Federal Judiciary

A New Angle in Nevada -- By: Robert Costa

Nevada?s newly minted Republican Senate nominee, Sharron Angle, is of, by, and from the conservative grass roots.

She has an army of ?lick ?n? stickers.? In this electoral cycle, you couldn?t ask for better compatriots. As the New York Times reported on Thursday, they meet each week in her Reno living room to run the campaign of this .44-magnum-packing former state legislator -- and grandmother of ten. This is no book club: It?s a hustling, dedicated political operation that?s online and amped up.

Her supporters ?kicked ass? in the GOP primary on Tuesday, John Weaver, a GOP strategist, told National Review Online. ?Angle beat the establishment candidate and another challenger to finish with a 14-point victory over her rivals. All the Washington reporters and people in the 202 area code may look at that and say, ?That?s nice,? but if I were them, I wouldn?t be chuckling.?

If Republicans in Washington are chuckling, it?s a nervous laugh. Almost immediately after Angle had sewn up the nomination, her campaign website went dark, and her positions on a bunch of issues -- ?transition out? Social Security, halt ?unscientific hysteria? about climate change, curb involvement with the United Nations, cut taxes -- were scrubbed out. All you could do was donate. In other words, as Reid Wilson of National Journal puts it, the party was advising her to ?shut up? and go underground in order to avoid an out-of-the-gate gaffe.

The nervousness is understandable. GOP operatives look at a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showing disapproval of tea parties at 50 percent, an all-time high, and they sweat. They also know that Angle, despite her tea-party stardom, is an imperfect candidate in many ways. She has taken controversial positions on strange issues, like her support for a Scientology-backed rehab program for Nevada prisons. She has questioned fluoride in water, and has been portrayed, unfairly -- thanks to one ambiguous statement -- as flirting with outlawing alcohol. Unsurprisingly, Democrats, according to the Post, plan to ?use her words to paint her as, well, a complete whack job.?

Angle, however, was hounded about those issues in the primary, to little effect. On Thursday, a new Rasmussen poll showed her with an 11-point lead over Harry Reid, 50 percent to 39 percent. Besides, when it comes to indiscretions, Reid is in the lead: He?s the one who called Obama ?light skinned,? said the Iraq war was ?lost,? and dubbed President Bush a ?liar? and a ?loser.?

Republicans want to make the race about Reid, period. National Republican operatives tell us that they plan to hammer him on Obamacare, taxes, and spending, while helping Angle build and tighten her operation. ?Winning an election is not rocket science, but it does take some discipline, it does take some organization. That?s what we hope to add,? Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee told ABC News.

Angle articulated her general-election message to cheers on Tuesday, during her victory speech in Las Vegas. ?We?re taking our country back,? she said. ?We need to say to Harry Reid, You have failed and you are fired. We?re ready for the debate. Come on, Harry, let?s talk about the issues.?

?This race has always been about Harry Reid,? says her spokesman, Jerry Stacy. ?It continues to be about Harry Reid.?

Stoking up her tea-party friends and running a disciplined campaign need not be mutually exclusive for Angle. Generally, it?s her unpolished presentation, more than her positions, that can be jarring. Such things can be touched up, but no one should attempt a total makeover. If there were ever a year for a true citizen-politician, this is it.

Like Sarah Palin, Angle is a ?frontier feminist,? says Marjorie Dannelfelser, the president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life group that has endorsed her. It?s a message that resonates: In the two days since primary day, Angle has collected more than $300,000 in online donations. Another $5,000 is expected soon from Mitt Romney, the former, and perhaps future, GOP presidential candidate.

?This is going to be like Scott Brown in Massachusetts,? predicts Amy Kremer, an Angle ally and the grass-roots director for Tea Party Express. After working with Angle throughout the primary, Kremer is confident in Angle?s ability to turn enthusiasm into votes come November. ?She is disciplined, humble, and stands on principle,? Kremer says. ?She?s not the type of person to flinch in the wind. She has the right message, focused on limited government, free markets, and, most importantly, on spending less.?

Despite the coming assault on her, says Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.), Angle can win, given Nevada?s 14 percent unemployment rate and the intense displeasure with Reid. Bachmann knows what it?s like to be parodied on MSNBC. ?Keep on keeping on, that?s what I?d tell her,? she told NRO. ?Right after you win something can be the most dangerous time for a candidate -- you?re new, you get a lot of attention. She has to focus on her core, fiscal message. Don?t let the mainstream media distract you by commenting on issues outside of this race. Make Harry Reid defend his positions. Encourage your supporters, too, not to take the bait of the mainstream media, because the caricatures will happen. The Left needs a piñata. But when you become one, it?s liberating, because you know you?re doing something right.?

That said, Jon Ralston, a Nevada-based political analyst, cautions that enthusiasm alone won?t be enough for Angle to topple the four-term incumbent. ?Yes, she can win, but her campaign operation has no infrastructure -- just a lot of passion. She won the primary because the Tea Party Express and Club for Growth poured money into the race. From here on, she can do well -- she has the patter down, and the oust-Reid rhetoric. But remember, she has never been a mainstream player in the Republican party, and the Democrats will hammer her on her positions.?

John Weaver agrees. ?It?ll be a very tough general election,? he says. ?She?d be wise to be prudent.? And to try, as much as she can, to make it all about Harry.

-- Robert Costa is the William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow at the National Review Institute.

Full post as published by Bench Memos - National Review Online on June 11, 2010 (boomark / email).