Angle’s position on working families draws criticism

Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian on Thursday joined other Democratic supporters of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid to denounce his GOP opponent Sharron Angle for suggesting it's more acceptable for one parent to stay home and take care of the children than to have both parents work.

"Sharron Angle's comments offend me personally and offend me for other women," Tarkanian said at a news conference, noting that she has both worked full time and stayed home with her four children. "Nobody, nobody has a right to tell us what we should do with our lives."

Tarkanian's criticism comes as the Reid campaign tries to keep the focus on Angle's staunch conservative views and shift voters' attention away from Nevada's worst-in-the-nation economy with people suffering record high unemployment, home foreclosure and bankruptcy rates.

The Reid campaign dug up an October 2009 quote from Angle in which she said:

"Right now, we say in a traditional home one parent stays home with the children and the other provides the financial support for that family. That is the acceptable and right thing to do. If we begin to expand that, not only do we dilute the resources that are available, we begin to dilute things like health care, retirement, all the things offered to families that help them be a family."

Angle, in the interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal, was talking about her opposition to same-sex marriage and Nevada's law giving domestic partners many of the same rights as married couples, arguing it would be a financial drain on the state. That context was lost in the Reid attack.

In defending the quote, Angle's campaign said that the former teacher and Reno assemblywoman also has both worked and stayed home to raise her two children and believes families should have a choice instead of being forced to bring home two paychecks to make ends meet.

"Obviously, it's better if you have a parent who can raise their own children," Angle spokesman Jarrod Agen said. "That's a much better situation for the upbringing of a child. But obviously, there are situations where both parents have to work. She's not saying women shouldn't work.

"A lot of what Reid is trying to attack are sounds bites," Agen added. "But at the end of the day what's going to win the election is who can present the best way to fix the economy."

Angle blames Reid, as Senate majority leader, and President Barack Obama for not turning the economy around, but instead expanding government and digging the nation deeper in debt. Reid, in turn, points to thousands of Nevada jobs saved or created by the $787 billion stimulus and other efforts.

Danny Tarkanian, one of Angle's defeated foes in the GOP primary, also weighed in Thursday by defending Angle. Tarkanian said he supports his mother's position that a woman has the right "to pursue her dreams and aspirations in the work place" but believes Angle shares that view as well.

"As most Nevadans realize, we need to quickly change the direction our country is headed and revert back to the constitutional principles that have made our country the envy of the entire world," Tarkanian said in a statement. "Electing Sharron Angle is a vital and necessary step towards this goal."

Lois Tarkanian, however, said that no matter how the Angle campaign explains her comments she and other working women are offended by someone who says that the "right thing to do" is to have one parent stay home to raise the children when some people have no choice."

"I wouldn't be here today if I didn't think she meant it," said Tarkanian, a long-time Reid supporter.

Angle's conservative views on social and fiscal issues may come as a surprise to some Nevada voters who have not followed her voting record in the Nevada Legislature.

A questionnaire Angle filled out to gain the endorsement of the "Government is Not God" conservative political action committee during the GOP primary outlines her positions, which would make her one of the more far right members of the Senate if she won election.

Angle answered "yes" to every answer on the 36-question survey, except the first one that asked her to identify her public policy views. She checked "fiscal conservative" and "social conservative."

On some hot-button social issues, Angle, who is a Southern Baptist, said she:

■ Opposes abortion in all cases and is against national health care coverage for the procedure.

■ Opposes adding "sexual orientation" as a protected minority under current civil rights laws, and opposes laws allowing homosexuals to adopt children.

■ Believes clergymen should have the right to support or disapprove of candidates from the pulpit, something that's banned by the federal government and punished by revoking tax exempt status.

■ Supports school prayer and "religious speech" in public schools.

Sen. Reid, a devout Mormon, holds some conservative social views as well despite his party affiliation. He's against abortion, for example, although with exceptions, and opposes gay marriage. Reid's wife, Landra, quit college to work and put him through undergraduate school, then stayed home to raise their five children as he embarked on his legal career.

"Senator Reid agrees with the traditional definition of marriage, but disagrees with Sharron Angle's judgment that it's only right and acceptable for one parent to stay home and another to work outside the home in a traditional family," Reid spokesman Zac Petkanas said .

Angle spokesman Agen said many Americans share her beliefs now and have historically.

"This nation has a long history of clergy speaking their conscience, whether you're talking about the Founding Fathers or Martin Luther King," Agen said in a statement. "As a strong believer in the First Amendment, Sharron Angle believes it is improper for the federal government to use the threat of revoking tax exempt status against churches and pastors."

On the issue of gay adoption, Agen said, "Sharron Angle believes that ideally, children should have a relationship with both a mother and a father and our adoption policy should reflect that."

The Las Vegas Review-Journal obtained the questionnaire from the PAC after it was first reported by The Associated Press.

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@review journal.com or 702-387-2919.