Nevada's Reid, new leader of Senate Democrats, steady, not flashy

[NVMojo]

Sen. Harry Reid regulated gambling in Nevada when organized crime ran some casinos, and he lived to tell about it. His steely resolve in a sometimes dangerous job could come in handy as the new Democratic leader in a more conservative Senate.

The soft-spoken Reid will, in essence, be the Democratic Party's most powerful elected official, thrust into a position of prominence by the twin defeats of current Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Sen. John Kerry.

Until now, Reid was Daschle's deputy, best known by C-Span audiences as the constant Democratic presence on the Senate floor. He focused on the chamber's sometimes arcane procedure -- the kind of work that wins respect from colleagues but is virtually invisible to the public.


more...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/11/04/state1656EST7329.DTL

[jean]

1. he's tenacious but low key - remember this? - - -

'Reid occasionally has shown flashes of anger. A year ago, he spoke on the Senate floor for 81/2 hours straight, upset that Republicans were planning to spend 30 consecutive hours talking about four judgeships Democrats had blocked.'

[Emboldened Chimp]

10. He earned my respect when he did this...

Now let's see if he can keep it...

[NVMojo]

35. I liked that too!

making the few in the room listen to his childhood in a mining town memories for hours!!

[globalcitizen]

37. too much like Daschle

We need a liberal who can fight - not a moderated constantly looking over his shoulder trying to appease the evangies in a western state. He would be a repeat of Daschle!!!

[xxqqqzme]

2. is this yet another DLCer to lead us down

the path of self-hatred?

[clydefrand]

8. What is a DLCer? Please

[Shipwack]

12. DLC= Democratic Leadership Council, I think. NT

[tokenlib]

38. Democrats for the Leisure Class n/t

[Pallas180]

3. I've listened to Harry Reid on C Span - he can be a firebrand - a real

tell- it like it is - without mincing words.

and that's ok with me.

[Ducks In A Row]

4. low-key = rolling over for the rethugs

please, we've had more than enough of that shit

[matcom]

6. thank you.

[LuminousX]

7. Go Along to Get Along

[Emboldened Chimp]

11. he doesn't roll over, not that i've seen....

And he'll have Durbin as his #2...I think our leadership in the Senate has just improved.

[mazzarro]

15. And having been Daschle's deputy makes me suspicious of his

ability to really stand up to the reThugs when it comes to crucnh time.

[LuminousX]

5. and when Bushco targets him like they did Daschle

his red state constituency will turn on him.

[pmbryant]

14. Not until 2010, at least

Reid just won re-election by a solid margin. So he's safe for the time being.

And Nevada is no South Dakota, too.

:-)

Peter

[flowomo]

26. that's the real issue..... he has to keep looking over his shoulder....

to see what the folks at home are thinking. And that's not good.

[SahaleArm]

27. Reid won Nevada huge - +26% of the vote!

(D) Reid(Incumbent) 490,232 61%
(R) Ziser 282,255 35%

No need to look over his shoulder.

[flowomo]

30. he wasn't the front man for the party at that time.... a few numbers:

<30% NARAL rating
40% ACLU rating

Will he fight for DU values in the crunch?

[girl gone mad]

9. It's official: We have no voice within the Democratic party.

They don't care what the grassroots thinks, and they aren't interested in fighting for us.

[pmbryant]

16. You clearly don't know about Harry Reid

He is the one to thank for doing the hard work convincing Jim Jeffords to jump off the Republican ship in May 2001.

And some other points, from the article:

Reid occasionally has shown flashes of anger. A year ago, he spoke on the Senate floor for 81/2 hours straight, upset that Republicans were planning to spend 30 consecutive hours talking about four judgeships Democrats had blocked.

...

"We cannot be taken for granted," Reid said. "We cannot be thought of as nothing."

[Mojambo]

13. The democrats are looking to stake out the middle

I don't blame them for that, but it does leave us lefties out in the cold.

It's very much up in the air whether I'll be supporting the Democrats in the next round of elections.

I'll have to see where they take things. If they are ceding "moral" issues to the Republicans then they are of no use to me.

[Amigust]

34. The middle keeps moving farther to the right

[globalcitizen]

39. that's why we need Chris Dodd

he's been a champion of liberal causes forever, and he's a fighter -- very outspoken and scrappy.

[mccormack98]

17. Don't tell me we've chosen another Senate leader from a red state ...

[pmbryant]

19. Nevada is more blue than the country as a whole in 2004

Not exactly South Dakota.

--Peter

[mccormack98]

29. Yes but the point is we want someone who won't be scared to fight

[pmbryant]

32. I understand the point

He isn't scared to fight.

--Peter

[NVMojo]

36. Nevada is red by 2% and you can thank Rove who is from Reno

[Sandpiper]

18. Yeah, another bland centrist

I guess we won't be happy till the Repugs do have their 2/3 majority.

[Emboldened Chimp]

21. He filibustered Chimpy's judges last year for 8 1/2 hours...

Hardly "bland".

[Mend]

20. Maybe Give Him A Chance n/t

[turbo_satan]

22. Didn't NARAL give Reid a 29% rating?

We don't need another milquetoast DLC type. We need a firebrand.

I miss Paul Wellstone. I really, really miss him.

[DELUSIONAL]

23. Oh just fucking great -- first thing the Dems start a WAR on women

We are fucked.

[turbo_satan]

24. Let's hope not. Kucinich saw the light and "flipped." But...

From

http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Harry_Reid_Abortion.htm

------------

Harry Reid:

Voted YES on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime.

Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life.

Voted YES on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions.

Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions.

Voted YES on disallowing overseas military abortions.

Rated 29% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record.

[MagickMuffin]

25. from the same website: Civil Rights

Voted YES on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
Voted YES on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001)
Voted YES on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
Voted YES on setting aside 10% of highway funds for minorities & women. (Mar 1998)
Voted NO on ending special funding for minority & women-owned business. (Oct 1997)
Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
Voted YES on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)
Voted YES on Amendment to prohibit flag burning. (Dec 1995)
Voted NO on banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds. (Jul 1995)
Supports anti-flag desecration amendment. (Mar 2001)
Rated 40% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)

[BayCityProgressive]

28. OH MY GOD NO NO NO NO NO NO

HE IS AN ANTI-CHOICE NUT!!!!!!!!!!! HE VOTED TO BAN FLAG BURNING? HE VOTED TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME????NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I AM SO DISGUSTE DWITH THIS PARTY! At least we have Nancy Pelosi in the house. Do you think they are trying to make both ends of the party happy by giving the moderate/conservative wing Reid and the liberal wing Pelosi?

[MagickMuffin]

31. Who knows what they are doing

but it definitely looks like they are shutting out the rest of us.


Here's another link for Reid's PAC's

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cycle=2004&cid=N00009922

1999-2004 Total Receipts: $8,527,333
1999-2004 Total Spent: $6,295,825
Cash on Hand: $2,240,032
Debts: $0
Date of last report: October 13, 2004

[Seabiscuit]

43. Based on your post and post #25, it appears Kucinich is not only

"flipped"-out, but a total flop on these issues. :thumbsdown:

[jtb33]

33. Sen. Reid was given a "B" ratiing from the NRA!

How is this good for democrats?!

[Neshanic]

40. Don't worry. Harry's got us all comped. There is nothing left to give on.

[johnfunk]

41. I would've preferred Durbin or, for that matter, Kerry

Reid's a tough player and a dealmaker, but we need a bare-knuckle fighter. Kerry now has the name recognition and stature to overshadow that kitten-killing little shit Frist -- the Dens should've picked him.

[johnfunk]

42. BUMP! Okay, it's the weekend, so take 5 minutes to do this!

From Athenae at firstdraft:

For the last couple of days we've all been looking for something to do, some action to take. Well, I've got an idea for something small, and it's something you all do very well: write to somebody.

Write to our new Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid.

Tell him what you think the party should do during his tenure. Tell him what you most want to see, or what you most fear will happen. Hell, tell him how hard you worked for the Dems this time around and how you feel. Vent, give constructive criticism, whatever you want.

Most of all, tell him you're out here, looking to him to lead your loyal opposition party in these difficult times.

Here's the Senator's contact info:

528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

A little more information: his fax number is 202.224.7327 -- and remember, faxes get read, unlike e-mail, so if you do write him by snail mail, fax it, too, and note on the cover page that it's on the way by US Mail.