Sen Harry Reid: No Skills, No Clue

By Stanford Matthews Blog @ MoreWhat.com

A review of what has happened since the midterm elections of November 2006 is helpful. Political scandals and an arrogant disdain for public opinion had the decade or longer GOP majority against the ropes. The Democratic challengers took full advantage of the GOP's inability as a group to redirect their efforts to respond to public criticism. The Democratic majority in Congress that resulted from the midterm elections was characterized by the Dems as 'the public has spoken' or that some mandate from the voters required surrender in Iraq.

Then came the intoxicated rants from a newly elected Congressional majority. The Dems responded to the selection of Speaker Nancy Pelosi as if it were a coronation of royal proportions. Pelosi called it the end of the 'culture of corruption' and that she would 'drain the swamp' in Washington. The Dems also promised a 100 hour agenda that has been referred to since as the 100 day agenda and even that has not succeeded. Of the half dozen or so bills the Dems touted as their big agenda, the minimum wage bill was the only one to be enacted into law as a pork provision counter offered by the White House to continue funding to the troops in Iraq. Although the Dems prefer surrender they view this as a success which it is not.

Speaker Pelosi and others decided to become the ad hoc State Dept and undermine the Bush Administration by taking their own brand of surrender diplomacy to the very countries, like Syria, who are responsible for much of the problems the US has faced in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rather than attempt to subdue the radical public antiwar protests, the Dems chose to use their new majority status to further damage efforts in national defense, security and every other major issue. Their entire scheme has focused on insulting and undermining the President regardless of the effect on this nation overall.

Lately Speaker Pelosi has not been as actively in the news since all attention has focused on the Senate. Between the President's ill advised stand on illegal immigration and too many members of Congress agreeing with it, there has been a virtual standoff between a steadfast group of Senators who understand the fallacy of S. 1348 and those who wish to weaken this country further by providing amnesty to millions of lawbreakers.

Senator Reid's obsession with the President, the GOP, surrender, amnesty and a host of other issues and being on the wrong side of all of them has taken to increasing his misguided effort to elevate the Democratic party agenda. Here are some examples of Harry Reid's dangerous actions.

Reid: Pace Failed on Iraq War Assessment

Jun 15, 2:29 AM EDT By ANNE FLAHERTY, AP WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid caused a stir Thursday when he said Gen. Peter Pace failed in his job of providing Congress a candid assessment on the Iraq war and that he was concerned Gen. David Petraeus might be guilty of the same.

Democrats typically have shied from stinging comments on military officers, instead focusing on President Bush and administration policies in Iraq. Republicans responded vigorously to the change against Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Calls Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace 'Incompetent'

Thursday , June 14, 2007 WASHINGTON — FOX NEWS Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Thursday that he told liberal bloggers last week that he thinks outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace is "incompetent."

Reid also disparaged Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of Multinational Forces in Iraq.

But Reid, whose comments to bloggers first appeared in The Politico, also told reporters: "I think we should just drop it."

The example reports above demonstrate Harry Reid's, as well as the Democratic party's, fixation with attacking the opposition party on any issue. Had they ever supported the troops in the normal sense, the war quite likely would have already been successfully completed. But as most people know, flaming the rhetoric of the far left antiwar fringe has done more to prolong the war by giving incentives to the enemy to continue. For a political party that still maintains they support the troops and claim surrender is the best way to support them, more insults and unwarranted complaints about high ranking military officers is a strange way to show support.

Reid Faults Petraeus as Not 'in Touch'

Senate Leader Cites General's Upbeat Remarks About Baghdad 'Normalcy' By Thomas E. Ricks Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, June 15, 2007; A10

The Senate majority leader took aim yesterday at the top U.S. commander in Iraq, who until now has received little criticism from Capitol Hill over his statements or performance.

Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) charged that Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, who took command in Iraq four months ago, "isn't in touch with what's going on in Baghdad." He also indicated that he thinks Petraeus has not been sufficiently open in his testimony to Congress. Noting that Petraeus, who is now on his third tour of duty in Iraq, oversaw the training of Iraqi troops during his second stint there, Reid said: "He told us it was going great; as we've looked back, it didn't go so well."

The report above is another demonstration of Harry Reid's nonsense. For a group that spends all their time criticizing everyone who is not a registered Democrat, to again verbally assault a General for the situation in Iraq not being glorious after all that Harry Reid has done to sabotage it is more proof that Reid is blind. Whether Harry Reid is not smart enough to understand the dangerous effects of his actions or intentionally wants to lose the war for political gain does not matter. The effect is the same either way. He does everything he can to lose the war and then complains about how things are going.

As a little side note, while taking a break from his antiwar, surrender and amnesty fraud efforts, Harry Reid decided to show typical politician arrogance by entering the energy fray. It is just not good enough to search for a way to change elements of the our energy usage. Might as well look for another headline opportunity and pound on the automotive industry manufacturers. While Harry makes excuses for driving the gas guzzling Suburban he ridicules Detroit for unimpressive mileage ratings on the current stock of vehicles. This past Memorial Day weekend when fuel prices were peaked, no lowering of travel plans was noted by those who follow such surveys. The public will do little to reduce energy usage. And Harry Reid is no exception. But he will find another target for his complaints.

Harry Reid's Chevy Suburban and mpg mandates

Thu, Jun 14, 2007 at 11:53 AM Henry Payne Ignoring auto industry protests, Senator Harry Reid is urging passage of new federal mileage standards this week that would mandate an average 35 mpg for all vehicles by 2020 (and 52 mpg by 2030). Yet a call to the senator's office finds that he tools around DC in a Chevy Suburban, GM's biggest SUV weighing in at 5800 pounds and guzzling 15 mpg. A press spokesman is quick to point out that Reid is required by Capitol police to use the vehicle for security (he has another back home in Nevada).

After a short break from a little diversion from his pet attack dog projects, Harry Reid decides to go back to the beginning and start all over with his usual antics of getting nothing done, just keep whining and insulting people.

Reid adjusts antiwar strategy

By S.A. Miller THE WASHINGTON TIMES June 15, 2007

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has refocused his antiwar crusade as his and Congress' job-approval ratings plummet to all-time lows.

Mr. Reid began the week Monday by vowing to "push very, very hard" for troop withdrawal from Iraq in a Defense Department budget authorization bill in two weeks.

The next day -- as the Senate began work on the energy bill and tried to revive immigration legislation -- the Nevada Democrat and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California sent a letter to the White House imploring the president to heed the Democrat-led Congress' call for a pullout.

That same day, Mr. Reid railed against the war and U.S. military leaders in a conference call with a group of liberal bloggers.

The report above reminds us all of Harry's fondness for the fringe left. Just in case he grows weary from all his ranting on others around Washington and the country, he can get plenty of crank volunteers from netroots or whatever they're called today.

But Harry and Nancy and many other politicians are really good at one thing. Telling the rest of us how to live while they jump at every opportunity to grab a buck. Typically one should be applauded for being creative and learning how to earn extra income from side jobs. But politicians spend an inordinate amount of time making money for themselves when they should be properly representing constituents. Like that's going to happen. See below.

Lawmakers Profit From Investments, Books

WASHINGTON -- The political fortunes of new congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid soared last year, and financial disclosure forms revealed Thursday they're also doing well in personal money matters.

Lawmakers Disclose a Variety of Earnings, Assets

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the new Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, are obviously not in it for the money.

With what has been written in this post so far, it should be no surprise that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, has a problem as reflected in his approval rating. Let's just say you can call old Harry the 19% solution. No wonder few are commenting on the President's approval rating. Currently the President's rating is better than Congress and certainly better than Harry's. Funny, you don't notice many people bringing that up.

Harry Reid’s Favorables Fall to 19%

Saturday, June 09, 2007 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now viewed favorably by 19% of American voters and unfavorably by 45%. Just 3% have a Very Favorable opinion while 22% hold a Very Unfavorable views.

Reid has been very visible over the past week in the furor over immigration reform. The effort to pass a bill that was more popular in Congress than among voters may have hurt public perceptions of the Democratic leader. His ratings are down from a month ago when 26% had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Senator. Reid’s highest ratings were 30% favorable in February.

The President and Congress are divided on nearly every issue. The American people are being largely ignored. The past midterms must be too far from the 2008 elections for politicians to think an upset can happen again. For now, the President and Congress should focus on a number of issues. Successful completion of the war in Iraq and not allowing amnesty for millions of law breakers are the top two items. Improving the situation in every other major issue facing us would follow. Details of how that should be done is not within the scope of this post. It should be sufficient to mention there are multiple options available that are worthwhile. But until we get the attention of the President and Congress to do the right things there is no sense discussing it. Just help get them to win the war in Iraq, take care of the troops and deny the travesty of amnesty for illegals. That would be enough for this year.