Jon Ralston today posted a remarkable audio recording of Nevada Republican Sharron Angle meeting privately with a conservative rival, Scott Ashjian, and his allies.
The recording is worth listening to in full despite its poor quality. It suggests that -- at least for the purposes of this conversation with a Tea Party figure -- behind the facade of a real grassroots outsider who hates the organized Republican Party is ... a real grassroots outsider who hates the organized Republican Party.
“The Republicans have lost their standard, they’ve lost their principle," she tells Ashjian. "Really that’s why the machine in the Republican Party is fighting against me.... They have never really gone along with lower taxes and less government regulation."
In opposing her, local Republicans are "coming out and showing their colors" she said. "That’s kind of good."
Angle's words may not have an immediate political impact, but they show what a profound challenge she and a handful of other Senate candidates pose to the Republican leadership, should they win. Angle's view of herself is clearly of an insurgent, a subversive force within the GOP.
"We need to work from within," she tells Ashjian. "And we have We’ve actually taken over the Washoe County Republican Party."
"The only thing that’s different between you and I is I guess I was pragmatic enough to know because of other battles [that Angle has been involved in] that third parties can’t get traction," Angle told Ashjian. "So I said all right, I’ll work with it. Just show me what the rules are, and I’ll work with. And the rules are there are Democrats, you got Republicans. And so what I set about [was] bringing myself up within that Republican rank."
Angle has been a bit "out-there" but, even if she identified herself as a "walk-on" from the Purple Planet, i would pay money to see her beat Harry Reid.
Even the Dems recognize that they have done irreparable damage to their chances of reelection. Their best argument for why Americans should vote for them is that they're not Republicans. Hell, even the Pubs didn't do as much damage in 8 years of Bush to the country's morale and faith in gov't as the Obamacrats have done in two years. They started on this down-hill slide when they so arrogantly ordered Dem women who voted for Hillary to "get over it" and support O. Now, as O and Joe are campaigning throughout the country, they're ordering the "base" (whoever their current"base" is) to remain committed and energized, stop whining, and get enthusiastic. Yeah, they've got room to talk about people being out of touch with the voters. lol
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It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less. ~Susan B. Anthony