Sharron Angle's take on separation of church and state

A Southern Baptist active in her church, Angle’s religious convictions have informed many of her positions throughout her years in politics. She believes abortion is a violation of God’s will and should be banned in all cases. She argued for the religious freedom of private and home schools. And she has said that public policy should support the “traditional” family structure as described in the Bible, in which one parent stays home with the children while the other works.

Indeed, although many Americans view the separation of church and state as one of the keys to the nation’s success as a multicultural society, Angle believes that religion has an expansive role to play in government. And, she has repeatedly said anyone who opposes that based on the claim of separation of church and state misunderstands the Constitution’s ban on “establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

No wonder why Sen. Reid is leading...

The Mason-Dixon poll showed that if the general election were held now, Reid would win 44 percent to 37 percent for Angle. Ten percent were undecided, 5 percent would choose "none of these candidates," and the remaining 4 percent would pick another candidate on the ballot.

That is the best Reid has done against Angle this year in a series of Mason-Dixon polls. Previously, the two had been locked in a statistical dead heat with Angle finishing just ahead of Reid in February, 44 percent to 42 percent, and in June, 44 percent to 41 percent, and Reid finishing just ahead of Angle in May, 42 percent to 39 percent.

The phone survey, taken Monday through Wednesday of 625 likely voters in Nevada, is the first in which Reid has finished ahead of Angle outside the margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points

http://www.lvrj.com/news/reid-takes-lead-on-angle-98587704.html (U.S. SENATE RACE: Reid takes lead on Angle-New poll shows Republican losing support among every voter group)

Also, even Republican Sen. Bob Bennett is predicting that Sen. Reid will win...

Warning that tea party "mischief" may be aiding Democrats this election season, defeated Utah Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett says that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid likely will keep his seat and that the GOP may not win hotly contested Senate races in Colorado or Kentucky either.

In an interview in his home state with The Associated Press, Bennett also suggested that Republicans may not have a clear plan to govern even if they do take control of the Senate this year.

Weighing in on election season, Bennett expressed concern over the fiercely contested GOP primary in Colorado and said that, in Nevada, Reid appears to be a shoo-in to defeat Sharon Angle, a tea party candidate who won the Republican nomination last month.

"With the tea party creating the mischief that it is in Colorado, we may not win that seat. My sources in Nevada say with Sharon Angle there's no way Harry Reid loses in Nevada," he said about the GOP challenger to Democratic Senate majority leader.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070904439.html (GOP Sen. Bennett predicts Reid win)

And no wonder why even republicans are not exactly fond of her...

Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle may be the darling of the Tea Party movement, but within the Nevada GOP community, the conservative hopeful has been criticized as "a very difficult person," "an ultra-right winger" and someone the state "can't rely on" to be their representative in Washington.

A growing number of Nevada Republicans are expressing skepticism over Angle's Senate candidacy. Some are even signaling they may not vote for the GOP contender over Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November.

Mayor Geno Martini, the Republican mayor of Sparks, Nev., bucked his own party this week when he endorsed Reid over Angle.

"Harry Reid's been very good for us for many, many years," Martini said of his decision to support the majority leader. "We can't rely on a new person, especially Sharron Angle, to do anything for us here in Sparks."

After first withholding her support, former Nevada Congresswoman Barbara Vucanovich, a well-respected figure in the party, announced this week that she would back Angle. But Vucanovich's endorsement ended up sounding more like a scolding.

"I said, 'Sharron, you're scaring the bejesus out of everybody,'" Vucanovich told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, describing "a long, candid conversation" with Angle. "I told her you better make damn sure people really understand what you're trying to do."

As recently as last month Vucanovich was expressing serious reservations about Angle's electability...

...Angle's style has earned her a fair number of Republican detractors over the years and as the Reno Gazette Journal notes, the chilly relationship that developed between Angle and her party may prove problematic in November.

State Sen. William Raggio, who Angle tried but failed to unseat in 2008, recently said he will "find it very difficult to support" the Senate candidate and also wagered he's hardly the only member of the Nevada GOP who has concerns.

"I would say there are a lot of Republicans who will find it difficult to support Sharron Angle," Raggio said shortly after the Nevada primary. "Abolishing the Department of Education, phasing out Social Security, those are pretty extreme positions. I think any incumbent is vulnerable, but you have to have somebody that is also acceptable if you're going to win."

Republican Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, who backed Angle's GOP primary opponent, Sue Lowden, recently criticized Angle by calling her an "ultra right-winger." Cashell does not mince words when it comes to Angle: "Our state [would] suffer and we would never get anything done." The Reno mayor intends to hit the campaign trail for Reid...

...But Angle's hard-line approach has even drawn criticism from some members of her Tea Party base. Activist Debbie Landis -- whose group Action is Brewing endorsed now-defeated candidate John Chachas in the state's GOP primary -- suggested last month that Angle isn't "solution-oriented" and said the Senate contender's relationship with Nevada-based Tea Party groups has become fragile.

And even conservative radio host Bill Manders, who has endorsed Angle's candidacy, recently stressed the need for the Tea Party-backed candidate "to slide to the left a little bit" if she expects to have any chance at defeating Reid.

"This hardcore right thing is going to kill her," he predicted just one day after Angle secured the GOP Senate nomination. "It may cost her an election if she doesn't understand that."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/09/sharron-angle-faces-tough_n_629327.html (Tea Party Darling Sharron Angle Struggles To Persuade Some Nevada Republicans)