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Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sen. Harry Reid
Sun Blogs
Sun Topics
On election night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was watching returns in his hotel room when the TV flashed to a famous country singer performing at a Republican campaign party.
Reid called the entertainer names and scoffed at the television.
You better be careful, Senator, a staffer warned, he might come after you.
Let him! Reid bellowed.
It was the kind of characteristic brashness that is driving the four-term senator’s reelection campaign — and giving his opponents the ammunition they will use against him.
Collecting Reid-isms will be a pivotal strategy for Republicans trying to oust him in 2010. Many politicians learn to temper themselves during their time in office, carefully calibrating the story line of a career. Reid seems to have done the opposite.
The unfiltered Reid brings a shooting style not often seen in Washington, one that befuddles those who prefer smoother edges. This is a man who once left a White House meeting with President George W. Bush without shaking hands.
Now he is trash talking before the big fight.
The Republican Senate campaign committee last week sent letters to donors highlighting Reid’s actions on the day Roland Burris was being sworn in as Illinois’ newest senator. Reid tried unsuccessfully to block Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointment, hoping to distance Washington from the accusations that the governor had tried to sell the Senate seat once held by President-elect Barack Obama.
Yet Reid’s interference led to a series of events that ended up embarrassing Democrats when the 71-year-old African-American was left outside in the rain. Reid was forced to relent.
After Burris was sworn in last week on the Senate floor, Reid hugged the new senator, then put one hand on each of the man’s shoulders as he often does when he has something important to say. After conferring in private, they both smiled.
“We welcome you as a colleague and a friend,” Reid said a short while later.
Democrats say the delay in seating Burris helped clear any questions around his appointment — he was never accused of any wrongdoing.
But within the hour, the National Republican Senatorial Committee told donors, “With this flip-flop, Reid has forced upon the people of Illinois a Senator with a controversial and questionable background.”
Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes Senate races for the Cook Political Report in Washington, said Republicans would be foolish not to go after Reid. All the fundamentals are in order for a tough race — Reid’s low approval ratings at 38 percent and his lightning rod status as a partisan leader. Reid is the most vulnerable Democratic senator up for reelection in 2010, she said.
But she and many others have noted one ingredient remains missing: a viable opponent. “I go back to: Who’s running?” Duffy said.
The Nevada state Republican Party boss, Sue Lowden, was in Washington last week meeting with Republican officials about Reid.
A newly formed political action committee affiliated with the conservative group American Future Fund recently set up a Web site, “Watchin’ Reid,” that hopes to build a nationwide movement against him. In Las Vegas, the editorial pages of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a libertarian newspaper, regularly broadside Reid.
The senator, meanwhile, has been steadily building a reelection team that will operate in the state, which went Democratic this year and helped elect Obama.
Reid hired Brandon Hall, a political strategist with Western roots, as his campaign manager. Hall has run campaigns across the West and has ties to Nevada — his mother and grandparents once lived in Fernley.
Reid recently told a Hill newspaper he welcomes the reelection fight — the more money Republicans spend on him, he said, the less they have to target his colleagues.
In his autobiography, the senator writes that others would understand his style better if they knew where he comes from — the hardscrabble desert mining community of Searchlight.
“Harry Reid gives it to you straight,” Reid spokesman Jon Summers said. “He’s prepared to fight and win.”
I hope all of Nevadas voting citizens realize Prince Harrys' intentions of bringing the immigration bill back up on the table. I got a few phone calls from friends and family back east after his disgracful appearance on "Meet the Press" a few weeks back. On the air he told the nation how his good friend John McCain and himself were going to introduce a new immigration reform bill soon because of all the poor illegals who are suffering here in our United States. He has held this position for more than 4 years.
Not one word came from his lips on how he was going to help create jobs for over 100,000 Nevadan citizens who are now on the unemployment line, and thousands more who are unemployed and have run out of unemployment. Passing a new immigration reform bill would put even more of our Nevadans on the streets. Is this what Prince Harry is looking towards? I say now is the time before Mr. Reid lies and flip flops that he was misquoted in what he meant, to set him aside for future plans as being Senator of Nevada and concentrate on a candidate that wants to help our citizens through these hard economic times. He can wait till he's out of office before he goes and plays with John McCain in the sand box. This is not a game anymore Harry, good citizens lives and families are at stake.
I hope nobody dares to consider this story even close to a professional news article.
Perhaps, I am confused. Is this an ad that was purchased by Reid's office?
This State elected Jimbo Gibbons Governor so nothing in Nevada surprises me. Just depends on the power brokers like Sig, Harvey and Billy's R&R gang.
Rory as our next Gov?, maybe or Jimbo for a second term...possible. Some puppet will come out of the power brokers box to defeat Harry but be careful you might get what you ask for!
Harry Reid has always been about himself.
Harry does not care one iota about the common people of Nevada.
Watching Harry work on an issue like the $700 billion TARP shows about little he understands important issues. Keeping someone like Chris Dodd as his lead on this is also Reid's failure.
Harry is a deal maker first, second, and third.
Because Harry is failing on so many levels his whole campaign is going to be based on one fear-mongering issue Yucca Mountain.
The only way he can win on Yucca is to change the law. Just cutting the annual appropriation just leave it to be restarted when the next wave comes to Washington or the NEI will sue and take over completion of the project.
So Sue Lowden got fired as Reid's campaign manager? That IS news...
You don't suppose he's concerned about his 19% approveal rating, do you? Naaahhhh....he actually likes being ranked below Bush.
And what's this "Watching Reid" gimmick by the RNC going to be other than a blank screen?
Why-O-Why can't the repugs run someone I can cross party lines and vote for? With Lowden running things, 19% Reid seems assurred of becoming the oldest and most senile Senator there is.
"Voting Senator Reid out would reduce Nevada's political clout in DC to irrelevant"
Reid is the second most powerful political in DC according to some.
Yucca is still alive.
Nevada is ranked on the bottom of getting state taxpayer money returned back to the state.
What exactly has Reid done for Nevada with all that clout?
Just an FYI, he has family members who are lobbyist in DC and have made millions doing that work. Nice work if you can get it.
Anybody who seriously will vote for Dirty Harry in the next election either is a buffoon or has difficult reality issues.
Reid is not in this for Nevada, he is in it for himself.
As for "Nevada's political clout", really, are you kidding me. Nevada has as much political clout as Ted Kennedy has driving skills. And speaking of driving skills, with Harry at the wheel this train is definitely leaving the tracks.
When you look at what a powerful man Harry Reid is, ask yourself this. When Harry said Roland Burris would never be seated as a Senator, wasn't he just sworn in???
Gordan: Please provide a link for this: "The last approval ratings I saw for Reid comprised of NEVADANS were in the high 50's (October 2008). "
The last one from Nevada voters that I saw said Reid's approval rating was around Bush's...in the low 30's.
I hope Nevadans will see that having HR in the Senate - even with the Speaker position - is not worth the damage he does to America @ large. He was willing to declare the war lost while we had our troops on the ground. Regardless of what side of the war you might be on, that cannot be forgiven. If he had done that in the 1940's he would have been thrown down the steps of Penn. Ave.
He is a divider and he owns the 17% approval rating.
Vote this man out.
Bush 34 % approval
Congress 9% approval
Reid just a loser.
Of course Fox News has Bush at 34%. Elsewhere, he is as low as 22%.
"Congress 9% approval"
How does the rating for all of congress, which is actually closer to 22%, make Reid a loser?
The last Nevada poll for Reid puts him at the nearly the same approval rating as Bush around in the low 30%.
Bush's average approval rating is 29%.
Gallup has it at 34%.
So Reid a loser.....yes!
"So Reid a loser.....yes!"
If Reid is a loser at 30%, that certainly makes Bush an even bigger one at 29%.
Thanks for that nance. I love when you help me make my points.
19% or 30%; what's the dif? Reid is loved about as much as Elizabeth Halverson.
The big prob is if the repugs can find somebody other than a political cadaver to run against him.
I heard Harry Reid owns quit a bit of land around Yucca Mountain just waiting to sell to the government and make a fortune. I wander how true this is. If it is, he is for Yucca Mountain not against it. Can't trust him.