Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Dueling Hypocrisies of Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell

Two of the tea party's biggest stars, Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell, had a little bit of bad press this week - comments made by O'Donnell at a 2006 primary surfaced where O'Donnell claimed she had secret information China was plotting to destroy America (yet she couldn't share it) and Angle was recorded in a private conversation attacking the Republican party.  I thought it would be interesting to look at the two stories together (especially since Angle mentions her in the tape).

I would first like to look at Sharron Angle comments.  Jon Ralston for the Las Vegas Sun writes the following:
The conversation reveals Angle almost desperate to show Ashjian they are like-minded, that they both disdain the major parties, but insistent that the Tea Party of Nevada contender could help Reid win if he doesn’t embrace her candidacy. Ashjian emphasizes he believes a third party is the only way and that he believes he can garner a fifth of the vote, which seems fantastically optimistic, to put it mildly.

Angle expresses disdain for the national GOP, which she says she now has “in a box” because she won the primary, which caused the DC types after her June 8 victory to still be “moaning and groaning and weeping and gnashing teeth over Sue Lowden.” Later, she tries to persuade Ashjian to endorse her because she will have “juice” he can tap into to get access to Sens. Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn and Mitch McConnell.
In my opinion, I think this is the most honest Sharron Angle has been, which is why I agree with much of her statements.  Ralston lists some of the other things mentioned in the recording:
----Angle’s open disgust with her own party’s leaders and principles (or lack thereof)

----[Sid] James’ obvious abandonment of [Scott] Ashjian’s candidacy and insistence that Angle will lose unless he withdraws and that there is still time to get his name off the ballot

----Some brief trashing of Sen. John Ensign by Ziser and Ashjian


----Ashjian’s claims of physical threats and of being followed


----Angle’s agreement with him that both major parties are “corrupt”

----Angle’s claim to have taken over the Washoe County Republican Party and having her “guys” in the Clark County GOP

----Her promise to deliver to Ashjian “anything I can personally,” including an apology from the Tea Party Express after the election.
If you look at the above list, I found some of what was said very interesting.  The first item being Angle's anger that the GOP is disgusted with the lack of the GOP's leadership and principles, yet here she is, a tea party candidate, running for the Republican Party (which she dissed) and publicly attacking a fellow tea party candidate (while agreeing with that candidate behind closed doors).  Not only that - she is then trying to get her teabag opponent to bow out of the race for the promise of an apology from the Tea Party Express as well as face time with GOP leadership (which she dissed).

I also thought it was interesting that Ashjian, a teabagger, claims there have been physical threats against him and that he has been followed (presumably by Angle teabag supporters).  Where are the reports of teabag thuggery from the conservative media that loves Angle?

Here is the part of the conversation that discusses Christine O'Donnell, as well as the other teabaggers:
Angle: “(The Republicans in DC) don’t want me back there…because they know I’ll shake this mess up….…..I shook it up in Carson City, they hated me there…41-Angle was not a compliment……..When I go back, there may be five or six of us….maybe Joe Miller (Alaska), Ken Buck (Colorado), Christine O’Donnell (Delaware).

Ashjian: “She (O’Donnell) doesn’t have a chance.”

Angle: “Well I think she’s real.” She then skeptically mentions the Florida GOP Senate nominee as one of the group: “Marco Rubio, but that’s a stretch for me.”
I thought it was interesting that Angle mentioned Rubio - I agree with Angle that Rubio is not really a teabagger.  I liked Rubio a few years back befor he gained national attention and support of the tea parties, and since then, I cannot look at Rubio because he has completely sold out. 

Another thing before I move on to O'Donnell - BobbyG, from SharronAngle.blogspot.com, made a very interesting observation (among many, many others).  Sharron Angle's original website stated the following: "Sharron Angle honors both the law and the oath and will reject back door deals and closed secret meetings."  What exactly does she have to say about this "closed secret meeting" and "back door deal?"

It is funny that the folks at Big Government are praising Angle over her statements and used the recordings to take a stab at the "mainstream media" for reporting on secret tapes, which is a veiled reference to James O'keefe's heavily edited videos.  They fail to understand the difference - one was recorded illegally, hacked up, and consistently lied about while another is in it's entirety - warts and all.

Now that I have pointed out some of the hypocrisy surround Sharron Angle, let's take a look at the girl-genius Christine O'Donnell.

Ben Evans wrote the following for The Huffington Post:
Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware said in a 2006 debate that China was plotting to take over America and claimed to have classified information about the country that she couldn't divulge.

O'Donnell's comments came as she and two other Republican candidates debated U.S. policy on China during Delaware's 2006 Senate primary, which O'Donnell ultimately lost.

She said China had a "carefully thought out and strategic plan to take over America" and accused one opponent of appeasement for suggesting that the two countries were economically dependent and should find a way to be allies.


"That doesn't work," she said. "There's much I want to say. I wish I wasn't privy to some of the classified information that I am privy to."
When pressed by her primary opponent about the "classified information," O'Donnell refused to give any names, stating that the information came to her via non-profit groups that send missionaries to China.

First, O'Donnell doesn't understand just how economically dependent we are on China - back in 2005, right before O'Donnell's failed bid, China was our #4 trade partner for American exports and our #2 importer.  China also generated more then a quarter of America's trade deficit

Secondly, why exactly won't O'Donnell reveal these secret plans to the government?  Doesn't she love America and doesn't she want to protect her nation from an invasion of some sort?  Considering her anti-sex positions, is she confusing the information her non-profit missionaries gave her with the missionary position?

A commenter on Huffington Post made an interesting observation - O'Donnell would have told Nazi Germany about Ann Frank but she bites her tongue on a matter of national security?  Can someone say "Hypocrisy?"

So... which hypocrisy is worst?

1 comment:

  1. Kevin- earlier in the week Biggovernment had a post that the Democrats were infighting and coming apart at the seams. I responded that the Republican party was and of course, was vilified in the usual manner. Then they post the Angle story. I thanked them for proving my point. Their response was Joe Lieberman lost a Democratic primary and won as an independent. I responded that he still caucuses with the Democrats.

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