This past Wednesday Angle and Tea Party Candidate Scott Ashjian, along with party officials had a face-to-face sit down where Sharron Angle tried her damnedest to try and get third party candidate to drop out and endorse her. I don't know who taped it or why it was taped and is now released by Jon Ralston at the Las Vegas Sun has a copy of the 38 minute meeting -
Angle: Says the grass roots movement "gives me juice. That’s really all I can offer to you (Ashjian) is whatever juice I have, you have as well...You want to see DeMint, I have juice with him....I go to Washington, DC and want to see Jim DeMint, he’s right there for me. I want to see Tom Coburn, he’s right there for me. I want to see Mitch McConnell, he’s there."
I wonder if Rep. Issa will launch an investigation into the promises Sharron Angle is making, and to find out exactly what McConnell, DeMint and Coburn would do for Mr. Ashjian. I mean unlike the he said, he said Issa was up in arms about, Angle is on tape making offers she hopes Ashjian cannot refuse - offering up GOP Senate leadership connections.
Ralston makes the audio available if you have 38 minutes to burn -
http://www.lasvegassun.com/...
And did his best to transcribe parts like this nugget that Bennet, McAdams and Coons could be interested in -
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."
Ralston has more quotes and is an interesting fly-on-the-wall insiders look to backroom dealmaking, with all the nuance you'd expect from Sharron Angle.
UPDATED (h/t RhodaA) - NYT Caucus page runs with this
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...
So Ms. Angle held a private meeting with Mr. Ashjian on Wednesday night in which she reportedly expressed her concerns about his candidacy, offered criticism of Washington Republicans, and appeared to be trying to convince him to end his campaign. And Nevada being Nevada, a tape recording of that meeting made its way to Jon Ralston, the columnist for the Las Vegas Sun, who promptly shared it with his readers, suggesting that this apparent effort at back-room deal making "provides a rare window into the kinds of discussions that take place during campaigns behind closed doors."
Which is interesting from the NYT article is they have a quote from the Angle campaign and they're not denying the tape or up in arms by the leak. It's like they're happy it was released -
Jarrod Agen, a spokesman for Ms. Angle, did not dispute the veracity of the transcript.
"Sharron expressed what many working families in Nevada and across the country are feeling," he said. "They are angry with Harry Reid, they are angry with Washington DC, and they want blunt plain-spoken leaders who are willing to shake things up."
Now according to Nevada law, all parties have to know they are being taped for the tape to be legal. And since nobody is calling "illegal" it seems that all were okay with the taping of such a meeting. Angle must see a political "win" here somewhere.
(PS I appreciate the rec help Bonsai66)