Race to the bottom in Nevada

The race for Harry Reid's Nevada Senate seat has become a battle between two sides that seem particularly adept at self-sabotage.

Incumbent Reid's popularity has been slipping for some time, and he is a primary target of Republican criticism (and, it should be noted, a good amount of Democratic criticism). So, really, the Republicans should have had this one locked a while ago. But the Tea Party influence in the state resulted in an unexpected victory for former Nevada State Assembly member Sharron Angle.

Ms. Angle supports the typical far-right Tea Party policy position, including the abolition and/or privatization of numerous federal departments and programs. That alone makes many voters uncomfortable. But she is also a supporter of Scientology, has claimed that Sharia law operates in Dearborn, Michigan, and has also hinted that she supports a return to Prohibition. Yikes.

So you might think that Mr. Reid had this one locked up, right? But he has been doing plenty of blundering of his own. First came his poor performance in a recent debate, in which he rambled on rather incoherently and Ms. Angle kept telling him to "man up". Watch some of the fun below:



But Mr. Reid has found a way to top himself by claiming that he alone staved off a worldwide economic depression:

The Nevada Democrat, whose poll numbers are see-sawing against rival Republican Senate nominee Sharron Angle, told MSNBC's Ed Schultz on Thursday night that voters in his state don't feel reassured when Reid tells them of his global achievement because they've fallen so far down the economic food chain.

"We were at the top and we've fallen very hard. So people have been hurting, and I understand that, and it doesn't give them comfort or solace for me to tell them, you know, but for me we'd be in a worldwide depression. They want to know what I've done for them, and that's why it's important for me, any chance I get, to say that my number one job is to create jobs," Reid said, blasting Angle for saying it's not the role of government to create jobs.

The Atlantic Wire has a nice summary of how the fallout from these remarks is currently playing out. Needless to say, Republicans are having a field day.

Really, it's hard to support either of these candidates. Pity the poor voters in Nevada.