Harry Reid doesn’t hold back — Part II

April 3, 2006

Two weeks ago, Senate Minority Leader [tag]Harry Reid[/tag] (D-Nev.) labeled [tag]George W. Bush[/tag] “the worst president this country has ever had.” Last week, [tag]Reid[/tag] was at it again, describing [tag]Bush[/tag] as “[tag]dangerously incompetent[/tag],” and adding, “‘Stay the course, mission accomplished, bring ’em on,’ the American people are sick of that. We need to change course in Iraq. … I think the president burying his head in the sand is not going to do the trick.”

Today, U.S. News & World Report notes that Reid doesn’t hold his GOP colleagues in particularly high regard either.

Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, makes no bones about disliking most of his GOP colleagues. “[tag]Republicans[/tag] in the Senate,” he says, “do not represent mainstream Republicans in this country. Mainstream Republicans in this country are more moderate and more thoughtful than the people I work with who are in the majority in the Senate.” Ouch.

Well, of the 55 GOP-ers, he’s gotta like a few, right? “Someone asked me the other day,” he says, “‘Who are the [tag]moderate[/tag] Republicans?’ Hmm. Well, you’ve got Lincoln Chafee [of Rhode Island], sometimes the two senators from Maine [Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins], and [tag]Arlen Specter[/tag] [of Pennsylvania] whenever you don’t need him. That’s it.” Double ouch.

Give ’em hell, Harry.

“Arlen Specter [of Pennsylvania] whenever you don’t need him.” – Harry Reid

That is so well put. Arlen has been a disappointment in the extreme. I suspect that Frist informed him that to keep his committee, Frist would have final say on Specter’s votes on ‘important’ issues.

I’m just waiting to see if Specter will be a stand up guy and amend FISA to explicitly cover Gen Michael Hayden’s NSA domestic spying program. If Specter defends the 4th amendment, it will do a lot in my mind to defend his credentials as a ‘real man’.

  • My favorite Reid story, from the New Yorker:

    “In July of 1978, a man named Jack Gordon, who was later married to LaToya Jackson, offered Reid twelve thousand dollars to approve two new, carnival-like gaming devices for casino use. Reid reported the attempted bribe to the F.B.I. and arranged a meeting with Gordon in his office. By agreement, F.B.I. agents burst in to arrest Gordon at the point where Reid asked, “Is this the money?” Although he was taking part in a sting, Reid was unable to control his temper; the videotape shows him getting up from his chair and saying, “You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!” and attempting to choke Gordon, before startled agents pulled him off. “I was so angry with him for thinking he could bribe me,” Reid said, explaining his theatrical outburst. Gordon was convicted in federal court in 1979 and sentenced to six months in prison.”

    I’m surprised Harry made it to Dem leader, because he’s pro gun and anti-abortion. In the South, Dems abandoned anyone who didn’t toe the line on these issues, even though the political reality is that NY liberals don’t have anyone to vote for if Dems stop pandering to them. There’s a reason Hillary showed up in NY (well, a lot of reasons, but pandering is one of them).

    If Dems had managed to stay a big-tent party to Southern moderates (and even-gasp!-conservatives, except for civil rights issues of course), they’d still have a majority and maybe, maybe, we’d have a decent national dialogue on how to advance this country.

  • Hot damn! What a great slam on Specter. He was the original McCain – an ‘independent, moderate’ repub – until push comes to vote, that is.

  • Great post. I was just thinking this morning, once again, that in all probability history will judge this President and his Sadministration as the Worst. Administration. Ever., and the Congress from 2000-2006 as the Most. Embarrassing. Ever.

  • I like Reid, though I don’t know why. I like his comments, above. But has the Senate given up the practice of any one Senator being able to put a “hold” on legislation they’re opposed to? Or was that just for nominations? In any case, it seems to me that Reid (and other Democrats) have allowed one hell of a lot of crap to float by without so much as a comment.

    What legislation or nomination has Reid blocked? What’s been the follow-through since Reid’s dramatic closed-session of the Senate questioning the intelligence that the Regal Moron used to lead us into the Iraq quagmire? Why hasn’t Reid been there to support the Feingold censure proposal? Maybe he should be called “Give ’em Purgatory Harry”? or even better “Give ’em Limbo Harry”?

  • How ’bout “Give ’em Some Lip Occasionally Harry”? I’m with you , Ed. There’s so much to be outraged about, so much to resist in the Senate, that Harry’s occasional outbursts, however well phrased, are just not enough. He should be on the tube daily with this stuff. And he should be pushing censure of pResident Moron.

  • CB–I sent your post on Reid to a friend of mine and here’s what he sent back…

    All this is fine but. . .
    When I think of Harry, I think . . .
    Reid Apologizes for News Release on GOP

    Document ‘Went Too Far,’ Democrat Says

    By Charles Babington
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Friday, January 20, 2006; Page A04
    Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) apologized to 33 Republican senators yesterday for a hard-hitting news release that accused them of ethical and legislative lapses, in an awkward about-face that tripped up Democrats’ effort to keep the GOP majority on the defensive over alleged corruption.

    SNIP.

  • The smackdown of Specter was certainly deserved… and I’m generally pleased that we have a Newt Gingrich-type of our own, but one has to wonder if this tack will come back to haunt Harry if the Dems ever manage to take back the Senate.

    Dems are unlikely to get things done in the iron-fist party unity way that Bush and the current Republicans have been using, which would mean he’d potentially have to reach across the aisle.

    What would be genius, is if the party decided that Harry’s role was *only* to be Minority leader, which would let him play “bad cop” whenever he can score points that way… and someone else was in line to run the show as majority “good cop”

  • Comments like this from Reid should come with a waiting period disclaimer…get back to me Wednesday, if Reid hasn’t retracted or apologized for that statement then I’ll give him “Hell” credit.

    I’m with Ed and Frak. This is red meat he tosses out once in a while, but there’s a whole lot of crap he is looking the other way on in between.

    How about Give ’em Hell Every Day Harry…

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