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March 14th, 2007

Is Harry Reid a gamer?

Harry Reid 2I’ve never been impressed by Reid, and him being the senate majority leader at this stage has been annoying me for some time now. Dick Durbin is a better fit for that role, but I’d still rather see someone like Chuck Schumer or Barbara Boxer in Reid’s position. Aside from his shady business deals from back home, he’s proven to be ineffective in getting things done on Iraq. Too much time has already been wasted trying to get this Iraq debate on CSPAN, and now that it finally is, I’m nervous about a lot of things like message discipline and whether or not the two houses are close enough to get something that can be even close to veto-proof. Obviously the house is going to be too far one way for the senate, but if that gap isn’t closed with a consistent message of why, one that makes sense to Democrats, I blame Reid for that.

Incoherence defines much of what the house has proposed regarding Iraq, having been properly panned by Jon Stewart, and it is the role of the senate majority leader to smooth this out. You’re talking about a house caucus numbering over 200, and unless the brains of half or more are shut down with fear, ala the GOP under Delay’s leadership, the final product on a bill dealing with something as complex as Iraq will be as confusing as what Nancy Pelosi laid out the other day. The senate on the other hand is not as much of a cluster, and with senators like Chuck Hagel, John Warner, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins saying the things they are saying so often now, it shouldn’t be this difficult for the majority leader to get something done.

If he is unable to get house leaders to back down on certain elements of their legislation, then he’s the wrong person for the job. If he is unable to figure out a way to leverage the most anti-war and election-conscious (Norm Coleman) Republicans to his advantage by now, then he’s the wrong person for the job. The right politician in this situation would be able to get something done. The once-in-a-generation politician in this situation would be able to pass a bill with enough votes to override a veto.

Posted by Al Swearengen in Words

11 Comments »

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11 Responses to “Is Harry Reid a gamer?”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Democrats took majority because the party in the Presidents seat always loses seats during the 2nd midterm. Democrats did so by going anti-Bush and without having an Iraq plan.

    This is what you are seeing now, the vote me in now and I’ll promise you stuff later. Well, now it is later the Democrats a falling all over themselves in a poorly choreographed attempt to force an issue.

    They say the majority of Americans want out of Iraq, which is true, the majority of Americans want Bush to beat down terror and leave Iraq a stable place. I don’t recall hearing anyone demand immediate surrender in Iraq.

    Boxer or Schumer as Majority leader? More like Dear Leader, you may as well get some Stalin DNA, mix in some Pol Pot and make a clone. Democrats wanted to be in power and now they have it, I am very disappointed in what I have seen so far.

    March 14th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
  2. Jim says:

    You’re hilarious.

    Boxer or Schumer as Majority leader? More like Dear Leader, you may as well get some Stalin DNA, mix in some Pol Pot and make a clone.

    One of the nice things about being a Democrat is that you can say and do what you want to do without getting approval first. Intimating that a Democratic majority leader would be authoritarian is laughable in the extreme. I understand that you think “The Hammer” is the only model for leadership. Such is the refuge of the thoughtless. Conservatism’s chief attraction for many people is that it allows, nay, demands, that they give up independent thought. Seems like you got yerself a double helping.

    I’m glad you’re disappointed in what you’ve seen so far. Seems like a solid indication that the Democrats are doing something right. Given that the GoP held the congress for the first six years of the Bush regency and accomplished nothing, I’d think you’d be exited to see something going on at all. Like oversight, for instance.

    You claim the Democrats are in power. Not so much. I know Republicans aren’t much on democracy, so I’ll remind you: a bill needs to pass both houses of congress then be signed by the President before it becomes a law. So whilst the Democrats have more power, unfortunately they do not have it all.

    Sadly, you still seem to think that Iraq is about terror. Pray tell, what’s the Republican plan for creating a civil society in Iraq? Where’s all that oil we were promised? What’s the plan for “self-sustaining” government? I’ll let you off the hook on the “war on terror” bit. Clearly that’s just too much to ask.

    Why don’t you drop the “anonymous” bit and come play? Too attached to your water wings to swim in the deep end?

    March 16th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
  3. Al Swearengen says:

    I have suspicions as to who this is, but I could be wrong.

    Jim, what do you think of Harry Reid? I’ve always been underwhelmed by his game.

    March 16th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
  4. Jim says:

    Al:

    In a land of the ball-less, the man with one nut is king. Or something. More light than heat? Pretty limp on all the things that matter, seemingly stuck in a Shrum/McCauliffe/DLC haze. I look to the young guns for leadership on the issues that matter; Reid is more interested in consensus. Consensus makes sense when you’re arguing over the margins. But under the Bush regency, what we’re arguing over is the survival of republican government in the US. Time to be bold.

    March 17th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
  5. Al Swearengen says:

    Nice prose! Consensus isn’t the game, I agree…it’s votes that matter, and for this guy to continue failing in pulling over Hagel/Collins/etc, it’s a serious lack of something or other…

    Harry Reid always reminds me of Mighty Aphrodite, where Woody Allen is a guy who writes about boxing…Reid was actually a boxer, in the hydrogen-weight divison.

    March 17th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
  6. Karl says:

    Harry Reid was good as a minority leader as he seemed to be good at administrative tricks and did a good job of derailing some of the really bad things that repubs wanted to do wile they were the majority. Now that he has a majority behind him he doesn’t seem as comfortable.

    Good to see you are still blogging

    March 27th, 2007 at 10:22 am
  7. Al Swearengen says:

    Good to see you still around as well brother! So what’s been happening w/ you since you were last here?

    I was thinking about you the other day and reminded Heather of how you were thinking about enlisting…it’s bizzare, because I was saying to her how it sucked there wasn’t all this publicity on the Army turning their backs on soldiers to refer to, and that all I could offer at the time was my own story and not much else.

    If you haven’t enlisted then maybe I got my point across well enough, but it seems like all of a sudden the media has actually decided to pay some attention to the minions for a change. I’m sure you’ve read plenty on the various ways soldiers are being fed to the wolves.

    FYI – Right moved to California, and he’s been MIA for a while now. I’ve suspected that the anonymous postings lately have been him, but I can’t be sure.

    March 27th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
  8. Karl says:

    Hey Chris I mean Al:

    For awhile I really wanted to join up, one of my friends joined the Marines and is in sniper school at the moment, recon training sounds really tough, if I had joined I am sure I would have washed out by now.

    It is amazing when you think what some people go through to serve thier country, all so they can wind up at some place like Walter Reed. I don’t see how anyone can claim that the current administration supports the troops.

    March 28th, 2007 at 12:24 am
  9. Karl says:

    BTW:

    If right moved to a liberal bastion like California he is probably posting anonymously to keep the liberal thought police that we all know are rampant in Cali, from kicking down his door.

    March 28th, 2007 at 12:47 am
  10. Al Swearengen says:

    Karl says:

    BTW:

    If right moved to a liberal bastion like California he is probably posting anonymously to keep the liberal thought police that we all know are rampant in Cali, from kicking down his door.

    Good point! Can never be too careful when you’re dealing with that elitist fighting unit.

    Karl says:

    Hey Chris I mean Al:

    For awhile I really wanted to join up, one of my friends joined the Marines and is in sniper school at the moment, recon training sounds really tough, if I had joined I am sure I would have washed out by now.

    Have you seen Jarhead? The unit featured in that movie does that. Don’t kid yourself…anyone can make it through, it’s just the state you find yourself in once that challenge is over with that does the washing…with a Brillo pad to your soul for the length of your enlistment contract and the few years you’re kept a slave due to stop loss.

    It is amazing when you think what some people go through to serve thier country, all so they can wind up at some place like Walter Reed. I don’t see how anyone can claim that the current administration supports the troops.

    I hear you on that one…which is why I’ve begun work on a cookbook where all the recipes are for the grill, and they all involve an American flag. Some of them, I’ll admit, are an acquired taste…in fact, the coneheads would probably love every one of them…but moreso than taste alone, these recipes are made to satisfy something much more vital than hunger.

    Tricky finding a publisher who will go anywhere near it, but if all else fails, I’ll pitch it to a couple America-hatin’ book publishers in San Fransisco. Most likely I’ll be shot in the head at a B. Dalton’s just outside of Montgomery, Alabama. That, I can handle though, because once I’m gone, there will be 100 more just like me.

    Someone will feed them after midnight and if Jesus doesn’t return soon enough, I have a feeling that Jerry Garcia’s birthday will edge out Christopher Columbus by 2015, and The Dharma Bums will be required reading for all 6th graders nationwide.

    March 28th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
  11. Karl says:

    “soul washed with a brillo pad” that is a good line. I am starting to think that working in corporate America may have the same effect. I just had knee surgery so I am off for a week or two and it is amazing to see ow nice a few days away from the office can be. Although, I am sure that I have it much better than some guy sitting in Iraq.

    March 28th, 2007 at 11:35 pm

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