Harry Reid has no spine...

[misanthrope]

...I'm absolutely fed up with this crap.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-reid-bush,0,1888204.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

These brownshirts-in-training get to slander non-conservatives in any manner they wish, whenever they want, but when one man steps out of line and expresses his feelings about the POTUS, he's pressured and pilloried to the point an immediate act of contrition is required.

This gutless piece of crap not only turned around and sucked up to the Little Emperor, but the GOP then responded with their own swipe at Democrats which raised nary an eyebrow. Where's their apologies for all the vitriolic invective they spew at every turn?

[MuseRider]

1. I don't know.

"Bush Is A Loser" is out there now. Reid apologized looking like a good guy and they slam back looking just like the smarmy losers they were originally called. I don't know. Something makes me think this was a smart move. Kinda like "Go fuck yourself" is still out there with no apology. So who looks better here? I just have no idea but there is a different take anyway. :shrug:

[ET Awful]

2. It's all in how you look at it.

He didn't say "Bush isn't a loser." He told Rove "I'm sorry I said Bush is a Loser. It's out there, it's in the media, his point is being spread.

[misanthrope]

5. The only story now...

...is that one little minion got out of hand and was quickly bitch-slapped back into subservience, along with a returned (and uncastigated) swipe at Reid and his compatriots.

[Journeyman]

8. It reminds me of Garry Trudeau's apology. . .

for his cartoon on the bogus IQ comparisons between recent presidents, the one in which Shrub was rated less than average. Called to account for his use of a bogus report, Trudeau pointed out the obvious that his is a fictitious cartoon. Ever contrite, however, Trudeau went on to apologize "for unsettling anyone who was under the impression that the president is, in fact, quite intelligent.'"

[Poiuyt]

10. I'm sorry that Bush is a loser

[misanthrope]

4. Yeah, and we saw...

...how much the Cheney expletive hurt ShrubCo in the last election.

[MuseRider]

11. Of course BUT

if this kind of thing keeps up, all but the most dedicated RW Fundies will start to flee the party that says one thing and acts another. I am not arguing with you I really have no idea but I am hoping that Harry Reid is much much better than I ever thought he would be. I am still watching, so far I see some real smart things and a few things that make me shake my head but that is to be expected.

[Itsthetruth]

3. A Revealing Comment By Senator Reid

The following is a revealing comment by Senator Reid.

"Hafen said Reid told the teenagers that if Republicans change the filibuster rules, then they can "no longer count on Senator Reid working with them on the president's agenda."

So if the filibuster rules are not changed does that mean the Republicans can count on Senator Reid working with them on Bush's agenda?

Senator Reid did work with the Republicans and even bragged about it when he helped get Bush's anti-consumer "class action" and bankruptcy bills passed in the Senate.

The Republicans might withdraw their filibuster rules proposal if passage would threaten Senator Reid's continued collaboration in getting Bush's agenda adopted.

[madrchsod]

6. "when did you stop beating your wife?"

"did i say that? oh sooooo sorry" same thing as what reid did-call bush a loser and then oh-soooooo sorry. this is the same shit the right has been doing to the left ever since reagan,now we have a guy that knows how to play their game..i hope the democrats start taking it to the rethugs in just this way..fuck them if they can`t take a "joke"....

[katinmn]

7. LOL! Did I say "Bush should be impeached?"

Well, he did commit crimes of treason against the American people. Maybe I should have said: "Bush should resign."

[CatWoman]

9. I resent this thread, and I resent you for posting this.

Harry Reid has MORE than proven himself.

[Itsthetruth]

12. Senator Reid Has Proven Himself And Value To Whom?

House passes bankruptcy bill
Measure will deter borrowers from erasing debt
By Tom Curry
National affairs writer
MSNBC
April 14, 2005

Bipartisan accord

The political curiosity here is that both Reid and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay — who agree on very little else — were both enthusiastically taking credit for the bill Wednesday.

"We’ve done a good job this year. In spite of the so-called partisanship, we’ve moved two pieces of legislation that have been around for 15 years, class action (reform) and bankruptcy," Reid told reporters when asked whether partisan animosity was slowing the Senate's work. Alluding to the bankruptcy bill and other legislation, Reid said, "We’re moving along well."


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7494698 /

[CatWoman]

13. well, for starters, to me

I'm disgusted with that bankruptcy bill, just as everyone else.

However, he has stepped forward and has shown true leadership. I suppose after Daschle that's not much to compare to, but still.

[katinmn]

14. I hope you didn't misinterpret my post. I support Reid calling a Bush

a loser, as well as many, many other things he's done.
And I believe words once spoken can't be taken back. He made his point and everyone knows what he thinks about Bush.

Reid has cast some votes I don't agree with and made some statements I don't agree with, and so has just about every other Dem.

Most of the time he gets it right.

[wndycty]

21. Well said CatWoman!

:kick:

[0007]

23. I'll second that!! This is a bullshit thread.

[countingbluecars]

15. To me its like...

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury. Please disregard that comment. It will be stricken from the record." But we all heard it. It's still there. Good tactic.

[Itsthetruth]

16. What Counts Is Action And How Has Senator Reid Done?

The Nation Magazine
Editorial
March 24, 2005

Democrats: MIA

It's easy simply to blame the GOP majorities in the Senate and House when bad legislation passes those chambers. But too frequently it has been Democratic disorder rather than Republican treachery that has made possible the Bush White House's legislative victories. That's what happened with the mid-March Senate vote on a budget amendment that would have protected the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Seven Republican senators voted to protect ANWR from oil drilling. Had the Democratic caucus simply held firm in support of the amendment, it would have won by a 52-to-48 margin. But three Democrats--Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana--broke ranks to back the Administration. All three had their excuses, and if this had been the only bill on which Democrats failed to hold together, it might not be a cause for serious concern. But this is hardly an isolated example of Democrats doing the bidding of the President and the special interests that support him.

Consider the February Senate vote on tort "reform," another issue on which Democrats are supposed to be the defenders of the common good against the rapacious Republicans. The battle lines could not have been clearer: Bush and his allies wanted to limit sharply the ability of citizens to file class-action lawsuits against corporations that injure or defraud them. A united Democratic opposition in the Senate could have mounted a populist challenge that might well have won GOP allies for a fight to preserve the sovereignty of state courts, which will be lost under the legislation. Instead, Democrats helped give Bush the first major legislative victory of his second term. Only twenty-six Senate Democrats opposed the proposal, while eighteen--including serial compromisers Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh and some who ought to know better, like Charles Schumer and Jay Rockefeller--sided with the GOP. It was just as bad in the House, where fifty Democrats--including Rahm ("no mandate") Emanuel--backed the bill, handing Bush an easy win that provides momentum for an agenda that includes proposals to restrict asbestos litigation and curb medical malpractice suits.

Even more disappointing was the mid-March vote on legislation designed to make it harder for middle-class and poor Americans to declare personal bankruptcy, leaving crooked companies like Enron free to declare bankruptcy themselves and thus be protected from claims like those by employees who lost their pensions. The vote on the measure, which had been blocked for years by such progressive Democrats as the late Paul Wellstone and a timely veto from then-President Bill Clinton, passed by an overwhelming 74-to-25 vote. Eighteen Democrats--including Reid and key players like Joseph Biden of Delaware and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico--aligned themselves with the President and the credit card companies that wrote and promoted the bill.

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050411&s=editors...

And I can add that under Senator Reid's great "progressive" leadership the Senate voted 99-0 in support of Bush's request for 80 billion to fund the war against Iraq.

Has the leader of Senate Democrats, Senator Reid, managed to "dry up" or fry the anti-Iraq war oppposition in the Senate?

[countingbluecars]

17. Thank you for the information,

All things to be considered.

[deadparrot]

18. But he said it.

I think that's the important thing. It should quiet down those DUers who are convinced that every Democrat in Congress is a GOP plant for a little while, hopefully.

It at least shows that we've got a minority leader who has a genuine dislike for the White House.

[Itsthetruth]

20. Reid

Senator Reid did co-sponsor legislation to outlaw flag burning. Does that count? So he's at least hard on civil liberties. Forget his vote for the Patriot Act. He's sorry bout that.

I think he needs to tone down his "opposition" to the Bush government a bit even if it's just rhetoric.

[democracyindanger]

19. Why didn't he jump over the knight, bishop and pawn so he could

king his rook?!?!

Don't get mad about a checkers game when you're watching chess.

[DemBeans]

22. I dunno

I try to avoid getting all excited when he does something well, or getting furious when he does something I disagree with. I figured I'd give him some time and then decide, on balance, how I think he's doing.

Now that he's had a few months, I think I'd give him a D+. He's been outspoken, which I've liked, but he often backtracks and apologizes after he's done so. He's had yet to articulate a legislative policy in the Senate (but then, Pelosi really hasn't in the House, either).

To me, actions speak louder than words and I've intensely disliked his votes on tort reform and the bankruptcy bill. It'll be impossible to use these potent issues against the Republicans in the midterms when our minority leader voted for them both. On these two bills alone, I think we could have slaughtered, absolutely slaughtered, the GOP next year.

He's been okay on the nuclear option issue. It's the only reason I've rated him as high as a D+. How well he follows through with it will be instructive.

[paulk]

24. ho - hum

another day

another vicious attack on a Democrat

where am I again ?

Democratic Underground?

[Itsthetruth]

25. Vicious???

"another vicious attack on a Democrat"

"Vicious attack"???!!!!

Well, I suppose if a person believes that Reid's support of Bush's appointments and legislative agenda is wonderful you might view criticism of his collaboration with Republicans as a "vicious attack". I don't think that most progressives would agree with that.

Once again we are told to bury our head in the sand and ignore any action by any Democrat who collaborates with Republicans to enact Bush's right-wing agenda.

[paulk]

27. and you're another

who uses every opportunity to attack Democrats here on DU.



"any Democrat who collaborates with Republicans to enact Bush's right-wing agenda."



:rofl:

[KittyWampus]

26. Damn Some People Are Annoying

[AuntPatsy]

28. He got the message out there. Which is more than most have done. n/t

[More Than A Feeling]

29. The apology was "I'm sorry you are a loser"

:evilgrin:

edit to add: Harry Reid has earned a modicum of trust from me for showing signs of competence as a politician. I agree with those who have noted that apologies rarely get as much attention as the original comment.

[gulfcoastliberal]

30. Reid is a Bush bootlicker.

Daschle was a stronger opponent than this sellout.

[DELUSIONAL]

31. Reid supports the US staying in Iraq

therefore in my book Reid is a spineless blob of crap.

He is a faker -- he fakes being a leader for the Dems who so passionately want a leader -- and Reid is NOT a leader. He is a faker.