Harry's "Friends" Are A Good Reason To Vote For Angle

John Smith, of the Las Vegas Review Journal, wrote a column last Sunday in which he pointed out that while Sharron Angle may be in a dead heat with Harry Reid, she’s getting crushed in the Nevada endorsement sweepstakes.

He, of course, is referring to the so-called “republicans for Reid” group.

What he fails to understand is the actual mindset of what Bill O’Reilly calls “the folks”.  Us. You and me.

One of the reasons that, assuming things continue as they are, Sharron Angle will unseat Harry Reid on November 2 is that there is a “republicans for Reid” group in the first place.

She won the primary election because a lot of Republican (you’ll note my use of capital letters here) voters have, simply put, had a sack full of the Sig Rogich, Bill Raggio, Dawn Gibbons, Jim Murren, Michael Yackira grab whatever you can, stick it in your pocket and pretend you actually have political principals while you are pretending to be a Republican philosophy.

That list of republicans for Reid may have a few people who are genuinely concerned about the future of all the voters, but most of them are trial lawyers, lobbyists, gaming executives and members of the political chattering class who have used Harry all of these years to carry their water and see no downside to being against Sharron Angle—even if she wins. And, because it is unlikely that Sharron will carry their water, there may well be no downside.

Take the putative state Senate minority leader Bill Raggio.

He’s 83 years old, termed out after this legislative session and has a lot in common with Barack Obama.  He, too, never met a tax he didn’t like.

He also barely won a very bitter battle against Sharron Angle over his seat.

Smith said that he is “arguably the most respected Republican in Nevada politics”.

I’ll take up that argument.

He’s the Nancy Pelosi of the Nevada GOP.  Nobody but Angle dared cross him.  And now that she’s a few weeks from beating Harry Reid, he’s arrogant enough to believe that his “endorsement” is going to cause the same voters who have already made the considered decision to get rid of Reid change their minds?

Give me a break.

What Nevada voters are saying is that they are sick and tired of being told who to vote for by people whose wallet depends on the outcome of an election.

For too many years, Nevada politics has been about the people who have been getting more by suckling at the public teat.

Hundreds of millions of no bid government dollars going to Harry’s favorite advertising agency.

Gaming licenses going to friends.  Hands being gently slapped when those friends went too far.

Big pieces of government land going to other friends.  Large profits being made on the sale of those lands.

Clark County Commissioners going to prison.  Nothing much changing.

Harry, himself, isn’t responsible for all of that. Not singlehandedly.

But he represents the interests of the people who are.  Including himself.  After all, he’s never had a job off the government payroll yet he’s wealthy.

And many of them—as many who dared—endorsed him.

You can tell an awful lot about somebody by the company they keep.

In my humble opinion, the mere voters of this state have looked at the people who say they want Harry re-elected and come to the conclusion that a vote for Angle is a twofer. 

You not only get rid of Harry, but you get a chance to tell these clowns where they can put their endorsements.

FRED WEINBERG