Reid gets law enforcement union endorsements, hits Angle on ‘no’ votes

From his campaign headquarters in Las Vegas, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid on Monday thanked more than half a dozen law enforcement unions and groups for their endorsements.

"I do everything that I can for law enforcement," Reid said at a news conference where he was flanked by a line of mostly long-time supporters.

Everything includes about $35 million in recovery funding for Nevada law enforcement efforts, according to the Reid campaign.

And everything includes millions of dollars worth of vital equipment that police and so-called "first responders" in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada needed to boost security after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, his campaign and supporters said.

Former Clark County Sheriff Bill Young, a Republican, said he has always backed Reid because the Democratic leader has always responded to his calls for help.

"He's delivered and delivered and delivered," Young said at the news conference to announce the endorsements.

But the event also served another purpose: to give law enforcement groups and Reid a chance to criticize his Republican opponent Sharron Angle.

Reid, an unpopular incumbent in a tight race for re-election, is portraying Angle as too extreme as well as ineffective when she was a Reno assemblywoman.

Angle, a staunch conservative, was often the lone "no" vote when she served in the minority party from 1999 through 2005. In most cases, Angle cited constitutional or fiscal grounds for voting no time after time, often going against her own party and becoming one of the least popular lawmakers as a result.

On Monday, Reid's campaign pointed to three votes where Angle rejected bills to provide criminal background checks and cross-state domestic violence enforcement.

"Her record is extreme. It's not productive to say 'no' to everything," Reid said of Angle, echoing comments from his law enforcement backers.

Angle's campaign responded, in part, by trying to change the subject. It attacked Reid for not backing Arizona's new law to help police crack down on illegal immigration and for supporting President Barack Obama's decision to sue the state.

"Sharron is a staunch supporter of providing law enforcement with the tools that they need to perform their duties," Angle spokesman Jarrod Agen said. "Harry Reid's opposition to the Arizona immigration law shows that he's no advocate for the rule of law and he's certainly not interested in protecting our citizens. Sharron Angle trusts our law enforcement and wants to protect our borders, unlike Harry Reid who actually supports suing a state for wanting to enforce laws."

What about Angle's votes in the Assembly that Reid said demonstrated she doesn't support law enforcement?

"Sharron agrees with the spirit of those bills and the need for law enforcement to have the proper tools," Agen said. "However she had concerns with the execution. At the time, Sharron raised questions in committee regarding the unintended consequences in regards to personal privacy and costs."

Here's a look at the bills in question:

• AB297 of 1999. It passed 34-8, including "no" votes from Angle and other Republicans but also from liberal Democrats Chris Giunchigliani and the late Jan Evans. The bill, which raised some privacy concerns, required companies to provide background information about their past or current employees who are applying for positions with law enforcement agencies. Information could include the employees' disciplinary history and any evaluation reports on his or her performance.

• AB239 of 1999. It passed 40-2 with Angle one of the two "no" votes. The bill required the state to set up a special fund to which people can donate to pay for background checks of volunteers for non-profit groups such as the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. The background checks include whether the prospective volunteer has been convicted of a sexual offense. Since these volunteers usually work with children for free lawmakers thought it unfair to also require them to pay the costs of the background checks. Angle expressed concern about invasion of privacy and liability issues and worried the voluntary program would become mandatory.

• AB581 of 2001. It passed 31-9, including "no" votes from Angle and other Assembly GOP members as lawmakers broke along party lines. The bill requires Nevada courts to enforce protection orders dealing with domestic violence that have been filed by courts in other states and Indian tribes.