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9:58 ET: That's all for the Nevada Senate debate. The candidates seemed uncomfortable throughout, with Angle struggling with some of the more involved policy questions and Reid speaking as though he was talking about legislative details in the Senate chamber instead of bread-and-butter issues that Nevada voters can relate to.
Angle did score some zingers ("Man up, Harry Reid") and stayed on message. Reid did not appear prepared, even fumbling with his written notes before his closing statement, but he delivered a firm defense of Democratic legislation passed on his watch. But the awkwardness of the debate was likely its most noteworthy characteristic.
We'll see what the voters decide at the ballot box in less than three weeks. (By the way, Nevada has a "None of these candidates" option on its ballot. This close race could come down to the percentage of voters who are so turned off by these candidates that they check that box.)
Thanks for following along.
9:57 ET: Angle closing statement: "People ask me why I smile so much. It's because I'm an optimist."
9:56 ET: Reid's closing statement: I am for the middle class. "I'm a fighter ... We have a long way to go but we have made some progress."
9:53 ET: Businesses are waiting for answers on the Bush tax cuts, Angle says. "We need to give them confidence by making tax cuts permanent."
9:51 ET: Angle demands to know how Reid made money on a legislator's salary. "That's really a low blow," Reid retorts, adding that he made money not as a senator but as a lawyer before his career in Congress.
9:50 ET: Reid slips and calls Angle "my friend" in his answer to a question about the Bush tax cuts. That's Senate speak -- how lawmakers refer to each other on the floor, often when they are disagreeing the most vehemently.
9:47 ET: Angle is asked about an audio tape obtained by Nevada political reporter Jon Ralston in which she offers a third-party candidate political "juice" and access to high-profile GOPers in Washington if he endorses her. "What I offered was the access to government that all people want" in their congressional representatives, Angle says.
9:46 ET: "You need to apologize to them," Angle tells Reid re: troops abroad. Reid counters that Angle wants to privatize the Department of Veterans Affairs.
9:44 ET: Moderator questions Reid on his infamous statement on Iraq that "the war is lost." Reid says that he made that statement after speaking to Petraeus (his "friend") and that the surge was the right thing to do.
9:42 ET: Angle says that states should "take their 10th amendment rights" and move education policy-making as close to the local level.
9:40 ET: Moderator asks Angle about her statements on education funding. On the Department of Education, she says, "It's an agency that makes one-size-fits-all policies that fit no one."
9:39 ET: "I've always voted against making Nevada the nuclear waste dump of the nation," Angle says, but adds that new technology makes that unnecessary. "We should be looking into nuclear energy."
9:38 ET: "Yucca Mountain is not good for the country and it's really bad for Nevada," Reid says. Important local issue in the state.
9:35 ET: The candidates are having a debate about what the Congressional Budget Office has estimated about Social Security solvency.
"There you go again, trying to hedge on this idea..." Angle retorts.
9:34 ET: "These ideas of my opponent are really extreme," Reid says. That's three.
9:33 ET: "Social Security is a promise we need to keep," Reid says. Angle responds that her opponent needs to understand its solvency issues. "Man up, Harry Reid," she says.
9:31 ET: Ouch. Reid: "I respectfully suggest to my opponent that she just doesn't understand what happened in Washington" with Don't Ask, Don't Tell legislation. Angle counters that she knows how the process works and that legislators should "read the bill first."
9:29 ET: Reid praises the court's role in government, even when he disagrees with rulings. "When they ruled [on Bush v. Gore], Bush immediately became my president. There were no broken windows."
9:28 ET: Angle says she admires Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Says she wouldn't have voted for Elena Kagan because she doesn't "understand the Constitution."
9:27 ET: Asked to name a Supreme Court justice he admires, Reid names one with whom he disagrees - Justice Antonin Scalia. "He is a masterful mind," he says. Also one-time College Hall of Fame football player Whizzer White.
9:26 ET: Reid says Angle's plan for jobs is "extreme." That's twice -- how many more times will he use that phrase to describe her?
9:25 ET: "My job is to create policies to let the private sector do what they do best" and create jobs, Angle says.
9:22 ET: Neither candidate seems at ease, lots of stuttering answers. NBC's Chuck Todd points out on Twitter that there's a clear ideological difference between the candidates, but it might be a little tough to see through the sheer awkwardness of both candidates.
9:21 ET: Moderator asks Reid if Obama and Bush both should receive equal blame for the nation's economic woes. "Of course not," the Senate Majority Leader replies.
9:18 ET: Angle: "Pink ribbons will not make people have a good insurance plan."
9:17 ET: Insurance companies "have almost destroyed our economy," Reid argues. He says that insurance companies must be forced to cover mammograms and prostate colon cancer screenings. Mentions Breast Cancer Awareness month.
9:16 ET: Angle: "America is a country a choices, not of forcing people to buy things they don't need."
9:15 ET: Reid takes a swipe at Angle's recent comments about autism. "That's really extreme," Reid says.
9:15 ET: Angle says that the free market can solve the problems of the health insurance industry.
9:12 ET: Next question is about health care, and why legislators chose to tackle the reform effort in light of the dire economy. Reid: "We had to do health insurance reform to maintain competitive[ness] in the world economy." ... "Health insurance reform creates jobs."
9:11 ET: Both candidates say English should be the official language of the United States. Angle says she would support a constitutional amendment to mandate that; Reid says that English is "already the official language."
9:10 ET: "Harry Reid has voted to give Social Security to illegal aliens," Angle says, asked to back up that claim in an ad. Here's what nonpartisan organization Politifact called the ad "barely true."
9:10 ET: Angle on immigration: "We should be supporting Arizona, not suing Arizona." She also praises controverisal Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
9:08 ET: First question is on immigration. Reid: "We have to look at the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. We cannot ignore it."
9:06 ET: Angle, in opening statement, says that the debate will show the "contrast" between her and Reid. Says that Reid "lives in the Ritz Carlton in Washington."
9:04 ET: Reid's comment on jobs was a response to Angle's statement that it wouldn't be "her job" to create jobs. Here's an ad that Reid cut using those words against her.
9:04 ET: Reid: "My number one job is to create jobs as a United States senator."
9:02 ET: Reid begins his opening statement, reminding viewers of his humble upbringing in tiny Searchlight, Nevada.
9:00 ET: We're on the air. You can watch the live stream, courtesy of C-SPAN, here.
8:55 ET: We're almost underway. Worth noting: Angle has notably restricted the access of the state and national press, answering few questions from reporters about her campaign in recent months. She told FOX's Carl Cameron in August that she "needed the press to be our friend" and said that she only wanted to speak with reporters who ask favorable questions. But that attitude has not held back her fundraising ability; she announced this week that she brought in a staggering $14 million in the third fundraising quarter.
8:45 p.m. ET: It's one of the midterm cycle's most anticipated events -- the only debate between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Tea Party-backed Republican challenger Sharron Angle. The Nevada Senate race is one of the closest in the country, with a series of recent polls showing the candidates virtually deadlocked.
Reid, the most powerful Democrat on Capitol Hill, was so unpopular in his economically hard-hit home state that most observers considered him a lame duck before the June 8 primary. But when a little-known former state legislator defeated GOP favorite Sue Lowden for the Republican nomination, the state suddenly had a heck of a race on its hands.
Both candidates have shown a penchant for verbal gaffes in the past, and Reid has taken pains to highlight the extremely conservative (and occasionally wacky) policy positions voiced by his GOP competitor.
Will Angle appear senatorial? Will Reid avoid appearing out-of-touch with the needs of regular voters? We'll keep you up to date with the latest from Las Vegas here in this space. The debate starts at 9 p.m. ET, so tune in.
Leave a Comment:
Sharron Angle Rocks!
A human with a mouse's brain should have been able to win against Republicans public enemy #1, Harry Reid. That is before Sharia Angle decided to speak. The only question remains. Are there enough Hillbillies in Nevada to provide the juice for Sharia Angle to scrape out a win.?
Tonights debate should give the election to Angle. The people of Nevada have lived under Reids tenure and are worse off for it. It's time for a change.
No all the Hillbillies are in Alaska!
That is true you shake her head and rocks fall out!
Concerned intellectual Thanks for the info
In 1980 is when Reagan took over. From then we've had Reagan eight years, Bush one 4 years Clinton 8 years and Bush two, 8 years, Obama 2 years.
Almost all of the deficits and government debt was created while a Republican held the White house and with Bush 2, he had the White House, The Congress for 6 years and the Supreme Court in his lap and managed to destroy America in multiple ways. In the meantime, because the Democrats seem like pussies, most of the nation is blaming Obama. How weird is that?
What's not understood about what happens when the Republicans lower taxes is that is taxation plus the interest. Taxation is how the debts must be paid before the interest eats us alive. That can only happen with taxation from a thriving economy. That ain't happening and if the Republicans win this election, they will finish us off.
What seems to escape the Tea Party folks is they largely are made up of an age group that has the most to gain with Obama in office and if the Republicans have their way, they will be out in the cold with no Social Security, No Heath Care, they will be represented by ding bats and they will become part of the Neo Third World, which is what the rulers of the nation (Multinationals) are preparing us for by allowing a situation that will create enough debt in an economy that will never be paid back and the Peons, that's mostly us, will be working a Chinese style labor force. Everything we own, we will not own.
The supreme Court really screwed us by making corporations people. That blows my mind. We will be chained to the wheel of industry with no hope left for the so-called, American dream.
The Liberals, Independents and espeacially Tea Party folks just don't get it that they have to get out and vote for the pussies because the snake show nuts on the right have no idea what it is they are supporting is their own demise along with the rest of us.
I'm old and remember being in a soup line during the 1929 depression with my dad so we could eat. Many correctly point out that it wasn't until after WW2 that the depression ended. They are right. Guess what pulled us out? Roosevelt had big taxes on the rich because they had the most to gain. He set up public work projects and stimulated the economy with government spending. Then the war came along and what is it that happens in a war, government spending. So finally government spending brought us back and because we had so many resourses, we created the worlds greatest most productive middle class.
This time it will be more difficult because the reserection of America is no longer the plan. We have very little resources left, a huge debt and the exporting of or jobs overseas is designed to force us to compete while our lifestyles disappear.
We really have to get off our asses and stop the same old Neo Cons from taking away our country. Those guys are working to screw us using what used to be a conservative party but now are servants of the rulers.
Come on folks. think it out.
what station?
it's always good news for the teabaggers!
Harry has got to go!
Is your name harry ?
Haha Nevada, hope you enjoy your 14 percent unemployment, thinking Angle is going to do anything about it.
Reid is Babbling..
sorry, i had to turn this off. too sad. they both are flatlined.
watching rachel.
see it live on CSpan channel 210 on dish network
to watch this debate live go to CSpan or 210 if you have dish network.
Why did Reid skirt the Yes or No answer that the moderator specifically asked for on the Abortion question? The question asked for their belief-Yes or No on govt. funding of abortion, not a quote of the current law. Angle said "No", but although asked twice, Reid refused to say yes or no, he just quoted the current law.
Becuse Harry is conflicted, he is Mormon and his personal belief is that abortion is wrong, but he also feels it is allowed by the Constitution. It is a difficult position, he has historically supported the law and regulations that have made abortion legal, even though it seems very wrong to him in his religious belief system. I do respect that.
Angle is glib but delusional. Reid is not smooth but right on substance. Privatizing social security sounds good but the vast majority of citizens don't have a clue as to how to invest. The purpose of a Federally managed social security is to ENSURE that we don't have people living on the street in their old age.
Because the government has dumbed down everyone by making them dependant on government programs.
Which "government programs" are you talking about. Social security was conceived in 1935. There were no government programs to dumb people down at that time. It was instituted in response to the great depression and helped the greatest generation pull through.
Dear Chuck..... Angle IS extreme! It needs to be mentioned as often as ncessary to drive the point home! Eliminating and privatizing SS, medicare IS an extreme action, ESPECIALLY since it was the gop's plan "starve the beast" that created the budget crisis we face!
gop Bankrupting America
gop Dirtbaggers are falsehood
Angle sounds like a Drunk chalk board.
Too damn funny Heat!
Angle truly don't know what the hell shes talking about. She sounds like its a guess answer, childish!!
Honestly, why is she's even running???
Nevada, she dont CARE what you want or need!!!
Angle conveniently ignores the larger point about the Iraq war in that it had no relevance to 9/11. The US has the best army in the world and for it to show success by "surging" is hot surprising. It must be remembered that the reason why attacks on US soldiers dropped dramatically during that time was because we paid Sunni Arabs to fight on our side in the so called "Sunni awakening".
I watched the Angle/Reid debate with much anticipation but was sorely disappointed. Both "performers" were lacking in their presentation with stunted responses as they tried to find their footing. Their best responses (When I say best I only mean their delivery) came when fell back upon partisan messages that are their signatures; for Angle that would be all things in the Constitutional e.g the 10th Amendment (Also sighted by Christine O'Donnell) for Mr. Reid it would be references to all things of the past like "During the Clinton Administration -blah, blah blah. Either way I have to say that the people of Nevada have a tough choice ahead and I pray that whichever way the election goes i hope they and the USA are able to regain solid footing, help significantly pay down our debts and move toward more responsible fiscal policies that do not reward recklessness or greed (Of corporations or individuals). Don't get me wrong I am a CAPITALIST and an entrepreneur but the issues affecting our country over the past 8 - 10 years is unforgivable. So let's end the partisan bickering and get moving on doing things that move and help uplift all our inhabitants regardless of race, religion, creed or color - Amen
Tell that to the gop no, no, no, no, party.
Angle's assessment of the insurance situation, claiming that a "free market" will solve all our problems, shows that she is clueless. Insurance companies have our population in a strangle hold and have no interest in insuring anybody who might be, you know, SICK!
The free market is destroying our country all our jobs & money are going overseas your watching america crumble.
She didn't sound as extreme as the media makes her out to be.
Her speaking manner is OK and she is not a bad debater. However, her "extremeness" is not because she acts like a howling loon that makes faces and bays at the moon. It is because her positions on fundamental issues like education, social security, and the role of government are extreme, which if implemented, will hurt the vast majority of Americans.
The War in Iraq was justified, and the world is a safer place with the brutal dictator Sadam hussein no longer in power. Do not forget Sadam openly supported terrorist, had invaded two countries and broken international treaties and murdered thousands of his own citizens and due to wars he started over a hundred thousand people have died.
SShhhh, Frank...don't say that, you might be labaled an extremist! You perve..thinking Sadam was bad! Come now LOL....remember, those of you on the left...what goes around, comes around.
Dear Frank: World Net Daily, a conservative publication declares:
Yes, Bush lied
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=21119 The war was about oil! They found maps of Iraq's oil fields at cheney's first meeting with oil execs to discuss energy policy in early 2001! When bush/cheney tried to pull it off, Iraq told them to stuff it!
The War in Iraq was justified, and the world is a safer place with the brutal dictator Sadam hussein no longer in power. Do not forget Sadam openly supported terrorist, had invaded two countries and broken international treaties and murdered thousands of his own citizens and due to wars he started over a hundred thousand people have died.
Frankusa:
And by any chance you forgot that WE, USA allowed Saddam become what he become?
First, because we supported him when he gained the power in Iraq by deposing the ruling government. Then WE supported him when he went to war with Iran, because the grater evil that Iran and Khomeini represent at that time (1980) for US interest. We knew what he was capable of, and we looked the other way because he was an "ally".
George Bush Sr. didn't want to overthrown him after the '91 Gulf War because, well advised by his people, understood that the problem wasn't overthrowing Saddam, if not the aftermath of that, like happens when we invade. They knew that they will engage in a civil war after years and years of dictatorship (like happens in Yugoslavia after Tito's death) and he doesn't want US personnel to get involved for there is not gain at that.
Jr. ill advised by Cheney and Rumsfeld get into a nightmare that cost us plenty of beautiful American young lives for Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld profit from that war.
Saddam was the lesser evil that we had to face in the region, for all the other "characters" from the same movie are still on the same place. Follow the "money trail" and you'll find your answer to why did WE invade Iraq?
The war in iraq was bush's war ?
Frank, in reading the answers to your comment, yeah...its all about money. The whole time we are spending our money digging up mass graves, spending OUR money finding Kurds who have been gassed (oops, MUST be in error, NO weapons of mass distruction), No, Frank, we should have left that poor, poor man alone. AND sent his supporters to that nice, Eden-like country to enjoy his rule. Let me see, what is the word I like to use for people who make STUPID comments like Saddam was cool and had no weapons of mass distruction...Oh, yeah, I remember...IDIOT! MOVE there you TARDS...or feel free to stay here and whine like IDIOTS....
Hdwag:
To somebody like you, let me refresh your memory and enlighten you a little bit.
If you've read history, you'll find that you don't go to 2 wars at the same time ill prepared, without allies, and without enough reserve of money to sustain the war (remember that the US Government has to pay for every single bullet that they fire).We went to every war in the 20th century as a coalition of forces (WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf)
We were already at war in Afghanistan, closing the gap to find OBL (the main reason for the war, remember?) when all of the sudden Jr. choose to chase ghosts instead of finishing our primary mission in the region.
Bush Sr. faced the same choice in '91, when we invade Iraq to remove Iraq from Kuwait, the intelligent thing he did was he gain the support (not only diplomacy but military) from all over the war, and we didn't go there alone, even if the major operations were coordinated by American Forces, there were forces from 16 or more countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_of_Gulf_War
The biggest concern for American Commanders and Intelligence personnel was what do we do after?, Do we remove Saddam or not? And after analyzing every single perspective for the aftermath, they realize that even they knew that Saddam was dictator (they didn't know from that day, since we've helped him to gain power in Iraq in the 70's) he was the lesser evil in the equation, for the aftermath that they've saw was of a civil war between the Sunnis, Shiads and Kurds (and other ethnicities) because of many years of dictatorship by one party. (they've saw the Yugoslavia experience after Tito's death) and they choose not to get involved because it will be "costly" for USA (in lives and equipment) to "mediate" in a civil war environment. (Did Lebanon in '84, Somalia '93 gives you an example?).
Jr. on the other hand, invaded Afghanistan in '01 chasing OBL, our troops perform according to what it was expected and were closing the gap with the Al-Qaida leader and this guy choose to chase ghosts (WMD) and ignore every single recommendation of putting the war in Iraq on hold until we finish the Afghanistan issue. Anyways he got into Iraq ill equipped (remember the issue with the armor?) without international support and added a war to another war, with the "money" troubles that a war carries (remember that the Armed Forces has to pay for every single bullet that they fire), We get in the middle of a civil war, and we became the chosen "target" for all the factions in the area. Until we deal with money with them we lost many precious American young lives for the benefit of a few (again, check who profit from the war and you'll find your answer about the war in Iraq).
On the other issue, I am not an Idiot or Stupid because I disagree with you, I am entitled by the Constitution of the United Stated to do so, and that doesn't make you better or worst, simply somebody that doesn't agree with you.
And if your idea of democracy and freedom states that if I don't agree with you I have to leave the country, I will invite you to do so, because I have the same right to be here as you. Like it or not....
Sharon Angle is a moron. She doesn't even have fact right. She said that the tax rates on the wealthy would be highest in history. WRONG! They were higher during Regan. They only want to raise them to what they were under Clinton. She said Harry Reid wants to give Illegal Immigrants Social Security if they become citizens. Um if they are Citizens and work they are entitled, and they would be illegal. She isn't qualified to be a Senator.
And you are an idiot. Citizenship DENIED. They are NOT citizens, MORON....ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS...Come into the country ILLEGALLY! MY GOD, HOW IS THIS HARD????
Hdawg:
I guess your reading skills are playing against you.
if you read closely to SUZIE comment says
So, what part of IF don't you understand? What she states is that IF they are granted Citizenship (nobody says they did) they are entitled Social Security benefits for they wouldn't be illegals anymore.
Now, relax, take time to read, let your brain analyze the information and then open your mouth (or type on the machine). It works that way, because if you let your tongue (or your fingers) win over your brain, you are lost my friend...
Have a nice day!
How can you say who won? Their views are a 180 of the other. It depends on what you stand for. In that regard for me, Reid was the winner.