Why Is Harry Reid The Senate's Democrat Leader?

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right," Reid said Monday. "When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.' "

He continued: "When women spoke up for the right to speak up, they wanted to vote, some insisted they simply, slow down, there will be a better day to do that, today isn't quite right.
"When this body was on the verge of guaranteeing equal civil rights to everyone regardless of the color of their skin, some senators resorted to the same filibuster threats that we hear today."
"There is little to say about the substance of this, other than to observe that he forgot to mention the Holocaust. But as a matter of form, Reid's statement is so bad as to be interesting."

That was from The Wall Street Journal online this morning.

Reid conveniently re-writes history as he speaks hatefully of Republican opposition. It was the Democrats that filibustered civil rights legislation - notably Robert Byrd with his own 16 hour filibuster. It was Republican support that moved the legislation through. This is a sign of desperation for Reid. President Obama is desperate to get health care/insurance reform passed and it doesn't really matter that this is the "worst bill ever written", as it has been labeled. They believe that anything is better than nothing and they know that if it is not accomplished before the end of the year, then the chances of legislation passing diminishes. The American people do not want this bill to pass but the Democrats are too heavily invested in their own grab for power to do the right thing and make the legislation worth passing.

From The Hill blog late this afternoon:

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) late Tuesday made an extraordinary effort to save the Democratic health care reform bill from an anti-abortion amendment which could have derailed it."

"Reid, who is pro-life and facing a difficult re-election contest next year, delivered a lengthy, emotional floor speech arguing against an amendment by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) which would have prohibited public money from funding abortions. At the end of the speech, however, Reid abruptly sat down, leaving Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to make a motion to table, or set aside, the amendment. The Senate began voting on the amendment at 5:10 p.m."

"Most obviously, someone who lashes out in such a clumsy and vicious way is not someone who feels confident that he will prevail. It's hard to imagine what Reid could be hoping to accomplish, other than perhaps rallying the Democratic left with a little partisan hate speech."

Senator Reid is one nasty hombre. And, he is a coward. He has a habit of saying inappropriate statements on the Senate floor. He said in March 2006 that the war in Iraq was lost. He regularly belittles Republican opposition to Obama policy legislation. Odd, since he was the driving force behind constant opposition to former President Bush, usually simply to deny him any legislative success at all. Yet, now when the shoe is on the other foot, he doesn't handle the situation well.

Reid calls for unity, to not let differences in opinions drive the parties apart. That is amusing when one reviews his own actions. He is a small man of unworthy character. He is in a tough re-election battle in Nevada. We can only hope he loses his seat and certainly that he loses control of the Senate.

Reid is desperate. It shows. He cracks under pressure and doesn't care who he blames for his failure. He has been in politics for far too long and made far too much financial gain to be swayed by ordinary people. We can hope that a change is made in Nevada. Soon.