Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle held her own before a hostile Nevada press Tuesday night, jostling with a well-known political journalist over whether her Democratic opponent Sen. Harry Reid really created jobs for the state.
While discussing the state’s high unemployment rate and economy with Jon Ralston on KRNV’s Face to Face, Angle said, “I lay that all at Harry Reid’s footstep.”Angle
Ralston, the journalist, appeared disturbed by that response. “You’re saying he hasn’t brought any jobs back to this state, Assemblywoman? Harry Reid has created all kinds of jobs … you see these press conferences all the time, local government, state government, who brought those jobs? You’re not gonna give him credit for that?”
“Not much,” Angle responded, “because government doesn’t really create jobs.”
Referencing recent reports that much of the country’s job growth has been due to the temporary government jobs, she added that, “a census part-time job is not really a job.”
Ralston asked her why she blames Reid for a bad job environment, even though she argues that government does not create jobs.
“The job of the U.S. senator is to create a climate that will be conducive to creating jobs,” she said, “which means lowering taxes and less government regulations, but what Harry Reid has been doing is putting forward those policies that actually put more regulation on business.”
Angle’s appearance on Ralston’s show was noteworthy because, since winning the GOP nomination to take on Reid, she has shied from the press. The Daily Caller interviewed her during the primary, but her campaign has not responded to multiple requests for interviews since the nomination.
Several times during the show, Ralston poked fun of Angle’s media-shy strategy, opening up one segment by saying, “I’m coming to you from an undisclosed location in Sharron Angle’s bunker. Oh no, just kidding.”
While critics called her out for “softball” interviews on Fox News, Ralston’s KRNV’s interview was far from that, mostly consisting of a grueling back-and-forth with Angle over her past statements.
Among other topics discussed during the interview: She defended herself against charges by Democrats that she wants to completely phase out government run Social Security, saying she just wants the option for a people to put money in a private account too. Angle also said that had she been a senator, she would’ve voted no to extend unemployment benefits, and she also backed away from a previous statement that people should use “second-amendment remedies” to take out Reid.
“I admit that was a little strong to say, ‘take him out.’ I meant to say ‘take him out of office,’ and taking him out of office is a little different.”