Angle draws Ralston’s ire after debate cancelation
Nevada's top political journalist lit into Republican Senate hopeful Sharron Angle on Thursday, saying that the Tea Party favorite had backed out of a planned debate.
Jon Ralston, host of "Face to Face," used Thursday's broadcast as a platform to air a grievance with Angle after a campaign spokesman canceled a debate that her deputy campaign manager had agreed to only hours before.
"Earlier today Sharron Angle's campaign agreed to accept our invitation to debate Harry Reid on 'Face to Face' in an hour-long live broadcast from Reno on October 21st. Within hours of Reid accepting, Angle's campaign called to say, well, its backing out now," Ralston said.
Ralston then played a clip of Angle on a previous episode of "Face to Face."
"What I would like to see is Harry Reid come into this studio with you and I and have a true debate," Angle says to Ralston in the taped clip.
Ralston continued to skewer the Angle campaign, saying he's "not making this up, folks."
"I thought I had seen it all in this campaign. I guess not. I had agreement from Angle's deputy campaign manager for this debate, but soon after we announced Reid had agreed to the date and place, her campaign spokesman called to say there was no agreement. I'm not making this up, folks. A campaign spokesman overrules a deputy campaign manager? I really don't understand the hierarchy in that campaign."
But Ralston wasn't done, later elaborating in a message posted on Twitter.
"Remember "Scanners" where people's heads exploded. That's how I feel right now. This is a Senate race, not a competition for h.s. president," Ralston wrote.
The two candidates are set to meet October 14 in a debate hosted by PBS host Mitch Fox.