Sen. Harry Reid calls on Grayson to drop out of Senate race

[philosslayer]

Source: Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday called for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson to drop out of the race for a Senate seat in Florida.

Reid said in a statement that Grayson claims to be progressive but seems to have "no moral compass." He said Grayson used his office to unethically promote a hedge fund that until recently had been based in the Cayman Islands.

Grayson is running in the Democratic primary to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. His campaign did not immediately respond to Reid's call to quit the race.

His business activities have come under scrutiny for the past several months. The New York Times on Thursday reported that Grayson promoted his international travels, some with congressional delegations, to solicit business for his hedge fund.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SENATE_FLORIDA?SITE=MYPSP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-02-12-13-16-31

[yourout]

1. Unstable would be my description of Grayson.

To Bad.

[uhnope]

3. that kook is still around?

[NobodyHere]

8. Are you talking about Reid or Grayson?

[uhnope]

9. take a wild guess

[napi21]

4. I'm not sure. I want to hear Grayson's response before i toss him under the bus.

Grayson is someone who always upsets the status quo so few of the current House or Senate members like him. They like nice calm smooth days and Alan likes change. It never surprises me when any current office holders slam him. I want to hear more from Alan.

[LiberalArkie]

5. "No moral compass" seems like it can be tied to just about every one in congress.

[abelenkpe]

11. +1000

[Ken Burch]

6. If Grayson drops out, we've got no chance of winning that seat.

What're they gonna do...drag Crist out of mothballs again?

[Judi Lynn]

7. That seat needs to be filled by Alan Grayson, who'd do a far better job than any Republican.

Can't imagine why Henry Reid would think otherwise.

[Mika]

12. They want to keep Rubio on the back burner after his failed gopper POTUs nomination.

Like DWS's "congeniality" for her colleagues, la Loba & Diaz-blowhard.

[Historic NY]

32. Rubio is done with the Senate he hasn't filed

of course Grayson has turned into a fucking lw scumbag : The BS of his divorce and now the hedge fund offshore shit.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2015/10/25/28cfaff0-6d59-11e5-9bfe-e59f5e244f92_story.html

He posts here so you can send him some valentines if you wish.

[Fuddnik]

13. Because his primary opponent is another one of Rahms converted repukes.

Stick around Alan, I'm voting for you!

[Salviati]

19. Well, I'd rather have a liberal blowhard with no moral compass in that seat

Then a crypto-republican pal of Rahm with no moral compass there.

[libdem4life]

33. Yes, we have to stop "eating our own" when they err or show imperfection. Let's don't outdo the

Republicans on this one.

[houston16revival]

10. Like most others

it seems like his fundraising never stops

Maybe Grayson would be better off managing party finances
with his hedge fund

[aspirant]

14. Harry, your time is past

Do us all a favor and just exit with a smile and a pension.

[harun]

15. If they think he did something illegal, charge him. If not, still love Grayson.

[Dont call me Shirley]

16. That means keep running, Grayson. The establishment doesn't want you, the people do.

[ancianita]

17. Run, Alan, run. As conflict of interest drowns Congress, Reid's picked the wrong battle.

And Floridians want a fighter.

Grayson wasn't in Congress when he began the hedge fund, so that part is legal.

The rest is fixable.

[Dont call me Shirley]

25. Reid's been one big-ass disappointment.

[ancianita]

28. Right??

[BuelahWitch]

18. Maybe he wants Wasserman-Schultz to swoop in and grab it.

[StevieM]

29. U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy is Grayson's chief opponent for the Democratic nomination

Here is his Wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Murphy_(Florida_politician)

[blackspade]

20. If true about the hedge funds, he probably should withdraw.

But I would like to hear the whole story.

Reid's comments though are pretty shitty and smack of a hit job.

[Z_California]

21. Grayson's rhetoric

upsets Congress' corporate masters. I highly doubt he's being targeted for his business activities. I'll wait for this story to flesh out a bit before taking sides though.

[FrodosPet]

24. Grayson told potential investors to take particular advantage when there was “blood in the streets.”

"Forget it Jake, it's Florida politics!"

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/02/11/alan-grayson-double-life-congressman-and-hedge-fund-manager/iMEzxvvuyL79rf79SYpDrK/story.html

~ snip ~

The inquiry has become public, but emails and marketing documents obtained by The New York Times show the extent to which Grayson’s roles as a hedge fund manager and a member of Congress were intertwined, and how he promoted his international travels, some with congressional delegations, to solicit business.

Interviews and the documents show that Grayson told potential investors in his hedge fund that they should contribute money to the fund to capitalize on the unrest he observed around the world, and to take particular advantage when there was “blood in the streets.”

The emails also show how Grayson’s work for the hedge fund, which had $16.4 million in assets as of October, at times interfered with his other duties. In August 2015, after Grayson introduced legislation calling for larger annual increases in Social Security benefits, he signed off on a plan to highlight the proposal at an event in Tampa, Florida, emails obtained by The Times show. But the plan was scuttled, two former aides said, when economic turmoil in China sent stock markets tumbling globally and Grayson had to turn his attention to the fund.

~ snip ~

But Grayson’s activities have long concerned his campaign aides. In private emails in June, Grayson’s aides pleaded with him to close the hedge fund, convinced that its focus on investing in nations hit by political or economic strife, and its ties to the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven, sharply conflicted with his image as a scold of Wall Street — even if he had not done anything wrong.

~ snip ~

[Tempest]

23. The Pot Calling The Kettle Black

In 1998, Reid invested $400,000 in an undeveloped residential property located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Reid’s partner in the deal was attorney Jay Brown, whom Ralston describes as a “master manipulator.” Reid transferred his share of the property to a company Brown controlled in 2001. By transferring the land to Brown’s firm, Reid avoided legal liability and some taxes. But Reid didn’t note the transfer -- or that he had any stake in the company -- in his financial disclosure forms, despite rules requiring such transfers to be reported. By 2004, Brown’s company sold the land, which had been rezoned for a shopping center, and Reid received $1.1 million. He reported the sale as if he had always had control of the property.

When the Associated Press asked Reid about the deal during a 2006 interview, he hung up on the reporter.

That isn’t the only problematic land deal Reid was involved with at the time. In 2002, he put $10,000 into a pension fund controlled by another friend, Clair Haycock. The payment gave Reid a sizable parcel of land in Bullhead City, Ariz. According to the Los Angeles Times, Reid purchased the land for one-tenth of its estimated value -- and one-fortieth of what it had sold for a decade earlier.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/04/24/harry_reids_long_steady_accretion_of_power__wealth-2.html

[bowens43]

26. Go the fuck home harry, like hillary YOU are the problem

[24601]

27. Grayson can win a Representative's district. He can even win the Democratic nomination for

Senate. But he's not going to win a statewide race. I live about halfway between Grayson's & Jolly's districts. If you gave me $1000 and said to bet on the next Florida Senator, it would go on Jolly. He's far less polarizing and will pick up a lot of the independents. Grayson will lock-up the base but lose the general.

[7962]

30. And everyone said I was SO wrong when I said he was a jerk long ago

He's an insulting POS

[Reter]

31. Greyson would lose FL by at least 20 points

He's lost his mind if he thinks he can win a state-wide election there.