Reid: Republicans have to “get off ‘no new revenue’ position, says supercommittee has “50-50” chance to work

Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 | 3:07 p.m.

Amid his usual offerings – the Tea Party will “be gone” once the economy improves, oil companies make too much money and the DesertExpress is golden – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed faith Wednesday in the debt supercommittee he proudly declared was “my idea.”

During and after a speech to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, Reid insisted the powerful panel was better than no action at all, insisted it would not raise individual tax rates and said it will look at deductions.

“I don’t think we need a mortgage deduction for someone who has four homes,” Reid asserted to reporters. He added that the committee has a “better than 50-50 chance” of success.

During his speech, Reid chided the Republicans (yes, especially tea partiers) for opposition to any taxes. "The Republicans have to get off of this 'no new revenue...they're going to have to get off of that kick,” Reid told about 450 people at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas.

Reid also claimed that his counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, “believes this committee is extremely important. He believes we can get something done.” And this: "That supercommittee was my idea...I just need a little bit of give from some of the Republicans."

Reid had a lot more to say, including:

----The majority leader talked of bipartisan solutions on the deficit, but he was his usual sardonic self about the Tea Party and what he described as GOP obstructionism. He said the Republicans have stymied him on FAA and highway bill authorizations, saying he has been forced to “give up” on the Ely route. The Blame GOP First mantra is almost a reflex at this point.

----In speaking to the chamber, Reid emphasized his commitment to small business, adding, as only he can: “Big business can take care of itself.” He tried to assuage fears about the health care reform bill, saying he hopes to “ease the transition” for small businesses to 2014, when most of the provisions take effect. He even offered to have Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius brief the chamber. Reid also defended the individual mandate, using the familiar comparison to auto insurance mandates. I didn’t hear a lot of applause from the business folks on that one.

----When asked by the chamber folks about rolling back the minimum wage, Reid strangely dodged, saying they should take it up with the Legislature, which has chosen to make it even higher. It seemed a bizarre deflection, even in front of that group, and when asked about it later, he denied he was advocating such a rollback at the state level. When asked if he would voted for such a constitutional amendment, he first said he would not, then recounted how he “probably cost myself a Senate seat in 1974” when he went “a little too far” in answering how he would vote on a right-to-work measure.

Reid a little too far? Shocker.

----Reid talked about “infrastructure development” as a huge job creator and intimated President Obama will talk about that and energy jobs during his speech to Congress next week. He touted the DesertExpress after lamenting his abandonment of maglev technology first brought to local attention by then-Mayor Bill Briare (Trivia: Briare defeated Reid in 1975 Las Vegas mayoral race in a landslide, only months after Reid lost the 1974 Senate race to Paul Laxest.) Reid said construction on the Slow Train to Victorville could begin next spring and he hinted that California Gov. Jerry Brown is on board and is working on high-speed rail near San Diego.

To dream the impossible…