WTF is Harry Reid doing????!!!!!!

[loveable liberal]

Apologizing for calling dirt "dirt" is not what we should be doing. For Sh*% sakes he just undercut the cause.....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/19/AR2006011903106.html?referrer=email&referrer=email&referrer=email

[renie408]

1. Explain, please? What happened? n/t

[papau]

2. He named names and that is not nice per Senate norms - so he went too

far - and has now said so and said sorry about going too far.

It is not an apology that the GOP can use in any ad :-)

[Village Idiot]

5. HE WANTED to name NAMES.

So he went ahead and DID IT.

Far easier to do it first and apologise later than to seek approval to do it at all.

Smart man.

[Peggy Day]

7. You're right, the names got named

hopefully not at our expense.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. That is kinda like when

an attorney throws out controversial words, an objection is called, and the judge tells the jury to disregard last statement. Never works, the seed is planted.

[loveable liberal]

8. The party has an image problem

Battling to show the leadership isnt a bunch of wafflers. What Reid did today reinforced the idea that we're wimps. Now I'm not one who believes that to beat them we must become them, but for crying out loud, * broke the effen law, he comes out swinging! Our leadership needs to realize that Neo cons are not conservatives and they shouldnt be treated like them. Neo cons are fascsists and should be treated like the cow sh*& they are.

[FreedomAngel82]

24. Yes

I believe if you're going to say it than to mean what you say. If you don't plan on doing that then don't say it at all.

[BlueIris]

3. BREATHE.

Jesus.

Apologizing when you say something that offends someone is what we do. THEY would never do it in a thousand years. Get it?

[loveable liberal]

12. I like conservatives... I like talking with them and discussing problems.

The people we are up against are not conservatives. We can retain our integrity and our standards by simply remaining silent when these things come out. Respond if asked, dont make a point to soften the blow..... You will never get the same treatment from them, I guarantee that.

[BlueIris]

20. He's trying to convey humanity and personability to conservative voters.

Not all of whom are happily voting for the fascists and will give the Democrats a better chance if we look less like the haters the neo-cons have made us out to be. He knows he's not going to get anything meaningful from the far Right out of this, just like you do. He's trying to communicate with the waverers from their Party, the newly-registered Democrats, and the conservative undecideds.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

23. You are so right

these are not conversatives. These are right wing radicals.

[WePurrsevere]

4. Never apologize for speaking the truth. Every Dem Rep needs to learn this.

Being "nice" does not mean you have to be a doormat or not speak the truth and facts.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. We keep playing by the old rules.

They threw out the rule book ten years ago. We still don't get it.

[loveable liberal]

10. See #8... you're right on warren.... nt

[papau]

11. unless the media returns to neutral-we will need to get into the gutter w/

the GOP and see who slings mud better.

Sad - but true.

Heck - the current media approves of the GOP method because it shows manly men - real leadership - at least per the media.

[The Magistrate]

9. It Is An Error, Sir

"Never apologize; never explain."

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[guidod]

13. He took all the pressure off of the repukes

The repukes and the media will spin this and undo all the work Dean and others have done to prove that dems were not a part of Jackoffs schemes. I think this was a HUGE mistake. I've never liked Harry and I think we need a new leader in the senate.

[ProSense]

14. Wasn't Reid's apology about

including the names of 32 un-indicted Republicans in the statement. If the Republicans did that, the Democrats would be calling for an apology. The Republicans wouldn't do it though since they have the media on their side.

I see this as Reid diffusing the media-aided Republican frenzy to "apologize" before it happens. He got the names out there though and he hasn't retracted the statement:

REID: REPUBLICANS CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO END THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION
Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Washington, DC – While Republicans try to provide cover from their culture of corruption, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid released the following report and statement on Republicans' abuse of power:


“The idea of Republicans reforming themselves is like asking John Gotti to clean up organized crime. I thought I’d seen the last of corruption when I helped clean up Las Vegas thirty years ago. But, while its not quite the mafia of Las Vegas in the 1970s, what is happening today in Washington is every bit as corrupt and the consequences for our country have been just as severe.


“Some problems have no legislative fix, and the Republican culture of corruption is one of them. Today’s announcements by House and Senate Republicans should be taken at face value – minor wrist slapping and good public relation stunts by the same people responsible for this mess. Democrats will lead the tough reforms, because we owe it to the American people to stand up for their interests over special interests. Are we really going to believe that Republicans will stop answering the calls from their friends on K Street? Are they really going to put seniors ahead of drug companies when it comes reforming Medicare? Are they really going to help families over oil companies when it comes to gas prices? The answer to these questions is no, and that’s why the American people trust Democrats to clean up Washington and put their interests first.”


###


http://reid.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=250468

From the article in the OP:

Snip...

In his letter to GOP senators, Reid said: "I myself have been the subject of similar personal attacks from Republican outlets. I understand the unfair picture they can paint and the pain they can cause. I regret the current political climate in which policy disputes escalate too quickly into personal condemnation."

A year after becoming Democratic leader, Reid has several times drawn notice for his sharp tongue, which sometimes has not been helpful to his own cause. Last February, the Republican National Committee sent a million people a 13-page flier attacking Reid's Senate record and labeling him the "chief Democrat obstructionist." The next day, the National Senatorial Republican Committee issued a release containing a 2002 quote in which Reid called President Bush "a liar."

Reid stood by that accusation, along with his labeling of then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan as "a political hack." He apologized last year for having called Bush "a loser."

Could be a strategy, who knows?

[oneoftheboys]

Smart man.

Reid demonstrates class and by doing so, he enhances his options.

When/if he chooses to hammer them, he will have more credibility.

[Warren Stupidity]

21. Since the media spins it the other way, apologizing is stupid.

"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" - WaPos.

They have him apologizing for accusing the GOP of ethical lapses, not for naming names.

Harry spoke the truth the first time. The apology was stupid. The waPOS and the rest of the POS media could not spin the original story - so they ignored it. They can and will spin the apology. Dumb.

[ProSense]

25. Really? That WAPO statement is lame. This is excellent:

From the WAPO article:

Snip...

For example, the document reached back into GOP Sen. George Allen's days as Virginia governor to note that he once "kept a noose and a confederate flag in his office and home" (a controversy dating from the 1993 campaign) and in 1994 called the federal government a "beast of tyranny and oppression." It said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2000 included a proposed Mississippi River flood-control levee on his list of congressional "pork."

The document accused Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) of saying "global warming is a conspiracy and a hoax." After noting that Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) had received many thousands of dollars from Abramoff clients, the document raised other complaints, including: "Burns reportedly told a female flight attendant that she could just stay home with her kids if her job was outsourced."

The document quoted a Web site devoted to news about Native Americans as saying "the chief of the Wyandotte Nation criticized Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) for taking 'dirty money' from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff." It also reached to the mid-1990s to tie Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) -- who was governor at the time -- to a more recently exposed state government scandal involving investment of public funds in rare coins. "Voinovich Administration approved Ohio's $25 million investment in Tom Noe's coin scheme," the document states.

Can they write an article about the apology without saying what he's apologizing for?

[Warren Stupidity]

27. Not sure what you meant but...

Yes the details of that article are fine. However practically nobody reads the details. What is important is the headline and the first two or three paragraphs. That is where the editorial spin is introduced. The rest of the article is what the reporter actually wrote.

So, "Can they write an article about the apology without saying what he's apologizing for?" does not apply here. They *published* an article that both said what Reed apologized for, and completely misrepresented what Reed apologized for, and the misrepresentation was at the top while the accurate stuff was way down below.

[Renew Deal]

15. It's republican SOP.

Shout the lie, whisper the apology. In this case, they shouted the charges and whispered the apology.

[Max Cherry]

17. good lord why would he do this???

knowing the media is going to make a big deal out of this!!! I don't understand our side sometimes!

[rocktivity]

18. Reid is as dumb as a fox and as wimpy as a lion.

He didn't apologize for calling dirt dirt. He apologized for making the dirty people unhappy about it.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Nutmegger]

19. Hmmm that makes sense.

When the hell will we learn?

[Warren Stupidity]

22. Not the way it will play on the newz. nt.

[0007]

26. You got it! Reid is setting the repukes for a hard right cross.

[marions ghost]

29. exactly

well said!

That's my take on it too--it's kind of like--"well since you DEMAND an apology (for the truth), OK, here." (but with no retraction, and plenty of publicity). He does have to be careful not to paint with too broad a brush.

[ProSense]

28. MSNBC poll.

Did Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid go too far in his criticism of the ethics of individual Republican senators? * 3342 responses

Yes, such unfounded mudslinging is uncalled for. Apologizing is the very least he should do. 29%

No, he's saying something that needed to be said long ago. It's just unfortunate that politics forced him into an unwarranted apology. 71%

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10933203/

[depakid]

30. Doing what he's always done as minority leader

Making big talk and then backing down and looking like a fool.

[JohnWxy]

31. MR. Reid does seem to struggle to be articulate, doesn't he?

In this case (a written statement) you have to wonder about his staff too. It should have been done in a more professional (more effective) manner. I think Reid's staff really F----ed this up. It doesn't sound like much time went into preparing that statement.

Really, the Dems should make sure when Reid speaks he at least makes a good presentation (I mean, referring to very old stuff isn't even necessary, just providing a inventory of abuses since 2000 would provide plenty of material. Plus it should have stayed focused on the current outrages.).

Reid is almost painful to watch when speaking. I really wish the Dems would get him some well written material and coach him. Make him practice before he makes an appearance.