Harry Reid:"I would always rather dance than fight."

[Rose Siding]

Oh, Harry! I'm not sure he knows what he's up against.

WASHINGTON - Newly elected Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid prodded President Bush (news - web sites) and Republicans on Tuesday to join him in working across party lines over the next two years and said, "I would always rather dance than fight."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041117/ap_on_go_co/new_congress

[JohnKleeb]

1. We'll see

BTW this thing about him being able to reach out across the aisle is a good thing, its because of that we have Jeffords in our voting caucus.

[Fovea]

2. Stupid stupid stupid

Bring a dancer to a rumble.
This is not West Side Story, this is
the battle of the Marne.

[AlamoDemoc]

5. I can't picture him doing the Tango....can you?

[Fovea]

15. Looks more like a Twister to me.

Really, what a poor choice for the fight we have in front of us.
We need someone who likes to kidney punch, not bunny hop.

[CityDem]

43. Time for Harry to put on his pink dancing shoes

And I thought Daschle was bad.

[BuelahWitch]

3. Bet he likes to wear a Pink Tutu when he's dancing n/t

[bobburlap]

4. A rose by any other name

The language used by the right is painting progressives into a corner. How can you defend a vote against the Clear Skies Act, American Jobs Creation Act, Working Families Tax Relief Act, Defense of Marriage Act, or the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit? On the surface, these all seem to be firm examples of benevolent legislation with nothing but the interests of the American people at heart.

In truth, all of these acts seek the opposite of what they claim. When presented in sound bite form, they strike an emotional chord intentionally designed to quell opposition. Under greater scrutiny they begin to unravel, though still inundated with doublespeak. Title VI of the American Jobs Creation Act is entitled Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform which is essentially a bailout for tobacco farmers (notice the similarity to "fair and balanced"?).

The details of all these pieces of legislation are even harder to muddle through. In order to truly understand their ramifications, a concerned citizen must attempt hours of extensive research and cross-referencing of previous bills dating as far back as 1938. Who has the time? The mass media, in their attempt to replace journalism with stenography is certainly not going to waste precious resources when the Peterson verdict has just been handed down.

By recording a vote against these initiatives, a politician will be perceived as anti-environment, anti-jobs, anti-working families, pro-taxes, or against seniors. Is it a coincidence that these are the core constituents of the Democratic Party? Is it a coincidence that the Patriot Act liberates citizens from civil liberties fought for by the original patriots of 1776? It is not.

In the wake of the election, progressives are up in arms about election fraud and voter suppression. After the 2000 Bush v. Gore debacle, concerned citizens from both ends of the spectrum demanded legislation to re-instill confidence in our electoral system. In response to these demands, President Bush signed HR3295, the Help America Vote Act, into law in October of 2002. At the signing ceremony, Bush called for "free and fair elections" and claimed "the vitality of America’s democracy depends on the fairness and accuracy of America’s elections." In his statement prior to signing, Bush listed a brief synopsis of the law’s key components and intent. Of particular interest, his statement "States must ensure that voting systems have minimal rates of error and allow voters a reasonable opportunity to review their ballots and correct any mistakes before a vote is cast"(for full text of this interview: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021029-1.html)

Americans were helped to vote by staunch republican allies such as Diebold Electronics, who apparently mistook the president’s call for "minimal rates of error" with "rates of error consistently favoring particular candidates". An honest mistake I’m sure. Democrats raised many concerns over the language of the bill, specifically in regard to audibility of voting systems, but faced strong opposition to such language by the republican leadership. Had the democrats held out on passing this legislation they, in effect, would be taking a position of not wanting Americans to vote.

The ruling party is beginning to announce its plans for the coming years. Tax cuts are being referred to as "tax relief" and "tax simplification". Corporate accountability for public safety is being disguised as "medical liability reform" and tort reform designed to eliminate "frivolous lawsuits" by those pesky "trial lawyers". Corporations can also look forward to an investment boon stemming from "social security reform (otherwise known as privatization)". The opposition must devise a new strategy to counter these Orwellian tactics.

Protests have long been the mechanism of dissent for the minority. Picture the evening news, a shot of protesters on the mall with signs reading "NO Clear Skies" or "NO Jobs for America". I hate to use the term "think outside the box," so I won’t. Instead, let me call on progressives to "think outside the corner", because that red paint is rapidly closing in.
http://mysite.verizon.net/biz8ua4a/

[yorgatron]

7. hey harry!

don't bring a knife to a gunfight...

[rasputin1952]

55. Welcome to DU bobburlap....

:hi:

[AmerDem]

6. what a worthless gutless wimp we have

I knew this would happen. I spoke here non stop about it and now we are living it. Pelosi in the House and Reid in the Senate. We as a party are virtual dead!

[BayCityProgressive]

8. yeah you failed to mention the next part

he goes on to say "But I know how to fight". Look I am not a huge Reid supporter but this isn't what he said in full context.

[JohnKleeb]

12. this is what is getting me pissed

it seems to me like people are taking people delibertly out of context, thats whats making me lose my cool. I would prefer Durbin too guys, I would but Reid may surprise us.

[AmerDem]

19. Listen up

We don't need surprises...get it? We need proven strength at this point, not someone trying to pull a rabbit out of their ass!

Holy hell when will people start to wake the hell up?

[mazzarro]

21. Okay - Kerry was supposed to surprise us

Well he surely did!

[Elidor]

23. No democrat has surprised me in 8 years.

Are they really going to start now? I wish!

[AmerDem]

17. Oh sure , he has fighter written all over him

pppttt, The guy is another gutless wonder.

[no name no slogan]

9. So, is he going to carry Dubya's water, too?

Or lick his boots after he gets his ass kicked by Dubya's neoCon buddies?

[stevietheman]

10. The Democrats are now...

DEAD in the Senate. May they RIP.

Certainly, they could have come up with somebody much better.

They just picked the equivalent of Neville Chamberlain, who will do anything to bend over and appease the Republicans.

Ooops... my reference now has me thinking more deeply... now who was Chamberlain appeasing?

[DancingBear]

11. I'm sure the repub Senate is quaking in their boots

having to go up against Dancin' Harry.

Good grief, save us from ourselves.

[JohnKleeb]

13. dude please read the whole context of it

He also says he's ready to fight.

[Rose Siding]

16. If true to form, rightie radio stations will be blaring this

The context is one thing, but only when you are dealing with rational people who are interested in context. Reid was stupid for giving them this line.

[zulchzulu]

14. That's exactly the kind of message Democrats need to have right now...

...if they want to lose.

Reid...stick it..you fucking DINO.

[ZombieNixon]

18. Dance, yes, dance...

as in Lord of the Dance - Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction.

Reid is very canny politically and he helped bring Jeffords to our caucus, so he may yet surprise us.

[Forkboy]

20. Sounds like a shoe in!!

[Mist]

22. He likes to dance hunh?

Waltz
Tango
or
Foxtrot?

[Guaranteed]

24. "YEEEE-HAW! DANCE, BOY!! DANCE!!"

<BANG! BANG! BANG!>

[fujiyama]

35. As Howard Dean said

Yeeeee Haaaa!

[PurityOfEssence]

25. don't let the fundies hear that; they hate dancing

'Course they got no trouble with fightin' and killin', but DANCING, that's devilsex.

Let's give the guy a chance, but appeasement must be fought.

[Paul Hood]

26. I hope he's lying

in fact I would love it if Dems would lie. I think people want to be lied to.

[madfloridian]

27. Dance away, Harry..

I just don't care anymore. I feel free now to work with progressive groups.
Dean asked the DFA folks to stay and work, we did. He worked his butt off for Kerry.

We did our part. We will be Democrats, but work with the newly forming groups.

Dance Harry, Dance!

[fujiyama]

34. As a party

we're screwed.

As a nation we're FUCKED.

[Stephanie]

28. He HAS to say that

What do you expect him to say?

[ohioan]

30. They want him to throw red meat at the 10% of voters who are out for blood

and don't give a damn that a majority of Democrats want their representatives to actually represent them and try to get something done rather than engage in hand-to-hand combat over every issue regardless whether they have a snowball's chance of prevailing.

It's all about making the fringe of the base happy, dontcha know? Everyone else be damned!

[Stephanie]

31. Maybe. It's just, it's the day he's appointed -

he can't just march out there and challenge them to a duel. He has to take the position that HE's reasonable, and he hopes THEY will be too. If not why even bother to show up? It's the Senate, not Fight Club.

[ohioan]

56. Exactly!

[ohioan]

29. Why didn't you quote the very next paragraph?

"Newly elected Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid prodded President Bush (news - web sites) and Republicans on Tuesday to join him in working across party lines over the next two years and said, 'I would always rather dance than fight.'

"'But I know how to fight,' the 64-year-old Nevadan added in his first appearance as leader of a Democratic minority that was reduced to 44 seats in the Nov. 2 elections, fewest in seven decades."

And he told Roll Call: "We feel that we have an obligation to the country to work with the president. We have not given up on any principles that we have as a party. We are going to dance when necessary and fight when appropriate."

It's a shame that some folks are so eager to trash Democratic leadership before they've even had a chance to do a damned thing.

[pmbryant]

33. Reid: "But I know how to fight"

The massive display of ignorance about Reid has been an embarrassment.

Thanks for posting the full quote of Reid's.

--Peter

[angrydemocrat]

41. I'm starting to get use to.................

......these people that trash the Democratic Leaders, Senators, ect. I think they enjoy it and it makes them feel better I'm not sure. But is is a habit around here. As you know one of there favorites to trash is Kerry now I guess we can add Reid to that list running a tight race. They talk about our party being screwed hell it's not going to get any better by trashing the democrats in it. Hell some of these people are getting worse than the repukes at trashing people and making nasty remarks. The hell of it is you expect it from the stupid repukes but not your own party.

[Cheswick2.0]

54. it is not enough to cry about being screwed

Eventually you have to stop making excuses and figure out how to do the screwing. unfortunately Kerry proved he only knows how to screw other people in his own party.

[angrydemocrat]

61. That is pure BS!

Kerry didn't screw anyone. The only only one's that have to make excuses around here are all of those who talked so highly of and supported the man a few weeks abo even said they trusted him enough to vote for him then when everything didn't go their way, he didn't do what they wanted when they wanted him to, and because they don't know his every move and when he is doing it they turn tails start the name calling and nasty remarks. These are the people that have to make excuses to cover up for their actions not Kerry. Kerry isn't the one pissing and moaning because everything didn't come out the way so many Americans wanted it to including him. Kerry and thousands of his supporters realize pissing and moaning get you no where and there for don't have to make excuses they realize you have to stand together as a team and fight if you plan to suceed. Kerry and his supporters will continue to fight on as we wait the outcome of what is a continued battle in this election.

[Ashy Larry]

32. Reid Speech from 2/11/04

President Bush has named U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Laurence Silberman as co-chairman of a commission to look into the shortcomings in the intelligence provided to the administration prior to the Iraq war -- much to the dismay of U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. He took the Senate floor Wednesday to express his concerns about the appointment. Here is an unofficial transcript of his remarks -- provided by the senator's office:

"I was relieved that the President decided he was going to appoint an independent panel to review what took place in our going to Iraq, but after he made the decision to do that and appointed the panel, it was obvious it was just a hoax.

"Look at who is the co-chair of this panel. One of the most partisan people in all America is a man by the name of Judge Silberman. He is a person who wears proudly the label of a partisan, even though he hides it as often as he can from the public.

"As I said, I was glad that President Bush realized we need a commission to investigate what went wrong, although I would have preferred that Congress appoint members to ensure its independence. If this commission is going to do its job, it must be free of political influence. It must be above even the appearance of partisan bias.

"Throw those things out the window. Because there is not only the appearance of partisan bias. There is political bias.

"Laurence Silberman is a longtime political operative in the far right of the Republican party. He served in a number of different capacities over the years. He has been involved in many partisan matters over the years. To show how people who are well-reasoned and thinking people, how they feel about this man, I quote a professor of law at American University by the name of Herman Schwartz: 'He is fiercely partisan, pugnacious, and very political. He has an odd choice for a panel that is supposed to be above suspicion on a matter that is very important and potentially very partisan. Picking Silberman verges on the brazen. It's a thumb in the eye to those who are looking for a real investigation.'

"That's who we have as co-chair of this independent commission: a man who is politically partisan and the appointment is brazen. As I indicated, he is a longtime political operative, far right of the Republican party. He served in many capacities. He was an aide in the Reagan-Bush campaign. One his assignments then was to serve as liaison to the Islamic regime in Iran where Americans were being held hostage. There's some question as to whether there was a deal made that the crisis would not end until after -- after the election.

"But as soon as the election was over and the hostages were released, Silberman was appointed by the President to the Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. It speaks volumes to indicate that one of his early decisions came in the case of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, a principal figure in the Iran-contra affair, which involved the release of Iranian hostages. There is the documentation of many meetings of Silberman meeting with the people in the White House, including Colonel North prior to this all taking place.

"And even though North and Admiral Poindexter were convicted, the convictions were turned over by Laurence Silberman.

"We know that the investigation cost $60 million or $80 million and accomplished nothing. Silberman worked as an attorney in the Justice Department, took the number-two job under President Ford when Rumsfeld and Cheney had top jobs in the White House of President Ford. I repeat, in the fall of 1980, when Ronald Reagan was running to unseat President Carter -- and this is from The Los Angeles Times: 'Silberman and two other Reagan advisers met secretly with a man who claimed to have ties to the government of Iran, which is holding 55 American hostages.'

"The meetings later led to allegations that Reagan aides sought to delay the release of hostages until the November election. Well, it's interesting to note that he hadn't done enough, it appears, in 1987, when Reagan was under investigation by an independent counsel.

"Silberman did away with the Independent Counsel Act, saying it was unconstitutional. Of course that one was followed up by the Supreme Court, which overwhelmingly reversed him just a month later. But Silberman had the last word because in 1990, his opinion, joined by a fellow Republican appointee who through all of this voided North's conviction and also Reagan's national-security adviser Poindexter.

"Silberman was one of President Clinton's most aggressive term winners. In 1998, he was part of a federal appellate panel that rejected the president's claim of executive privilege to block the Secret Service about testifying about Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Silberman's opinion, to say the least, was very political. He ripped the Attorney General for acting in the personal interest of President Clinton and questioned whether the president, by allowing aides to criticize Kenneth Starr, was 'declaring war on the United States.' Not very judicious, I would think.

"There was a book called Blinded by the Right, written by David Brock. It is a very interesting book about how this young man who was a student at one of the universities in California decided to join with the far right.

"But David Brock, during his tenure as a spokesperson for the right and writing all of these very, very damaging, misleading articles and even books, said in his book Blinded by the Right that his adviser -- a person who directed him where to go, what to say, and even went through books and articles he'd written to proofread them to see if he could be more hard-hitting than Brock -- is the man who is going to be the co-chairman of the independent counsel.

"Brock said the judge encouraged him to be aggressive and even on one occasion suggested a specific tip involving the president's sex life to pursue. When David Brock, at the direction of many in the right wing, wrote critically about the late senator Paul Simon, he sent an advance copy to Judge Silberman's home. Brock wrote that Silberman was ecstatic about the case that he had made against Simon.

"Mr. President, a person has a right to be as partisan as they choose to be. But not if you're a judge. Judges not only have to do away with what is wrong but what appears to be wrong. Doesn't it seem wrong that this man, Laurence Silberman, is the co-chairman of a bipartisan, independent commission when it's been acknowledged by most everyone that this is one of the most partisan people in our community?

" Herman Schwartz, the American University law professor, says, 'He is fiercely partisan and pugnacious. He is an odd choice for a panel that's supposed to be above suspicion on a matter that's very important and potentially very partisan. Picking Silberman verges on the brazen' -- and I agree with that.

"Let's see if that means what I think it means. 'Brazen.' I have a little dictionary here. Let's see what it says. 'Brazen. Boldness.' Yeah, it's pretty bold.

"Brock says in his book, 'Larry" -- that's Larry Silberman -- 'would often preface his advice to me that judges shouldn't get involved in politics. That would be improper, he'd say, and then he had go ahead and give this information that was partisan.'

"By engaging in partisan activities while he was a sitting judge, Silberman has raised questions about his impartiality -- and that's an understatement."

Harry Reid is a U.S. Senator. These remarks were made in the Senate on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

[newyawker99]

49. Hi Ashy Larry!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[arewenotdemo]

36. Oh, fuck. Reid EMBRACES the pink tutu.

[pmbryant]

38. Do not fall for the fallacy of the incomplete quotation

See post #29.

--Peter

[NuttyFluffers]

37. ...and can he play a mean fiddle too?

it's not like our country is aflame. :eyes:

[jsw_81]

39. Yet another coward to "lead" our wounded party

This guy is gonna be worse than Daschle. Yeah, yeah, I know we should give Reid a chance, but I've been watching him for years and have been less than impressed. He's way too reserved, polite and low-key to be our leader. And questionable record on choice is disturbing.

[Julien Sorel]

40. It looks like the Angry People have found their new Tom Daschle.

So soon...

[Walt Starr]

53. We may be loinging for the days of Tom Daschle

and Terry McAulliffe.

That's a frightening thought now, isn't it?

[JCMach1]

42. Daschell II.... Hell NO!!!

[CreekDog]

44. I see it's Bash Reid Day, and don't let facts get in your way!

You are being petulant idiots. Personally, I think Harry Reid could kick all your petulant asses and I would love to watch him do it.

Get your facts straight on this man. He is tough, he is a fighter and he does have a good record. He is not weak.

And before you bash again, remember that Daschle and Reid tied the Republicans in knots, halting Senate business again and again, and stopping the confirmation of judge after judge. They even managed to snag the majority ala a parliamentary maneuver back in 2001 with the Jeffords coup.

Yeah, Daschle was soft spoken for my taste, but he and Reid are not weak.

The combo of Reid and Durbin is as strong as a minority party gets.

But, gads, even if you hate the guy, just don't lie about him --that's what makes me so mad is that your blathering is about as accurate as a Rush Limbaugh rant --that's right, that's who you're sounding like.

[joanski01]

46. I totally agree with you.

I have been watching the Senate proceedings for years, and I love Harry Reid. And, yes, he is a fighter. At that press conference, he was with Dick Durbin (who is the leader of the progressive caucus) and Debbie Stabanow. He said "none of us are patsies", or something very similar to that. They will be tough.

[CreekDog]

48. Joan, thanks for your post

I'm starting to see the tide turn on the Reid-bashing and it's clear his defenders have the facts on their side.

It's amazing how in a froth the detractors can get. I wonder what would happen if I mentioned that Dean is a moderate?

;o)

[ohioan]

60. Reid's a fighter!

Last year, when the Republicans announced their intention to spend 30 hours whining about how Democrats were picking on Bush's judicial nominees, Harry Reid took to the floor and spoke non-stop for NINE HOURS to protest!

During the nearly nine hours Reid held forth, not one spending bill was passed. Taxes weren't increased. No wilderness area was whored out. And not one of our bruised civil liberties was traded in the name of national security.
. . .
The fact only a few assistants and an occasional straggler were on hand to hear Nevada's senior senator hold forth did nothing to deter Reid, whose one-man marathon came in protest of the Republican majority's silly plan to stage 30 hours of partisan puffing over the Democrats' decision to hold up four of 172 of the Bush administration's nominees. But a 98 percent approval rating wasn't good enough, Reid chided. When Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., scheduled a talkfest for this evening, Reid took advantage of Senate rules that allow a member to hold up the process merely by refusing to yield the floor.
. . .
Mark Twain, who thankfully had only wicked things to say about men in Reid's racket, might have been proud of the senator's scatter-gun style and Mojave-dry sense of humor. Twain also would have appreciated Reid's self-promotion of the 1998 book, 'Searchlight: The Camp That Didn't Fail.' Those who missed it in hardback were treated to an audio version courtesy of the author. Reid read through five chapters, pausing along the way to extol the virtues of Searchlight and riff and rattle on everything from the town's early mining era to the nibbling nature of its cottontails and jackrabbits . . . Yes, but what he really wanted to talk about was the difficulty he and wife Landra were having keeping their Searchlight sanctuary landscaped in the wake of an invasion of indigenous rabbits.

'These rabbits are interesting animals,' Reid observed at approximately the seven-hour mark of his stand-up routine. 'I've developed a strong dislike for them.'
. . .
He broke from character only rarely to remind the empty room and the CSPAN2 camera of the important work that remained undone in the Senate, and that the economy, education, health care and homeland security ought not take a backseat to 30 hours of bluster. Because, as he illustrated, anyone can play that game.
Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada) November 12, 2003

Do NOT underestimate this man!

[ohioan]

57. Beautifully said!

[CTLawGuy]

59. how did Reid vote on the war in Iraq?

Yeah, thats what I thought...

he's no fighter. If he won't stand up against a blatantly illegal and immoral war, what good is he to us?

If you look farther down in the original article, he also says he wants to "avoid the 'obstructionist' label". Gimme a break. We elect you to BE obstructionists against a destructive agenda, Harry.

And do you think Harry will stop the overturning of Roe V Wade by a new conservative justice if he himself is anti-choice?

[CreekDog]

45. Mormons dance ya know

And dancing in the boxing ring has helped many a prize fighter!

[Q]

47. I'm sure Reid is a good man...

...but it's kind of like having Don Knotts face George Forman. You can always hope...but you just know it's not going to turn out right.

[Teaser]

50. Give it a rest folks.

At least wait and see what he does before you shoot your goddamn mouths off.

[Cheswick2.0]

51. He might as well have said "I would always rather lose than win"

same meaning

[Doomsayer13]

52. Way to take the quote out of context

Give me a fucking break

[Sparkly]

58. Pink tutu, Harry?

:eyes:

[Malva Zebrina]

62. who does he think he is?

Emma Goldman?

"If I can't dance I don't want to be part of your revolution."


http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Society/EmmaGoldman_quotes.html

[kodi]

63. great, just great, we're looking for a napoloen and we get a nureyev

next, the dems will be cutting their meat with a spoon.

[mvd]

64. Like some here, I'm a liberal who..

in the fascist times of Bush realizes that moderate rhetoric can be useful just to get a Democrat in and keep more radical Republicans out. But I'll be watching Reid closely. If I believe that Bush is pushing his agenda without a peep, I'll be a liberal with liberal rhetoric.