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Harry Hamburg / AP
Victoria Kennedy, widow of Sen. Ted Kennedy, hugs Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009, after the Senate passed the health care reform bill. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, looks on at center.
Sunday, March 28, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Harry Reid
HEALTH CARE’S PATH TO SIGNING
Spring-summer 2009
Sen. Harry Reid gives chairmen of the Senate’s health and finance committees wide latitude to develop health care reform bills. Talks drag into fall in the finance committee, as Democrats try unsuccessfully to win Republican backing. Reid is increasingly criticized for not playing a stronger role.
Oct. 26, 2009
Reid emerges with his own bill, a merger of legislation passed by the health and finance committees that includes the public option. This is a big win for liberals and progressives who want a government-run alternative to private insurers. But even with Reid’s opt-out clause for states, the public option lacks support among senators.
Nov. 7, 2009
The House passes its bill, a more liberal version than the one being considered in the Senate. President Barack Obama’s inability to complete his top domestic priority threatens his first-year agenda and increases pressure on Reid and the Senate.
Nov. 21, 2009
Reid secures the 60 votes needed in the Senate to open debate. The entire Democratic caucus votes yes. All Republicans vote no, except one who is absent. But several Democrats say they only voted to open debate, and cannot support the bill.
Dec. 24, 2009
After four days of procedural votes, some held in the middle of the night during a blizzard, the Senate passes Reid’s bill. The entire Democratic caucus votes yes. All Republicans, except one who is absent, vote no. Reid, in a fit of exhaustion, mistakenly votes “no” before correcting his vote to “aye.”
Mid-January 2010
In days of tense meetings at the White House, House and Senate leaders try to reconcile their two bills into one that could pass both chambers and be sent to the president. In a midnight session, Reid tells his colleagues it’s time to put aside their differences and pass the bill.
Jan. 19
Republican Scott Brown is elected to the Senate from Massachusetts, winning the seat long held by Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy. Democrats lose their 60-seat majority in the Senate.
February-March
Reid and House leaders begin gathering support for a two-step process: The House would pass the Senate bill, followed by a package of changes. The Senate would approve the changes under the reconciliation process that needs only 51 votes. On March 20, Reid assures Democrats he has the commitment from a “significant majority” of senators to pass a fix-up bill if the House goes first.
March 21
As protesters keep a vigil outside the Capitol, the House passes both Reid’s Senate bill and its own fix-up bill just before midnight.
Tuesday
Obama signs health care reform into law: “We’re done,” he says. The Senate begins two days of debate on the fix-up bill under the reconciliation process that allows unlimited amendments.
Thursday
After dozens of amendments and a nearly all-night session, the Senate passes the fix-up bill with no Republican support. Three Democrats vote no. Republicans succeed in making slight changes that force the bill back to the House. The House passes the bill that night. It is sent to Obama for his signature.
Sun Archives
- Health fix-up bill passes Senate, heads back to House (3-25-10)
- Obama signs historic $938 billion health overhaul (3-23-2010)
- First changes would start six months after health bill becomes law (3-22-2010)
- Sides getting ready for final battle over health care reform (3-22-2010)
- House clears historic health bill, GOP targets Nevada Democrats (3-21-2010)
- House poised for up-or-down vote on health care reform (3-20-10)
- How a Harry Reid asset has turned into a liability
- A Vegas-style gamble on Obama’s agenda (2-25-2010)
- Reid, Democrats consider health care reform options after losing supermajority in Senate (1-21-2010)
- Senate casts historic vote on health care reform (12-24-09)
It was about midnight and tensions at the White House ran high on that January evening.
House and Senate leaders had been haggling for days to merge their two health care bills. The heady momentum of passing President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority in both chambers had given way to the touchy task of reconciling two very different pieces of legislation.
Their window for passing health care was closing: Republican Scott Brown was gaining ground on the Democratic candidate for the Massachusetts Senate seat long held by Ted Kennedy.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid began to speak.
Long on storytelling and short on diplomacy, Reid’s talks always engendered a certain dread among listeners. He launched into a heartfelt, if meandering, story about a Las Vegas family who could not afford health care.
Where was he going with this, some in the Cabinet Room wondered.
Finally, the punch line: “People ought to put away their petty differences and get health care done for the country,” Reid said, according to those present.
It was an unusually forceful statement from a man who speaks so softly he sometimes goes unheard.
“I think Harry has this right,” Obama said. “Let’s get this thing done for the country.”
Days later, Brown won the Massachusetts special election, ending the Democrats’ 60-seat Senate majority. The clear path to health care reform — a task Washington had pursued off and on for a century — vanished, leaving Reid to chart another in the new political landscape.
Reid was unflinching during the long health care debate: the somber, steady workhorse alongside the more passionate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the more popular president. He worked a quiet insiders game to accomplish what many saw as impossible.
The majority leader has been questioned at every step by friends and foes alike.
Liberals complained Reid allowed committee chairmen too much latitude to negotiate with Republicans — the failed “Snowe strategy,” named for Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, that resulted in a watered-down bill but no bipartisan support.
Moderates thought he wasted time courting liberals with the doomed public option, which did not have enough support to pass.
Some whispered Reid was taking positions merely to boost his dismal standing in Nevada as he fights for his political life this fall.
Even the president, who rode to Washington on a promise of transparent government, backed away after Reid larded the bill with unsavory favors, including the Cornhusker Kickback.
True and valid criticisms, all.
But it is also true that Obama would not have signed the bill in the East Room of the White House last week, declaring, “We are done,” if not for the maneuvering of the senator from Searchlight, according to many involved.
Could Reid have worked differently, more forcefully, to shape a better bill, one more closely resembling the Democratic dream of universal coverage? Or one that fostered bipartisan support rather than unified Republican opposition?
Perhaps another leader could have.
Perhaps another leader would have ended with nothing — as happened every other time a president broached providing health care for all, stretching back to Theodore Roosevelt.
As Obama signed the bill into law Tuesday, he said the nation is “blessed by leaders in each chamber who not only do their jobs very well, but who never lost sight of that larger mission.”
Reid, the president said, is “one of the best majority leaders the Senate has ever had.”
Some heavy-lifting
Snowstorms pounded Washington in the final days of December.
As a blizzard bore down, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, the Democrats’ most conservative member, was sleeping on a deal he struck with Reid.
It was the Friday before Christmas and much of the city was preparing for the holidays. The House had adjourned.
The Senate still had heavy lifting to do.
Nelson shook hands with the majority leader, committing the 60th vote for health care reform. The two had resolved the difficult issue of abortion funding and agreed to a special Medicaid deal for Nebraska — what would become the toxic Cornhusker Kickback later struck from the law. (Nelson said he never sought special treatment.)
Reid and top Democratic senators gathered in the majority leader’s second-floor office in the Capitol when Obama, returning from climate change talks in Copenhagen, called from Air Force One with congratulations.
The president, on speaker phone, began telling about how several times during the course of negotiations others thought the bill was dead, but Reid pressed forward.
As Obama waxed on, Reid did what he often does when he is done with a conversation: He hung up.
“Thank you, Mr. President, I know you’re very busy,” Reid said.
Click.
For a politician, Reid has an odd relationship with the spotlight. He steps away from the limelight when others seize it. He finds power in letting others lead.
This style has infuriated many Democrats who would prefer a stronger leader, a Lyndon B. Johnson-type who pushes his caucus toward the goal.
But it is what Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, chairman of the powerful Budget Committee, calls the majority leader’s “self-effacing leadership,” that made Reid so successful at gathering votes to pass health care reform amid so many obstacles.
Reid early on delegated authority to his top committee chairmen to craft the bill — Kennedy, the chairman of the Health Committee, and later, after Kennedy became ill, Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Finance Committee.
The Health Committee passed its bill over the summer, before Kennedy died. But the Finance Committee’s work dragged on as Baucus sequestered six senators, Republicans and Democrats, to devise a bipartisan bill.
The Senate adjourned empty-handed in August, leaving a void Republican opponents filled with arguments against reform.
Suddenly imaginary “death panels” and the specter of a socialized government takeover of health care entered the public consciousness. Tea Party protesters filled town-hall meetings. The uprising was swift, and no one, it seemed, had the majority leader’s back.
Democrats fumbled their response, failing to shift popular opinion and give Reid and congressional leaders cover to complete their work.
Instead, detractors in his own party said the Senate was wasting time. Baucus’ bipartisan talks yielded only one Republican vote — Snowe — when the committee finally passed a bill in October. Snowe’s support would be lost in the weeks to come.
Richard Kirsch, campaign manager for Health Care for America Now, a pro-reform advocacy group, said the time Democrats spent trying to attract Republican support “didn’t buy them a thing.”
President Barack Obama smiles as he waits for Vice President Joe Biden to take his seat at the Blair House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010, during a meeting with Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders to renew efforts for health care reform. Seated, from left are Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif.
The party faithful were losing faith. A progressive group ran TV ads questioning whether Reid was “strong and effective enough” to craft a bill it could support.
What liberals wanted to see more than anything was a public option — a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
If Americans would be required to have health insurance, progressives argued, they should have the option of buying it from the government rather than turning over 16 million new customers to insurance companies.
As Reid merged the Health and Finance bills, the House neared passage of its bill, a more liberal version that included a public option and more generous subsidies for the uninsured to buy coverage.
Against this backdrop, Reid directed policy advisers who were holed up in an office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, a barren room with drab floral curtains and a scuffed-up conference table. There, they pieced together the bill that eventually landed on the president’s desk.
The last time the Senate merged two bills, it had taken eight months. Reid did it in two weeks, in what Nancy-Ann DeParle, the White House’s director of health care policy, called “a wonder to behold.”
When Reid unveiled his bill, on a Monday afternoon in late October, he immediately transformed himself in the eyes of the liberal left from untrustworthy leader to hero.
But he also set up an impossible scenario for passing the legislation.
The bill contained the public option. But even this watered-down version, with an opt-out clause for states that didn’t want to participate, couldn’t pass.
Nelson was among several senators saying they would not support it. For every Democratic senator that Reid lost, he would need to pick up a Republican — a more unlikely feat.
In retrospect, some think Reid was simply trying to appease liberals, showing he was on their side even if the votes did not add up.
“Others had to see Harry tried to get that because they wanted it so badly,” Nelson said in an interview last week.
“I don’t know whether he was bluffing or a part of a gamble,” Nelson said. “I know I wasn’t bluffing.”
A week later, the House passed its bill, putting more pressure on Reid as opposition mounted, and Obama saw his top priority slipping away.
Reid convened another group of senators — moderate and progressive Democrats — to work on the public option. Reid had no margin for error — all 60 Democratic senators would be needed to overcome Republican opposition.
Republicans decried the backroom negotiations. They called out the special favors that would become too toxic to keep in the bill.
No sooner had the group reached consensus on swapping the public option for an expansion of Medicare than the deal blew up. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the Independent from Connecticut who caucuses with Democrats, announced in mid-December that he would oppose it.
Outraged Democrats said Lieberman should be forced to fall in line. Reid should strong-arm him Johnson-style and strip him of his committee chairmanship.
But Reid, ever the creature of the Senate, would not choose that path. He had not severely punished Lieberman in 2008, when he campaigned against Obama. He would not do so now.
Lieberman would say later that the threat of losing his chairmanship would not have changed his position.
“Threats don’t get you very far,” Lieberman said at the time.
“But,” Lieberman added, “nobody ever said that.”
Something better than nothing
Reid and Obama share a strong bond, a relationship based on deep trust, and it’s unlike any other the president has.
After Lieberman upended the process yet again, Obama asked the majority leader, “Is health care dead?”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, left, listens as Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., right, drives home a point while answering questions on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009, after the Senate passed the health care reform bill. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is at center.
“No,” Reid said, according to those aware of the conversation. “I’ve got, in the state of Nevada, people who can’t afford health care. I’ll fix it.”
For all his quiet certitude, Reid brings a scattered, Jackson Pollock quality to his work, throwing legislative provisions on the canvas and seeing what sticks.
Reid pivoted again, setting out to convince his progressive wing there was no other choice but to pull the Medicare expansion, ending its hopes for a government-run alternative to private insurers.
Better to have something than nothing, Reid argued. This was important for the presidency, for their party. Democrats, he said, needed to stick together.
Reid brought senators on board, sealed the agreement with Nelson and called the votes.
At 1 a.m. on the Monday before Christmas, senators began streaming to the Capitol for the first of what would be four days of votes to pass Reid’s bill that would become law.
After the first vote showed all 60 senators in the Democratic caucus standing together, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York bound out of the chamber to declare a “total vindication of Harry Reid’s strategy.”
Days later, on Christmas Eve, the senators stood at their desks for the final vote.
The entire Democratic caucus voted yes. All Republicans, except one who was absent, voted no.
When Reid delivered his own vote, he mistakenly cast a “no” before quickly switching to an “aye.” The chamber gasped, then chuckled. Senators later embraced the exhausted Reid and shook his hand.
Reid’s popularity back home crashed, sending dismal poll numbers even lower.
Reconciliation
After the holidays, the House and Senate faced seemingly irreconcilable differences in merging the two bills.
The Senate could never pass the more liberal House bill. And Pelosi knew her Democrats had no stomach for the Senate bill’s more conservative provisions — the so-called Cadillac tax on high-end insurance plans and smaller subsidies for the uninsured.
One of Reid’s great strengths — his ability to cut deals to win support from reluctant senators — also became a Democratic liability: Republicans turned the Cornhusker Kickback and other favors into dirty words. Rank-and-file House members distanced themselves.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid greets guests on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 24, 2010, following a health care reform news conference.
The day before Brown’s victory in Massachusetts, Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a leading health reform advocacy group, e-mailed House and Senate leaders, suggesting a two-step process should Brown win.
The House could pass the Senate bill, but the Senate could then follow up with a package of changes to ease House Democrats’ concerns. The Senate, should Brown win, could use the reconciliation process that requires just 51 votes.
Democrats settled on that strategy.
Yet the House has a deep distrust of the Senate, referring to it only in partial jest as the enemy.
Before Pelosi’s rank-and-file could accept the Senate bill, House Democrats needed a guarantee the Senate would make changes.
Once again, it was Reid’s low-key, steady style that kept the process moving.
Another leader might have been more forceful, pushing Pelosi to accept the Senate bill. Another leader might have been more defensive about the House’s mistrust of the Senate.
Reid, Kirsch said, “managed to just keep cool.”
“Some people would question his commitment. He doesn’t show it the same way the president does, the same way the speaker does,” Kirsch said. “Sometimes you want more of an out-front leader. This is the time his strength really makes sense.”
As Pelosi worked to round up support in the House, Reid built support in the Senate.
Some senators were reluctant to use the reconciliation process, which is reserved for the most crucial situations, fearing a backlash from Republicans shut out of the process.
Others wanted changes to the bill. A coalition of liberal senators led by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont wanted an amendment returning the public option.
Reid convinced them, Sanders said, that it might “destabilize a very sensitive situation.” The majority leader promised a vote on the public option after health care reform became law.
“Harry Reid is not a charismatic leader, let’s be clear about that,” Sanders said. “But his sense of decency, which you see day after day … his decency comes out.”
Democrats were racing the clock, trying to wrap up work before the midterm campaign season would overtake politics in Washington. Skittish lawmakers would want to be home talking about jobs, not fighting health care on the Hill.
A new deadline emerged: spring break.
Reid was in his office this month, talking by phone with rural Nevada reporters, when he received heart-wrenching news. Landra, his wife of 50 years, and his only daughter, Lana, had been in a car crash, rear-ended by a tractor-trailer.
His wife’s injuries were serious: She had a broken neck. Reid raced to the hospital.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks during a health care reform news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 25, 2010. From left are, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich, Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., Reid, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Reid’s family is his priority. Speculation grew: Would he be able to continue health care talks? His campaign for re-election?
Reid’s wife emerged from surgery with a positive prognosis. Paralysis was out of the picture. After a weekend vigil at the hospital, Reid was back at work Monday.
By week’s end, Reid had a commitment from a “significant majority” of senators to pass the House fix-it bill.
Gone would be the special favors. The Cadillac tax would be postponed. Seniors on Medicare would get a $250 rebate on prescription drug costs. Greater subsidies would be included for the uninsured to buy policies.
The day before the House was scheduled to vote, Obama and Reid met with House Democrats — Obama to rally their support and Reid to promise that the Senate had their backs.
As the House voted near midnight, Reid was at home with his wife, watching on C-SPAN. His phone rang. Congratulations poured in.
Two days later, Reid stood behind the president as Obama used 22 pens to sign into law the health care reform bill the Nevadan had crafted. The two men shook hands, saying little. Reid gave his souvenir pen to his top health care staffer.
Now Reid had to keep his end of the bargain, passing the follow-up bill under the barrage of Republican objections in the Senate.
Two days, dozens of amendments and a nearly all-night debate later, senators again stood at their desks to cast votes. Again, not a single Republican gave his or her support. Three Democrats voted no.
When it came Reid’s time to vote, he, in a fit of exhaustion, again voted “no,” before correcting himself and flashing a thumbs-up.
Reid had made good on his promise. During a victory lap that afternoon, Reid, for once, did not look down when colleagues showered him with praise.
For a brief moment, when Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa said kind words, Reid seemed to accept it.
“Without the leadership of the son of a hard-rock miner from Nevada,” Harkin said, “this never would have happened.”
What a puff piece
Must be an election coming and Harry is getting his LV Sun backing lined up
Amazing what 25 million will get you
If it is Sunday, it must be a bs piece on Nevada's senior senator. This rag knows no shame.
The Sun is very PRO Reid and anti conservative. When Greenspun writes about reid, he makes sure that the comments like this are not allowed. Greenspun hates being criticized. Reid is a bum that has done nothing for the legal citizens of Nevada. He may have done some things for his big sponsors, but nothing for the citizens. Nothing. He doesn't even live in Nevada and has not for long, long time. He may have a residence, but he doesn't live here. His official mailing address is at the Ritz Carlton in Washington DC which he has had for many, many years. You can validate this on the clark counties assessors pages. Anyway, vote him out, he is a bum.
The sub-title of the article...
"Nevada's senior senator never wavered in his mission to push Obama's agenda of reform"
...of course that is just another way of saying...
"Harry Reid NEVER listened to the people who elected him Senator and sent him to Wash DC to do their business"
...those same people should now do the honest thing and send Harry Reid back to Searchlight.
And we will not waiver on November 2nd when we express our displeasure with Senator Reid's failure to listen to the taxpaying voters.
Harry Reid is a lame duck and knows it. He will be settling back down in searchlight next fall after being voted out of office, writing his memoirs and cashing in on speaking engagements by all the special interests who owe him..
"i want health care" = "i want a pony"
i don't want to hear about how daddy will pay for it, i don't want to hear about the cost of keeping it, i just want that pony.
and if you stand in my way of that pony...you are a horrible, racist person.
this is the liberal mentality.
"Never wavered"?
You mean the two times he accidently voted NO on the health care legislation? Don't they have treatments for Alzheimer's now?
Lisa, What an article! Wow! Do you do resumes?
Reed, stick your healthcare where the sun doesn't shine. You are a disgrace to this country, the Constitution, and and everything great it once stood for. You're despicable.
I am a democrat, an entreprenuer small business man. I voted for Harry Reid numerous times. I have never been so dispointed in the ruffshot, jam it through health care change that is being forced on us. Get all who have no fiscal discipline and voted this massive spending health care bill out of office. When I have no cash, I dont borrow and spend, I hunker down...if not I go bust...get em out of office guys while the USA still has a chance to survive...seriously
I missed Reid's fundraiser with Obama last Summer, but I'll be there when they hold another one. Give 'em hell Harry!
You have to remember that this crash was engineered in the Clinton (from ARKANSAS) years and facilitated by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd thru FANNY and FREDDY MAYE, could it be that Harry was in the criminal mix to crash the economy.
There has been no responsibility taken or assigned for the pain and suffering of the American people at the hands of these people. Why hasn't Harry pushed for an investigation into the criminal activities of Dodd, Frank, Kennedy, Clinton and the leaders of Fanny and Freddy?
The reason is that without a crisis they could not push thru the Progressive/Socialist agenda.
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained name-calling.
I would like to talk about campaign finance laws.
How would crap like this factor into the equation?
This is a free campaign ad.
It would be totally unfair if all the people running were required to have the exact same amount of taxpayer money to run for office and if one of the candidates got free campaign ads like this.
That is one of the reasons why I am against such a concept.
After carefully listening to Harry Reid over the past year, it appears he may have some serious mental problems. Many of his comments and statements simply don't make sense.
NoVaseline, great name btw, you are absolutely correct.
I have two regrets, well politically, I voted for Jim Gibbons and Harry Reid.
I will not make the same mistake twice.
I find it excruciatingly humorous that all the comments so far have been anti-Reid and yesterdays article about Sarah almost shut down the servers at the Sun..... the libs much not be up yet....probably waiting for the food lines to open.
One more thing.... If Sarah officially runs, I will support her to the end..... anybody that can make the left go into spasms must be doing the right thing.
ya, and it is so cowardly how greenspun throws out HIS point of you, but doesn't allow anyone to contradict it.
as much as i can't stand sherm over at the r-j...at LEAST he has the stones to allow comments on his blog.
The campaign has just begun and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be re-elected by a majority of sensible Nevadans who reject the rage and hatred spewing from the radical right Teabagger / Party of Nothing.
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained name-calling.
If we truly want Reid out, we need to remember to vote and get everyone we know out to vote. EVERY VOTE COUNTS. With our early voting in Nevada, there is no excuse to take the few minutes and do it.
Harry is a true American patriot and has been so consistently. Yes, lots of folks don't like him - that is common when you are in office a long time. So you supporters - get out and vote to make sure that Eddie's vote doesn't make a difference! Live long and prosper, Harry!
What a bunch of crap!!!!
On the morning after Election Day Sen. Reid's smiling face will be on the front page while depressed Teabaggers wake up from another wet dream and realize their hopes were an illusion.
It'll be a wonderful sight to see, like when Democrats won the House and Senate in 2006 and then the Obama/Biden ticket swept to victory in 2008 with 9 million more votes than whats-their-names.
the only reason obama is president is because he's black.
let's all put on our big boy pants and come to grips with reality.
Reid supporters will see this as showing that he's great. Reid opponents will see this as a puff piece. In other words, it's good journalism. The story is based on talking with a lot of people close to the process. It makes clear that liberals have been unhappy that the bill didn't go further. It suggests that Reid doesn't like the spotlight and is a deal maker. For heaven's sake, even his enemies would say Reid isn't a camera hog and one of their complaints is that he's a deal maker--and that is what a majority or minority leader normally is.
The irony is the people attacking the Sun as pro-Reid. Would any of you care to say the R-J is anti-Reid? Until and unless you do that, your criticisms are as credible as Sarah Palin critiquing Hegel.
Green: it is about as far from true journalism as this poop wrapper can get. Its about time for Harry "The War is Lost" Reid to check himself into the Lou Ruvo Institute.
That photo should contain the caption: "Harry ... no tongues!"
What's the difference between Reid's political career and a piece of heated bread?
Come November 2 ... none.
harry is the man...
and oh by the way...
this is the first time nevada has had a voice...
ever...
and our stupid pathetic ugly lying always making a threat or fear mongering republican friends want to throw it all away...
they want yucca to open...
they want our kids to glow in the dark...
Interesting that the majority of comments in this liberal newspaper are anti-Reid. Certainly doesn't look good for Harry's future now does it?
It is sad that Prof. Green can't tell the difference between a promotional puff piece and good journalism.
The R-J general does not run puff pro-candidates pieces at all. I have not seen one yet.
The R-J does report negative news stories on Republican candidates like Ensign and Gibbons.
The Sun might do to that too to Democrats but I really have not seen a negative Democratic story. Not saying that have not but I can't think of one.
On the other hand, the Sun prints tons of pro-Democratic puff pieces.
This is not a news story but a campaign ad for Reid.
I am sure that Green is smart but many times he just lacks common sense or is so consumed by his political beliefs that he wears the lib koolaid shades all the time.
I challenge Green to find a similar pro-Republican puff piece in the R-J. in its news section.
You do know the difference between the news section and the opinion and columnist sections. Right??????
Lots of power and savvy in a quiet man. Thanks for health care, Harry, you got it through.
Harry Reid, the most hated politician in America, yes, even ahead of the awful Nancy Peolsi by 3%. He is in the last days of office and the people of Nevada is going to do ourselves and America a HUGE favor with the firing of Harry Reid! November 2, 2010 His arrogance and disconnect with his people has caught up to him.
As we the people fire Harry "Backdoor" Reid in Novemeber, let's not forget all the Representatives that ignored their constiuents by shoving Government Run Health Care down our throars against our will. FireNancyPelosi.com is dedicated to oust the Democrats that betrayed their constiuents and voted for it. Happy donating folks! And rember, NO DEMS IN 10!
As people are pointing out, the Militia Act of 1792 required men to buy a musket, bayonet, belt, ammo, knapsack etc. So when people like Mark Levin of the Landmark Legal Foundation and talk-radio say that "there has never been a case were the government required someone to buy something from the private sector" they are of course wrong.
Having a viable hospital/emergency room network in the US is needed for national security, in the event of terrorist attack, pandemic or war.
Also, as others are pointing out, the Supreme Court said 6-3 that the Federal government was allowed to control home grown medical marijuana that was not sold to anyone.
Therefore people like the afternoon talk show host who says "this is blatantly unconstitutional" he doesn't know what he is talking about.
Rj ran puff piece on sharon angle
90% of the people that commented here voted for Bush TWICE. Which means they need to shut the hell up.
mred....please provide a link to your alleged puff piece.
vc: I didn't vote for Bush on either occasion but I sure intend to vote against Reid this year and Obummer in 2012 (if he doesn't get impeached first).
Harry Reid has a national 8% approval rating, Nancy Pelosi is at 11%. I wonder what it's like to be the most hated man in America? Moreover, how is it even possible to be hated more than Pelosi? Wow!
First The Sun calls Lowden and the Tark liars. Then the Gov. is an annoyance to real people. Then this silly inane praise for a guy whose partisan rhetoric over the years,'The War is Lost', The GOP are pushing violence, and America is in favor of this Care Bill,' simply doesn't compute. Reid is a smarmy, snarky liberal who now thinks socialism is the American Way. NV seems to disagree but The Sun wants to make sure that Harry is praised while they smear the two highest ranking Pub opponents for Harry the Prince. This guy even wants unions to run car companies and thinks taxes will actually raise Treasury revenues but not tax cuts! Oh no. Not those. Couldn't have them like JFK, Reagan or W because they actually worked!
Obama has thrown Reid under the bus and I believe he's too stupid to even realize it, yet. I agree with a previous reader, he seems to be slipping into senile. Seriously.
Thank you Senator Reid for all of your hard work. We all know that it is easier to say NO, than to roll up your sleeves and try to do the work that you were elected to do. Keep fighting for Nevadans.
Keep "misunderestimating" Harry Reid. It is his strength.
The true measure of what has been done will be measured by time. You can only put so much lipstick on a pig. Notice that the writer of the piece did not afix his name to it.
one senator works hard to get someone else's wife in bed; he works to ease his conscience by giving her son a good paying job doing nothing; he works to ease his conscience and hush up the situation
by obtaining hush up money, lobbying jobs, etc for the woman's husband; and, he refuses to resign after bringing shame on himself, his family, his state, the senate, his nation, and his alleged conservative and religious views.
THIS IS JOHN ENSIGN.
THE OTHER SENATOR, HARRY REID, WORKS HARD FOR:
1. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
or the stimulus
2. Lily Ledbetter Act
3. SCHIP
4. Unemployment Benefits
6. Health Care
7. Budgets for the Natio
8. Cobra Benefits
9. Etc Etc Etc
So, looking at this objectively and realistical
ly; who will be remembered more over time in the
history books as doing somethin significantly for
his state and nation. THIS IS A PIT BULL NEVADA
NEEDS TO KEEP IN THE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER'S SEAT; HE IS A QUIET PERSON WHO WORKS HARD FOR ALL
PEOPLE'S BENEFIT.
A lie smashed to the ground will rise again in truth. Harry Reid will win 11/2010 by continuing to the same type of things he has been doing; HE IS
WORKING HARD TO IMPROVE THINGS FOR AMERICA AND AMERICANS OVER TIME.
"Thank you Senator Reid for all of your hard work."
We all know that it is easier to bribe Senators, than to roll up your sleeves and try to do the work that you were elected to do.
Nevadans are fighting for Harry's retirement in November...
"When it came Reid's time to vote, he, in a fit of exhaustion, again voted "no," before correcting himself and flashing a thumbs-up."
This is laughable.
Please lets not jump into any hosannahs for Reid. He was just doing what his leader told him to do. When history is written, in 60 years from now. Obama will get all the credit for this "wunnerful" bill. If you can, off the top of your head, name the Senate majority leader when FDR passed Social Security. Likewise LBJ's Senate leader when Medicare was shoved up our nose.
Looks like fosimmons is a teabagger whose been hitting the bong extremely hard this morning.
Check out this incoherent rant:
****
By fosimmons
"Survey
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Who is a great US Senator?
A. Ensigneee B. Reid
Reid - Over 98% Figure
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Dynamite, Indeed !
Thanks - To The Chinese Tea Bag Packers Union Of The State Of Washington"
****
Hey fosimmons, get help.
Now, how about applying some quiet persistence in booting Reid out of office?
"When it came Reid's time to vote, he, in a fit of exhaustion, again voted "no," before correcting himself and flashing a thumbs-up."
This is laughable.
-----
Maybe he is trying to set himself up to be able to tell the voters he didn't really mean to vote for the bill but just had a senior moment.
90% of the people that commented here voted for Bush TWICE. Which means they need to shut the hell up
OK by me. So long as those who voted for Reid have to shut up too.
If your point is that those who vote for idiots should shut up, then that has to be applied across the board.
"Harry Reid, the most hated politician in America, yes, even ahead of the awful Nancy Peolsi by 3%"
What is the basis for claiming Harry Reid is the most hated politician in America. I am pretty sure the polls show he is not as despised as Pelosi. Your comment "even ahead" of Pelosi is ambiguous. If his ratings are even lower than Pelosi's I stand corrected, but I don't think so.
Also, Dick Cheney gets about the same ratings as Pelosi and Reid, although I guess he can't qualify as a candidate for most hated politician since he is no longer in office.
Whoops, I do stand corrected. 8% approval rating for Reid, 11% for Pelosi.
Surprising, but I apologize for being wrong.
Why would Reid have a lower rating than Pelosi when Pelosi is a much more in your face "screw you America" type of politician? Maybe he just has a lower approval rating because he doesn't have that same cadre of deranged leftist wacko supporters that Pelosi does.
Wow, LV sun is really bias. Almost every letter to the editor is pro-lib, most articles are the same
Harry Reid knows how to make government work.
Work for my family's future
Work for my business
Work for my employee's
Work for Nevada
Thank you Senator Reid
Lance:
The journalist who penned this article was certainly having a fit of drama. Laughable.
Harry can say he voted for it twice and against it. Total political cover. He can run the "for" and "against" commercials one after another. As a change of pace he can run the "against" before the "for". Something for all voters. His opponents are left with a real problem of how to counter this strategy.
By infinityy
"Wow, LV sun is really bias."
****
The LVRJ has just the thing for you, infinity -- all far-right teabagger propaganda, all the time. Just like Fox Noise. Check it out, you'll like it over there.
If you consider all the information out there and subtract everything you read in the Sun and LVRJ, what ever is left over is probably reality.
I don't care what anyone says - Left wing news (the Sun) wrapped in Right wing news (the RJ) does not constitue balanced and fair reporting. :-)
What humors me about many of these comments is that for all the opinions expressed about Senator Reid and all opinions expressed about the Tea Party, and the Sun's coverage of each topic, neither side has asked for a correction involving the Sun's news reports.
Not really sure if one can "correct" an opinion puff piece.
It is your opinion.
If the Sun was to use it front pages to push opinions than go right ahead.
It is still free speech.
In fact it is good that you do so.
It weakness the message of the agenda that you are pushing.
Independents probably don't read the paper.
@Tom Gorman:
Why would we? This rag provides plenty of fodder for us to mock each day. Why deny ourselves the fun?
@Tom Gorman:
Opening Day is soon and I will have less time for this paper (unless of course it upgrades its baseball coverage).
The fact that the Sun publishes two crossword puzzles is a plus. The editorial page, with the exception of Ralston, is lame, pretentious and condescending (see Mr. Greenspun).
Fact is the tea baggers represent a small fringe of society, but they have very loud voices on these comment boards. Thing is they dont understand we all think they are crazy. They do not represent the mainstream voters who sincerely appreciate all that Senator Reid has done for this state and our country. Thank you Senator Reid. I dont live in CA but I would also like to thank Congresswoman Pelosi for her hard work on Healthcare reform.
VictorCharley: "We?" Do you have a rat in your pocket?
@Tom Gorman. Not trying to be rude, but can you explain why this story http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar... written by Coolican and Mishak is nearly word for word as this story:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100327/ap_on_re_us/us_tea_party_rally;_ylt=AivMLApDWzwfGg3938xEg5ms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJqMWRtcmJ0BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzI3L3VzX3RlYV9wYXJ0eV9yYWxseQRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDcGFsaW50b3RlYXBh written by Michael R Blood of the AP?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100327/ap_o...
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained name-calling.
jldour, that version of the story included content from our reporters in Searchlight and from the Associated Press, partly because of difficulties related to cell phone reception and Internet access in Searchlight. The Sun, like many other news organizations, is an AP member and has access to AP content to use online. The AP also picks up Sun stories to be published in other newspapers and Web sites. The bottom of the story you mention contains the words "The Associated Press contributed to this report" to give them credit.
Sgt. Rock, I refer you to several of the recent Sunday R-J front page features on the Republicans challenging Senator Reid. I refer you to almost every article from the R-J's Carson City bureau on government and politics that quotes Republicans and conservatives, especially experts, at a ratio of about 20:1, Republican to Democrat.
As for your and Mikegino's insults directed at me, I would find them amusing if I did not find them and their authors so pathetic.
Holy smokes: they are cracking down on the name calling today. Beware (and don't mock Greenspun for not allowing reader comments on his columns)
SgtRock-
This could be the article to which MrEd referred to above. It is from last Sunday's LVRJ.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/gop-senate-hope...
I am so thankful that we have Senator Reid as Senate Majority Leader. I appreciate his quiet persistence and thank him for not giving up on the health insurance reform bill. Nevada needs Senator Reid and the US needs Senator Reid. We in our home will work to get this honest and hard working man re-elected in November. A vote for Senator Reid is a vote for Nevada.
And remember as the nut bars say "everyone is part of the militia" therefore it makes sense for the government to provide affordable medical care for members of the Militia, for the sake of National security.
The Sun did not have one bad word about Reid and their could have been a ton of it.
He wasted an entire summer when he could have delievered ObamaCare and the Dems could have moved on to other things.
As for the LVRJ profile on Angle they said this:
"David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, believes the political bar is too high for Angle to win the Senate race, and that she's in danger of being tagged a loser after a third election in a row where she might end up defeated in the primary election.
"She has a tough time expanding her constituency. They love her. They absolutely love her," he says of her core constituency. "But she's becoming a perennial candidate."
As for Green.....he has his political shades on again.
I know of one leftist that the LVRJ quotes many times.
He is named Professor Green.
Comment removed by moderator. name calling
Thank you, Senator Reid, for your tireless efforts to improve things for all Americans. We need you to win reelection and keep this country moving in the right direction, after so many years of disheartening leadership by selfish charlatans.
Give 'em hell, Harry Reid!
NV ranks dead last in every good category. Ranks in the top 5 in every bad category, with an employment rate at 13.9....yea, thanks alot Harry
To Mr. Gorman,
Several poseters have pointed out the the author of this piece far too often engages in editorial comment instead o actuaol reporting. I have writen a letter to the paper myself on this (and never received a reply).
The author does in fact report facts, but there is so much spin that her pieces are usually only useful if printed out on tiolet paper.
just a shout out to all you harry fans.I am aregistered demo. I personally witnessed HARRY REID wrap himself around the illegal mexicans on the tuesday they struck in support of amnesty.We do not need a senator that cashes an American paycheck while supporting the illegals. He then buries us in debt forever to give healthcare to illegals,and bet your last dollar they will get it.
Vote the Mormon Mafia out:
Harry Reid
Rory Reid
Tom Collins
Gibbons-Jack LDS
Walt Rulffes (He retired ! Don't hire another LDS in his place)
The CCSD School Board
Because of the dominance of the LDS county commisioners, we have these over inflated firemen's salaries....which 60 percent of the firefighters are LDS---Hmmmm--go figure.
Let's vote in diversity....Really check out their backgrounds before voting them in, and see who are their major contributors....
stevem said....
"the only reason obama is president is because he's black."
Gosh, I didn't recognize you until you put that white hood on.....I can clearly see you now!
Give' em Hell, Harry......Thank you for all that you have done for the country in general & Nevada in particular...
The health care reform bill is a start in the right direction......
Find out what health insurance reform means for you.
http://www.harryreid.com/ee/index.php/la...
How much more damage will the people of nevada tolerate. Forget about this B.S. on a platter, Why would this self serving little man want to continue destroying this country? Simple, Power baby! Power at all cost, The people be damned! If Reid ("The little fighter") had any balls at all he would have shown up in searchlight on saturday, Not sunday! I know your right, He would never dignify addressing people with an opposing view that have legitimate concerns about their family and future. Right or wrong, If someone calls me out in my own back yard, I'm there. Nevada deserves better!
The Sun - sell any story to the highest bidder. Bought and Paid for. I bet your legs was tiggling while you wrote the story.
Steve,
None of the mormons I know support Dirty Harry Reid. I have neighbors that are mormon and devoutly support conservatives. Not only do they actively support conservative candidates with yard signs, but they often invite local candidates to speak in our neighborhood, and they volunteer at campaign offices. From what they tell me, most mormons are Republican or Conservative and do not support Harry.
SgtRock, it might interest you to know that at one point I was banned from the R-J in connection with commenting on politics. I am quoted almost exclusively--I will go so far as to say 99 times out of 100--on non-political stories. I don't happen to care either way, but I do have respect for the facts. Not enough respect to correct everything SgtRock and his fellow right-wing fanatics get wrong, but, then again, with seven classes to teach, I do have other things to do.
I also would be remiss if I did not add my thanks to SgtRock for suggesting that Senator Reid should have moved faster to get health care passed. It is good of you to acknowledge that it needed to get done. That IS what you meant, isn't it?
Failure without a Public Option !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Henderson
You are correct. I know many Moromons, and they have those ANYONE BUTT HARRY signs all over the place. Most are nice people. However, the Mormon clique that are in power, are very self serving to only certain members of their church.
"Bribe-Giver Reid's quiet persistence"
FIXED IT FOR YOU!
Comment removed by moderator. Name calling
So extravagant are the patterns of thinking, emoting, behaving and relating that characterize the liberal mind that its relentless protests and demands become understandable only as disorders of the psyche. The Liberal Mind reveals the madness of the modern liberal for what it is: a massive transference neurosis acted out in the world's political arenas, with devastating effects on the institutions of liberty.
This makes complete sense and explains the Liberal thinking and behavior that defies any other explanation.
Lazy politicians in the Democrat Party choose liberalism because it is an easy way to get votes. They prey on other lazy people around the country who choose to take free government handouts instead of working. Liberal politicians promise poor people in this country every thing under the sun in order to get votes, even though they rarely fulfill their promises.
Liberals in general are lazy. They do not try to answer world problems in a logical way but prefer to take the easy, emotional, way out.
Comment removed by moderator. Name calling.
Thank you Harry Reid, you're doing a great job.
"SgtRock, it might interest you to know that at one point I was banned from the R-J in connection with commenting on politics"
I think the reason why you were banned from getting quoted on mainly state history topics in the R-J was because you have a history of dumping on the R-J with low-brow stupid verbiage.
If I owned or managed that company I would tell the reporters to find a sane person to quote and not to quote crazy people who act like some dumb koolaid lib that just spews lame crap out of their mouth. That would only distract and disminish the credible of the news story.
Hey Harry, lets go meet in a backroom and see what kind of deal we can hatch out for my vote in November. I mean according to you this is the way it should be done right. Maybe a 300 million dollar donation to the save Bryan fund. or a toll booth on the northbound 15 entering vegas where the funds come to me. I mean come on, have your people call my people and lets get something done. (and the dems wonder why we have no trust in our government, especially since Barrack Insane Obama, Scary Reid and Botox Pelosi took over). the above is in good fun and no way is a representation of DarthBry. I would never stoop to the level of a democrat in the Senate or Congress or our current POTUS.