SUBMITTED RELEASE FROM NEVADA STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
By Phoebe Sweet
LAS VEGAS–A month of coverage of Sue Lowden’s preposterous proposal that Nevadans should barter livestock for health insurance has eroded the GOP Senate candidate’s support among conservatives, according to a poll released this week.
After initially suggesting bartering would bring health care prices down, Lowden defended the comment time and again, saying that she would “not back down from that system.” The story spiraled out of control for the Lowden campaign, making her a national laughingstock on late night and political talk shows alike.
And when Lowden belatedly aired an ad attempting to defend herself against the indefensible–a suggestion that we should repeal a bill that will give tax cuts to small businesses and assistance to seniors and stop insurance company discrimination, instead institute livestock trading–local political pundit Jon Ralston gave it a D for truthfulness and called the ad “malarkey.”
Lowden’s day-late, dollar-short attempt to bite back against the Bartergate scandal, only dug her deeper in the hole, and new poll results show Lowden losing to Sen. Harry Reid by seven points in a general election. In the same poll, perennial candidate Danny Tarkanian made a stronger showing than Lowden, furthering the Republican whisper campaign that she is not ready for prime time.
And if this latest Review-Journal poll is to be believed, Sharron Angle–labeled the true conservative by the Tea Party Express and other right wing groups–has surged since Bartergate began. The poll shows her picking up 20 percentage points in a GOP primary since early April. Where she finished a distant third behind Lowden and Tarkanian in the April poll, Angle nips at Lowden’s heels in today’s Review-Journal poll. In fact, Angle was almost within the poll’s margin of error.
Since that April poll, Angle gained endorsements from conservative groups Tea Party Express, Minuteman PAC and Life & Liberty PAC, which branded Angle the true conservative running in a primary against moderate GOP opponents.
Angle has also shown strong in “straw poll after straw poll” of typical Republican primary voters, with Lowden fading into the background.
Meanwhile, Nevadans of all political affiliations are learning more about Sue Lowden’s dangerous business record of breaking the law to deny her workers health insurance to save a buck, of violating safety regulations and putting her workers at risk and of cutting jobs as a casino boss to give her husband a six-figure bonus.
“The Chicken Lady’s bad week continues, and you can almost hear the sucking sound as true conservatives abandon Sue Lowden’s sinking ship to support a woman they–and the Tea Party Express–recognize as a like-minded right-winger,” said Phoebe Sweet, communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party. “Lowden has no one to blame but herself. The Chickens for Checkups debacle was a mess of her own making, and this poll–if it’s to be believed–is only the latest sign that she’s not ready for prime time.”
