Latest Reid-Angle ad wars: Economy vs VA funding

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's newest TV ad (see below) criticizes his GOP challenger, Sharron Angle, for suggesting the Department of Veterans Affairs be privatized.

Angle's comments came during a KNPR radio interview in May before she won the GOP primary on June 8.

She was talking about her 87-year-old father who has Parkinson's disease and who she said is paying $800 a month for prescription drugs that he can't get coverage for through the VA or Medicare.

"They just won't cover those things," Angle said.

Asked if the VA should cover them, Angle answered, "No, not if you're working towards a privatized system."

In the interview, Angle was talking broadly about reforming programs such as Social Security. She has said Social Security benefits should continue for seniors and others who have paid into the system but phased out for young workers who should be allowed to "opt out" and open personal retirement accounts instead. She also has suggested reforming Medicare and the VA.

Angle hasn't offered detailed plans for any changes and in the radio interview said specifics would be "worked out" among supporters of reform on Capitol Hill.

The 30-second Reid ad calls Angle's suggestion "another extreme proposal."

"End our promises to veterans?" the Reid ad asks. "Sharron Angle -- dangerous ideas that put veterans at risk."

While Reid pushes the theme Angle is too extreme, a new ad from an outside group that supports her keeps the focus on Reid and the bad economy.

The ad by American Crossroads (see below) uses Reid's own words against him as the Democratic incumbent says Nevada's record-high jobless rate that has hit 14.4 percent is not his fault.

"I have nothing to do with these unemployment figures," Reid says in a recent interview with a national TV network.

The ad, however, puts the blame squarely on Reid. It says he has "failed" Nevada for more than two dozen years, including by not doing enough to revive its economy.

"Harry Reid -- extremely out of touch with Nevada," the ad says.

GOP operative Karl Rove is the brain trust behind American Crossroads, an independent group that plans to spend millions of dollars in Nevada and other battleground states.

The latest ad wars comes as the Reid-Angle race remains too close to call less than four weeks before early voting begins on Oct. 16 in Nevada.

Most polls show the race in a dead heat, including a new one Tuesday by Fox News, which has Angle over Reid by only one point, 46-45, a statistical tie.

Harry Reid ad

American Crossroads ad