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Back home, Harry Reid more concerned about catching mice than polls
Sam Morris
From left, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) talk with Arthur Fraijo on Friday at the Searchlight Nugget. Reid and Salazar were in town to formalize payment of $135.9 million for projects throughout Nevada, funded by the auction of federal land in the Las Vegas Valley.
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Searchlight
To explain Harry Reid, Searchlight resident Richard Hill tells the mouse story.
Hill’s wife, Judy, keeps an eye on the Senate majority leader’s local house while he is in Washington, and recently she was dealing with a rogue mouse.
Hill helped her set traps three times with cheese, but to no effect.
When Reid and his wife, Landra, came home, “Senator Reid told me I’m 0 for 3 when it comes to trapping mice,” Hill said.
Having been on the receiving end of Reid’s dry humor, Hill is pretty sure that the senator was not serious when he made a now infamous remark to the Review-Journal advertising director that he hoped the newspaper, which has been critical of him, goes out of business.
“That’s just Harry,” Hill said.
A Reid spokesman also said the senator was not being serious.
On Friday, during a stop at the Searchlight Nugget with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey and an entourage of staff members and media in tow, Reid had the home field advantage. Polls that show him trailing little-known Republicans were irrelevant at the Nugget, where Reid visited with old friends took the corner booth for two eggs over easy and whole wheat toast.
At the next table, Hill questioned the polls that show Reid behind.
“That’s crazy,” he said. “Where did they take that poll?”
Reid also took the opportunity, after an announcement of $135 million in federal money coming to Nevada through the Southern Nevada Public Management Act, to fire back at polls by the Review-Journal and the blog Daily Kos that showed Reid trailing Republicans Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian. Both polls had biases, Reid said.
“My polling numbers are fine,” he said. “Every person who’s been mentioned so far, all my polls show me ahead.
“There’s a year to go. Come next June, when they’ve had a primary and have a candidate, we will be happy to engage them.”
At the Nugget, Reid seemed to relish the opportunity to introduce Salazar, a former Senate colleague and a Colorado rancher, to his neighbors: Nugget owner Verlie Doing, Native American Arthur Fraijo, Searchlight Town Advisory Board Chairman and general store owner Stan Colton.
After breakfast, Reid thanked the kitchen staff, and he and Salazar, sporting a cowboy hat, got into an SUV to lead a convoy of staff and media to Cottonwood Cove for the announcement.
On the way, they turned onto a dirt road to the Searchlight Cemetery, where staff and media waited at the metal gate while the senator and secretary visited Reid’s family plot, where his parents, grandparents and brother are buried.
Salazar said he had read Reid’s history of Searchlight and had seen photos, “but I had no clue how far and remote it was.”
In front of the audience at Cottonwood Cove, Reid recounted the tour, calling it a “memorable day.”
Salazar returned the favor, recalling Reid’s hard-scrabble youth working with his father in the mines while his mother took in laundry.
“Sometimes in political life, you find a lot of people who are back-slapping, smiling people who don’t come from the heart,” he said. “That’s not the case with Harry Reid. What you see is what you get.”
Discussion: 40 comments so far…
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Hairy Reid must go!
Another love story on Reid........oh how special........The Las Vegas Sun Democrat......just keeps rolling on.
Lowden and Tarkanian would do absolutely zero for Las Vegas and Nevada, even the top Republican kingmaker, Sig Rogich believes that Nevadans would be crazy to vote him out of office. Without Reid, we are a small, weak state.
atta boy harry...
vegas loves you baby...
tark's little kiddy is a joke...
lowden has no friends...
you are going to crush them harry!!!
Reid is bad for Nevada. SOME people wrongly believe that having a Senate Majority Leader from our state actually helps our cause.
Look at the facts at http://aBadReid.com and you will see that statistics say otherwise.
Vote Nevada Friendly! Vote Reid OUT!
Bad Reid
Bad Senator
WOW.....I've got to guess that many of you are Californians who ruined California and moved here....so now after your five to eight years in Nevada you are now legislatively astute.....you are living in the moment of Nevada history.....do more research than the Review Journal and FOX news normally let's you....look at the process....look at how Lake Mead is governed....what has to be done....if we can keep the California numb-nuts from pretending it is the Pacific Ocean....because you miss water so much....move back I say, it would most certainly improve the traffic...by at least seventy percent....I'm sure of it...research all of what Harry Reid has done...I'm sure he is not perfect, of course nor are people who screw up one state and move to another...and then say, gee this is not California....get a life...in another state
most people cannot look beyond party affiliation to figure out that someone may do a better job that is not in their party....they should learn to vote for the best candidate.
notacon: Rogich is no longer the top Republican in Nevada. He compromised his integrity just like Engign and Gibbons did, only in a different way. Lowden and Sandoval are the future of a resurgent GOP. Fresh faces, new ideas, and real morals. The Nevada that spawned Reid, Gibbons, Goodman, Ensign, Rogich, Billy V now belongs to the ages.
Thumper, not one of the links you provide even mention Senator Reid. So, what is the point of your rants? Are you trying to say anyone who received a campaign donation from Republic Services is somehow guilty of landfill violations?
Senator Reid has served Nevada honorably and ethically; items missing from our junior Senator Ensign and Governor Gibbons. Right wing extremists who proclaim "anyone but Reid" are exactly the reason we get poor leaders like Bush, Gibbons, and Ensign.
Grow up and study the issues and vote with common sense, not with "anyone but Reid"
Now Reid is poisoning us? You guys are completely off your meds. Who let the laptop into the mental health facility?
I sure hoped he likes it there cause that's where he will be after the next election if they will still take him! Anywhere, so long as he is no-longer our senator.
ksand99
Again, as my dad says, consider the source. After reading brer rabbit's post I went through and read all 21 pages of the EPA doc aforementioned. It holds Republic responsible for clean up at the site. It also mentions CCPW as a contributor to the problems at the site. It also holds the PUBLIC responsible for damage at the site by means of trespass and use. It also holds construction activities at or near the site contributory.From my observations at the site I know that is one of the lowest parts of the Valley. Hence maximum water runoff to Lake Mead through this site.There was good cause to close this site in 1997 as it had outgrown the area and at that time was managed by the Isola family. I don't blame Republic for wanting to renegotiate or extend their contract as there is a $6500 a day liquidated damage clause and an end date to solve these issues set forth by the EPA. The damage was caused by water runoff and erosion from an "act of god" (rain) as we call it. It states that sediment clogged venting and drainage design elements that were in place. I wonder if Harry and Rory went up there with shovels and plugged 'em up themselves the way fur ball makes it sound CONTINUALLY! Hence the name Thumper.
Thumper: A lot of strawman arguments. So basically ALL Nevadan's are guilty. Do a little research and you'll find that ALL landfills operated from 1962-1993 have toxicity within them. But, to try and convict Senator Reid who has led the fight against dumping the most toxic substance on the planet within Yucca Mountain, shows you are nothing but a loon.
Reid's numbers are better than Gov Gibletts and Enswign and are better than Rush Limpbough's.
Wayne Allen Root will draw off a good percentage of votes if he runs for Senate.
Thumper: the truth is Kryptonite to Leftists. Don't saturate them with the facts or we won't have anyone to fight with.
I just love comments that are the same length as War and Peace. Especially when they're posted seven times in every thread.
Fuzzy,
I won't go toe to toe with you as your credibility lacks somewhat yet I will say again there are alot more factors involved here besides your oversimplified, slanted opinion.
ILLEGAL dumping occured here when in the process of closing it, the public didn't want to go to the new location (APEX) nor did they or could they go to a transfer station. It was medical waste etc. I got the date of closure (responsibilty) right from the 21 pages you are so proud of. Forgive me if I don't Google everything as you do or cite the RJ as you do.
Google the elevation, it's still in one of the lowest parts of the Valley.
I can't wait to vote for anyone but this thief.
The "Bird" picked up a few worms over at the landfill the other day and said they were quite good. Except for the fact that his droppings lite up his cage through out the night. I think he needs to go on a "Skippy" peanut butter diet until things smooth out a little.
The headline by itself explains why Harry Reid deserves the bums rush next year.
Harry Reid expresses more concern about a minor pest control problem in one of his many homes here in Nevada while the rest of us are losing our jobs, our homes and our way of life.
Harry do us all a favor and resign your senate seat. No representation would be a substantial improvement over what were getting from you right now.
Funny, you'd think that'd be interesting.
When I was living in Spokane in the 90's we had a guy who was the Speaker of the House, Tom Foley. We voted his axx out. It is time for Nevada to do the same to Harry Reid. Term Limits
Somebody had to go all the way to Search Light to get on "expert" opinion that Harry really didn't mean what he says about other newspapers going out of business. As for the polls, it is true the Daily Kooks are biased, but they are left wing partisan. Must suck when a poll that favors liberals can't even find a break for Harry. Hey Harry, how come you won't release your own poll numbers? We know you poll would never by biased!
Harry's going to win big again. Despite all the fuss Nevada voters are too smart to listen to the outside voices from the far right and far left.
Never give up strength.
Never give up seniority.
Vote for Nevada. Vote for Harry Reid.
bush 1 90% after gulf war, lost to clinton 18 mo later
Kudo's to you Thumper! This is the straw that will break the Reids' campaigns backs. It all comes clear to me now why birdie is the way he is, he lives in this landfill. For anyone to be so stupid on this issue, is certainly not playing with a full deck, and to think I was toying with the idea that Dirty Harry was getting his pockets filled by the casinos.
When a politician does't talk about an issue he usually wants people to forget about that issue. Thanks Thump!
Hey Thump, back in '96 I was talking to a loader operator as we were doing the street improvements and services around Lake Las Vegas, this operator was telling me that when TIMET was going strong with production in the '40's they would dump all of their chemical waste into the area where Lake Las Vegas is today. Any Feedback?
"Salazar said he had read Reid's history of Searchlight and had seen photos, "but I had no clue how far and remote it was."
The Interior Secretary thinks Searchlight is remote? It's only 40 miles from Vegas! Has he ever been to central Nevada or Alaska?
Salazar is letting on to his inexperience and lack of knowlege with the west.
Harry will win again, Nevadans are too lazy to get out of there airconditioning and vote against him.
Birdiedreamin...plaese take your meds.
I remember a couple weeks ago scary Harry said if you have issues,or a question for him he ll be more than happy to talk to you?Well i called,and all i got was a question on how much i want to donate to his campain!Dont let this man fool you!HE LOOKS OUT FOR ONLY HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY!THAT GOS WITH BOTH REPOOPLICANS AND DEMOCRAPS TOO!!!MONEY MOTIVATES THESE PARASITES,AND THEY HAVE NO DESIRE TO DO THE JOB FOR WHY THEY ARE THERE,OR THE PEOPLE WHOM VOTED THEM INTO OFFICE!IF YOU REALLY THINK HARRY HAS YOU IN MIND THINK AGAIN.IF HE DID HAVE YOU IN MIND,NV WOULD ALREADY BE SEEING SOME RECOVERY!