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Home state finds it hard to warm up to Reid
Though he’s delivered for Nevada, his positions, persona rankle many
Sam Morris
Sen. Harry Reid speaks at a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday at the Four Seasons.
Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 | 2 a.m.
A sign in Ely expresses disapproval of Nevada's Democratic senator. Liberals in his own party as well as conservatives have beefs with Reid.
$14 Million for UNLV
Kirk Kerkorian through his Lincy Foundation has given UNLV a $14 million grant in honor of his longtime friend Senator Harry Reid. The grant will fund the creation of the Lincy Institute at UNLV, which will work to unite local non-profits.
Sun Archives
- Harry Reid 'tele-town hall' on health care starts out civil (8-28-2009)
- Reid's views on overhaul taking shape (8-28-2009)
- At Chamber meeting, Harry Reid plays to the center (8-26-2009)
- Harry Reid, John Ensign approval sinks as health care debate continues (8-24-2009)
- Republicans want to make Reid’s town hall the issue (8-21-2009)
- Wall Street Journal: Reid will be judged on health care (8-19-2009)
- Reid's reelection has X-factor: Reidisms (8-14-2009)
- An unspoken energy summit goal: Reelect Reid (8-11-2009)
Sun Topics
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Washington — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has achieved a political stature in the corridors of power unparalleled in Nevada history — able to dial up President Barack Obama, bring top officials to Las Vegas and shower the state with unprecedented attention.
Such clout can be cause for celebration in some states, leading to an enduring bond between senator and voter. Not so in fiercely independent Nevada, where Reid, who despite his position and four terms representing the state in Washington, is not necessarily a beloved figure.
According to polls over the past three years, Reid’s approval rating hovers in the mid-30s, not a comfortable range heading into a reelection campaign. Reid’s internal campaign polls, however, show him doing decidedly better.
As Reid seeks reelection in 2010, a question arises: Just how unpopular is the top-ranking Senate Democrat in his home state?
On both sides of the political aisle, evidence of Nevadans’ discontent stacks up. His rise in national politics as the leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate has only complicated his relationship with skeptical voters across the political spectrum.
On the right, conservatives lampoon Reid as a symbol of all that is wrong with Washington, a liberal in the likeness of that other target of Republican scorn, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (“This is the only part of the country where Harry Reid is considered a liberal,” notes political scientist Ted Jelen at UNLV.)
His remarks in the service of partisanship — calling former President George W. Bush a loser, saying the war in Iraq is lost — have won few friends among conservatives in Nevada, a state with a libertarian streak as long as U.S. Highway 95.
On the left, liberals are frustrated that his Senate is often the place where Democratic dreams go to die — despite his almost single-handedly derailing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, banning new coal plants and launching a green energy future. He is leading President Barack Obama’s agenda on economic recovery and health care but isn’t seen by some as knocking heads hard enough, LBJ-style, to get health care done. They long for a leader who is less compromising.
And then there’s Reid himself.
Those who know him adore his quick, dry wit. But in public, when Reid isn’t issuing a barb that makes national news, his speech is often the one the audience forgot. Some call it a charisma gap. As one state Republican Party leader says, “d-u-l-l.”
Personal interactions can be rough around the edges. Reid is the son of the pioneer West, a frank-speaking upstart from the forlorn town of Searchlight. He often gives one-word quips, doesn’t suffer fools and hangs up on phone conversations — not out of anger, but simply because he thinks the call is done.
That makes some Nevadans squirm and others chuckle in Western realpolitik.
Bob Fulkerson, one of the leaders of Nevada’s liberal wing of the Democratic Party as director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, recounts his own brush with Reid during inauguration week festivities this year in Washington. Excited to join the senator’s fundraiser at a downtown restaurant, Fulkerson strode toward Reid to shake his hand.
Upon seeing him, Reid pushed a camera at Fulkerson and said, “Oh good, Bob, take a picture,” and gathered other guests. Fulkerson dutifully snapped the shot, had a quick exchange with Reid, then slunk away, embarrassed. His companion noted that he had been squarely dissed.
“I don’t fault Reid any more for that,” Fulkerson said. “It’s just part of who he is.”
If the race were held today, Reid would be beaten by either of two potential Republican challengers, according to a recent Review-Journal poll. Even Democrats are unenthusiastic, according to another poll, paid for by unidentified Republican backers of Sue Lowden, the former state legislator and one-time television newscaster who is now the Nevada Republican Party chairwoman and considering a run against Reid.
Reid’s own polls show him running at least even with the top potential Republican challengers.
Conventional wisdom says that although Reid’s numbers may be troubling, Republicans need a viable candidate — emphasis on viable. They have yet to name one.
“Just because Nevada voters aren’t enamored with Reid doesn’t mean he’s going to lose,” said Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report in Washington.
Reid’s campaign is preparing to reintroduce the senator to Nevada, telling the state’s 400,000 new voters the story of the dirt poor kid from dusty Searchlight who went on to lead the Senate and deliver big for his state.
Television is where the campaign will be waged, experts predict, and some expect ads could begin as soon as Labor Day.
Rothenberg has Reid at a narrow advantage to win.
•••
Reid has rarely polled well in his politically split home state, where independent voters often decide elections.
During the senator’s last serious challenge, in 1998, when then-Rep. John Ensign lost by just 428 votes, polls showed Reid’s double-digit lead quickly eroding to single digits.
But it wasn’t until Reid became leader of the Democratic Party in Washington that his numbers began an enduring nosedive.
Nevadans may have a distaste for Washington power, but Jelen, the UNLV professor, said there is nothing new in Reid’s popularity dip.
Former majority leaders, from Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota to Sen. Scott Lucas of Illinois, have faced similar troubles. The position forces them to serve two constituents — the party agenda in Washington and needs of a state back home.
Daschle and Lucas lost reelection. Reid’s race will stand as an example of lessons learned.
“This is history playing itself out again,” Jelen said.
Walking this political line between party leadership and serving his state takes great skill. Reid’s main strength as majority leader, his campaign always says, is that “he can deliver for Nevada like no one else.”
With his vast staff, Reid can bring greater resources to bear than any other Nevada elected official. With his institutional power and personal relationships, he can dial up cabinet secretaries or fellow senators to get things done.
Case in point: Derailing Yucca Mountain is a phenomenal feat by many measures, capping Nevada’s 20-year battle against the federal government’s plan to store nuclear waste in the desert. First Reid cut funding, then extracted a presidential promise to kill it outright.
As Reid rose in leadership, so did Nevada’s take of congressionally-directed earmarked money, from $77 million in 2001 to $165 million in 2009. Of that, $144 million this year is directly from Reid, according to the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste. (Nevada’s other senator, Republican John Ensign, brought home half as much.)
Among the 100 senators, Reid ranks 25th this year in securing earmarks.
Even Republican elected officials in Nevada say, quietly, that if they need something done, they go to Reid.
“You can’t argue with what the guy has accomplished for Nevada and the country,” said John Hunt, an attorney and former chairman of Clark County Democrats.
“Harry Reid is real. Isn’t that what we want from somebody, to be consistent and sincere and not put on a front?” he said. “In the end you measure somebody by their accomplishments, not their smile. His accomplishments are unbelievable, what he’s done for this state.”
Republicans are targeting that strength as a weakness, asking what exactly Reid has done for Nevada.
“I’m not sure Sen. Reid has explained what benefits Nevada has received, other than Yucca Mountain,” said Ryan Erwin, a Republican strategist in Nevada.
This is phase one of a Republican strategy to portray Reid — as they did to Daschle in 2004 — as out of touch with home-state voters. Nevada Republican strategist Robert Uithoven calls this the “disconnect.”
The strategy begins with bacon, ends with yoga mats and goes like this:
Republicans are targeting Reid for not bringing enough federal taxpayer money back to Nevada.
It’s a fragile line of attack for a party that derides earmarks as waste and opposed Reid’s work in passing the economic recovery bill that beefed up unemployment benefits, launched road projects and is paying salaries for Nevada teachers who would otherwise have been laid off. It also ignores that Nevada often gets less federal money than other states because Carson City refuses to put up required matching funds.
Still, it’s a sound-bite that internal Republican polls say might resonate in a state that’s hurting economically.
Then there’s the yoga strategy.
A small news item this month noted Reid and his entourage had stopped to buy a yoga mat during his recent visit to a conference in Denver.
A former boxer, Reid has made no secret of an exercise routine, which includes yoga, walking and hundreds of sit-ups. But for the political right, yoga is a passion of latte-sipping coastal elites who can be easily mocked.
One Republican strategist had a brainstorm: Harry Reid yoga mat campaign magnets. “I can see Harry Reid yoga mats up and down the state,” Uithoven said.
•••
Among Democrats, Reid has his own problems.
He has gained few fans with his support of a plan to tap rural White Pine County’s water for Las Vegas, support of gun owners’ rights and backing of the state’s gold mining industry.
And sometimes Nevadans of various political stripes just feel ignored by Reid.
He works long days and nights in Washington, then flies across the country to raise money for the party. Yet some Nevadans would rather see him meeting-and-greeting at the local chicken dinner.
“When we need to talk to him directly, yea, it’s difficult,” said Fulkerson of the progressive group. “We don’t have his cell phone.”
Reid’s staff notes that the senator’s packed schedule took him from Pahrump to Las Vegas to Reno this past week alone.
But as much as feeling left out may sting, it is not a fireable offense, Fulkerson said.
Think of Nevada without Reid, he suggests, recalling the last time Nevada had two first-term senators with no clout in Washington: 1987, the year the so-called Screw Nevada bill was passed, naming Yucca Mountain as the site of the nation’s proposed nuclear waste dump.
“Matching Harry Reid against Sue Lowden, for god-sakes, it’s a no-brainer. Of course we’re going to turn out for Harry Reid.”
•••
Reid’s popularity will rest as much on the mood of the state as Election Day approaches as anything else — whether the economy has turned around and voters approve of the Democratic agenda that they helped launch by sending Obama to Washington.
Reid’s race will likely be won in the middle — the 15 percent of independent voters who claim no party allegiance. For the senator who once ran on the slogan “independent like Nevada,” the party leader has to remind voters he remains one of them.
Reid’s mouth may run partisan, but his actions hew more toward the center, as he tries to do what he does best: broker a deal. That style infuriates some and disheartens others, but may be what it takes for a majority leader to get reelected in Nevada, popular or not.
“Harry Reid,” said Jelen, the UNLV professor, “is never going to win by a landslide here.”
Discussion: 107 comments so far…
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harry's accomplishments are in the paper every day. Deficits out of control, spending that wont end, unemployment climbing across the nation and a left wing agenda printed in San Fransisco and stamped approval from Chicago's south side.
It's time to send harry back to Searchlight.
hey neiman...
those accomplishments actually belong to w the scum bag liar loser clown and cheney the evil doer...
they hurt this country very very badly...
it will take a generation to climb out of the whole they put us in!!!
"Those who know him adore his quick, dry wit"
LOL
Too Big Too Fail Senator Harry Reid'm and Weep is Insipid in deal with Nevada and totally inept in making laws.
Thursday he told us he would not tell us want the Healthcare bill would contain.
Hey birdie dreamin, I hope Nevadans aren't so-o-o over their heads with Harry as you are to forget the main reason why 150,000 citizens here in Clark County are without work.It also seems that Lisa Mascaro forgot to add this little tidbit in her other wise mediocre story. I bet our unemployed citizens haven't forgotten that while they are sitting on the breadlines they watch illegals, breaking federal laws, taking home paychecks from jobs they could have if our federal leaders would only uphold those federal laws.
At work the other day a friend and I were talking about the illegal immigrant problem
we had here in the United States( working construction we deal with this problem daily). He told me that making these illegal immigrants citizens would help our country because they would pay taxes and help our economy.
I replied that if our federal government would rid our country of all the illegal aliens, that when our unemployed citizens get back to work they would be paying those same taxes and on top of it be spending all of their paychecks here in the United States and not be sending any money back to a family in another country. Do you think that would be helping Nevadas and the United States economy just a little bit? It seems to me Lisa either forgot to mention that or conveniently left it out. Harry Reid has signed on to the Dream Act '09, a bill that will give a road to citizenship to children brought into our country by illegal parents. Instead of Mr. Reid taking actions against the large illegal immigrant problem we have here in Nevada and in the United States, he wants to add to the problem and let millions more in along with their relitives(20 to 50 million more) who are eligible to enter with a greencard through family member.
Sure Mr. Reid has done some good things for Nevada, but sponsoring a bill that will help destroy any more of our American Citizens lives and futures would be a disaster. Harry should go back to Searchlight and cultivate his cactus garden. Leave the politics up to the true Americans who care about our citizens futures.
we got rid of ted kennedy. now we need reid and pelosi out of there and this country will start getting better.
the hippie, 1960's liberalism doesn't work.
...wow, how telling is the headline?..."deliverd for Nevada"...jeeessshhhh, his JOB is NOT to DELIVER stuff...what in the world is wrong with you people?...I cannot believe how short-sighted a statement that is...we are allllllll soooooooo screwed...go ahead Harry and Mr. Sun, spend your limited energies rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic...
The neocons hate fest is in full bloom this morning. The way you all talk you would think Obama has been President for the past 8 years, and democrats controlled congress for the past 8 years. What party does our current state leader belong? As normal, the ignorance from the neocons shines through.
For those still able to comprehend reality know the Republican's are responsible for destroying our country's economy. Wasn't it Reagan who gave amnesty to illegals? Wasn't it Bush that stated illegals only take jobs Americans don't want? Wasn't it Reagan/Bush/Bush that rung up 11 Trillion of debt and passed on another 9.6 Trillion to Obama.
Thank goodness that Democrats have brains. The incompetent, worthless, parroting, fear mongering, hating, mindless neocons have no chance at winning anything for the next generation. Democrats have all the facts on their side and will use the facts over and over and over.
Thank you Senator Reid and Democrats for stabilizing our financial markets and putting us back on the path to prosperity. Thank you Senator Reid for your undying opposition to the Yucca Dump.
Reid is the 2nd most powerful person in DC by some ranking service.
Here are Reid's accomplishments:
1) Cash for Clunkers
2) Cash for banks
3) Cash for corporations like GM
4) Trillion dollar deficits
5) Nevada near bottom in getting tax dollars getting returned back to the state
6) Nevada near bottom in getting stimulus funds
7) Worked very hard to reduce Yucca funds reduced that has resulted in 1,000's of job layoffs in Nevada
8) Helped get Defence of Marriage Act passed
9) Released a letter to a voter where he states that he supports Nevada Gay Marriage gan
10) Helped get the Iraq War resolution passed
11) Helped get FISA passed
12) Has not pushed for investigations of Bush
administrations then nor now
13) $20 a week tax credit (at least McDonald's is happy)
14) Allowed very conservative judges to be appointed to the Supreme Court
Other than that, I do not know what he has done in a significant way for Nevada.
Nice job NanceE boy Sgt. Rock. Looks like Senator Reid can count on your vote.
In my opinion, I would have voted for him by default because he is Mormon, but I will not support him because I can't agree with the spend, spend, spend mentality of the government that has been going on this year.
The collective WORSHIP of King Harry at the Las Vegas Sun is pathetic. The staff writers (no longer called reporters) sit around trying to one-up each other with the BLOGGING FOR HARRY campaign. Its one thing to lean a particular direction, but this barrage of Reidganda by one news publication is amazing - as much as auseating.
Ditto Stevem. Dingy Dirty Harry will soon be voted out as will Dingy Rory. Your "thug mentality" stops here and now. It makes me sick to see what these dirty politicians get away with. I don't care to be called un-American because I disagree with their ideas. You don't see any of these politicians saying they will use the same health care they are trying to ram down our throats do you? I wonder why not. I look forward to a rejuvenating 2010!
P.S. Thank you Review Journal for your exceptional article today!!!
Birdie:
You are correct - Harry's only claim to fame is that he killed Yucca Mt.
Great - in the middle of a depression, he also kills about 1500 high paying jobs in Las Vegas, removing several hundred million dollars per year from the revenue stream hitting this city. He also kills the future billions of dollars entering the state during the 20 years of construction. Probably the only senator who has destroyed more jobs than created during the stimulus.
And who has he helped by this? Obviously himself since this is the only accomplishment anyone ever seems to trumpet about our beloved senator. Oh - he also has helped that mythical farmer in the middle of the desert a few miles from the repository, who, 500,000 years from now drills a deep, several thousand foot well into the aquifer, drinks excessively and receives the grand total radiation equivalent of about 1 chest x-ray every few years. That is the true argument here after we remove all of the BS pushed out by you, Harry, his minions and the Sun who know absolutely nothing about this, nor don't care.
Thanks Harry, glad you are so concerned about our future relatives about 100 times further out there than recorded human history. Tell that to the people who lost their jobs this past year so you could be re-elected.
As I look at some of the negative comments, I can only wonder about the true statistics. I have never been polled and I do understand that many individuals who have been polled are those that are not representative of majority sentiments. Unfortunately, the most vocal proponents of negativity are most likely to provide opinions to pollsters which are often GOP leaning, established groups with their own agendas.
I read this comment by neiman1:
" Deficits out of control, spending that wont end, unemployment climbing across the nation
and a left wing agenda printed in San Fransisco and stamped approval from Chicago's
south side."
And I wondered if he actually undestood that these negatives were actually created by GOP policies put into place under George W. Bush. It is so very unfortunate that we have individuals who point to specifics and yet have no idea that the specifics themselves point to a far different conclusion.
Without public servants such as Harry Reid, the country will fall back into simply appeasing the rich at the expense of the working class. It is essential that we control spending by creating a system which is fair to all citizens and which does not provide for favorable treatment based upon an elite status created by a false monetary system that encourages making poor choices and against the public well-being.
Giving tax deductions and exclusions to the most wealthy in order to create jobs sounds mighty good, indeed; but the fact is that the jobs "they" want to create are those that will not support a family on a living wage and those that provide for no benefits.
Who needs jobs like that?
I want to clarify where to find this exceptional article in the Review Journal today. It is under columnist Sherman Frederick titled "Enough is Enough, Harry".
I'm only going to post two of Boss Reid's recent accomplishments here even though we lost more troops in Afganistan last month since he voted FOR that war.
In "stimulus" funds, the FOREIGN RUM industry got $2.7 billion. Nevada got $1.7 billion.
In the just closed "Cash for Clunkers, Nevada ranked 48th barely ahead of Wyoming, Mississippi, and the District of Columbia. The $14.6 million Nevada received doesn't even come close to Boss Reid's (desired) re-election fund of $25 million if that tells you where the priorities are.
If you're having voter remorse after registering Dem to vote for Obama, you can undo that registration by going here: http://sos.state.nv.us/elections/voter/c... It only takes a few days and you can become a Nonpartisan. I'll re-register as a Dem once Reid is out of office but after 40 years will no longer be counted as one as long as he is the head of both the State and the National party.
REID must go ... thanks for helping Nevada secure one of the LOWEST totals from the STIM money. That's NOT REPUBLICAN LIES .. that is a fact.
A GREAT Democrat and LEADER!!
BECAUSE OT THAT, THE REPUBLICAN ATTACH MACHINE IS OUT IN FORCE TO DISTROY HIM>
could someone please give me a date when it quits being george bush's fault ?
When Obama bashed Las Vegas where was Harry? Cowering in a corner awaiting further direction from Pelosi. Send Reid back to Searchlight to pick up roadside trash. Son Rory must go also, because an ACORN doesn't fall far from the tree.
Right after he joins Ted Kennedy
Senator Reid I will tell you about health care and every other thing you want to throw money at as I told my son right after Christmas if you want anything else you are going to have to earn it and save for it. You and your buddies have distroyed this economy. Many big Corporations now plan to relocate overseas not the bail out companies just companies that don't want to be told how much money they can make. More jobs lost.
milfy; If you burn down a forest, how long until it grows back?
sanddunes; nice try; The President NEVER TRASHED Las Vegas. CAN'T YOU REID?
Elizabeth; Sherman "I'm just now becoming a member of the venerated Republican Party" Frederick has never written an "exceptional article" in his life. He is a PHONY and he's full of BALONEY.
MRB; WOW! He "destroyed" 1500 high-paying jobs?
I'm SURE that would have saved our economy, Darn!
stevem; When you grow up, will you have a heart?
Future: like the aflac duck says; Ha?
neiman1; did you know the forest burned down?
p.s.,
I'd wish Senator Reid good luck, but he won't need it.
"Reid's campaign is preparing to reintroduce the senator to Nevada, telling the state's 400,000 new voters the story of the dirt poor kid from dusty Searchlight who went on to lead the Senate and deliver big for his state."
That's fine as there are other 'campaigns' developing to tell the other side of the story as well. Though we are not armed with the treasure chest accumulated by Reid, we are there to tell the story!
http://aBadReid.com
Bad Reid
Bad Senator
The Sun crows about Reid's accomplishment of "killing" YMP.
1) Don't count it out yet. Only two things can truly end the project.
- Obama could direct DOE to pull the license application that continues to make it's way through the process. He has not chosen to do that so read between the lines. He doesn't really plan to end it. It's all political tit-for-tat. And even if he did pull the LA, it would only prolong the inevitable since the project could rise again on a new day.
- Or, the law that requires the repository to be completed and still remains on the books must be changed in Congress. There isn't currently political support to do that. Most folks outside of NV realize that a repository is necessary. Do some research on a national level.
2) Realize that many here in Las Vegas support the project (contrary to published reports) and Reid's efforts to end it are not viewed as an "accomplishment". Seems that the Sun believes if you say it often enough you can make it so.
donnacoleman; Haven't you noticed???? MANY jobs have gone "overseas" already so the greedy corporations can make more moola. Can't you Reid?
abadreid; Good luck with that.
You know, if Harry were a good lookin' fella like that Johnny Ensign, he'd be a shoe-in!
Gordon is back and says:
"The incompetent, worthless, parroting, fear mongering, hating, mindless neocons..."
...and the name calling continues.
Thanks gmag39, we will be sure to 'fight the good fight'!
tomcat; "contrary to published reports"....
Does that mean it hasn't appeared on FOX yet?
ALL media LIES except FOX!
What don't the republicans understand about these 3 words;
YUCCA IS DEAD.
The Obama Deception HQ Full length version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwa...
watch it. its neither left nor right. obama is just the latest puppet of the NWO. don't attack me. attack the facts.
Re-read my words...published reports in the Sun indicate that EVERYONE hates (and fears) the YMP. I'm saying that is not true. You've obviously gobbled up the "sky is falling" rhetoric.
I see thumper-wumper is up! Have you had your medication yet? We'll wait while it kicks in.
I actually agree with thumper about the landfill.
roll wit it PINKY,money talks and you know what(BS)walks!!
It is pretty obvious that Greenspun and the Sun are nothing but lapdogs for Reid and Berkely. For a look at what Reid does to those who write unflattering comments about him read today's LVRJ (the town's real newspaper).
Go fetch Greenspun.
when will we proud liberal democrats learn...
the retarded republican party lies...
they are a pack of liars...
hell their leader w the scum bag liar loser clown started a war based on lies...
over 4,000 american soldiers dead...
over $1 trillion wasted...
all based on lies...
all because w the scum bag liar loser clown and cheny the evil doer and karl i have no morals whatsoever rove are liars...
bold faced liars...
hell look at the most prominent retarded republican in nevada...
johnnie boy i slept with my best friend / senior staffer's wife then fired them both when i got caught then ran to mommy and daddy to fix my boo boo ensign...
this bozo lied while a member of the hyper religious cult "the family"...
some "promise keeper" ehh...
how many lies do you think johnnie boy had to tell to carry on that affair...
a bold faced liar wrapped in the cloak of pious arrogance...
so...
who the hell cares what the review journal poll says...
who the hell cares what sue lowden's poll says...
those polls are jokes...
sue lowden is a joke...
the tark's little kiddie is a joke...
harry will crush them...
besides...
yucca is the most important issue facing vegas...
some clowns want to put the most toxic crap known to man in our backyard...
in an earthquake prone mountain above ground water...
you must know that eventually there will be a yucca disaster that will effect our children or grandchildren...
harry is a total stud when it comes to yucca...
if you don't vote for harry you are an idiot...
harry is the man...
vegas loves you harry!!!
-------------------
Wow, you're not unhinged are you
The "mrb" comment was too lightly dismissed by some respondents, in my personal opinion. Yucca laid off 1800, thanks to HR squeezing the budget, and about 1500 of those may have been in Nevada, or maybe just a few less. Most of the remaining 700 will get the ax in 2011 it appears from the newspaper stories.
The other point made by "mrb" was the stopping of the continuing income stream to the state and affected counties, especially Nye. That stream had the potential of being increased and to last for a very long time.
Another point is that large "shovel-ready" construction projects were scuttled as part of this squeezing of Yucca. Roads, power lines and a huge railroad were all through the federal environmental impact process and therefore legally "ready to go." We are talking an opportunity to improve state and county infrastructure even if Yucca never happens!
More than that we are talking an opportunity to employ construction workers of every skill in a federal project with mandated decent wages. Guess who is the most hurt by the recession right now? I believe it is the constructors' crafts people.
But it is apparently OK to sacrifice them to score this opportune "victory" over a project that was likely not going to hurt anyone. We tolerated a dozen deaths in Las Vegas construction projects, in a matter of a few years, but a hypothetical very low risk to a hypothetical person at some hundreds of thousands of years in the future is worth stopping a present-day construction project?
Re-election is simply "keeping your job" for a few more years, a noble thing, but sacrificing crafts people's livelyhoods isn't the way to do it ethically. The pharaohs thought nothing of using laborers who fell beneath stones going up ramps as lubricant. We have come a long way from this type of mindless cruelty, we don't physically sacrifice people for the creation of monuments that are symbols of personal aggrandizement. We have improved over that level of mindless cruelty.
BUT, I see it is a case of extreme cruelty to sacrifice hard-working constructors and their families, people who routinely create the marvels that mark and humanize our modern working world, to a modern-day monument like an election to the Presidency or a re-election to the Senate.
There was no reason to stop these construction projects. Even if Yucca never happened, they would have given many construction workers a number of years to overcome these current hard times.
I will vote for dealing some of that cruelty back in the next election. I hailed the Obamna win as a great victory for the nation and still do in terms of international relations and internal re-dedication to the constitution that the previous administrations seemed to not take seriously. But on this issue of YM their policy is blatantly self-serving, sacrifices livelihoods unnecessarily, and stinks.
Dear thumper-wumper;
can't you read either?
Nov 2010 is a long way away. Harry will squeak out another one and NV will lose again.
robert_lv;
the sherman fredericks piece today is another load of self-serving crap from the thin-skinned, talentless hack over @ the Republican Journal.
He has NO ETHICS. That equals NO CREDIBILITY.
And whomever he paid to write all those "attaboy, sherm" comments that follow the article better have gotten paid in advance.
hey thumper...
do you realize your defeatist attitude is pathetic...
absolutely pathetic...
the fact that there may have been problems in the past does not mean you throw in the towel...
does not mean you roll over and import the most toxic crap ever known to man...
what a complete and total wuss you are...
you fight and fight and fight...
just like harry is doing...
nevada owes harry a mountain of gratitude for his heroic efforts to shut yucca down...
and those of you arguing yucca creates jobs...
shove it...
those jobs aren't worth it...
your continued employment is not worth having our kids glow in the dark...
brush up the ole resume and get the hell out of town...
got that skippies!!!
Ethics????
Are you talking about newspaper ethics?
Like writing subjected opinions pieces and parading them out as news articles as oppose to keeping opinion peices in the editorial section or in clearly flagged columinst sections?
Ethical violations like having a by-line that states a opinion "Though he's delivered for Nevada" in a news article?
Did they back up that opinion with facts? Other than Yucca they claim this : "As Reid rose in leadership, so did Nevada's take of congressionally-directed earmarked money, from $77 million in 2001 to $165 million in 2009."
They failed to put that into perspective or the more accurate word "mislead" the readers into thinking that is great. Earmark spending growth for all states has been out-of-control .
We could have a jar of sand for a senator and they would have gotten a similar amount of earmarks.
Nevada is still ranked near the bottom on getting taxpayer money return to the state.
That was also true for the "stimulus" bill.
I guess you are not talking about newspaper ethics because the Sun is not a shining example of newspaper ethics.
No comment. Today is a day of peace and rest.
Reid, Pelosi, Kennedy, Obama....What a disaster.
Hey Birdiedreamin
"the most toxic crap ever known to man" is simply untrue, there are many poisons out there that do the job a lot more efficiently than plutonium, the ingestion of which is quite treatable, and the inhalation of which is more difficult but still treatable. And if you get it on you, shower, even with Lake Mead water it will come off.
Many nerve agents don't give you time and opportunity to undo the damage, even on your skin they will absorb and kill in a very short time.
"those of you arguing yucca creates jobs...shove it...those jobs aren't worth it...
your continued employment is not worth having our kids glow in the dark...
brush up the ole resume and get the hell out of town...got that skippies!!!"
Who are you to speak as an owner of Nevada? I am as much a Nevadan as anyone, including you, and as far as I'm concerned your leaving Nevada would raise its level of polite discourse an order of magnitude at least. If you are unemployed you are hurting. And for no reason, in this case, except a political strategy someone is working for their own advantage.
As to what may kill Nevadans up to a million years from now, it is not going to be Yucca. Real people living now die needlessly because either they or someone else is over-consuming alcohol and/or high on one drug or another. That is why I worry about my kids and grand-kids here in Nevada (as I would anywhere, of course). Alcohol and mind-bending drugs are readily available, kids know it, and as long as they pay, they get what they want. That is a clear and present danger, to be taken seriously.
Yucca Mountain is not a danger to anyone living today, and is very likely not to ever hurt anyone. Focus your venom where the real dangers lie. You have lots of venom, don't waste it on a non-issue where safety is concerned, and try to have some compassion for those currently out of work. Compassion is a human thing, try being human, maybe you'll like it.
Poor, poor thumper-wumper... do you miss your mommie-wommie? Hmmm? You have such anger issues, dear. You know, if you take your pills at the properly prescribed doses, at the time it says on the bottle, you would feel SO much better!
p.s...
I know you don't have the cash, would you like me to buy you a spot at Harry's next fundraiser, honey? The food is wonderful and the company enchanting!!!
p.p.s...
NOW.
Let's talk about your language!
Were you brought up by a bunch of drunken sailors, or did mommy have a lot of company?
p.p.p.s...
You had me with you on the toxic waste @ Sunrise Landfill, but your face had already turned BLUE and you had SMOKE coming out of your earholes!
that CAN'T be good for you.
nance;
yes, media is a mere shell of it's former self. Print & Broadcast. Do you know why?
Ownership. Ethics are not nearly as important as making money.
Reid's numbers are down slightly because of the non stop attacks from white-sheet hate talk radio. However, the LA Times reported that hate-radio is in a bigger downturn. Sponsors are dropping like flies. Last year the Sean Inssanity Freedumb concert didn't even fill half the stadium it was held in, according to the conservative RJ paper. This year no one covered it, and the cost of Insannity's Gulf-stream Jet travel ate up almost all the proceeds. I called the station and the refuse to tell me how much they raised this year or last year for their so-called charity.
Given the court ruling regarding "Hillary - The Movie", we hopefully see the 3 Vegas and one Reno hate talk stations shut down or converted to music during the campaign since they are controlled by Republican agents, most of the people that are on the air work for the Republican Party or spray bugs.
I hope dirty Harry fails!
All Sen. Harry Reid really wants is to hang onto the perks he's getting from the system. That's all he really cares about. Do not be diverted, deceived, or mesmerized by Harry's dirty, money-grubbing lies.
There's no shortage of sin in the world today. It's been around since the Garden of Eden and will clearly persist as long as Harry continues to divert our attention from serious issues. Issue like how we are going to pay the national debt!
It troubles and amazes me to think that Harry has a talent for inventing a fantasy world. A world where cars that run on petrol are poisoning us, and coal plants with clean coal technology are ruining the earth.
It is pointless to fret about the damage already caused by his Marxist positions. The past cannot be changed. We must cope with the present if we hope to affect our future and chastise him for not doing any reputable research before spouting off. As I have tried to show in this post, disreputable buggers are deeply impressed by Sen. Harry Reid's guff. As long as you remember that, we may yet be able to free people from the fetters of alarmism's poisonous embrace.
Harry Reid. Bad for Nevada, dangerous for America!
Reverend,
are Gym Gibbons & Johnny Ensign good for Nevada?
I think they are big-time sinners, Padre!
tsk tsk. well, I am disappointed. let me demonstrate to you how your posts sound, thumper wumper;
aaaaaHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH! RRRRRRRRR!
gaaaaaaaaaa! GAAAAAAAAAAAA! Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Somethin' ain't right.
Try using your big-boy voice. It's in there somewhere.
Another partisan article written by Lisa Mascaro. Lisa, Your political bias is showing. How about a story on why Mr Reid is having to re-do the last seven years of his financial reports.
Harry Reid is losing in the polls because he is a career entrench senator that also is a pompous ass. We don't want him! Maybe some other state will take this washed-up nobody. Hey, send him to San Fransisco!!
Thumper, Thanks for the info on the dump. This should show the citizens of Nevada how unimportant they will be as long as any Reid holds a political position here in Nevada or anywhere in the U.S. I wrote in another comment that many politicians won't protect or help the citizens in their district, because there is no money in it. Greed,greed,greed. Backing the big money from resorts and contractors and other big business brings in the big campaign contributions, greed,greed,greed. Harry Reid, I bought a piece of land and sold a piece of land.
Harry Truman was "Give'm HELL Harry". With Reid I say "Go To HELL Harry".
Hey Thump, that was a great pic of birdie boy. I thought the reason of his echoed laughter was the fact that he stuttered. The picture tells the real story. Hey bird-tirde does your physical defect enable you to argue with yourself throughout the day. It's no wonder your mental balance has been questioned. Oh, have a good day and a better tomorrow,as long as both of you heads can agree on it.
Harry Reid is clearly a coward loser that has no backbone. One more year for this moron.
I guess if we write something you don't like it never see the light of day.
O well there goes the first amendment.
I guess it only pertains to republicans. at town hall meetings.
From many of the comments registered daily online at LV Sun and LVRJ, if such comments are representative in any way of the constituency-citizens of Nevada (and I believe not), then any productive, well meaning progressive centrist national leader would have a hard time being accepted in Nevada.
Sherman's peice got picked up by the Drudge Report and FoxNews.com.
I bet their hits numbers when way up today.
Even though Reid will have $25 million or plus in the bank in attempt to buy the election, I have a feeling that once a Republican nominee is picked then a ton of money will start pouring in from across the country into the Republican nominee bank account.
Of course, Reid will fall back on the try-and-proven tactic of having an underground smear campaign claiming that his opponent works for a porn company, loves cancer and is on up on ethics charges....hell it help the Democratic Party win the Nevada Senate then it will probably work again.
I hope the Republicans are prepare to fight back and perhaps have their own sewer smear campaign ready if the Reid campaign fires the first sewer attack which I am confident that they will.
Amazed at the vitriol spewed forth from the anti-Harry crowd. So vote for Tarkanian. But stop the hate, please. He is the most hard-working elected official from either party ever elected--and Nevada needs his clout in Washington!
" He is the most hard-working elected official from either party ever elected--and Nevada needs his clout in Washington!"
What exactly has Reid worked so hard for Nevada on other then getting people laid-off at Yucca?
I never liked Reid. He does a wonderful job of mucking up otherwise good ideas with his politics. I know a lot of people want him to stay in his current position of being the Majority leader because he might bring back more bacon for our state, but I haven't seen that happen very much with him.
But then again I think the Republicans are a mess in this state and I just don't agree with conservative policies. So I really don't know who to vote for.
Harry has had his back to the wall before and has been able to get his message across to the voters resulting in his relection....
In other words, don't count Harry out! He knows how to campaign and he has some 25 million dollars for his reelection campaign.
The Republicans, on the other hand, have no viable candidate at this point in time to run against Harry. Young Tark needs to learn to walk before he tries to run....
The last election (2008) saw the Silver State adopt a very blue hue politically.....That will be in Harry's favor.
What happens with the economy, the war in the Middle East, and what is passed in terms of health care reform will have a lot to do with whether or not Harry continues to be Nevada's senior Senator...
the ONLY...ONLY reason the sun is in print is because of their joint operating agreement with the review-journal.
i mean...it's an insert into the r-j now. it's not even an actual "paper".
and anyone that thinks reid, obama, and pelosi are even CLOSE to being in the center is a moron.
It's funny that in the next 3+ years everything that will go wrong will be Bush's fault and everything that goes right is obama's doing. You can't have it both ways. I only know that he has put this country in more depth in only 7 months than Bush didn't do in 8 years. Also sleazy Harry never gave approval or complimented our military. You can bet your ass he will take credit for being behind our troops!
Harry Reid is certainly not a like-able person. And you'd be hard pressed to find a good reason to respect him. How can anyone praise a corrupt politician? Reid and many of his colleagues belong in prison and some of you speak highly of him. Your standards are way too low; develop some self-esteem and you might learn to vote intelligently.
The only reason Harry Reid is "behind" in the polls is because the polls were conducted by that Republican Rag the Reviled Journal led by that sore loser Shillman Ferepubfreaks. They only poll Republicans no doubt . There are so many more democrats now registered in Nevada and Obama won Nevada by a huge margin. The complainers about Reid are the same dummies that voted in Dufus Gibbons.
Nevadans should be and are proud that one of its own has risen to the top of the Senate, badmouthers are just misguided losers. They probably want Bushdummie back and retard Palin in office. Harry Reid is right on health care, onlly a Public Option will ensure health coverage for all deserving Americans and create a climate of competition to lower overall medical costs. All the noise is being created by wealthy health insurers who are pulling out all stops to try to keep the status quo which means millions of americans will be left without adequate care and costs will continue to go up. They don't care about all americans just their yachts and fancy cars and houses. Reid will win reelection deservedly.
LVS, can't you get a more realistic pic of Reid? Maybe one with hunched Harry tugging Obama's coattail while Pelosi prods him from the rear.
Harry will win and heads will explode here--can't wait.
Reid = Greed. If I'm not mistaken,wasn't this little weaseler being questioned about super sweet land deals a few years ago. I'm not sure but it might have been around the Laughlin area. If someone remembers the details please post in case I'm mistaken,But I don't think so. On the other hand,who can forget the Gibbons tax deal on his little parcel up north. Clowns to the left and jokers to the right,We real tax payers in the middle!
Harry Reid may win. But not if I can help it. And I will work my ass of to defeat this SOB.
Well,The Only thing that's going to explode is TAXES! Unless you don't pay anyway,No problem right?
Buck oFama and all his cronies.
Critics of Harry Reid, go ahead and vote him out.
Nevada will just become the same obscure, corrupt, crazy state it has always been. The fact we managed to send an educated man to Washington is a frickin miracle, considering only 18% of the state has higher than a high school diploma.
Don't blame Harry Reid -he didn't vote in Gibbons and Ensign. Or the gin drinkin mayor-or the prison garbed county commissioners-
this state is insane.
I say bring Yucca Mountain back-it can't get any worse. Y'all are starting to sound like the outbacks of Idaho's skinheads.
And yeah, Las Vegan's famous mantra, "If you don't like it leave"
Well, we need to keep some sane people in this state. I plan to stay and be one of the few.
Look at the facts, Reid needs to go. Not ony will it help our state, but it will also help our nation!
Nevadans, visit http://aBadReid.com for more information on why this is true.
Bad Reid
Bad Senator
Where is Harry in protecting us and the CIA. Putting
the CIA on trial in unforgivable.
The new Miranda rights statement given to
terrorists:
You have the right to remain silent, what you
say may help us stop more terrorist attacks.
The 60's hippies radicals need to be removed
for our safety.
&
Remember what 9/11 did to the Vegas economy?
Talk to anyone on the streets...its candidate fatigue and the unlikeability factor. Same thing happened to Mario Cuomo in New Yrok in 1994.
I hear a great song in 2010 about Pinky... kinda like... "nah nah nah nah..nah nah nah nah...hey hey hey....goooooooodddddddbbbbyyyeeeee!"
hey thumper,
can you go over that Sunrise Landfill stuff one more time?
i didn't catch all the details in the 23 times you posted about it after this article....
I am always suspicious of career politicians, These people always promise and never deliver. If someone else achieves something they're right there for the photo op and kinda take credit for something that they think we think they are responsible for. This Pink faced phony has been on the public dole too long. Get a job Pinky and quit shoving it up ours.
Reid will lose as will many incumbents next time around, be it Repubicans or Democrats. Anyone who voted for bailouts must and will go! Why? By the time the next election rolls around, they will be talking of raising taxes to help stop the bleeding caused by lower tax revenues from a continued slowing economy and continued high unemployment rate AS WELL as higher spending for the liberal programs this congress manages to pass.
Teach men to fish, don't give them fish. Only from industry, hard work, and American entrepreneurship will we right the course. If we continue on our charted path, our children will live the American nightmare, not dream, and the most sought after thing by Christmas of 2012 will be just one good hot meal. Either Reid goes or say goodbye to the middle class, to people who run their own business, to the gaming industry, and say hello to a VAT tax and much higher taxes from every angle.
And what is a "viable candidate"? To me, a viable candidate is someone who opposes Roe v Wade, allowing the life support system for a developing baby to be terminated, ie, murder. A viable candidate is a fiscally responsible person who does not owe any favors to any special interest group and who is a DC "outsider". To me, a viable candidate is someone who vows to only serve one term then return to the private sector, someone who will support and push for term limits across the board. I don't know baby Tarkanians position on term limits, but I know he is a fiscally conservative, anti-abortion DC outsider which makes him the most viable candidate, above Reid himself!
Harry Reid has "delivered" for Nevada??? What planet are you on? Didn't we just learn that Harry has delivered Nevada to the bottom of the federal dollars list?
Someone please explain how Harry is so effective and so powerful, yet he can't even get King Obama to apologize for destroying the Las Vegas convention business with his comments. Anyone want to calculate the $millions$ that has cost us here? I am willing to bet that it is a whole lot more money than Harry "delivered". Harry is nothing more than a party hack driven by blind ambition.
Oh, and anyone that would vote for him "by default" because he is a mormon is either unbelievably ignorant, or is nothing more than a religious bigot that happens to be mormon. Look at his voting record and his politics. Harry only acts mormon during elections. My mormon friends that are real mormons (and aren't ignorant) think that he is a disgrace to their religion. I agree.
If you really want to gain some insight in who Harry really is, read the link below, and then read between the lines.
http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/56171937.htm...
thumper = mental midget.
This guy is very unlikeable and is a mean spirited hack. Not a good representative of the great state of Nevada.
A few points here vegasphotog
Bob Brown just sells ads?
Same Bob Brown formerly of the "Valley Times"?
Are those Mormon friends just "Sunday Mormons"?
LDS people are well known for leaning right and conservative although it has been mentioned here that Utah has more democrats than Mass. has republicans.
This is a democratic newspaper that defends the "little guy". Hank used to call the RJ " that little paper down the street".
Who cares what Sherm says allegedly about Harry?
Harry has a right to his opinion and there is more to it than just hello, handshake and hope you go out of business.(you're only hearing one side and that side doesn't listen anyway).
Same thing went on a few years ago when the highly biased largest newspaper in AZ. spewed nothing but one sided tripe and a small group met at a former governors house with a former republican candidate that lost to J McCain.Their intent;start their own newspaper that wasn't so one sided and entrenched as to allow a carpetbagger with the most money to influence voters decisions.
Anyone ever read the Gemstone File..
I think two terms should be the limit for these hacks! Maybe it would keep the damage to a minimum.
Note to all those tired old liberals who want to blame all that is bad on Bush. If you are going to blame him for the war dead, Then I guess the 47 deaths THIS month in Afghanastan must be blamed on Obama, since he has had plenty of time to end the war if he desires. His Cash for Clunkers should be re-named Cash for Toyota and Honda, since he closed over 1,000 U.S. dealerships selling American brands. He did not just allow it to happen, he DEMANDED it. Reid must be voted out of office, please take Boxer with him. They can spend many retirement years at the country club that the average voter (even me, a white Republican) wouldn't be allowed in. The arrogance of the democrats is fast showing in the polls, Just as the Rebublicans blew it when they were in power in the early 2000's, The Dems seem to have learned nothing. Of course, No Republican with any respectability would re-elect Ensign either.
Harry Reid is a pompous old school politician whose real attention is on getting re-elected.
When Obama trashed Las Vegas, where was old Harry? Did he go after Obama?
When Harry needed some political boost for his own campaign, THEN he invited Obama to come here and stump for him. It was all buddy-buddy then.
This all makes me sick. Get rid of him once and for all. I will enjoy voting against him and I hope that my vote is the ONE that gets him out.
We hire senators to do a real job- not just to concentrate on getting re-elected.