In an extensive look at Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle by David McGrath Schwartz of the Las Vegas Sun today, Robert Uithoven, campaign manager for GOP opponent Sue Lowden is quoted as saying:
“Sharron Angle has done a good job in our party of mobilizing grass roots. I don’t think she’s a candidate who could win a general election against Harry Reid. They don’t just want a Republican that shows up and votes no.”
Au contraire, mon frerer! When it comes to the Obama/Reid/Pelosi agenda, that is EXACTLY what conservative Republican primary voters want. Indeed, one of Sarah Palin’s biggest applause lines, as Schwartz notes in his report, is when she encourages Republicans to not just be the party of no, but to be the party of “Hell no!”
The problem for Angle is not that she’s not right where conservative GOP voters want her to be on the vast majority of issues, but that conservative GOP voters, while believing she has a path to victory in the June Republican primary race, don’t believe she has a similar path to victory in November against Harry Reid in the general. And until/unless she changes that perception, she’s likely to come up short in the primary.
The good news for Angle, however, is that there are still eight weeks to go to make her case before voters cast their votes. And last week’s endorsement by the Tea Party Express will definitely help. To what extent, however, is still the big question.
