Harry Reid

Why Barack Obama And The Democratic Party Should Be Proud No Matter What Happens Today In The Midterm Elections!

Ronald 1 Comment

Today is Election Day, and many have predicted major losses for the Democratic Party!

This will happen despite the major, significant accomplishments that have occurred in the 111th Congress, including:

Health Care Reform
Economic Stimulus Legislation
Wall Street Reform
Credit Card Reform
Consumer Financial Protection Reform
Saving of the Auto Industry
Tax Cuts To All Citizens
Senate Approval of Two Supreme Court nominees
Student Loan Reform
Hate Crimes Legislation Covering Sexual Orientation
Veterans Legislation

These are just ELEVEN accomplishments, with others too numerous to mention here, but it is obvious that this Congress has done more than any in American history, other than FDR’s 73rd Congress in 1933-1934 and Lyndon Johnson’s 89th Congress in 1965-1966. The only other Congress to come close to these three was Woodrow Wilson’s 63rd Congress of 1913-1914!

These Congresses accomplished what they did because the President and the Congress were of the same party!

When Congress and the President are at odds, very little is accomplished, so the general belief that a “split” government is better does not ring true!

But it is also true that when the Republican party has controlled the Presidency and Congress as under Harding and Coolidge in the 1920s and George W. Bush in the 2000s, what was the result? THE GREAT DEPRESSION and THE GREAT RECESSION! 🙁

So it has only been under united Democratic leadership that historic reform has occurred, as under Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Barack Obama!

So no matter what happens today, the Democrats should feel proud of their accomplishments, and they should know that despite the short sightedness and ignorance of the facts by many voters which seems likely, that what they have done will be seen in the long run of history as ABSOLUTELY RIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY! Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and the hard working members of the Democratic Party will be vindicated in history!

It is often the case that the American people do not appreciate what they have until much later, when the realization of what has happened, and the positive nature of the change, has sunk in!

So despite what will occur today, Democrats should hold their heads high, as they have indeed done great service for the American people, no matter how long it takes for the masses to see the truth–that the Democratic Party is indeed the party of the middle and lower classes, while the Republican Party represents the rich and privileged and those who imagine they will become rich and privileged, even though most never will accomplish those goals in reality!

Sarah Palin Throws Down The Gauntlet To The GOP! :(

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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, in Nevada yesterday to campaign for GOP and Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, did something unusual for her: she answered questions from CNN, while all along she has avoided any media other than Fox News Channel, who she works for!

She made it clear that she is a believer in the Tea Party Movement, and she warned the Republican Party leadership that if they did not listen to the people and incorporate the Tea Party Movement, they were “finished”!

That certainly sounds like a threat to the senior Republican leadership, and seems to many to be a hint that Palin is going to upset the party balance by challenging the establishment and running for President, although she did not specifically say that!

It is obvious, however, that if the Tea Party Movement has major successes in November, that Sarah Palin will exploit that success, and that the battle for the future of the Republican Party will begin in earnest, as to whether it will be a moderate centrist party with a future, or be an extreme right wing conservative party with limited appeal to the general electorate for the Presidential Election of 2012!

As predicted earlier, a civil war looks in the offing in the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower and Reagan for the soul of the party! It is not going to be a pretty picture! 🙁

The 111th Congress’ Successes Are Magnificent, Greatest Since 1965-1966! The Democrats And President Obama Must Spread The Message! :)

Ronald 4 Comments

The Democratic Party has accomplished a proud record of achievements that should be enough to keep Republican gains down during the midterm election of 2010, but they have not been able to transmit these successes adequately to the American people!

It is now the job of President Obama and all Democratic officeholders and candidates to promote, hail, endorse, and defend a record unmatched by any Congress since the 1960s! 🙂

The only Congresses that could be seen as having accomplished MORE than the 111th Congress are the 73rd Congress under Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1934), and the 89th Congress under Lyndon B. Johnson (1965-1966)!

This Congress, under Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has enacted much pathbreaking legislation, but it will take years to feel the full impact of what they have done for the American people!

Among the accomplishments are the following (not an exhaustive list):

1. Passage of the largest stimulus package in history, which prevented a worst economic downturn, but may not have been enough to turn the economy around as quickly as many hoped for!
2. credit card consumer protection legislation.
3. landmark health care reform legislation.
4. Wall Street regulation.
5. tobacco regulation.
6. reform of contracting in the Pentagon, and the beginning of accountability on wasteful spending.
7. tax cuts for the middle class.
8. an anti age discrimination law.
9. approval by the Senate of two Supreme Court nominees.
10. extension of unemployment compensation after a battle in the Senate.
11. Much other legislation, including on climate change, in the House, but blocked in the Senate!

Many other initiatives were taken by President Obama outside of Congressional activity, and it should be made clear to the American people that the President and his party have worked VERY HARD to change the direction of the country, and deal with the total mess left by the Republicans and George W. Bush!

But to expect total success and a complete turnaround of years of damage in less than two years is unrealistic, so the Democrats must play hardball, and get the message out that a return to the Republican policies through an attempted repeal of the 111th Congress’s accomplishments would be counterproductive, as well as destructive, of the interests and the future of the American people! 🙁

Nativism Gone Viral: Tom Tancredo, Louie Gohmert, And Illegal Immigration!

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The issue of illegal immigration is one that will be an embarrassment when we look back at it historically, as the assertions and viewpoints of those who are exploiting the issue bring out the worst in our nation! 🙁

The latest outrages have been expressed by former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, and Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert, both Republicans!

Both are further evidence that the GOP is painting itself into a corner for the future, as with the growing Latino and Hispanic vote, it will make many say what Senator Harry Reid of Nevada said yesterday–that he could not understand why any Hispanic or Latino would vote Republican! 🙁

Tancredo, long a nativist, sought the GOP Presidential nomination in 2008, and is now seeking the Governorship of Colorado as an Independent. He has stated that if he is elected Governor, he will make sure that the children of illegal immigrants are not educated in the public schools of the state!

This is certainly a statement that can arouse those who want to send millions of immigrants back to their home countries! But the reality is that there is no possibility of returning millions of people, and meanwhile, if we are going to ban public education for these children, what are we to do with them? Shall we keep them out of school and on the streets lacking education? Will this promote civil order to have them idle and ignorant? How preposterous and ridiculous a campaign pledge this is, and certainly, it would be lost in court if Tancredo somehow became Governor and tried to enforce such a ridiculous idea! 🙁

Congressman Louie Gohmert, infamous for some really outrageous and loony ideas, has now come up with the idea that many illegal immigrants come to this country to have their children, then go home and breed them over the next 20-30 years as “terrorists”, with the plan to send them back to overthrow America! If this is not paranoia and hysteria and craziness, what is it? So we are to be afraid of babies and see them as vicious terrorists for the years between 2030 and 2040!

If this does not make Louie Gohmert delusional and needing of psychological counseling, and Tom Tancredo needing the same, then our country is in deep trouble with such political leaders sowing hate and fear, and making unstable people go over the edge to violence! 🙁

Both should be roundly condemned as having no purpose but to divide and stir up a tempest for their own political aggrandizement! 🙁

Essential Action Needed For “99er” Unemployment Compensation Extension!

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We have reached a stage unseen since the Great Depression, having a few million people who have been unemployed through no fault of their own for 99 weeks, nearly two years, and without much hope any time soon for employment opportunities!

These people are heavily middle class, who have been suffering financially and emotionally in a way none of us wish to experience!

To wake up for nearly two years without much hope, particularly with the millions of people unemployed in late 2008 and the first half of 2009, and to face the reality that each job out there has between 5-6 competitors on average, requires immediate action by our government to prevent these people from becoming homeless, living on the streets or out of their cars if they still have one, and going hungry and without medical care!

Many of these people had never experienced unemployment before, and many are highly educated and trained, and many are family people, with wives, husbands, and children!

To tell these people, sorry, you have gained 99 weeks of unemployment, and now you are on your own, is to tell them basically that they can “go to hell”, and that this nation does not give a damn about them and their future!

Here, it is appropriate to bring a religious statement into this discussion: “There but for the grace of God go I!” To say that this misfortune could never happen to us is a sign of cockiness, arrogance, and lack of care for other human beings!

When we have many people taking better care of their pets than we deal with misfortune of human beings, it is time for what Senator Debbie Stebanow of Michigan and others are sponsoring right now! Give small business tax credits to hire workers for a guaranteed 52 weeks of employment, and meanwhile give these unfortunate workers an extension of 20 more weeks of unemployment compensation!

This can be done before the Senate and House go on break, and with only a few Republican votes, and it is essential that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi keep the Congress in session until and when this legislation is approved!

Financial Reform Legislation Finally About To Pass, Thanks To Three Republican Senators! :)

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The most significant financial reform legislation in generations is about to pass the Senate, after patient behind the scenes negotiations by Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Obama Administration!

With the loss of Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, the opportunity of gaining 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster seemed unlikely, but as on the economic stimulus legislation, three Republican Senators from the Northeast, seen as moderates in a party more right wing than ever, have had the courage to cross party lines and back the President!

On the economic stimulus bill last year, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania backed the President, and then switched parties.

So Maine Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe are now joined by Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, who has proved to be an independent in many ways, and very hard to predict what he will do on any legislation!

At a partisan time such as now, with the fall campaign already in motion, it is important that we salute Senators Collins, Snowe, and Brown for bipartisanship of the best kind!

Thank you, Senators, for doing what is best for the American people! 🙂

Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, And The National Media

Ronald 2 Comments

Two Tea Party favorites and Republican nominees for the Senate, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sharron Angle of Nevada, are purposely avoiding interviews with the national media!

This strategy is, supposedly, to avoid bad press about their extremist and whacky views on many important issues! But the problem is that it sets a bad precedent, as can these two possible future Senators expect that they are not accountable for what they have said and done? 🙁

Do they really think that avoiding the media will improve their image and public standing? 🙁

What are they going to do about public debates with their Democratic opponents, Jack Conway in Kentucky and Harry Reid in Nevada? Are they going to refuse to explain their views and to face the people they wish to serve? 🙁

Their avoidance of the media only adds fuel to the fire that they are both unfit for public office, and it makes the whole Tea Party Movement look even more ridiculous and outside the mainstream of American politics!

It will be interesting to watch both Paul and Angle squirm and evade over the next 20 weeks to November 2. It will be some of the best political entertainment in years! 🙂 LOL

The Reviving Influence Of Bill Clinton

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Former President Bill Clinton has had his ups and downs in political influence since he left office nine and a half years ago.

Often seen as a burden on his wife, Hillary Clinton, during her run for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2008, his stature has risen since she became Secretary of State!

He scored a great public relations victory when he fought against the labor unions and Moveon.org in the Arkansas Senatorial primary, being a strong supporter of moderate to conservative Senator Blanche Lincoln.

Now that he has triumphed on that front, the former President is attempting to influence the Nevada Senate race, promoting the reelection of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid!

The nomination of Sharron Angle, backed by the Tea Party activists, and holding weird views on many issues, should make the Reid reelection effort a whole lot easier! But it cannot hurt to have Bill Clinton on your side, and Harry Reid is happy to have his strong support!

Nevada Primary Results A Boost For Harry Reid!

Ronald 2 Comments

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is often underrated and misjudged, both by his party members, and also by the GOP opposition!

Not a great speaker, not particularly photogenic, and not a dominating personality, Reid actually has managed to organize and control his 59 member Democratic majority with lots of work behind the scenes, and has handled right wing attacks in a very effective, if quiet fashion!

Reid has done a lot for Nevada, and it would be silly and ridiculous for Nevada to defeat such a powerful leader who gives the state distinction! So despite all the talk that Reid is “prime meat” for defeat, don’t bet on it, particularly by the results of the GOP primary for the Senate yesterday!

Sharron Angle, the most right wing candidate of the three candidates, managed to come from behind and defeat Sue Lowden, who had suggested that people could pay their doctors with chickens, as in the olden times, apparently, in Nevada!

Lowden came across as loony enough, but, believe it or not, Sharron Angle comes across by her viewpoints and statements to be even MORE whacky a nominee! Being backed by the Tea Party Movement only makes her more nutty than otherwise, and it is said that Harry Reid is thrilled at her nomination, as he thinks, rightfully it is believed, that he has an easier road to reelection!

Reid may not be charismatic or great looking, but the GOP has made it more likely than ever that he will be reelected, and stay on as Senate Majority Leader in the next two years!

The Growing Influence Of Chuck Schumer: The First Jewish Senate Majority Leader?

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Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, elected in 1998, after 18 years in the House of Representatives, has become a major player in the Senate, and is on the brink of becoming the highest elected Jewish official in US history, if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada loses his very competitive Senate reelection race this fall.

Schumer, always an aggressive and egotistical figure in the Senate, was the Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and helped bring about the Democratic control of the Senate, and its upgrading to 59 senators in the past four years.

A truly brilliant politician, Schumer is seen as likely to succeed Reid, although he must compete with his townhouse roommate, Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, if Reid leaves the Senate. It is interesting how they have a rivalry, and yet they are good friends. Schumer has an image of being able to cross the aisle for support, and to gain backing from his own Democratic colleagues for various initiatives.

If Schumer ends up as Majority Leader, it can be imagined that he would rival Lyndon Johnson and Bob Dole in getting things done, and he could be a major advocate of new initiatives by President Obama over the last two years of his term.

Schumer will win easy reelection this fall to a third term, and is likely to help Senator Kirsten Gillibrand stay in office as well. And with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Cuomo likely to have a tremendous edge over GOP opponents, the Democrats are likely to have complete control of state matters, despite the many problems New York State faces.

Schumer will become one of the most important Senators ever to represent New York, on the level of Robert F. Wagner, Sr. (1927-1949), Jacob Javits (1957-1981), and Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1977-2001)! And none of the above ever were Senate Majority Leader!