I want to see Harry Reid re-elected

[cali]

I know many here don't, but I really, really do.

that's all.

[bluestateguy]

1. as a Senator yes

as Majority Leader? It's time for someone else.

I'd go with Russ Finegold or Barbara Boxer.

[cali]

3. Feingold or Boxer don't stand a chance

it's just not the way the Dem Caucus works. If he loses, it'll be Schumer or Durbin.

[bluestateguy]

7. Swell

Durbin can cry and apologize on the Senate floor whenever the going gets too tough.

IF you think Reid was pushover, wait until you see Durbin.

[karynnj]

14. That is extremely unfair

Durbin was forced to apologize for the good of the party, when in reality what he said was NOT what the Republicans spun it as. Yet to fight that would - at that point - have hurt the party. So, because he is a good, decent very intelligent man, he had to apologize, while explaining what he did say.

[JI7]

19. it's more likely to be Schumer than Durbin since Pres is from Durbin's state

at least that's what i think. and Schumer is going to be a lot worse than Reid.

[laughingliberal]

27. Schumer would be my guess as to who would replace Reid

and, yes, I think he'd be worse.

[tritsofme]

40. I think that is a message Schumer will try to push.

It will be quite a tussle if Reid loses. Being from Illinois, I am partial to Durbin. But I know Schumer has earned a ton of goodwill for his work chairing the DSCC in 2006 and 2008, and I think he too could be a good leader for the caucus.

[jobycom]

12. I'd like to see someone rise up and take the Leadership from him.

Otherwise Reid might as well stay. If they just shuffle it off to the next in line, whoever that is, nothing's going to change much. I want someone who wants the job and knows how to grab it, because that's the skill that job needs right now--the skill of not playing nice. Let him or her pass the Joker's pool cue test.

[JI7]

35. if there was such a person wouldn't they have already tried or done it?

[laughingliberal]

47. Not in an election year, they wouldn't. Perhaps one not facing reelection this year

But the Senate majority leader always becomes a target of the opposing party. Just as the House speaker does. Pelosi is likely safe in her solid Democratic district but Reid is vulnerable to this type of attack here in this purple state.

I'm not sure he wouldn't step down from it if he were to win reelection. It has not helped him with some of the folks back home.

[Canuckistanian]

20. +1

Democrats have lost a staggering amount of legislative ground with "Silent Harry" in charge.

Re-elect him - then ditch him as Senate leader.

[Bluerthanblue]

2. me too-

:thumbsup:

[Emit]

4. Me, too. I live in NV.

The alternatives are frightening!

[Bobbie Jo]

5. If for no other reason than to spite these Failbaggers.

:kick:

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

6. I agree, but he needs to be replaced as Majority Leader.

My vote goes to Dick Durbin...

[karynnj]

16. If Bryd retires, it goes to most senior Democrat

Unless I missed someone scanning the chart it would go to Daniel Innoye, who was elected inaugurated in 1963. (Here's the list - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_United_States_Senators_by_age ) The next most senior is Pat Leahy - 1975. )

[tritsofme]

42. Are you thinking of the President pro tempore?

Majority leader is an elected position in the caucus. President pro temp is usually the most senior member of the majority party, and is mostly a ceremonial role.

[karynnj]

45. Yes - which is what Byrd is - so I was confused - sorry

[laughingliberal]

8. Me too!

He's my Senator. Not necessarily as liberal as a Sanders or Kucinich but a damned lot better than a Nelson, Bayh, Conrad, or (shudder) Lieberman.

I think being Senate leader has hurt him here at home due to the nature of the job of Senate leader. Having to compromise to get his caucus together to pass legislation has made him appear weak at times to his voters here.

It would be better to have a solid liberal in a very safe seat in that position.

Chances are he will lose this election but it really is too soon to give up. He's been in some damned tough races here before and come through. He's also way out in front with his war chest. Also, after fighting the Yucca Mountain debacle, almost single handedly, it is finally dead. Even the Republican Reid haters I know have to admit we couldn't have done that without him.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cali]

10. could you post some evidence that he's a racist? And no, saying he's a Mormon

doesn't cut it. Oh, and if he's replaced he'll be replaced by a wing nut puke, genius.

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[laughingliberal]

59. I have never believed the statement Reid made was evidence of racism as much as it was a comment on

what he saw as the reality of the attitudes of the electorate. Not saying I agree this is, necessarily where the electorate was but I don't think he is the only politician who wondered if this country was ready to elect a black President.

From the article you quoted about Reid, we find reports of Biden making this comment:

<snip>In 2007, Biden called Obama "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

And Biden was later invited to be Obama's running mate. <snip>

The article you quoted about Byrd also noted this at the end:

<snip>James Tolbert, president of the West Virginia chapter of the NAACP and an occasional critic of the senator, said Byrd transcended his past by gradually embracing more enlightened social views and by simply owning up to his past mistakes. "He doesn't try to lie his way out of things," Tolbert said. "If he's wrong, he'll say he's wrong."<snip>

<snip> Still, says Ken Hechler, 90, a liberal Democratic former U.S. House member from West Virginia who served with Byrd in Congress, "It's impossible for anyone to try to whitewash the KKK and its overall symbolism."

"But at the same time," he added, "we honor those people who publicly admit the error of their ways."

Last week, Byrd said: "I know now I was wrong. Intolerance had no place in America. I apologized a thousand times . . . and I don't mind apologizing over and over again. I can't erase what happened." <end>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801105_3.html

Harry Reid is facing no primary challenge. If he is defeated it will be by a Republican. I have every intention of voting for him (since I live in his state) and, if I did not intend to, I would not advocate for his defeat on DU as he is a Democrat who will be defeated by a Republican (and a pretty damned far right supply sider, at that) if he is defeated.

[bigwillq]

11. Byrd needs to retire

I don't care if Reid is re-elected as Senator, but I want someone else as Maj. Leader.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[laughingliberal]

37. Do you have any evidence Reid is a racist or that Byrd has subscribed to the beliefs of the

Klan since he was a member at the age of 17? Reid is my Senator and I've seen no indications of racism from him, whatsoever. Have you anything with which to back up your accusation?

[kiva]

46. Another request for actual proof for your allegation. n/t

[951-Riverside]

57. See post #56

[karynnj]

13. I'm with you

Though he got FAR less credit than Pelosi, the healthcare bill would not have passed without Reid getting every single Democrat from Bernie Sanders to Ben Nelson to vote for it. An incredible accomplishment - and essential as the entire thing could not have been done through reconciliation. He actually got Lincoln, Bayh and Nelson.

In retrospect, both he and Baucus, whose plan was pretty close to the plan that got60 votes - the criteria he said he was working under. The reality of getting 60 is that it had to be acceptable to the most conservative Democrats.

[Pirate Smile]

15. Me too,

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

17. I don't want to see him re-elected....

except that it will really piss off the teabaggers. So just in that spirit, I hope he wins.

I'm not a fan of his work in the Senate leadership.

[laughingliberal]

25. He's one of my Senators. Ensign is the other one. I hope Harry is reelected

I don't care if he's the Senate leader or not. But the choices in the Republican primary are far right and further far right.

[tonysam]

18. +1

He's not popular in Nevada, however.

[laughingliberal]

28. Sadly true but he's fought off tough challenges here before

He can still pull it off with some luck. I actually feel a smidge more hopeful now than I did 3 months ago. Not sure why but I have felt a small shift back in his favor recently.

[tonysam]

30. It's possible. They don't call him "Landslide Harry" for nothing. n/t

[Mike 03]

21. Yes, I do too! Thank you for writing this. NC

[DawgHouse]

23. me too n/t

[depakid]

24. Since he won't be- his record of incompetence as majority leader is largely moot

[laughingliberal]

26. It doesn't look good for him right now. But it's not a done deal

He's been targeted before and looked as if he was down for the count. Ensign's race against him went to a recount that was a true squeaker. He won the next race handily. He's on track to have about $25 million for his campaign. It's tight but he could still pull it off. He's a native Nevadan with good, small town roots. That means more than most would believe around here.

[depakid]

31. Reid's negatives are sky high- and those won't suddenly change

The fact that there's a family dynasty thing going on won't be helpful, either.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/09/rory-reid-to-file-for-nv-governor-tuesday/

Bottom line is that Reid has for years been the best player on the Republican team- and the Democrats and the nation are much better off without him.

[laughingliberal]

36. He's not the most liberal Senator. That much is true

But I'd take him any day over Nelson, Bayh, Lieberman, Conrad or several others. I really don't see the nation or the Dems being better off with Sue Lowden in Harry's seat. That's a dynasty we don't want to see get started, trust me. A 100% tax cuts for the rich create jobs, unions are evil Republican.

I disagree with you. We have quite a few Senators who have been far better players on the Republican team than Reid. Reid would have voted for a public option in health care. And I still think he may get it to the floor for a vote. I know he wants to. The others I mentioned? Not if their life depended on it.

[Individualist]

38. Reid is a DLC member,

just like Nelson, Bayh, Lieberman and Conrad.

[laughingliberal]

43. I can only find one list from 2006 of elected officials who are DLC members

and the author does say it's hard to find any list which defines them but says he culled this from a list maintained by the Democratic Underground. Apparently the list DU maintained in 2006 did not list Reid among the members. Has he joined them since then? I do note Lieberman, Nelson, Conrad, Bayh are all included on the list but not Reid.


http://mydd.com/users/illinois062006/posts/dlc-membership-and-the-ideas-dlc-members-endorse

[Individualist]

54. DLC is a stealth organization

You won't find a current list of their membership anywhere. As more and more people became aware of DLC's objectives, DLC stopped publishing a list of their membership.

Reid, Sen. Harry (-NV)
New Orleans, LA
Speak and participate in Democratic Leadership Council conference
http://www.legistorm.com/trip/sponsor/6202/Democratic_Leadership_Council/7/traveler/desc.html

When the Democratic party won majority status in the Senate in 1986, it was done with centrist and DLC affiliated candidates Barbara Mikulski (a participant in the DLC’s National Service Tour), Harry Reid (who recently said Democrats have to “swallow their pride” and move toward the middle),
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Leadership_Council

[laughingliberal]

58. What I know is I posted a list upthread that DU was maintaining in 2006

and Reid was not on it. On your list of DLC sponsored travel, I found Reid's name 3 time in 16 pages I searched. Once in 2002 and twice in 2005. It's not damning in my mind. I know he opposes the Blue Dogs on a lot of issues and was especially pissed off about their resistance to having a public option included in HCR which he tried twice to put in in some form.

I don't like his stands on choice or a lot of other issues. But I don't have a choice of a Bernie Sanders or someone like that to vote for. So, he gets my vote. I hate the voting for the lesser of 2 evils as much as the next person but I'm living in a state that is down the tubes economically. Nevada really can't afford another Republican representing us in DC.

[depakid]

39. The only way Democrats are going to replace him as majority leader is if he's voted out

and his record as Majority/minority leader has been the worst in modern history. To put it bluntly, he's an embarrassment and lacks any credibility.

The guy pretty much sums up the "weak and ineffectual" caricature that's haunted the Dems for the better part of 20 years.

That's why I want him out- not because he's by any means the worst the Dems have to offer. Plenty of other crossed over and voted with Republicans on the abhorrent bankruptcy legislation, for example- but not while they were the minority leader.

[laughingliberal]

44. Well, I'm voting for him

I really don't want any of the Republicans opposing him to represent us.

As I've said, he probably won't get in as he is being painted here as a liberal/socialist and, unless the Teabagger who is running can siphon off some Republican votes, we're going to be stuck with Ensign and some other far rightie.

I'm also not convinced he wouldn't be replaced as the Senate leader if he wins. It would not surprise me to see him step down from it if he wins. I don't think he finds the job much to his liking and every Senate majority leader becomes a major target of the opposing party.

edited punctuation

[depakid]

48. Go for it!

It's not like there's a lot of choice.

Nate's got the odds at about 1 in 4. Stranger things have happened.

[laughingliberal]

49. Why, thank you!

So nice to have permission to vote for the candidate of my choice to represent my state. :) I think the odds are against him but we do have a Tea Party candidate on the ballot and Reid has $25 million to spend on his campaign. I think the idiot teabaggers in his hometown today and his excellent response to their presence might have helped him. They need to come back often. Nevadans really don't like outsiders interfering in their elections. It would help immensely to see them here a few more times.

[depakid]

51. Interesting how the teabaggers unite the fractuous Dems

The louder they get, the worse the results for Republicans this fall.

If I were a Republican strategist, as opposed to one of their front line bozo's, this would be something that concerned me.

[laughingliberal]

52. Yes, they do

And Reid's response to them, today, was perfect. He was not there, of course, but his statement was perfect:

<snip>"I'm happy so many people came to see my hometown of Searchlight and spend their out-of-state money especially in these tough economic times. Ultimately though this election will be decided by Nevadans, not people from other states who parachute in for one day to have a tea party."<snip>

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/27/reid-touts-nra-tie-reaches-out-to-activists-as-tea-partiers-rally/?fbid=XxB3Bm8v4hW

Just the correct tone. Points out without saying it that these people have done nothing for our state (and no one in Nevada would be stupid enough to think Reid has not helped our state immensely over the years even if they don't like him or plan to vote for him) and points out that they are clearly outsiders without our best interests at heart.

He's down right now but not out, yet.

[Oceansaway]

29. K&R...n/t

[Skittles]

32. W.T.F.

[cali]

33. care to elaborate?

[Tippy]

34. I want to see Harry Reid re-elected too...

I think he is just now comming into his own. And I woudn't mind him being Speaker again He got off to a slow start to be sure buthe sure finished HCR on a high note in my book,,,,

[southernyankeebelle]

41. It is very important every democrat no matter how angry when have

been at our leaders to go and vote for democrats. It really is imperative. I pray that Reid gets reelected. But I want a bull dog as speaker. Pelosi in the House is doing a pretty good job.

[gleaner]

50. I don't think he is particularly effective in the Senate .....

I feel very sorry for him now that his wife and daughter have been injured, his wife catastrophically. But than is a humanitarian impulse and has nothing to do with his politics.

I am not asking to be hostile, but could you explain why you would like to see him re-elected? Maybe it would help me to see something better about his work than I can now.

[laughingliberal]

55. Can't speak for the OP or anyone else but I live in Nevada

and Reid has no primary challenger. So, my choice is Reid or some right wing Republican or other who wins their primary. And they are all tax cuts for the rich, the teachers are all to blame for education, unions are evil style right wingers. With Ensign as our other Senator and Heller as our rep up here in the northern part of the state, I'm damned grateful we have Reid right now and hope he wins.

On a national level, I think his voting record is as good as most who lived through the Bush years. He has about a 90% rating of voting with the Democrats.

And I do know, for a fact, he pushed for a public option in HCR and is still trying to figure out a way to attach it to something soon that can pass under reconciliation. This is not a move that will necessarily help him in his race here but he's committed to looking for a way to do it, anyway.

I also remember that he was pissed off as hell about Lieberman killing the Medicare expansion as well as being pissed off that the President's CofS showed up and ordered him to blow Lieberman. I know that story died pretty fast but I saw it. I'm not sure what else he could have done with the need for 60 votes at that time and the White House not willing to help fight the Blue Dogs.

I have seen one poster here who said Reid is a DLC member but the most recent list of elected officials who are DLC members was one maintained by DU that I found from 2006 and Reid was not on it although Nelson, Bayh, Conrad, Lieberman all were. He's not my favorite Senator but he beats a bunch of those guys by a long shot.

[gleaner]

61. Got it....

I live in California and I wasn't aware that he had no primary challenger. I agree with what you're saying about the needs of the people he represents, and that I can identify with. After all we still have Arnold. I wish that he could have been tougher in standing up to some of the things this administration espoused, but not everyone is endowed with the same set of reactions or reasons for them.

In the meantime good luck on your elections and I always hope the Democrat wins if a Republican is the only alternative. I keep saying that I would rather set my butt on fire than vote Republican, and I mean it. I also hope his wife regains her health. It has to make it very difficult for him to do what he has to do. Thanks for the clarification, and please post on. ;)

[spanone]

53. he deserves it after the way the republicans fucked with him all year....not to mention the dems

[lamp_shade]

60. So do I and I'll do whatever I can to help. I've always been a supporter.