What Just Happened in Nevada? U.S. Senator Sharon Who?
Nevada is the Canary in the Coal Mine.
I TOLD YOU SO! The question on national political experts minds Wednesday morning is, “Sharon who?” Sharon Angle was the winner of the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Nevada. Few on the national scene saw this coming. But I did. As a Nevada Reagan Libertarian, Tea Party activist, and national political commentator, I’ve said for months that in a “Tea Party year” anything is possible- including the election of a political outsider like Sharon Angle.
When the public is angry and wants blood- all bets are off. Ask Utah Senator Bennett and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. Ask the voters of Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey, who all participated in big wins for maverick underdog candidates in the past year. Ask Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, the first sitting governor ever defeated in a primary in Nevada history (also last night). Ask Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln who barely escaped with her life on Tuesday, only to face sure defeat in the general election in November. Ask the Lt. Governor of South Carolina, who got 17% of the vote against an unknown female candidate (Nikki Haley) endorsed by Sarah Palin. The new mantra is V.E.T.O.- Vote Everyone of Them Out!
In Sharon Angle’s case, the Tea Party movement gets 100% of the credit. Angle was languishing in 3rd place in her U.S. Senate race until she received the endorsement of the Tea Party Express and The Club for Growth. After that, she moved up the polls like a rocket. She blew by the GOP establishment candidate Sue Lowden. Coming from 20+ points down, Angle won going away. This was not a year to be the establishment candidate- even if you are an ex-beauty queen , TV newscaster, and casino owner.
Sharon Angle is a true fiscal conservative, limited government, anti-tax Tea Party candidate. The Wall Street Journal just days ago described her views as “outside the mainstream.” Well I have news for the Wall Street Journal- radical is the new mainstream. The Journal described her radical positions in the past as “abolishing the federal tax code, privatizing Social Security for younger Americans, and eliminating the Education Department.” I have a funny feeling the mainstream media just doesn’t get it- yes, those views used to be out of the mainstream. But not this year, not when you’re running against the U.S. Senate Majority Leader who carries the water for the most socialist President in American political history. In this year, in this race, those views are just fine.
National studies show those views to be more in the mainstream than big government candidates. Most Americans distrust government; want it made smaller; see big government as the biggest threat to their freedom; want government spending cut dramatically; and feel over-taxed. That’s precisely why the Tea Party movement has flourished against-all-odds. The Silent Majority feels unrepresented and ripped off by “business-as-usual” and mainstream politicians. An awful lot of taxpayers and voters are thinking out of the box. They’re thinking that perhaps it’s time to think “out of the mainstream.”
Nevada is the canary in the coalmine. I predict all over this country the media will be stunned by this “new world order.” Conservative and Libertarian are back in vogue; “traditional” and “establishment” are dirty words; and radical is the new mainstream. The Reids (Harry and his son Rory) are in the wrong place, at the wrong time. All you have to do is “read the tea leaves” to know that. In this new world order, Sharon Angle may be just what the doctor ordered.
