasing out SS, Ed, UN, etc. Point is, you may not agree with me, but I hope most people who read this will.

As for Obama, I for one do not like him as a leader for America. He wants the government to run things. He wanted the health care bill to pass and he wanted it to be mandatory. I couldn't care less how he grew up or where or who his parents were. I am strongly opposed to a government health plan, especially a mandatory one, and I am against abortion and that is all there is to it. Let the country be any color but please let it be free. And by "free," I do not mean mayhem and murder.; Reply to this comment


by propitiation June 12, 2010 10:42 AM EDT: Signs Senator Reid will lose:

Rasmussen Reports Poll taken 6/9 - Angle +11% (50% Angle 39% Reid).

In another article from CBS, Senator Reid lost to the NONE vote.

President Clinton Senator Reid has not governed from the Center, rather Senator Reid has continually been the YES MAN to the Obama Administration's far LEFT agenda. A person with real conviction would say NO when the issue is detrimental to the Citizens of the United States.

...Senator Reid is just a YES MAN and deserves to lose. For example: James Carville told the Obama Administration to get with it on this BP spill, and Congress is not initiating anything by themselves to help solve this disaster. I will be glad when Senator Reid is gone, just like I was glad when Senator Daschle was beaten by Senator Thune!; Reply to this comment


by ZigzagHag June 11, 2010 6:23 PM EDT: I wanted Danny Tarkanian personally but I am certainly not heart broken that Angle won. The funny thing is, that youtube video clip actually makes me want to vote for her even more come November! Get out of UN =) Privatize SS (shouldve with Bush) =) Get rid of Dep. of Ed. (would like to know more about her plan with this but currently it sucks anyways) =) Sharron Angle is the uber conservative Nevada and the U.S. Senate has been needing. Dump Harry!; Reply to this comment

by SueZeeeQue June 9, 2010 10:33 PM EDT

I'm glad they picked a nutty far right wing nut.

Reply to this comment


by ZigzagHag June 11, 2010 6:43 PM EDT: Me too because now we can get rid of Harry! Yay! What an ideal replacement.

by markmazza June 9, 2010 9:26 PM EDT

What is unconscionable is that humans are ostensibly aware, conscious beings on this planet who should know better. Other living species are at our mercy and subjected to our arrogant self-righteousness and disrespect. We giveash-- about humanzygotes more than we do about living breathing organisms who in my opinion are every bit as worthy as a human animal for some omnipotent creators graces.

Unless you are a sociopath or a conservative politician, watching one of the oiled drenched pelicans sitting quietly on the oil covered ocean surface waiting to die should fill you with remorse and prompt you to action.

The anti-environmental voices in the states are dead wrong and have always been dead wrong on Global Warming, Evolution, Extinction Rates, the importance of stewardship, and the trashing of this planet.

It is outrageous that Republican politicians consistently year after year after year vote against environmental legislation and protections and Republican citizens (many of whom, I know are feeling the pain and loss of this tragedy) consistently vote in the same fkg anti-environmental AHols like Sharron Angle year after year after year? When are you going to join the rest of us in this last chance fight to save what is being lost globally!!!!!!!!!

http://lcv-ftp.org/scorecard09/leaders.pdf

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by ZigzagHag June 11, 2010 6:34 PM EDT: Lolol. I am all for the environment because I love the outdoors and want to perserve its pristine beauty; but attacking conservatives because they vote against insane and overboard legislation is silly-and comical.

by larrylinn1 June 9, 2010 8:59 PM EDT

What do the Tea-Baggers want? Simple, they want to keep their Social Security benefits (20% of the Federal Budget), Medicare (19%), support for our troops (23% to the Department of Defense), and tax reductions. Interest is 5% of the federal budget, another 17% is for Mandatory Expenses, which cannot be revised, 5% which went to Tarp (some of which has been repaid with a profit). That leaves 12% for other discretionary expenditures. How would they like to cut? Cut funding for the Center for Disease Control? The Federal Aviation Administration, if they do not fly? Management of offshore drilling? That is the problem with Populist movements. The supporters have similar goals, but the means to those goals are not acceptable to them.

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by ZigzagHag June 11, 2010 6:42 PM EDT: @ eyesopenwide - Yes we do need to spend that money so that we can remain the best military in the world and be ahead of the enemy. Of course the current threat doesn't need super advanced tech. to be fought but should we be confronted out of no where by a more formidable enemy, we will need our uber awesome high tech and well trained military to be ready and more than able to fight.