Reid Blinks
ShareThere are a lot of fuming Democrats in official Washington this weekend thanks to Harry Reid.
I've been inundated with calls and emails wondering if Reid, in jest (I think) has conceded the 2006 elections 10 months in advance.
Reid's decision to apologize to the 33 GOP senators who were singled out in an official release from Reid's message shop capped what's been a weak week to be a Democrat. This despite a climate that's tilted toward the Democrats.
Of the folks I've heard from about this bizarre apology, there's a split on whether the original release was a good idea or not. About half believe, no-holds bar is the appropriate approach for a party that finds itself constantly under attack from the RNC, the NRSC and the conservative message machine of talk radio, conservative columnists and Fox News gabbers.
The other half believes the hit was wrong because it wasn't good and it was haphazard. If anything, these folks think Reid should have only apologized for putting out a bad hit piece. [CHUCK TODD]
But where there's agreement is that apologizing only underscores the perception with the average voter that Democrats are weak.
The only defense of Reid I was able to find was from a strategist sympathetic in dealing with senators. As this person noted to us, the senate is made up of thin-skinned folks and Reid probably caved quickly after one phone call from Bill Frist or some other member of the club.
What really is making folks mad, though, is that this now puts pressure on other Democratic committees to apologize when some Republican takes something personally. Reid set a precedent. Want evidence? Check out this release yesterday afternoon that the NRSC sent out:
OOPS, HE DID IT AGAINReid Launches Another Reckless Attack
THIS WEEK, HARRY REID QUESTIONED THE ETHICAL STANDING OF THIRTY-THREE COLLEAGUES, THEN APOLOGIZED ...
REID CALLED PRESIDENT BUSH A "LOSER," THEN APOLOGIZED
...
REID ACCUSED MAJORITY LEADER FRIST OF "AMATEUR LEADERSHIP," THEN APOLOGIZED
...
WILL REID NOW APOLOGIZE . . .
. . . To Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) For Comparing Him To Mobster John Gotti? REID: "Having Senator Santorum talk about reform is like having John Gotti talk about doing something about organized crime." (PBS' "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," January 18, 2006)
. . . To Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) For Accusing Him Of Putting Politics Ahead Of National Security? REID: "Despite the fact that the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee publicly committed to examine these questions more than a year and a half ago, he has chosen not to keep that commitment. . . . At this point, we can only conclude he will continue to put politics ahead of our national security." (Sen. Harry Reid, Congressional Record, November 1, 2005)
. . . To Federal Judge Janice Rogers Brown For Calling Her "A Woman Who Wants To Take Us Back To The Civil War Days"? "[Reid] described California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, one of the Bush nominees Republicans will probably float first for approval, as an African-American opposed by the Congressional Black Caucus. 'She is a woman who wants to take us back to the Civil War days,' Reid said." (Erin Neff, 'Del Sol High School Appearance: Reid Calls Bush 'A Loser,'" Las Vegas Review-Journal, May 7, 2005)
. . . To Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan For Calling Him "One Of The Biggest Political Hacks We Have In Washington"? REID: "Judy, you understand, I hope, that I'm not a big . . . Alan Greenspan fan. I voted against him the last two times. I think he's one of the biggest political hacks we have in Washington." (CNN's "Inside Politics," March 3, 2005)
. . . To U.N. Ambassador John Bolton For Saying He "Isn't Anyone We Can Be Proud Of"? REID: "We want the United States to be represented in the United Nations. We are not now. But we want a nominee that the American people can be proud of. Bolton isn't anyone we can be proud of." (Sen. Harry Reid, Press Conference, June 21, 2005)
. . . To Majority Leader Frist For Accusing Him Of Having "No Institutional Integrity"? REID: "When [Frist] got this job, he had had limited experience on the Senate floor. And he was leaving. He had term-limited himself. So he has no institutional integrity . . . He doesn't feel as strongly about the Senate." (“Reid Calls GOP-Led Congress 'Most Corrupt' Ever, Criticizes Frist," The Associated Press, December 18, 2005)
Reid was an amateur boxer which Reid supporters like to note as a way of proving he's tough. But last time we checked boxers weren't regularly known as folks who apologized for hitting someone too hard. [CHUCK TODD]
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