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Facts

ANGLE: I’m Sharron Angle, and I approved this message.

On Screen: Sharron Angle

ANNCR: It may be the most tragic love story of our time.

On Screen: It may be the most TRAGIC LOVE STORY of our time

ANNCR: Pelosi, Obama and Harry Reid, together they promised to change America. And boy did they. Taxpayer funded bailouts for Wall Street

On screen: TAXPAYER FUNDED BAILOUTS

FACT: THE ECONOMIC STABILIZATION PACKAGE WAS NECESSARY TO HEAD OFF A DEPRESSION, AND EVEN THE REVIEW-JOURNAL SUPPORTED IT

Senate Republican Leader: The Bailout Worked. In October 2009, Politico reported, “If Republicans were planning to blitz the Democrats during the midterms on the bank bailouts, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) just gave them a teensy bit of cover. McConnell, who is prone to speaking his mind on policy matters and has a rep as a straight shooter among Dems, saying he thinks the Bush-Paulson-Obama-McCain TARP bailout worked.” McCaonnell said, “Most people believe it did stabilize the financial system.” [Politico, Glenn Thrush Blog, 10/5/09]

Reno Gazette-Journal: Congress Deserves Credit For “Doing What Is Necessary,” Passing Bailout. In an October 2008 editorial, the Reno Gazette-Journal wrote, “It clearly is still going to take time - and, probably, a lot of pain - to clean up the mess that’s resulted from the collapse of the market for mortgage-backed securities. Give Congress credit for doing what was necessary last week, thanks in part to the work of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who reached out to his colleagues in the Republican Party to pick up the pieces left from the House’s rejection of the bill earlier in the week.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, Editorial, 10/5/08]

Review-Journal: Reid Showed “Real Leadership” In Passing The Bailout. In an October 2008 editorial, the Review-Journal wrote, “Two days after a Wall Street bailout bill crashed and burned in the House, the Senate easily approved a new version of the proposal Wednesday night … And much of the credit for this action goes to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Senate voted 74-25 - with both Nevada senators in the affirmative - to spend $700 billion to shore up the nation's financial system by allowing the government to buy bad assets from troubled banks … Monday's vote in the House had been marked by partisan bickering and the bungling of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who seemed more intent advancing her party's cause in the November elections that getting something done in the best interest of the country. Harry Reid took a more statesmanlike approach. Without pointing fingers, Sen. Reid reached across the aisle to work with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., which produced a package that garnered majority support and many expect will win approval when the House again takes up the matter today. ‘Inaction is not an option,’ said Sen. Reid. ‘This is - I repeat - a crisis. ... We've got to get this done.’ He got it done. And in doing so, Sen. Reid stepped forward to exhibit a trait that has become all too rare in Washington these days: real leadership.” [Review-Journal, 10/3/08]

Review-Journal Publisher On The Bailout: “It Is My Hope Our Delegation Will Now Pull Together And Support The Plan.” In an October 2008 column, Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick wrote, “By the time this gets to your doorstep, the Senate will have already voted on a rescue plan for the ailing U.S. economy. Nevada's two senators, Harry Reid and John Ensign, will have voted in favor of it. Good for them. Now the bill moves to the House, where earlier the Nevada delegation split on a rescue plan. Jon Porter voted in favor, while Shelley Berkley and Dean Heller voted against. It is my hope our delegation will now pull together and support the plan … It's in everyone's best interest for Congress to fix the problem. If Reps. Porter, Heller and Berkley will do that, Las Vegas and Nevada may find a way back to economic normalcy in relatively short order. If Congress can't find a fix, it will take much longer to flush out the system - and that will exponentially heighten the human suffering for Nevadans. Flush out the system. That's probably a good way to think of it. No one wants to deal with this problem, just as no one wants to fix a sewer leak. But sometimes it is best to get dirty and fix the problem before it becomes a public health issue.” [Review-Journal, Sherman Frederick Column, 10/2/08]

Review-Journal Publisher: “Harry Exhibited Great Leadership On The Credit Market Rescue Bill This Week.” In an October 2008 blog post, Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick wrote, “Since I'm none too bashful about giving Harry hell when I think he's screwed up, it's only right I give him praise when I think Sen. Reid has done something well. Harry exhibited great leadership on the credit market rescue bill this week. He brought the emergency bill to a vote in an orderly way, refrained from partisanship, and got the thing passed.” [Review-Journal, Sherman Frederick Blog, 10/3/08]

New York Times: “Audit Finds TARP Program Effective.” In December 2009, the New York Times reported, “The independent panel that oversees the government’s financial bailout program concluded in a year-end review that, despite flaws and lingering problems, the program ‘can be credited with stopping an economic panic.’ The Congressional Oversight Panel, which issued the report, was created in October 2008 by the same law that established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program … ‘Even so,’ the panel concluded, ‘there is broad consensus that the TARP was an important part of a broader government strategy that stabilized the U.S. financial system by renewing the flow of credit and averting a more acute crisis … Although the government’s response to the crisis was at first haphazard and uncertain, it eventually proved decisive enough to stop the panic and restore market confidence.’” [New York Times, 12/10/09]

ANGLE’S BAILOUT ATTACK WOULD BE LAUGHABLE IF IT WEREN’T SO HYPOCRITICAL. ANGLE IS VIRTUALLY ALONE IN THINKING WALL STREET NEEDED NO REFORM; SAID THE ECONOMIC CRISIS WAS CAUSED BY TOO MUCH REGULATION, NOT WALL STREET RECKLESSNESS AND GREED.

Angle Opposes Any Efforts To Reform Or Hold Wall Street Accountable. According to a Las Vegas Sun article outlining where Senate candidates stand on Wall Street Reform, “Before you ask Angle how Wall Street should be reformed, you need to ask her if it needs to be reformed. ‘No,’ she said in a written response.” While other candidates disagreed on precisely how Wall Street should be reformed, Sharron Angle was the only one of five Senate candidates to respond in a written questionnaire from the Las Vegas Sun that no action should be taken to fix Wall Street. [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/2010]

Angle Blamed Financial Crisis On “Too Much Regulation Across The Board.” According to an April 18, 2010 article in the Las Vegas Sun, Angle told reporter David Schwartz the cause of the financial crisis was “too much regulation across the board.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/18/2010]

Angle Says We Should Leave Bailed Out Banks To Do Whatever They Want. When asked a question about failed banks giving bonuses to executives and financial reform, Sharron Angle said, “Well you don’t give them the money in the first place, but now that they’ve got it, I don’t see that we go in and we tell business what to do. That’s not what government’s supposed to be about.” [Face to Face with Jon Ralston, 2/3/2010]

Las Vegas Sun: “Angle Is Quite Literally Alone” In Thinking Wall Street Needs No Reform. In April 2010, the Las Vegas Sun reported, “Before you ask Angle how Wall Street should be reformed, you need to ask her if it needs to be reformed. ‘No,’ she said in a written response. ‘Getting back to tried and true supply-side economics affectionately known as Reaganomics will give small business and international confidence in our economy.’ On this, Angle is quite literally alone, not just among Republicans running for Senate, but also among economists and finance experts — left, right and center. Although there’s disagreement about how to do it, policymakers in both parties agree Wall Street must be governed by rules that will enhance transparency and safety.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10]

ANNCR: … a $787 billion stimulus that failed.

On Screen: $787,000,000,000 STIMULUS / FAILED

FALSE: THE RECOVERY ACT HAS ALREADY CREATED OR SAVED 29,000 JOBS IN NEVADA. According to a July 2010 report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the Recovery Act has created or saved roughly 29,000 jobs in Nevada. [White House Report, 7/14/10] See below for examples of Nevada jobs being created or saved thanks to the Recovery Act …

Gazette-Journal: “Economists Say There’s Little Doubt The State Would Be In Even Worse Shape Without Aid From Washington.” In August 2010, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported, “While U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Republican U.S. Senate challenger Sharron Angle, a former assemblywoman, debate whether the federal government has helped or hurt Nevada, economists say there’s little doubt the state would be in even worse shape without aid from Washington. Money from the feds — including about $3.2 billion in stimulus funds awarded to the state from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus bill — has helped prevent layoffs of state workers and extend unemployment benefits for the jobless, experts say … ‘Without federal aid, we could be talking Great Depression levels of unemployment in Nevada,’ said Elliott Parker, professor and chairman of the economics department at the University of Nevada, Reno.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, 8/14/10]

Even One Of John McCain’s Chief Economic Advisors Said The Stimulus Helped Head Off An Even Worse Recession And Said Criticism That It Hasn’t Helped Are “Just Wrong.” In August 2010, the Christian Science Monitor reported, “House Republican Leader John Boehner delivered a stinging critique of Obama Administration economic policies at the City Club of Cleveland on Tuesday in which he said that ‘all this stimulus spending has gotten us nowhere.’ When asked about that statement at a Monitor-sponsored breakfast for reporters on Wednesday, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics and co-founder of Economy.com said, ‘that is just wrong, the stimulus has been very helpful.’ Mr. Zandi was an advisor to John McCain’s presidential campaign. The Wall Street Journal has called him ‘the de facto chief economist to Congress.’ In noting his disagreement with the Republican leader, Zandi said ‘we would be in a measurably worse place if not for the stimulus. I don’t think it is any coincidence that the great recession ended at precisely the same time that the stimulus, and in this case when I say stimulus I am talking about the [American Recovery and Reinvestment Act] ….was providing its maximum economic benefit.’ That maximum benefit came in the second and third quarter of 2009, Zandi said. What would have happened without the Recovery Act's fiscal stimulus? ‘If we had not had the stimulus, estimates that are put forward for example by the Congressional Budget Office are exactly right. We would have 2-1/2 to 3 million fewer jobs today than we actually have. So employment – payroll employment – is off 8 million jobs from the peak. If we had not had the stimulus we would be off by about 11 million jobs,’ Zandi said.” [Christian Science Monitor, 8/25/10]

SIMPLY EGREGIOUS: ANGLE WOULD HAVE OPPOSED FUNDING TO SAVE 1,400 NEVADA EDUCATION JOBS, SAID “I THINK THE EMERGENCY IS ONLY IN HARRY REID’S MIND

Reid Passed Legislation Providing $83 Million In Funding To Save 1,400 Education Jobs In Nevada. In August 2010, the Review-Journal reported, “Senate Democrats on Wednesday defeated a Republican filibuster and cleared a path for a $26 billion bill to rescue cash-starved states contemplating layoffs to teachers and other public employees. For Nevada, the legislation promises $83 million to bolster school budgets and $79 million to cushion a shortfall in state spending on health care for the poor, said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.” According to the Department of Education, the funding would save approximately 1,400 Nevada education jobs. [Review-Journal, 8/4/10; Department of Education, Education Jobs Estimates, 8/6/10]

Angle On Saving 1,400 Education Jobs: “The Emergency Is Only In Harry Reid’s Mind.” During an August 2010 interview with Andrew Napolitano and Michelle Bachmann on Fox Business News, Angle agreed with Rep. Bachmann when she said funding to save education jobs was “money laundering,” saying, “Well I think the emergency is only in Harry Reid’s mind as Michele put so succinctly. This is an emergency for the Democrats, it is a way to solidify their base if you will with our taxpayer dollars. I say no, Nevada voters are much wiser than that, they know that this emergency is only in Harry Reid’s mind.” [Fox Business News, 8/9/10]

Angle Called Saving Education Jobs A Giveaway To “Special Interests.” During an August 2010 interview with Roger Hedgecock, Angle said, “He has promoted the stimulus plans, and now he’s wanting to promote another one as an emergency act. All it is, is really promoting money to his special interest groups – those unions – and what is going to do to Nevada is this stimulus new bill is going to take money out of Medicaid and food stamps instead of hiring… he wants to hire teachers and our population has gone down so much that we don’t have those jobs for teachers anymore because of what Harry Reid has been doing. I mean we could just go on and on with the poor public policy that he has been promoting. And it’s all for Harry Reid; it has nothing to do with Nevada.” [The Roger Hedgecock Show, 8/9/10]

REACTION FROM SENATOR REID ON ANGLE’S RIDICULOUS STATEMENTS: “Fighting for Nevada jobs is my job. I can assure Sharron Angle that losing 1,400 education jobs would have been a crisis. Whether we’re talking about 22,000 jobs at CityCenter, cutting taxes for small businesses, or protecting thousands of jobs in our education system, Sharron Angle appears to oppose just about any effort to protect jobs in Nevada. Every job matters, and if Sharron doesn’t understand that, then she’s not prepared to represent Nevada in the United States Senate.” [Reid Statement, 8/11/10]

ANNCR: Spending so reckless it's lead to record deficits

On Screen: White Hour predicts record $1.47 Trillion Deficit, AP

ANNCR: … and skyrocketing unemployment

On Screen: Nevada Unemployment Skyrockets to Over 14%, US Dept of Labor.

ANNCR: They say you can't buy love, but we've certainly paid a heavy price.

On Screen: THEY SAY YOU CAN’T BUY LOVE

On Screen: BUT WE’VE CERTAINLY PAID A HEAVY PRICE

On Screen: PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF SHARRON ANGLE. APPROVED BY SHARRON ANGLE

FACT: ANGLE AND HER RIGHT-WING FRONT GROUP SUPPORTERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN TO TASK FOR THEIR RIDICULOUS ATTEMPTS TO BLAME NEVADA’S ECONOMIC WOES ON REID

RGJ Fact Checker: “You Can't Pin State's Job Losses On Reid.” In June 2010, the Reno Gazette-Journal Fact Checker reported, “It's easy -- and can be fun -- to blame one person. But it doesn't seem to be true regarding Nevada's unemployment rate, even partly. I've contacted Angle's campaign multiple times without response. I've searched conservative sites to find details on specific things Reid did to cost Nevada jobs. All I found was rhetoric -- or claims Reid used his power too much to benefit Nevada … Reid potentially could have done more, and I hold out the possibility someone will turn up concrete examples that he did less or did demonstrably harmful things. Until then, it appears untrue that Nevada's record unemployment can be laid at Reid's feet.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, 6/27/10]

FactCheck.org Has Already Called Out Angle Making “Questionable” Claims On Foreclosures And Unemployment. In July 2010, FactCheck.org analyzed one of Angle’s ads writing, “Things could definitely be better in the Silver State, to be sure. But Angle’s ad attempts to attribute all these woes to Reid personally; Angle repeatedly says ‘he’s done’ these things. That’s questionable, to put it mildly. Many analysts attribute Nevada’s high unemployment rate to the recession, compounded by the fact that so many of the state’s jobs have been in the leisure and hospitality sector, which is dependent on discretionary spending by Americans who have been doing less of that lately, and construction, which is off nationwide. Bankruptcies and foreclosures go hand-in-hand with high unemployment.” [FactCheck.org 7/26/10]

FactCheck.org Called Angle’s Ad Blaming Reid For Dropping Home Prices “A Real Stretch.” In August 2010, FactCheck.org analyzed Angle’s ad attacking Reid on the housing crisis, saying, “GOP candidate Sharron Angle’s latest ad blames rival Sen. Harry Reid for Nevada’s dramatic decline in home value. That’s a real stretch. Angle gets the numbers right, but doesn’t show that Reid is responsible. In fact, the housing bubble was already starting to deflate by the time Reid became Democratic leader of the Senate. The ad is another dubious attempt by the Republican tea party enthusiast to pin responsibility for Nevada’s economic woes on the incumbent.” [FactCheck.org, 8/5/10]

KOLO Called Angle’s Claim That Reid Was Responsible For Dropping Home Prices “False;” Economist Said Only An “Economic Illiterate” Would Link Reid’s Position As Majority Leader With The Housing Collapse. In August 2010, KOLO fact-checked Angle’s ad attacking Reid for the housing collapse in Nevada. The report loked at Angle’s claim that “That means if your home was worth $300,000 before, now, thanks to Harry Reid's disastrous economic policies, you’ve lost over $150,000. Wiping out people's retirement savings overnight.” According to KOLO, that claim is “False. The arithmetic is simple; laying the blame on Senator Reid is a little more complicated … Economists say there's plenty of blame to go around including the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates low, banks making risky loans, Wall Street playing economic roulette, and a general lack of oversight and hubris on everyone who wanted to believe home prices would keep rising. The housing bubble grew higher, faster here and in states like California and Florida. When it burst, prices fell lower and faster. And it began to burst in mid-2006 months before Reid became Majority Leader. On that point alone we have to call this claim false … An economist we talked with called the ad ‘disingenuous’ saying only an ‘economic illiterate’ would claim Reid becoming Majority Leader had anything to do with the housing collapse, noting all the causes at work long before.” [KOLO, 8/11/10]

FACT: ANGLE DOESN’T THINK IT’S THE JOB OF A UNITED STATES SENATOR TO CREATE JOBS

Angle On Jobs: “As Your U.S. Senator I Am Not In The Business Of Creating Jobs.” [Elko County Forum, 05/11/10]

Angle On Creating Jobs: It’s Someone Else’s Job. During a May 2010 campaign event, Angle said, “People ask me, what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state? Well that’s not my job as a US Senator, to bring industry to the state. That’s the Lieutenant Governor’s job. That’s your State Senator’s and Assemblyman’s job. That’s your Secretary of State’s job, to make a climate here in this state, ya’ll come.” [Angle Campaign Event, 5/14/10]

Neither Angle Nor Her Campaign Disputed The Accuracy Of Either Quote. In July 2010, FactCheck.org assessed the Reid campaign’s ad using both of these quotes from Angle. According to the report, “The remainder of the ad quotes Angle, and does so accurately. She’s heard saying, ‘People ask me, what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state? Well, that’s not my job as a U.S. senator.’ The audio is taken from a shaky, cell-phone video of Angle speaking to a small gathering, which Reid’s campaign had posted on YouTube in June. The quote is in context. In the video, Angle continues: ‘. . . to bring industry to the state. That’s the lieutenant governor’s job, that’s your state senators’ and assemblymen’s job. That’s your secretary of state’s job, to make a climate in the state that says, “Y’all come.”’ According to Reid’s campaign Web site, that video was taken at an Angle campaign event on May 14, 2010. Angle’s campaign, contacted by FactCheck.org, did not dispute the accuracy of the video. The Reid ad also shows another cell-phone video of Angle saying, at a different appearance, ‘I am not in the business of creating jobs.’ The full quote, as posted by Reid on YouTube, is, ‘As your senator, I am not in the business of creating jobs.’ The Reid campaign says that one was taken at a forum in Elko County, Nevada on May 11, 2010. Angle’s campaign didn’t dispute the accuracy of this video, either.” [FactCheck.org, 7/14/10]

Angle Doubled Down On Jobs Comments; Said, “When I Said That As A United States Senator That Was Not My Job To Create Jobs, It’s True.” During a June 2010 interview on Chalice Jackson’s internet radio show, Angle said, “But really we know that the government doesn’t create jobs and Harry Reid has been saying that he’s creating jobs, but really what has happened is that the unemployment rate in Nevada has gone from four percent to fourteen percent. And so he has not created jobs, in fact he has created more problems with unemployment than he has created any kind of jobs. We know from President Reagan that the government is not the solution. It is the problem. And so when I said that as a United States Senator that was not my job to create jobs, it’s true.” [Chalice Jackson Show, 6/23/10]

FACT: ANGLE HAS REPEATEDLY OPPOSED EXTENDING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, CALLED OUT-OF-WORK NEVADANS WHO RELY ON UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE “SPOILED”

Steve Sebelius: “Angle’s Modern-Day Welfare Queens: The Unemployed.” In a June 2010 blog post, Las Vegas CityLife Editor Steve Sebelius wrote, “Would-be U.S. senator Sharron Angle says we’ve “spoiled” our workers by offering unemployment compensation to those laid off by no fault of their own. Sure, the unemployment rate in Nevada is 14 percent — which Angle is trying to lay at the feet of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. But those 14 percent probably don’t appreciate these comments.” [Slash Politics, 6/21/10]

Angle: Unemployed Nevadans Who Depend On Unemployment Insurance Are “Spoiled.” During a May 2010 interview on KRNV, Angle said, “You can make more money on unemployment than you can going down and getting one of those jobs that is an honest job, but it doesn’t pay as much. And so that’s what’s happened to us is that we have put in so much entitlement into our government that we really have spoiled our citizenry and said you don’t want the jobs that are available.” [KRNV, 5/25/2010]

One Week Later, Angle Said Extending Unemployment Insurance Is “A Terrible Thing.” During a June 2010 interview on KDWN’s Heidi Harris in the Morning, Angle said extending unemployment insurance was “a terrible thing. You know, I was criticized for saying that Americans won’t do certain jobs and the reason that they won’t do certain jobs is because they get more pay on unemployment than they can get to work those… those good jobs that are really out there. What has happened is Harry Reid has just extended unemployment and when he did that he not only made it so that people are less employable, but he makes it so that they want to be dependent on the government. This entitlement pays them more than getting a real job.” [KDWN, Heidi Harris in the Morning, 6/2/2010]

Angle: Aiding Out-Of-Work Nevadans With Unemployment Insurance Doesn’t “Encourage People To Go Back To Work.” During a June 2010 interview on Heidi Harris in the Morning, Angle said, “Harry Reid has extended and extended unemployment benefits which really doesn’t do anyone as much good as a job would do them. What we need is stimulation of our economy that really creates jobs in the private sector. We need free market solutions to our job problems here in Nevada and across the nation. And Harry Reid is not thinking about real solutions, all he is doing is putting on these band-aid fixes which is to extend unemployment. And when he does that, what happens is that he takes away the incentive to have a job because if you are making more on unemployment than you can if you go to work for Starbucks or some other place where they have a real job available, because you know that you can’t make as much as you are making on unemployment, you’ll stay on unemployment. And what that does is it keeps you out of the job market, it makes your skills not as viable because they are now out of date. There are just all kinds of problems that occur when you don’t encourage people to go back to work.” [KDWN, Heidi Harris in the Morning, 6/10/10]

Angle Said She Would Have Opposed Extending Unemployment Benefits Because She Opposes “Extending These Unemployment Benefits To The Point Where People are Afraid To Go Out And Get A Job.” During a June 2010 interview on Face to Face, Angle was asked whether she would have voted to extend unemployment insurance benefits. Angle answered, “I would have voted no because the truth about it is is that they keep extending these unemployment benefits to the point where people are afraid to go out and get a job because the job doesn’t pay as much as the unemployment benefit does.”

Angle: “System Of Entitlement Has Caused Us To Have A Spoilage.” During a June 2010 interview on Face to Face, host Jon Ralston confronted Angle on her statements saying unemployment benefits had “spoiled” out-of-work Nevadans. 

RALSTON: So you’re saying that these tens of thousands of Nevadans they’re sitting on their couches they’re all spoiled. They don’t want to go out and get a job. I’m gonna cut off your benefits. That’s your attitude.

ANGLE: Oh now come on Jon.

RALSTON: Spoiled! But you said they’re spoiled.

ANGLE: Well I said that it had spoiled our citizenry. That’s a little different. They’re not spoiled. What has happened is the system of entitlement has caused us to have a spoilage with our um, ability to go out and get a job. [Face to Face, 6/29/10]

Angle: “The Answer Is No. I Wouldn’t Have Voted For Unemployment Extensions.” During a July 2010 interview with the editorial board of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Angle was asked about recently-passed legislation to extend unemployment insurance benefits.

BOARD MEMBER: Speaking of a serious problem, could you tell me how you would have voted whether to extend unemployment benefits? And you’ve been criticized for talking about a culture of spoiled… spoiled culture of unemployment. It’s been characterized 3 or 4 different ways. Can you elaborate on that? Tell me what you meant?

ANGLE: Sure. First of all the answer is no. I wouldn’t have voted for unemployment extensions. They’re not paid for. We have a maxed out credit card right now. The Republicans, to their credit, said since you want a pay-as-you-go policy then pay for this.

BOARD MEMBER: Excuse me. So, you would have… with the other Republicans you would have voted for it if they had found a way to pay for it with some of the other stimulus funds, or you would have voted against it regardless?

ANGLe: There’s a basic problem with unemployment extensions and that is that when you talk about unemployment it was supposed to be a safety net, a way to get from one job to the next. And you keep extending and extending – not we’re out over two years of unemployment – I… you probably read the Wall Street Journal as much as I do. There was an interesting article there about the stimulus of unemployment. And I think we need to be very, very careful that we’re not incentivizing, instead of providing safety nets for folks. And so yes, if it had been paid for, that’s one thing, but also you have to look at the bigger picture – and that is: is this just a mandate for a bigger problem? And government shouldn’t always be putting Band-Aids on big problems. They need to be looking at real solutions, and the solution is we need jobs. People don’t want to be unemployed or on unemployment insurance. They want to be in work. [Review-Journal, Angle Editorial Board Interview, 7/23/10, Video posted 7/24/10 (emphasis added)]

Review-Journal Columnist: Angle’s New Language On Unemployment Benefits Is “No Better Than A Hair-Split From ‘Spoiled.’” In a July 2010 column, John L. Smith reacted to Angle’s response on unemployment benefits during her editorial board interview with the Review-Journal. He wrote, “Although she made much of Reid's responsibility for facilitating Nevada's bruising 14.2 percent jobless rate, Angle said she would have voted against extending unemployment benefits because ‘they're not paid for. We have a maxed out credit card. ... I think we need to be very, very careful that we're not incentivizing instead of providing a safety net for folks.’ In other words, she believes extending benefits that amount to a few hundred bucks a week is encouraging the jobless to avoid seeking work. Frankly, ‘incentivizing’ is no better than a hair-split from ‘spoiled.’ Although a conservative economist might applaud her, I'll bet many of Nevada's nearly 200,000 jobless are insulted. Surely most would love to find work that pays the bills.” [Review-Journal, John L Smith Column, 7/28/10]

Ad

Facts

ANGLE: I’m Sharron Angle, and I approved this message.

On Screen: Sharron Angle

ANNCR: It may be the most tragic love story of our time.

On Screen: It may be the most TRAGIC LOVE STORY of our time

ANNCR: Pelosi, Obama and Harry Reid, together they promised to change America. And boy did they. Taxpayer funded bailouts for Wall Street

On screen: TAXPAYER FUNDED BAILOUTS

FACT: THE ECONOMIC STABILIZATION PACKAGE WAS NECESSARY TO HEAD OFF A DEPRESSION, AND EVEN THE REVIEW-JOURNAL SUPPORTED IT

Senate Republican Leader: The Bailout Worked. In October 2009, Politico reported, “If Republicans were planning to blitz the Democrats during the midterms on the bank bailouts, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) just gave them a teensy bit of cover. McConnell, who is prone to speaking his mind on policy matters and has a rep as a straight shooter among Dems, saying he thinks the Bush-Paulson-Obama-McCain TARP bailout worked.” McCaonnell said, “Most people believe it did stabilize the financial system.” [Politico, Glenn Thrush Blog, 10/5/09]

Reno Gazette-Journal: Congress Deserves Credit For “Doing What Is Necessary,” Passing Bailout. In an October 2008 editorial, the Reno Gazette-Journal wrote, “It clearly is still going to take time - and, probably, a lot of pain - to clean up the mess that’s resulted from the collapse of the market for mortgage-backed securities. Give Congress credit for doing what was necessary last week, thanks in part to the work of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who reached out to his colleagues in the Republican Party to pick up the pieces left from the House’s rejection of the bill earlier in the week.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, Editorial, 10/5/08]

Review-Journal: Reid Showed “Real Leadership” In Passing The Bailout. In an October 2008 editorial, the Review-Journal wrote, “Two days after a Wall Street bailout bill crashed and burned in the House, the Senate easily approved a new version of the proposal Wednesday night … And much of the credit for this action goes to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Senate voted 74-25 - with both Nevada senators in the affirmative - to spend $700 billion to shore up the nation's financial system by allowing the government to buy bad assets from troubled banks … Monday's vote in the House had been marked by partisan bickering and the bungling of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who seemed more intent advancing her party's cause in the November elections that getting something done in the best interest of the country. Harry Reid took a more statesmanlike approach. Without pointing fingers, Sen. Reid reached across the aisle to work with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., which produced a package that garnered majority support and many expect will win approval when the House again takes up the matter today. ‘Inaction is not an option,’ said Sen. Reid. ‘This is - I repeat - a crisis. ... We've got to get this done.’ He got it done. And in doing so, Sen. Reid stepped forward to exhibit a trait that has become all too rare in Washington these days: real leadership.” [Review-Journal, 10/3/08]

Review-Journal Publisher On The Bailout: “It Is My Hope Our Delegation Will Now Pull Together And Support The Plan.” In an October 2008 column, Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick wrote, “By the time this gets to your doorstep, the Senate will have already voted on a rescue plan for the ailing U.S. economy. Nevada's two senators, Harry Reid and John Ensign, will have voted in favor of it. Good for them. Now the bill moves to the House, where earlier the Nevada delegation split on a rescue plan. Jon Porter voted in favor, while Shelley Berkley and Dean Heller voted against. It is my hope our delegation will now pull together and support the plan … It's in everyone's best interest for Congress to fix the problem. If Reps. Porter, Heller and Berkley will do that, Las Vegas and Nevada may find a way back to economic normalcy in relatively short order. If Congress can't find a fix, it will take much longer to flush out the system - and that will exponentially heighten the human suffering for Nevadans. Flush out the system. That's probably a good way to think of it. No one wants to deal with this problem, just as no one wants to fix a sewer leak. But sometimes it is best to get dirty and fix the problem before it becomes a public health issue.” [Review-Journal, Sherman Frederick Column, 10/2/08]

Review-Journal Publisher: “Harry Exhibited Great Leadership On The Credit Market Rescue Bill This Week.” In an October 2008 blog post, Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick wrote, “Since I'm none too bashful about giving Harry hell when I think he's screwed up, it's only right I give him praise when I think Sen. Reid has done something well. Harry exhibited great leadership on the credit market rescue bill this week. He brought the emergency bill to a vote in an orderly way, refrained from partisanship, and got the thing passed.” [Review-Journal, Sherman Frederick Blog, 10/3/08]

New York Times: “Audit Finds TARP Program Effective.” In December 2009, the New York Times reported, “The independent panel that oversees the government’s financial bailout program concluded in a year-end review that, despite flaws and lingering problems, the program ‘can be credited with stopping an economic panic.’ The Congressional Oversight Panel, which issued the report, was created in October 2008 by the same law that established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program … ‘Even so,’ the panel concluded, ‘there is broad consensus that the TARP was an important part of a broader government strategy that stabilized the U.S. financial system by renewing the flow of credit and averting a more acute crisis … Although the government’s response to the crisis was at first haphazard and uncertain, it eventually proved decisive enough to stop the panic and restore market confidence.’” [New York Times, 12/10/09]

ANGLE’S BAILOUT ATTACK WOULD BE LAUGHABLE IF IT WEREN’T SO HYPOCRITICAL. ANGLE IS VIRTUALLY ALONE IN THINKING WALL STREET NEEDED NO REFORM; SAID THE ECONOMIC CRISIS WAS CAUSED BY TOO MUCH REGULATION, NOT WALL STREET RECKLESSNESS AND GREED.

Angle Opposes Any Efforts To Reform Or Hold Wall Street Accountable. According to a Las Vegas Sun article outlining where Senate candidates stand on Wall Street Reform, “Before you ask Angle how Wall Street should be reformed, you need to ask her if it needs to be reformed. ‘No,’ she said in a written response.” While other candidates disagreed on precisely how Wall Street should be reformed, Sharron Angle was the only one of five Senate candidates to respond in a written questionnaire from the Las Vegas Sun that no action should be taken to fix Wall Street. [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/2010]

Angle Blamed Financial Crisis On “Too Much Regulation Across The Board.” According to an April 18, 2010 article in the Las Vegas Sun, Angle told reporter David Schwartz the cause of the financial crisis was “too much regulation across the board.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/18/2010]

Angle Says We Should Leave Bailed Out Banks To Do Whatever They Want. When asked a question about failed banks giving bonuses to executives and financial reform, Sharron Angle said, “Well you don’t give them the money in the first place, but now that they’ve got it, I don’t see that we go in and we tell business what to do. That’s not what government’s supposed to be about.” [Face to Face with Jon Ralston, 2/3/2010]

Las Vegas Sun: “Angle Is Quite Literally Alone” In Thinking Wall Street Needs No Reform. In April 2010, the Las Vegas Sun reported, “Before you ask Angle how Wall Street should be reformed, you need to ask her if it needs to be reformed. ‘No,’ she said in a written response. ‘Getting back to tried and true supply-side economics affectionately known as Reaganomics will give small business and international confidence in our economy.’ On this, Angle is quite literally alone, not just among Republicans running for Senate, but also among economists and finance experts — left, right and center. Although there’s disagreement about how to do it, policymakers in both parties agree Wall Street must be governed by rules that will enhance transparency and safety.” [Las Vegas Sun, 4/28/10]

ANNCR: … a $787 billion stimulus that failed.

On Screen: $787,000,000,000 STIMULUS / FAILED

FALSE: THE RECOVERY ACT HAS ALREADY CREATED OR SAVED 29,000 JOBS IN NEVADA. According to a July 2010 report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the Recovery Act has created or saved roughly 29,000 jobs in Nevada. [White House Report, 7/14/10] See below for examples of Nevada jobs being created or saved thanks to the Recovery Act …

Gazette-Journal: “Economists Say There’s Little Doubt The State Would Be In Even Worse Shape Without Aid From Washington.” In August 2010, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported, “While U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Republican U.S. Senate challenger Sharron Angle, a former assemblywoman, debate whether the federal government has helped or hurt Nevada, economists say there’s little doubt the state would be in even worse shape without aid from Washington. Money from the feds — including about $3.2 billion in stimulus funds awarded to the state from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus bill — has helped prevent layoffs of state workers and extend unemployment benefits for the jobless, experts say … ‘Without federal aid, we could be talking Great Depression levels of unemployment in Nevada,’ said Elliott Parker, professor and chairman of the economics department at the University of Nevada, Reno.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, 8/14/10]

Even One Of John McCain’s Chief Economic Advisors Said The Stimulus Helped Head Off An Even Worse Recession And Said Criticism That It Hasn’t Helped Are “Just Wrong.” In August 2010, the Christian Science Monitor reported, “House Republican Leader John Boehner delivered a stinging critique of Obama Administration economic policies at the City Club of Cleveland on Tuesday in which he said that ‘all this stimulus spending has gotten us nowhere.’ When asked about that statement at a Monitor-sponsored breakfast for reporters on Wednesday, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics and co-founder of Economy.com said, ‘that is just wrong, the stimulus has been very helpful.’ Mr. Zandi was an advisor to John McCain’s presidential campaign. The Wall Street Journal has called him ‘the de facto chief economist to Congress.’ In noting his disagreement with the Republican leader, Zandi said ‘we would be in a measurably worse place if not for the stimulus. I don’t think it is any coincidence that the great recession ended at precisely the same time that the stimulus, and in this case when I say stimulus I am talking about the [American Recovery and Reinvestment Act] ….was providing its maximum economic benefit.’ That maximum benefit came in the second and third quarter of 2009, Zandi said. What would have happened without the Recovery Act's fiscal stimulus? ‘If we had not had the stimulus, estimates that are put forward for example by the Congressional Budget Office are exactly right. We would have 2-1/2 to 3 million fewer jobs today than we actually have. So employment – payroll employment – is off 8 million jobs from the peak. If we had not had the stimulus we would be off by about 11 million jobs,’ Zandi said.” [Christian Science Monitor, 8/25/10]

SIMPLY EGREGIOUS: ANGLE WOULD HAVE OPPOSED FUNDING TO SAVE 1,400 NEVADA EDUCATION JOBS, SAID “I THINK THE EMERGENCY IS ONLY IN HARRY REID’S MIND

Reid Passed Legislation Providing $83 Million In Funding To Save 1,400 Education Jobs In Nevada. In August 2010, the Review-Journal reported, “Senate Democrats on Wednesday defeated a Republican filibuster and cleared a path for a $26 billion bill to rescue cash-starved states contemplating layoffs to teachers and other public employees. For Nevada, the legislation promises $83 million to bolster school budgets and $79 million to cushion a shortfall in state spending on health care for the poor, said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.” According to the Department of Education, the funding would save approximately 1,400 Nevada education jobs. [Review-Journal, 8/4/10; Department of Education, Education Jobs Estimates, 8/6/10]

Angle On Saving 1,400 Education Jobs: “The Emergency Is Only In Harry Reid’s Mind.” During an August 2010 interview with Andrew Napolitano and Michelle Bachmann on Fox Business News, Angle agreed with Rep. Bachmann when she said funding to save education jobs was “money laundering,” saying, “Well I think the emergency is only in Harry Reid’s mind as Michele put so succinctly. This is an emergency for the Democrats, it is a way to solidify their base if you will with our taxpayer dollars. I say no, Nevada voters are much wiser than that, they know that this emergency is only in Harry Reid’s mind.” [Fox Business News, 8/9/10]

Angle Called Saving Education Jobs A Giveaway To “Special Interests.” During an August 2010 interview with Roger Hedgecock, Angle said, “He has promoted the stimulus plans, and now he’s wanting to promote another one as an emergency act. All it is, is really promoting money to his special interest groups – those unions – and what is going to do to Nevada is this stimulus new bill is going to take money out of Medicaid and food stamps instead of hiring… he wants to hire teachers and our population has gone down so much that we don’t have those jobs for teachers anymore because of what Harry Reid has been doing. I mean we could just go on and on with the poor public policy that he has been promoting. And it’s all for Harry Reid; it has nothing to do with Nevada.” [The Roger Hedgecock Show, 8/9/10]

REACTION FROM SENATOR REID ON ANGLE’S RIDICULOUS STATEMENTS: “Fighting for Nevada jobs is my job. I can assure Sharron Angle that losing 1,400 education jobs would have been a crisis. Whether we’re talking about 22,000 jobs at CityCenter, cutting taxes for small businesses, or protecting thousands of jobs in our education system, Sharron Angle appears to oppose just about any effort to protect jobs in Nevada. Every job matters, and if Sharron doesn’t understand that, then she’s not prepared to represent Nevada in the United States Senate.” [Reid Statement, 8/11/10]

ANNCR: Spending so reckless it's lead to record deficits

On Screen: White Hour predicts record $1.47 Trillion Deficit, AP

ANNCR: … and skyrocketing unemployment

On Screen: Nevada Unemployment Skyrockets to Over 14%, US Dept of Labor.

ANNCR: They say you can't buy love, but we've certainly paid a heavy price.

On Screen: THEY SAY YOU CAN’T BUY LOVE

On Screen: BUT WE’VE CERTAINLY PAID A HEAVY PRICE

On Screen: PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF SHARRON ANGLE. APPROVED BY SHARRON ANGLE

FACT: ANGLE AND HER RIGHT-WING FRONT GROUP SUPPORTERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN TO TASK FOR THEIR RIDICULOUS ATTEMPTS TO BLAME NEVADA’S ECONOMIC WOES ON REID

RGJ Fact Checker: “You Can't Pin State's Job Losses On Reid.” In June 2010, the Reno Gazette-Journal Fact Checker reported, “It's easy -- and can be fun -- to blame one person. But it doesn't seem to be true regarding Nevada's unemployment rate, even partly. I've contacted Angle's campaign multiple times without response. I've searched conservative sites to find details on specific things Reid did to cost Nevada jobs. All I found was rhetoric -- or claims Reid used his power too much to benefit Nevada … Reid potentially could have done more, and I hold out the possibility someone will turn up concrete examples that he did less or did demonstrably harmful things. Until then, it appears untrue that Nevada's record unemployment can be laid at Reid's feet.” [Reno Gazette-Journal, 6/27/10]

FactCheck.org Has Already Called Out Angle Making “Questionable” Claims On Foreclosures And Unemployment. In July 2010, FactCheck.org analyzed one of Angle’s ads writing, “Things could definitely be better in the Silver State, to be sure. But Angle’s ad attempts to attribute all these woes to Reid personally; Angle repeatedly says ‘he’s done’ these things. That’s questionable, to put it mildly. Many analysts attribute Nevada’s high unemployment rate to the recession, compounded by the fact that so many of the state’s jobs have been in the leisure and hospitality sector, which is dependent on discretionary spending by Americans who have been doing less of that lately, and construction, which is off nationwide. Bankruptcies and foreclosures go hand-in-hand with high unemployment.” [FactCheck.org 7/26/10]

FactCheck.org Called Angle’s Ad Blaming Reid For Dropping Home Prices “A Real Stretch.” In August 2010, FactCheck.org analyzed Angle’s ad attacking Reid on the housing crisis, saying, “GOP candidate Sharron Angle’s latest ad blames rival Sen. Harry Reid for Nevada’s dramatic decline in home value. That’s a real stretch. Angle gets the numbers right, but doesn’t show that Reid is responsible. In fact, the housing bubble was already starting to deflate by the time Reid became Democratic leader of the Senate. The ad is another dubious attempt by the Republican tea party enthusiast to pin responsibility for Nevada’s economic woes on the incumbent.” [FactCheck.org, 8/5/10]

KOLO Called Angle’s Claim That Reid Was Responsible For Dropping Home Prices “False;” Economist Said Only An “Economic Illiterate” Would Link Reid’s Position As Majority Leader With The Housing Collapse. In August 2010, KOLO fact-checked Angle’s ad attacking Reid for the housing collapse in Nevada. The report loked at Angle’s claim that “That means if your home was worth $300,000 before, now, thanks to Harry Reid's disastrous economic policies, you’ve lost over $150,000. Wiping out people's retirement savings overnight.” According to KOLO, that claim is “False. The arithmetic is simple; laying the blame on Senator Reid is a little more complicated … Economists say there's plenty of blame to go around including the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates low, banks making risky loans, Wall Street playing economic roulette, and a general lack of oversight and hubris on everyone who wanted to believe home prices would keep rising. The housing bubble grew higher, faster here and in states like California and Florida. When it burst, prices fell lower and faster. And it began to burst in mid-2006 months before Reid became Majority Leader. On that point alone we have to call this claim false … An economist we talked with called the ad ‘disingenuous’ saying only an ‘economic illiterate’ would claim Reid becoming Majority Leader had anything to do with the housing collapse, noting all the causes at work long before.” [KOLO, 8/11/10]

FACT: ANGLE DOESN’T THINK IT’S THE JOB OF A UNITED STATES SENATOR TO CREATE JOBS

Angle On Jobs: “As Your U.S. Senator I Am Not In The Business Of Creating Jobs.” [Elko County Forum, 05/11/10]

Angle On Creating Jobs: It’s Someone Else’s Job. During a May 2010 campaign event, Angle said, “People ask me, what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state? Well that’s not my job as a US Senator, to bring industry to the state. That’s the Lieutenant Governor’s job. That’s your State Senator’s and Assemblyman’s job. That’s your Secretary of State’s job, to make a climate here in this state, ya’ll come.” [Angle Campaign Event, 5/14/10]

Neither Angle Nor Her Campaign Disputed The Accuracy Of Either Quote. In July 2010, FactCheck.org assessed the Reid campaign’s ad using both of these quotes from Angle. According to the report, “The remainder of the ad quotes Angle, and does so accurately. She’s heard saying, ‘People ask me, what are you going to do to develop jobs in your state? Well, that’s not my job as a U.S. senator.’ The audio is taken from a shaky, cell-phone video of Angle speaking to a small gathering, which Reid’s campaign had posted on YouTube in June. The quote is in context. In the video, Angle continues: ‘. . . to bring industry to the state. That’s the lieutenant governor’s job, that’s your state senators’ and assemblymen’s job. That’s your secretary of state’s job, to make a climate in the state that says, “Y’all come.”’ According to Reid’s campaign Web site, that video was taken at an Angle campaign event on May 14, 2010. Angle’s campaign, contacted by FactCheck.org, did not dispute the accuracy of the video. The Reid ad also shows another cell-phone video of Angle saying, at a different appearance, ‘I am not in the business of creating jobs.’ The full quote, as posted by Reid on YouTube, is, ‘As your senator, I am not in the business of creating jobs.’ The Reid campaign says that one was taken at a forum in Elko County, Nevada on May 11, 2010. Angle’s campaign didn’t dispute the accuracy of this video, either.” [FactCheck.org, 7/14/10]

Angle Doubled Down On Jobs Comments; Said, “When I Said That As A United States Senator That Was Not My Job To Create Jobs, It’s True.” During a June 2010 interview on Chalice Jackson’s internet radio show, Angle said, “But really we know that the government doesn’t create jobs and Harry Reid has been saying that he’s creating jobs, but really what has happened is that the unemployment rate in Nevada has gone from four percent to fourteen percent. And so he has not created jobs, in fact he has created more problems with unemployment than he has created any kind of jobs. We know from President Reagan that the government is not the solution. It is the problem. And so when I said that as a United States Senator that was not my job to create jobs, it’s true.” [Chalice Jackson Show, 6/23/10]

FACT: ANGLE HAS REPEATEDLY OPPOSED EXTENDING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, CALLED OUT-OF-WORK NEVADANS WHO RELY ON UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE “SPOILED”

Steve Sebelius: “Angle’s Modern-Day Welfare Queens: The Unemployed.” In a June 2010 blog post, Las Vegas CityLife Editor Steve Sebelius wrote, “Would-be U.S. senator Sharron Angle says we’ve “spoiled” our workers by offering unemployment compensation to those laid off by no fault of their own. Sure, the unemployment rate in Nevada is 14 percent — which Angle is trying to lay at the feet of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. But those 14 percent probably don’t appreciate these comments.” [Slash Politics, 6/21/10]

Angle: Unemployed Nevadans Who Depend On Unemployment Insurance Are “Spoiled.” During a May 2010 interview on KRNV, Angle said, “You can make more money on unemployment than you can going down and getting one of those jobs that is an honest job, but it doesn’t pay as much. And so that’s what’s happened to us is that we have put in so much entitlement into our government that we really have spoiled our citizenry and said you don’t want the jobs that are available.” [KRNV, 5/25/2010]

One Week Later, Angle Said Extending Unemployment Insurance Is “A Terrible Thing.” During a June 2010 interview on KDWN’s Heidi Harris in the Morning, Angle said extending unemployment insurance was “a terrible thing. You know, I was criticized for saying that Americans won’t do certain jobs and the reason that they won’t do certain jobs is because they get more pay on unemployment than they can get to work those… those good jobs that are really out there. What has happened is Harry Reid has just extended unemployment and when he did that he not only made it so that people are less employable, but he makes it so that they want to be dependent on the government. This entitlement pays them more than getting a real job.” [KDWN, Heidi Harris in the Morning, 6/2/2010]

Angle: Aiding Out-Of-Work Nevadans With Unemployment Insurance Doesn’t “Encourage People To Go Back To Work.” During a June 2010 interview on Heidi Harris in the Morning, Angle said, “Harry Reid has extended and extended unemployment benefits which really doesn’t do anyone as much good as a job would do them. What we need is stimulation of our economy that really creates jobs in the private sector. We need free market solutions to our job problems here in Nevada and across the nation. And Harry Reid is not thinking about real solutions, all he is doing is putting on these band-aid fixes which is to extend unemployment. And when he does that, what happens is that he takes away the incentive to have a job because if you are making more on unemployment than you can if you go to work for Starbucks or some other place where they have a real job available, because you know that you can’t make as much as you are making on unemployment, you’ll stay on unemployment. And what that does is it keeps you out of the job market, it makes your skills not as viable because they are now out of date. There are just all kinds of problems that occur when you don’t encourage people to go back to work.” [KDWN, Heidi Harris in the Morning, 6/10/10]

Angle Said She Would Have Opposed Extending Unemployment Benefits Because She Opposes “Extending These Unemployment Benefits To The Point Where People are Afraid To Go Out And Get A Job.” During a June 2010 interview on Face to Face, Angle was asked whether she would have voted to extend unemployment insurance benefits. Angle answered, “I would have voted no because the truth about it is is that they keep extending these unemployment benefits to the point where people are afraid to go out and get a job because the job doesn’t pay as much as the unemployment benefit does.”

Angle: “System Of Entitlement Has Caused Us To Have A Spoilage.” During a June 2010 interview on Face to Face, host Jon Ralston confronted Angle on her statements saying unemployment benefits had “spoiled” out-of-work Nevadans. 

RALSTON: So you’re saying that these tens of thousands of Nevadans they’re sitting on their couches they’re all spoiled. They don’t want to go out and get a job. I’m gonna cut off your benefits. That’s your attitude.

ANGLE: Oh now come on Jon.

RALSTON: Spoiled! But you said they’re spoiled.

ANGLE: Well I said that it had spoiled our citizenry. That’s a little different. They’re not spoiled. What has happened is the system of entitlement has caused us to have a spoilage with our um, ability to go out and get a job. [Face to Face, 6/29/10]

Angle: “The Answer Is No. I Wouldn’t Have Voted For Unemployment Extensions.” During a July 2010 interview with the editorial board of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Angle was asked about recently-passed legislation to extend unemployment insurance benefits.

BOARD MEMBER: Speaking of a serious problem, could you tell me how you would have voted whether to extend unemployment benefits? And you’ve been criticized for talking about a culture of spoiled… spoiled culture of unemployment. It’s been characterized 3 or 4 different ways. Can you elaborate on that? Tell me what you meant?

ANGLE: Sure. First of all the answer is no. I wouldn’t have voted for unemployment extensions. They’re not paid for. We have a maxed out credit card right now. The Republicans, to their credit, said since you want a pay-as-you-go policy then pay for this.

BOARD MEMBER: Excuse me. So, you would have… with the other Republicans you would have voted for it if they had found a way to pay for it with some of the other stimulus funds, or you would have voted against it regardless?

ANGLe: There’s a basic problem with unemployment extensions and that is that when you talk about unemployment it was supposed to be a safety net, a way to get from one job to the next. And you keep extending and extending – not we’re out over two years of unemployment – I… you probably read the Wall Street Journal as much as I do. There was an interesting article there about the stimulus of unemployment. And I think we need to be very, very careful that we’re not incentivizing, instead of providing safety nets for folks. And so yes, if it had been paid for, that’s one thing, but also you have to look at the bigger picture – and that is: is this just a mandate for a bigger problem? And government shouldn’t always be putting Band-Aids on big problems. They need to be looking at real solutions, and the solution is we need jobs. People don’t want to be unemployed or on unemployment insurance. They want to be in work. [Review-Journal, Angle Editorial Board Interview, 7/23/10, Video posted 7/24/10 (emphasis added)]

Review-Journal Columnist: Angle’s New Language On Unemployment Benefits Is “No Better Than A Hair-Split From ‘Spoiled.’” In a July 2010 column, John L. Smith reacted to Angle’s response on unemployment benefits during her editorial board interview with the Review-Journal. He wrote, “Although she made much of Reid's responsibility for facilitating Nevada's bruising 14.2 percent jobless rate, Angle said she would have voted against extending unemployment benefits because ‘they're not paid for. We have a maxed out credit card. ... I think we need to be very, very careful that we're not incentivizing instead of providing a safety net for folks.’ In other words, she believes extending benefits that amount to a few hundred bucks a week is encouraging the jobless to avoid seeking work. Frankly, ‘incentivizing’ is no better than a hair-split from ‘spoiled.’ Although a conservative economist might applaud her, I'll bet many of Nevada's nearly 200,000 jobless are insulted. Surely most would love to find work that pays the bills.” [Review-Journal, John L Smith Column, 7/28/10]