What Goes On In Harry Reid’s Backyard
As a Nevada resident and loyal Democrat, I keep trying to find reasons not to be frustrated with Harry Reid. The problem is, my beloved Senator has become like a dictatorial host at a staid cocktail party who keeps serving me up annoyances like smelly, cold hors d’oeuvres and then insists on watching me uncomfortably gulp them down and smile in gratitude for the privledge. I know many of you can’t relate–Reid has a 70% approval rating over at Daily Kos for christ’s sake–not exactly a group known for being easy to please.
Maybe tennis makes a better analogy? Its like I’m watching a tennis match with the Reid I cheer for on one side, and the Reid I groan about on the other. Reid convinces the National Democratic Party to add Nevada to the caucus schedule, “Way to go!” Reid votes for the Child Custody Protection Act, “#%$%?!” Look, I know Reid is personally anti-abortion, but he’s said he would support legislation that protects reproductive rights, and with this vote he simply did not do that. “But,” you say, “The Democrats were going to lose on the vote no matter what, and Reid’s making up for his yes vote by dispatching Dick Durbin to stall the legislation in the House.” Sorry, that’s just not good enough, and its more evidence that the “big tent” philosophy doesn’t work for all Democrats all the time.
And this leads me to the most frustrating position Reid takes–his non-aggression pact with Republican Senator John Ensign, or the “Kissy, Kissy by Reid, Ensign” as Hugh Jackson of the Las Vegas Gleaner eloquently described their Senatorial cuddle way back in 2005. And Ensign’s manly charms are certainly hard to resist. Escaping notice on the national electoral scene, Reid’s luke warm support of Ensign’s Democratic opponent, Jack Carter, is a point of failure in Reid’s Democrative leadership, and Democrats on the state and national level should be calling Reid out for it. Not only does Reid’s position fly directly in the face of the Democratic National Committee’s 50 State Strategy, it leaves Nevada citizens little choice but to believe that Reid would have us be represented by a Senator gleefully running in a three-legged race with the Bush Administration to hand the country over to the forces of the corporatocracy and religious conservatives who think that being pro-choice and for raising the minimum wage makes you an ungodly communist.
And why has Reid entered into such an odious agreement with Ensign? Self preservation of course. As an astute commenter on my last post on Ensign’s membership in the ultra conservative religious Fellowship asked, “maybe Harry’s loyalty to the “Incumbent Party” is stronger than that to the Democratic Party?” You think? Reid thinks his secure position as the senior Senator from Nevada and Senate Minority Leader is worth more than taking a risk on the Ensign/Carter race and the possibility of becoming the Senate Majority Leader. The Democrats of Nevada deserve better from Senator Reid. And because he is your Senate Minority Leader, all Democrats deserve better from Senator Reid.
I couldn’t help but scoff while reading Reid’s New Direction communiqué on The Huffington Post:
These Nevadans - and the millions of Americans just like them - are who Democrats are standing with today. They’ve been ignored by the Do Nothing Republican Congress, which has put special interests and a special few first. They’ve suffered through weeks of debates over non-issues such as marriage, flag desecration, the estate tax, and medical malpractice. Meanwhile, their real problems have only grown worse.
We need a New Direction for America, and that is what Democrats offer. By changing course in Iraq, providing affordable health care, strengthening the middle-class, and embracing science and medical research, the Democratic agenda will unite America and turn away from the divisive politics of the last six years.
We won’t pit Big Oil against working families when it’s clear we’re all better off pursuing a bold new future of energy independence.
We won’t force workers to choose between getting by and saving for the future, because we’ll protect Social Security, cut taxes for the middle-class, and build an economy where work pays.
And we won’t go to war based on trumped up threats; we’ll be tough and smart with a foreign policy that concentrates on our real threats, Iran, North Korea, and Osama bin Laden.
How am I, as a Nevadan represented by Ensign, who comes down on the opposite side of every issue mentioned in Reid’s missive, supposed to take his call to action seriously? He isn’t even serious about taking on the Republicans in his own state. Sure, he’s given money to the Jack Carter campaign, but has he actively stumped for him? No. And you won’t catch Carter complaining about the lack of Reid’s active support because his campaign needs all the help it can get–they can’t afford to say the wrong think about Harry Reid. What can we do to communicate to Reid that his partnership with Ensign is not acceptable? Help Jack Carter win Nevada’s second Senate seat. As Sarah Carter noted during a recent interview:
Politics is full of self-fulfilling prophesies. If we can get enough people to say that Jack Carter is a real contender, then he’s a real contender. If we can get enough people to say that Jack Carter will win, then he’ll win. We’re just starting our bandwagon, and we want everyone on board.
You heard her folks!
Cross-posted at Taylor Marsh’s place.
Similar Posts:
- Reid’s A More Polarizing Figure Inside Nevada
- Something’s Rotten In Nevada
- Dear Harry Reid, Joe Lieberman Must Go
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Trackbacks & Pingbacks
[...] Someone thought they could get away with it, but its not clear who (Reid? Collins? Other Democratic operatives outside the state?). One thing we know for sure, its hard to say no to Reid in Nevada. For those of us inside the state, its sometimes hard to understand Reid’s status as netroots darling because of his disappointing strategy on Iraq, Alito, and of course his gentleman’s agreement with golfing Senator John Ensign. Perhaps its because Democrats have been in the minority for so long, and because Reid was able to rub Frist’s face in the dirt now and again, that some are willing to forgive him for his often misplaced priorities. [...]
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Congratulations on your regular guest spot at Taylor’s. She does fantastic stuff, particularly around the smearing of John Murtha. Obviously, you’re in the big time. (Now you can quit fretting openly about your hit numbers.)
But about Reid — we know that progressives and many moderates are restive about his being a self-serving weasel who fights back at Republican atrocities if and when he feels like it. We also know it isn’t new. I remember going to Dean meet-ups in 2003/2004, and the state party apparatchiks blithely assumed we’d all be willing to walk precincts for Reid. There was one meeting at Washoe Dem headquarters where Dems, independents and Rockefeller Republicans in the room got pretty testy with the NDP, telling them in no uncertain terms that we were here to work for Dean, because he wasn’t like Reid.
I guess Dems vote for the man just because of name recognition, the possibility of pork, and/or the fear of his replacement with an Ensign clone.
As to why he won’t support Carter, I think this discussion broke out at the Gleaner a little while ago — why doesn’t the netroots jump in? (And by netroots, I mean the big progressive bloggers.) The blogosphere seems to have helped change the outcome of the Leiberman/Lamont primary. They have some political capital to spare some other places. Ensign says all the same crap that Leiberman does about we all need to support the president in whatever he does in a time of war, and if you don’t support the war you’re giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Why hasn’t Ensign pissed off enough people like Kos, Chris Bowers, Jerome Armstrong, and Jane Hamsher? If the varsity bloggers are reading this, I hope they decide to jump in and throw some of their influence behind Carter. The diaries and comments of regular Nevadans urging them to do so get lost or ignored, as far as I can tell.
He supports Carter–just much more quietly than he should be as far as I’m concerned anyway. Ensign represents the worst of the right wing of the Republican party. And honestly, he might be even scarier because he’s not pandering to the religious right. He really believes that religion should rule through politics as his membership in the Fellowship demonstrates.
As far as the netroots–they dont see the race as being close enough to support. However, I think at some point, Lamont was not all that close and state suppporters, with publicity from the netroots were able to help turn it around.
They do have folks that talk about Carter but they seem to be mostly ancillary posts.
Most of the time, I’m fine with Reid and things could be A LOT worse. To have the Minority Leader representing your state is a good thing. But I would like to see him put party before his friendly agreement now. His role as M. leader sort of demands it.
I still think the liaison with the Hair goes back to the close election between the two a few years ago and what the two of them learned about the paperless Sequoias in Las Vegas that can’t verify individual votes. Gee, and those same machines were used in the 04 election.
Oh, I know Reid “supports” Carter, but in a frenemies kind of way. I agree he should be called out for it, but I don’t think it will help. Harry Reid does not care what the little people think. EG: Both my mom and I wrote him about the signing statements issue and received the most dismissive, mealy mouthed reply ever. Yeah, like Arlen Specter is all over it.
And you are right that Lamont didn’t start out as particularly competitive. That’s why I don’t buy the standard netroots line about this race being a lost cause. The netroots have supported more losing candidates than winners. Ciro Rodriguez and Christine Cegelis come to mind. So I don’t see what’s so quixotic about throwing a little influence to Carter, who’s polling about 15 points behind Hair Boy. Voter registration is about even by party in Clark, and in Washoe the Republicans are approximately 13 percent ahead. Given how much Carter is reaching out to the rurals, if he throws enough red meat to the base in the urban counties (who will be out anyway for the gubernatorial election, the Clark County Commission, and the House races) Carter could make it competitive. I would just love it if the vapid fundamentalist shitheel would have to spend more money than he intended, all because of moonbats coming to Carter’s aid.
I dunno if I’m a “big progressive blogger.” I’m 5′8 and 160, so I’m pretty average. And I’m more of a Prog-Lib …
Anway, I just came out for Carter on my blog. And I just spent a day (sunday, no less) making graphics for a quickie Cafepress Shop. It’s actually time-critical that a few more people do this - and it’s not for dollars. My post explains why, but it’s mainly what Sara Carter said, about appearances and self-fulfilling prophecies.
Drop by, and for heavens sake, blogroll me. I am so VERY “discontent.”
So why not have bill or hilary stop by NV to stump for Jack. After all, isnt Bill the “poster child ” for “what happens here stays here” ooops…maybe not.
but seriously- what kept the Dems in the “Blanca Casa” was the Democratic Leadership council(?) the centrist policy think-tank to off set the extreme left elements of the Democratic Party.
Barry Goldwater pointed out in several senate floor speeches about how the religious right extremeists were destroying the GOP. Those would be your “christianistas”, or the GOP Taslibans.
I became disillusioned with the GOP several years ago for that very reason- religious extremism by evangelicals- the Ralph Reeds, the Pat Robertsons, the Jerry Falwells, the James Dobsons of the world…I believe in God, or a supreme entity; but just not in government.
The GOP needs to widen its base- with a Republican Leadership council- a centrist Liberal Republican policy arm- basically fiscal conservative- dont waste my tax money, and dont ask for too much of it, without my consent of the governed first; and socially liberal- let me live my life as I see fit, as long as I dont involve minors, and as long as I’m not hurting anybody, or breaking anything. True free enterprise would involve erasing A LOT of laws, and taxes; and especially any stigma with political or social dissent. example- tell your co-workers you support de-criminalizing reefer; that drug testing is unconstitutional( 4th and 5th amendment)lowering the drinking age to 18, raising the legal limit to .11; support polygamy(especially Lesbian Polygamy) and contraty to the fascist agenda of the right wing extremists, and as they say “You’ll never eat lunch in this town again; and find yourself pink-slipped, and black-listed, for “not fitting in with the company culture”…
Its neo-McCarthyism at its most obnoxious..People are afraid to speak their minds, and be themselves- forced mass conformity.
In “Hoosier land”, they have lost so many citizens from Brain drain”, and the stifling of “the Creative class” that there are 9, going on 8 congressional districts.
Manufacturing is leaving, because nobody wants to work here, because there is nowhere to party on the weekendes, without fear of the “Alcohol Gestapo” patrols by the local cops.
The Woman in Indiana are all fat, drunk, stupid, and 7 kids by 7 fathers, and on welfare, because there are no jobs. The men are all chauvinistic jerks (except me, of course) who represent the worst qualities of the Comedy central “Blue Collar Tours”.
Google wikipedia for redneck wife beater trailer trash, and it will say “See Indiana”. but there some redeeming qualities, and when I get back from the refrigerator to get a cold beer, I’ll tell you about them….Nevada.. here I come..(RUN!!??)