Sharron Angle in No Spin Zone

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," September 15, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET!

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Personal Story" segment tonight: As you may know, former state assembly woman Sharron Angle is challenging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada.

A brand-new Fox News poll says Ms. Angle's slightly ahead, 45-44. That is a statistical dead heat. Ms. Angle has a Tea Party backing, and the fact that she is challenging the powerful Reid so closely is kind of shocking to many.

She joins us now. So the last thing I heard about in Nevada was this guy Jon Ralston. He's a big political reporter, I guess out of Vegas, right?

SHARRON ANGLE, R, NEVADA SENATE CANDIDATE: Right.

O'REILLY: Ralston. And he wanted to put you and Reid on in a debate situation. And then, he's mad because you won't do it. Why don't you want to be on with Reid and Ralston?

ANGLE: Well, that's not the point. We said always that we didn't want to debate after early voting started. We want an informed electorate, and the way to inform them is to do all your debating before they start voting.

O'REILLY: When did early Nevada voting start?

ANGLE: We start voting October the 16th. So our debate that we have scheduled is October the 14th. We also have one in September on the 23rd.

O'REILLY: But Ralston wants to do this now. He wants to do that now.

ANGLE: He wanted to do it on October the 21st, five days after early voting starts. If we do it then, 25 percent of our electorate has already voted.

O'REILLY: I understand. I thought Ralston wanted to move it up to September. But anyway, you're going to do a debate with Reid?

ANGLE: Yes.

O'REILLY: OK, when is that going to be?

ANGLE: October the 14th.

O'REILLY: The 14th, just you and him.

ANGLE: Just…

O'REILLY: Mano o mano. OK.

ANGLE: Or mana y mano?

O'REILLY: No, mano y mano is man to man.

ANGLE: Yes.

O'REILLY: I mean, it's an expression. You know, that's all right. Now where, in your opinion, is Reid's biggest weakest? Where is his biggest weakness?

ANGLE: The economy.

O'REILLY: All right. So he's a big spender obviously. He's on the Obama train. Spend, spend, spend. The economy really hasn't turned around, despite all the massive spending. That's where you're going to go? That's where you're going to hit him?

ANGLE: Well, really, what has happened in Nevada is we have 14.3 percent unemployment. We have the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. We also have the highest rate of bankruptcy. They used to call that the misery index. Now they're calling it the stress test. But we're definitely at the top of the charts there.

O'REILLY: And that's because the service industry in Vegas and Reno. I mean, people aren't coming there as much as they did because they don't have the money and they laid them off. But you're also…

ANGLE: Well, it's also because of the policies that Harry Reid has promoted in the last 18 months…

O'REILLY: Yes, as I said…

ANGLE: …Obamacare, stimulus, bailout.

O'REILLY: Absolutely, he's a big government. He's right in line with Pelosi and the president.

ANGLE: Yes.

O'REILLY: But you also took out an ad that I want to show everybody about Reid's immigration stance. Let's roll that tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Nevada families struggling with the nation's highest unemployment. Harry Reid, he votes to give special tax breaks to illegal aliens and to give illegals Social Security benefits, even for the time they were here illegally. Harry Reid, the best friend an illegal alien ever had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: So are you trafficking on the illegal alien issue here?

ANGLE: Well, the Nevadans believe that their jobs are being given to illegal aliens in our state.

O'REILLY: Is that true?

ANGLE: Yes, in many cases it is true. But what is really truth is that Harry Reid in 2006 voted for all of those things. He doesn't believe that there is a problem with illegal aliens. He has said that. And amnesty…

O'REILLY: What are the special tax breaks he wants to give the illegal aliens…

ANGLE: …priority. Pardon me?

O'REILLY: What's the special tax breaks he wants to give the illegal aliens that you've mentioned in that ad?

ANGLE: The special tax breaks are things like they get their Social Security. They get to have the same things as American citizens do, but they don't pay into the taxes like we do.

O'REILLY: OK. So they get back, but they don't pay in…

ANGLE: That's right.

O'REILLY: …because it's a cash business?

ANGLE: That's right.

O'REILLY: All right. All right. Now, you are a small government Tea Party person, right?

ANGLE: I'm a small government, lower taxes…

O'REILLY: Traditional…

ANGLE: …conservative…

O'REILLY: conservative…

ANGLE: Republican.

O'REILLY: …Tea Party person.

ANGLE: But I'm a mainstreamer. I think that, you know, when we start talking about the Tea Party, people want to marginalize that into some kind of organization or party, but it really isn't.

O'REILLY: Well, they're definitely trying to marginalize you.

ANGLE: It's mainstream America.

O'REILLY: Absolutely. Now I want to just run the sound bite. This was KRNV you said this on. Roll the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGLE: You can make more money on unemployment than you can going down and getting one of those jobs that is an honest job, but it doesn't pay as much. And so, that's what's happened to us is that we have put in so much entitlement into our government, that we really have spoiled our citizenry and said you don't want the jobs that are available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: Now, do you think a portion of the 14 percent of those unemployed in Nevada are jaking (ph) it because they get government funds?

ANGLE: Well, I did talk to a lady (INAUDIBLE) that talks to people on unemployment. And they have told her that they can make $11 an hour on unemployment, $9 an hour at the jobs that she has. So those are…

O'REILLY: OK, so you believe there is -- that's impacting some people.

ANGLE: There is an impact there. But more importantly, no one in Nevada wants to be on unemployment. We want full-time jobs with a future. That's what we want.

O'REILLY: If I'm getting 11 bucks and getting 9, I'm going to take the 11. I mean, I'm not a lazy guy. I'm not a lay about. I wouldn't take anything anyway, but I'm just looking at it if I had a couple of kids to feed. But do you believe that there should be a safety net for people who can't find work?

ANGLE: Well, certainly. And we do have those safety nets. But I think that extending unemployment, as Harry Reid has done, is merely a Band- Aid. What we want is full-time jobs with a future. We want something permanent. We want something that we can…

O'REILLY: Yes, but you don't want to guarantee people jobs. That's big government again.

ANGLE: Well, certainly not, but we do want to make policies that promote those who do create those jobs, which are businesses. And right now, you know, they're holding back about $2 trillion in money that they like to put into jobs, but because of Obamacare, cap-and-trade, the holding back of making these tax cuts permanent, all of that says to our private sector we don't know. We're uncertain. So it isn't a lack of capital. It's a lack of confidence in government. And Harry Reid can give us no confidence.

O'REILLY: All right. Ms. Angle, we appreciate you coming on in. Harry Reid is invited to come on this program tomorrow to reply, and we'd love to have him. And good luck in the race.

Content and Programming Copyright 2010 Fox News Network, Inc. Copyright 2010 Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.