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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid waits to take questions from reporters after a dedication ceremony for the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Las Vegas Medical Center in North Las Vegas on Monday, Aug. 6, 2012.
By Karoun Demirjian (contact) 
Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 | 2 a.m.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When it comes to public speaking, the style of the senior senator from Nevada has always trended more toward murmuring than masterful oratory.
But this summer, Harry Reid has been dishing out more than his regular share of made-for-the-camera zingers. He assumed baseball player Bryce Harper’s swagger to poke fun at a reporter’s “clown question, bro,” threw down at the U.S. Olympic committee for buying China-made uniforms, and launched a continuous, clear-throated barrage of verbal artillery fire at Mitt Romney for not releasing his tax returns.
During his speech to the Democratic National Convention tonight, Reid plans to keep up the pressure on Romney to release his tax returns. Reid is scheduled to speak about 4 p.m. Pacific time.
Although Nevada’s DNC delegation hopes sticking with that line will increase the crowd-pleasing quotient of the majority leader’s speech, they’re being cautious about predicting how rousing they expect Reid’s rhetoric to be.
“Harry is not flashy. He’s not a great orator. But his message is very straightforward, and it’s very sincere,” said Linda Cavazos, a Nevada delegate and an Obama for America volunteer.
“The thing I like about Harry Reid is he gets up there and he speaks in his nice, soft voice, and people shut up and listen to him,” said Richard Collins, a Nevada delegate.
Not always. Reid does have the power of his majority leadership to recommend him to Democratic audiences. But he failed to wow the crowd four years ago at what was an otherwise rousing convention in Denver, only half-holding the audience’s attention as he unleashed an impassioned screed on the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, John McCain.
In the years since that election, Reid has had more practice at being a public attack dog. Reid often verbalizes what President Barack Obama can’t or won’t say, piping up loudest when the moment calls for some open trashing of intransigent Republicans.
“Harry Reid is not an inspiring speaker,” said John Wanderer, a Nevada delegate. “But he can speak about the obstructionism of the Republicans better than anybody. They’ve held the country hostage and sacrificed the country for their own political purposes — (Reid) ought to know.”
From his perch in Congress, Reid might seem better equipped to talk about the Tea Party’s parliamentary tactics than Romney’s tax returns.
But both play into the wheelhouse of Republican-inspired frustrations that are politically tricky for the White House but perfect fodder for Reid, which is why Obama’s top campaign minds are happy to let the septuagenarian senator function as their offensive line.
“I was having a conversation with the president about this,” Patrick Gaspard, the executive director of the Democratic National Committee, told the Nevada delegation over breakfast Monday morning. “The president said, ‘I don’t know why the Romney campaign is choosing to challenge Harry Reid on this issue. Don’t they know that this guy was a boxing champion in the Army and the way he won was by letting the other guy just pummel on him for round after round, wear him out and then take him out at the end?’"
But not all Nevadans are excited to see Reid get back in the ring with Romney; they’d rather he use his national convention pulpit to advocate for specific issues that would help the Silver State.
“I’d like to hear him talk about education,” said Loretta Harper, a Nevada delegate and national co-chairwoman for Obama for America.
“I really hope he talks about the Dream Act,” said Elizabeth Foyt, an alternate for the Nevada delegation.
As things stand, Reid plans to hit on three major topics in what his staff estimates will be about a seven-minute speech: The “tough decisions” Obama has had to make as president, the Tea Party “takeover” of the Republican Party and Romney’s “secrecy” on his tax returns.
In this moment, on that roster of topics, Nevada delegates have no doubt that Reid won’t mince his words.
“He lets the world know how he feels,” said Dorie Guy, chairwoman of the Washoe Democratic Party. “You know, he’s becoming a better orator. And I’m glad to see him stepping up to the plate.”
Gee's Reid why don't you do some thing
constructive for a change, spend our
time and tax dollars finding some jobs
for the unemployed, Obama isn't doing
any except spending our tax's on vacations
for his friends and Relative's and fund
raiser!!
"Reid has had more practice at being a public attack dog. Reid often verbalizes what President Barack Obama can't or won't say, piping up loudest when the moment calls for some open trashing of intransigent Republicans"
23 Underemployed
1.5% growth go GDP
$16 trillion debt
All Obama has is envy politics and sends Reid out to distrate and distort with personal attacks
I seriously doubt Senator Reid will talk to a chair during his speech tonight.
Harry Reid 2016! Because tea party republicans deserve it..
:-))
Harry Reid will forget his teeth on the chair.
Maybe he'll remind us on how he made his money the old-fashioned way. By leveraging government. Screw the sweaty tourist sheeple.
Wish he'd attack the budget he hasn't passed in over 1200 days. Face it this guy is an embarrassment to Nevada.
Ahh, the Sharron Angle voters are here in force already, Harry Reid s old campaign staff wishes you all a nice day.
:-)
How anyone can defend the current leadership in congress is beyond me. The current leadership has guaranteed that nothing will get done in DC no matter who wins in November. The pursuit of power overrides the needs of the country with these jerks. An approval rating near single digits, mean spirited attacks and lies while we continue our spiral down. I can't recall ever being so skeptic about the future.
Give 'em hell Harry!
Senator Reid has been majority leader of the United States Senate for last SIX years, (2007-2012), how's that working out for ya folks?
It seems every time this guy goes into "attack dog mode" the citizens of Nevada get a black eye. He makes Joe Biden look "thoughtful" in comparison.
Need i remind you "the war is lost"?
Nevadans are not use to seeing Senator Reid in this roll! I don't agree with all that Senator Reid has done for Nevada. I do like the fighting spirit being but on display.
Plus, the majority of Americans want to know more about how Romney has made money over the last several years and beyond.
When Mitt Romney decided to launch Bain Capital in 1983, Bain Capital's original investors had ties to the death squads that plagued El Salvador. Would like to know if Romney is still involved with Ricardo Poma, Miguel Duenas, Pancho Soler, Frank Kardonski, and Diego Ribadeneira."
When do we get to see Harry's Tax Return? lets say never what a bunch of Hippocrates in the democratic party. If that's all they want to see lets see Obama's collage transcripts to start. Than lets look at some of the Great accomplishments that he has done with the economy.How about what a good job harry has done in the senate. No Budget for Three years. Ya I'm worried about what Harry has to say...Ha..Ha
I'm looking forward to his speech.
I just hope he politically smacks the crap out of Romney again about his Federal Income Tax returns.
TO THIS DAY, Romney still hasn't come up with an acceptable defense of why he shouldn't release them.
Senator Reid is right.
And I don't blame him for giving him political black eyes.
Obama/Biden 2012!
Romney/Ryan 1040s! And Karl Rove needs to show an acceptable amount of his too. Not for any specific reason. I just think he's a crook who is taking in foreign money, possibly even drug money and laundering it, may even doing a casino skim off the top job, and possible other stuff he's hiding.
Maybe Senator Reid will explain the cozy relationship the Democrats have with Bank of America and why they chose the Bank of America Stadium for their convention. He can address the Occupy Wall Street protesters personally, they're the only ones that have shown up so far. (They even supplied their own transportation, imagine that!) The new Democrat Party Loyalist headed by Harry Reid is a spin off of your mom and pop's Democrat party of yesterday, except they spend most of their time on college and high school campuses, I wonder why.
Same old BS here from the right. Using alot of words to say nothing.
The majority leader is a straight shooter so it's doubtful that Reid will make any wild, unsubstantiated claims in his speech.
He won't lie and tell us he once ran a three-hour marathon or insult our intelligence by saying that his dog likes to be being strapped on the car roof for a six hour road trip.
And more importantly, he won't try to scare us into supporting the invasion of a foreign nation, using fear propaganda about nonexistent WMD, mushroom clouds and yellow cake.
Sen. Reid, a man of very humble beginnings from the tiny town of Searchlight, who worked his way to the top while having none of the advantages that the pampered, privileged GOP nominees have enjoyed for their entire lives. Harry is the real deal. He has no reason to lie or flip-flop because he understands the struggles facing average Americans.
Lets talk tax returns.
I will not be voting Democrat this time like I did last election. But, I must say my wife and I owe Sen. Reid a debt of gratitude. We had a big problem this past 9 months and Sen. Reid's office took a personal interest in our plight and provided the support to finally resolve it. That's what our polititians are supposed to do. Thank you Sen. Reid!
"The dumbed down populace of LV bemuses me. How can any sane person vote for a party that consists of Reid, Pelosi, Biden, and Obama? Unbelievable!"
----------------
They were probably asking the same thing in 2004...inserting Bush, Cheney and Tom DeLay.
You guys are joking, right? To me, it's going to be very difficult for Harry the Red to show his teeth with so many shoes stuck in his lying mouth. He's a gaffe-prone jerk who was fortunate enough to have the only person in NV running against him that he could defeat. My dog, Princess, would make a better Senator than that moron! BTW, Princess is deceased; Harry the Red only appears to be so.
I think a better question for a woman would be how could you vote for a team, a vice president who if he could would force you to carry a baby to term as the result of incest or rape? Everything that is entailed during pregnancy for 9 months as you are essentially held prisoner until you give birth to a baby that you didn't want, weren't going to care for. The emotional turmoil associated with this violent act perpetrated against you, morning sickness, medical visits and costs, time out of work if your line of work could not accommodate pregnancy, limitations on what you can eat or drink, purchasing of maternity clothing and on and on...
I just don't see how a woman could support that when the guy who would be a heartbeat away from the presidency would strive for that.
Colin says "I just hope he politically smacks the crap out of Romney again about his Federal Income Tax returns. TO THIS DAY, Romney still hasn't come up with an acceptable defense of why he shouldn't release them."
Really? Since Romney used the exact same reason ("I did what was specified by law, nothing more is required") that Harry Reid used himself when pressed to release HIS returns during his 2010 campaign, I would have thought that would have been "an acceptable defense"
Please enlighten us as to why it was an acceptable defense for Harry Reid during his campaign, but not for Romney during his?
(And yes, Reid wasn't running for President, but as Senate Majority Leader he is arguably the second most powerful Democrat, so I'd say the transparency needs are equivalent)
1 trillion dollars for Iraq War
1/2 trillion Medicare expansion
3/4 TARP
Ryan voted for it all under BUSH
The economy, real estaate market tanked in 2007, not under Obama's watch.
No wonder the Romneys have been kicked out of the Republican offices in Nevada. They had to st up Team Nevada to run their campaign. And they want more war as well.
Remember how all the FOX news hater said Reid was going to lose? People like Hannity and others. Look at Rasmussen and his phooey polls. He was off 40 points in a Hawaiian Senatorial race.
Chasing kids on bicycles and peeing on tires... hard to teach old dog new tricks.
I agree that Romney should release his tax returns, just as soon as Oba ma releases his college applications and transcrips. Of course what will we see, nothing except the only way he got in was to apply as a foreign exchange student....
They will place an empty chair on stage with recorded spoken word.
As an independent, it's insulting that these elections focus on tax returns and birth certificates. It's stupid. Harry is scum, Romney is scum, Obama is scum, Ryan is scum. They're politicians. They all have their masters (big business, big union, etc.). They don't genuinely believe in anything. The worst part about it is that people that I do care about get so caught up into cheerleading for their political party, instead of focusing their efforts/time/money on issues that actually matter.
Senator Harry Reid will spit out any word's he's told to.
Never forget he said the war is lost
What we won't hear from Sen. Reid:
"I ran a marathon in three hours with a dog strapped to my back."
LastThroes, what we will hear from Sen. Reid (oh wait, we already have)
"Any man or woman who will not be completely candid about his or her finances does not deserve to be in public office." - Harry Reid
When reminded that he had said that and asked why he won't disclose his income tax returns as per his own stated standard for holders of public office, Sen Reid responded that "I wasn't in Congress" when that statement was made. Apparently once he became a US Senator, that standard for candidness changed to only apply to OTHERS, not him.
Another lib democrat expressing their hatred... this is new?
Comment removed by moderator. - -
This house is going to do WHATEVER it takes with our votes to take away the Harry Gried problem.
Senator Harry Reid should talk to "Chair Romney" during his speech and ask him to show his tax returns for the last 12 years like his daddy did, but in a real "Mormon to Mormon" voice.
The Republicans would go spastic, i d luv it..
As Harry gives his speech the deficit rolls past $16 Trillion. How's that budget working out for us Harry. Oh thats right, you have ignored it for over 1200 days.
What we WON'T hear from Sen. Harry Reid:
"I keep my money stashed away in places like Switzerland, Bermuda and the Caymans in the unfortunate event that this God forsaken country called America becomes overrun by those unclean ninety-nine percenters who live outside the gate and aren't members of a country club."
Give em hell, Harry!!!
Nice to see the libs in full froth at the mouth mode.
Pinky is as incompetent as they come. Attack dog....give me a break. More like addled dog.
Just as there's a lower limit on age to be elected to congress, so to should there be an upper limit. Too many senile old geezers in the House and Senate. Throw them all out.