I'm well aware of Angle's "extremist" positions--some of which I agree with (e.g., privatize Social Security, get rid of the Department of Education) and some of which I disgree with (e.g., her views on abortion and immigration). I'm also aware that she won't play well with others in the Senate, and thus will likely be unable to get her way much, not to mention the loss of ability to represent Nevada-specific interests, being at the bottom of the power totem pole rather than having Harry Reid at the top of it.
But for all her faults, she'll be getting my vote. The reasons for this are best expressed by two other writers, so I'll just point you to them.
Steve Chapman: http://reason.com/archives/2010/09/16/the-tea-party-and-the-value-of Excerpt: Angle and her ilk "are often accused of craziness—one MSNBC commentator said Angle 'sounds like a mental patient.' But to the tea partiers, that's not a bug; it's a feature. If a $1.4 trillion federal budget deficit represents sanity, they would prefer a candidate who escaped from the psych ward."
Tunku Varadarajan: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-10-14/are-carl-paladino-and-christine-odonnell-too-much-for-libertarians-to-stomach/ Excerpt: " However distasteful she may be, the political and symbolic importance of defeating Reid is so great that its imperative trumps all distaste. Reid, to libertarian eyes, is the incarnation of our big-government malaise. If he survives, all our hearts will sink and the world will go dark."
Politicians are fond of labeling everything a "crisis" so as to justify whatever interventional policies they claim are needed to fix it. I am skeptical and disdainful of most such "the sky is falling" alarms. But I am convinced that the single most threatening public policy issue facing us is the runaway spending and federal debt, and the associated general growth and unconstitutional overreach of the federal government (including, not least, the abominable stimulus package, bank bailouts, takeover of the auto industry, and Obamacare). For the foreseeable future, credibility on taking drastic measures to curtail and reverse such matters will dominate any other considerations in my choices of candidates.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Why I'll be voting for Sharron Angle
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12 comments:
What - Charlie Manson's not on the ballot?
Will be giving this a shoutout at Facebook, PG. Great stuff. :-)
Where's the "like" button? If I were a Nevadan, I'd vote for a pencil eraser over Dingy Harry
Good post and great references.
I typically prefer to vote for someone and not against someone however this election I would agree with Andy that I would "...vote for a pencil eraser over Dingy Harry."
You are intentionally choosing this:
http://www.americablog.com/2010/10/harry-reids-opponent-sharron-angle.html
INTENTIONALLY!!!
I really, really thought you had better sense.
I'm glad you're voting for Engle - I hope she wins. If we find a complete moron, we should send them to Washington at once.
It's not that she's running for Senate, it's that she was a schoolteacher for 25 years. Yikes.
PoliticallySpeaking: You really want to decide on a candidate based on the dumbest things they've been caught saying?
Let's see how Harry Reid stands up on that standard.
He said that Obama was successful because he is "light-skinned" and speaks without a "Negro dialect." He said the was in Iraq was "lost." He said that he would be glad not to smell tourists anymore. He said that Ted Kennedy's death "is going to help us." He said that 36,000 people losing their jobs in one day is "really good."
My favorite: Reid says repeatedly and emphatically that paying income taxes is "voluntary": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQIKJqLIqaE
Here's a handy compilation of some of his gems:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31303.html
You're intentionally choosing that? INTENTIONALLY? I really, really thought you had better sense.
PoliticallySpeaking: I love you.
Yay for Grumpster! Knew you'd get this one.
You prolly expected an eruption of self-righteously indignant dismissive comments & juvenile insults to follow within hours when you posted this, and may have felt like putting on an asbestos suit as you did so. I would. By now I'm sure you know that it is not possible for anyone anywhere ever to publicly disagree with the Truly Enlightened Ones without being stupid, evil, or apparently this year usually crazy. Probably racist, and possibly dangerous.
By my line the "under" on that inevitable flood of retorts from the commissars of the ethically and intellectually superior pro-statists is doing rather well.
While I agree that the federal debt is a serious problem, and definitely a contender for the worst problem that the country faces, I have a problem with the people who are most vocal about it (e.g., Tea Party).
Specifically, their silence during the Bush years and reverence for Reagan (who invented the modern notion of deficit spending) really have me questioning whether they're actually committed to fixing the problem or are just saying it to get elected.
Now, all politicians say stuff just to get elected, but I am very wary of voting for someone whose *sole* qualification is anti-debt for fear that their only qualification will evaporate upon victory.
I hope there's enough besides "anti-debt" about Angle that you like so that if that aspect doesn't pan out, you won't be disappointed in your choice.
Better a sane person who says the occasional foolish/stupid thing than the insane person who doesn't know the difference.
For the sake of the country, I hope your candidate loses.
For the sake of the country, I hope Reid wins, then is replaced with a stronger Democratic Senator as Senate Majority Leader.
I disagree with you and am disturbed that so many Nevadans have such a strong dislike for Harry Reid. Reid has been a good senator for Nevada. He was able to kill the Yucca mountain nuclear waste dump, help keep CityCenter on track to open and save 10k jobs and to direct a lot of renewable energy jobs toward our state. Angle is a batshit crazy loon who would embarrass our state in the Senate. There's a reason so many Republicans who've had the misfortune of serving with her in the Legislature say they won't endorse her: She's a wackjob. Harry Reid has made a few slips of the tongue and isn't the most adept speaker, but Angle means what she says when she utters her crazy talk. It's too bad you'll cancel my vote; I'll have to hope that the rest of Nevada comes to its senses and votes to keep the most powerful Nevadan in history in office.
And, by the way, Angle is no libertarian. She is anti-drinking, anti-drug, and, amazingly for this state, anti-gambling.
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