Sharron Angle twice refuses to disavow claim that there are "domestic enemies" in Congress

In an interview with a conservative talk show host yesterday, Sharron Angle was given two clear chances to disavow the claim that there are "domestic enemies" within Congress, an assertion she previously expressed unequivocal agreement with. Both times, Angle refused.

As I reported here the other day, during a 2009 interview, a right-wing talk show host told Angle that there are "domestic enemies" and "homegrown enemies" within the "walls of the Senate and the Congress." Angle replied: "Yes, I think you're right."

Yesterday, Angle was asked by Nevada radio host Heidi Harris if she wanted to disavow the remarks. Both times, she declined:

HARRIS: They have gone back to almost a year ago, dug through a conversation you had with my buddy Bill Manders up there in Reno, the big talker up there, where he said that we have domestic enemies and he thinks some of them are in the walls of the Senate and Congress, and you agreed with him. Did you agree with him? ANGLE: Well, we were talking about what's going on in Congress, of course, and the policies that have come out of Congress, and those policies as we've all seen over the last 18 months have definitely hurt our country. HARRIS: Yeah, well I agree with you by the way, but I wanted to make sure you got you a chance to clarify that, because I'll tell you the truth, Sharron. I do think we actually do have folks in Congress who truly want to do us harm and see us change from the nation we are now. ANGLE: There is no doubt that the policies that have been coming out in the last 18 months have injured us, and injured us most specifically here in Nevada.

At the end of the exchange, Harris claimed that there are people in Congress who "truly want to do us harm." Angle didn't disavow that statement, either. Audio here.

National Republicans are scoffing at Reid for recently attacking Angle over the "domestic enemies" interview. "Under Harry Reid's watch, Nevada's unemployment is over 14 percent, the debt has skyrocketed past $13 trillion and he just rammed through a massive health spending bill that will force the state to raise taxes so there is no doubt that Reid's reckless economic policies have caused harm to Nevada," NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh emails. "Frankly, the more Harry Reid tries to make an issue out of this, the more out-of-touch it makes him look. We welcome this debate."

Angle's agreement with the "domestic enemies" claim is a big story in Nevada. Reid has personally called out Angle over it, which is a rarity, since he mostly leaves attacks to surrogates. Yet Angle's "domestic enemies" interview has caused barely a ripple in the national media.

If Angle's comment had occured in a vacuum, ignoring it might be understandable, since the radio host is the one who originally made the incendiary claim. But she agreed with it, and she's now refusing to disavow it. And there's a larger context here. Given her previous statements -- particularly her claim that the public may resort to "Second Amendment remedies" if Congress continues on its current course -- It's perfectly reasonable to imagine that she very well might believe that there are "domestic enemies" within Congress.

Maybe she doesn't believe this. But it's perfectly possible that she does. She should be pressed to say so one way or the other.

UPDATE, 11:17 a.m.: The DNC's Hari Sevugan unloads, calling on Angle to name names: