If elected to the U.S. Senate, Nevada Republican candidate Sharron Angle says she promises to adhere to a "just say no" mantra when presented with the opportunity to cast an up or down vote on legislation.
The Las Vegas Review Journal reports on what Angle had to say on the matter of GOP obstruction in the upper congressional chamber in a speech she delivered to the Nevada Republican Men's Club on Monday:
Angle said that as a junior senator she could wield power by joining Republicans to block tax hikes, excess regulation and spending bills, and Supreme Court nominees who don't meet a strict constitutional test, including Elena Kagan.
"There are certain things that can be done just by your junior senator," Angle said, explaining that even if Republicans remain in the minority after 2010, she could filibuster, which allows lone lawmakers to delay legislation through lengthy debate. "I guarantee that I can talk most anything to death."
Democratic assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, a former colleague of Angle, recently offered a glimpse into the Tea Party-backed contender's voting habits when they served together in the Nevada state legislature.
"In the building we used to have a joke called 41 to Angle," explained Leslie to the New York Times in June following Angle's come-from-nowhere Republican primary win. "She took great pride in voting no for everything. We have some very conservative people in the assembly, but she was the only one voting no on a technical cleanup bill. The lobbyists didn't talk to her, the legislators wouldn't talk to her, because when you vote no on everything no one wants to deal with you."
Angle signaled in a recent interview with the Review Journal editorial board that she sees Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) as exemplary in their approach to policy making. "[They] have kept the banner high even in a minority of the minority in some instances," she said.