You ROCK, Harry Reid!!!

[ohioan]

You da man!

Nice to have a leader who talks softly and carries a big-assed whuppin stick...

[gademocrat7]

1. Yes he is!!!!

[jrthin]

2. WHAT HAPPENED?! nt

[ohioan]

3. Reid suckered Frist big time:

"Senate Majority Leader Frist today rejected a Democratic proposal to defuse tensions over the use of filibusters to block President Bush's judicial nomination. Frist said he could not agree to any deal that required Republicans to either drop some of Bush's nominations or allow Democrats to continue to use filibusters on such nominations. Senate Democratic leaders Monday said they would be willing to discuss the possibility of moving some of Bush's nominations as long as the so-called nuclear option was taken off the table. Speaking to reporters, Frist said any deal with Minority Leader Reid must apply to all judicial nominees and not just those that Democrats may be willing to accept. 'The principle, in my mind, is for future circuit judges as well,' Frist said, adding that any move by the GOP to eliminate judicial filibusters is to ensure majority votes on 'all judicial nominees. Don't just focus on the past.'" --Congress Daily PM, April 26, 2005

So, now, Reid and the Democrats look like reasonable people willing to try to solve the stalemate while Frist and the Republicans have been exposed as the hardline, "we have a slight majority so we want to control every last thing" tyrants that they truly are.

[radfringe]

20. tyrants or cry-babies?

[saracat]

4. He hasn't whupped anyone yet.

Let us see how we play this before we jump to conclusions. We have had everything in our pockets before and then keeled. I still remember the bankruptsy vote. I don't trust Reid. I did once and feel burnt.

[FreedomAngel82]

5. I agree

I'm willing to wait and see how it works out for us. Hopefully it'll go this way.

[ohioan]

6. This is a much different situation . . .

The Bankruptcy Bill vote was not Reid's fault. Dems were all over the map on that one long before he became Minority Leader. There was no way he could control them.

This is very different. The Democrats (except Nelson - a lost cause) are united like never before. Reid won't betray his caucus on this vote. He set up Frist like a big dog and now.

[saracat]

7. Sorry. I don't care that they were all over the map before he

was "minority" leader. Tough. It was his job to get them in line. And he voted for the bankruptsy bill himself. That is unforgivable!

[Idioteque]

8. Reid voted against cloture!

That's what really counts. After cloture, the bill was destined to pass. I don't mind Reid voting for it since he at least tried to filibuster it.

Lieberman, on the other hand, voted FOR cloture and AGAINST the bill, essentially voting for the bill while pretending he didn't. I'll take Reid's way.

[genius]

9. He voted for the Bankruptcy Bill. How much did the credit card companies

pay him to screw the American public?

[Jesus Saves]

17. He's holding the line on SS, and on the judges

and he's doing a great job of it. He's contending with some very powerful forces. He's doing his best and he's winning on some very important issues. The final battles haven't been fought, but he's doing a heck of a job.

[saracat]

10. He didn't try to do anything. He knew what the cloture votes were

and he shouldn't have let Lieberman vote the way he did. That is a failure of a minority leader and the whip. Sorry .He did not do whatever he could, and that was because he supported the bill!

[ohioan]

11. You're expecting Reid to do something that NO one can do

Whipping the Democratic caucus is like herding cats.

No Minority Leader has the ability to "make" their caucus members to anything. They don't control the Committees, the purse or the agenda.

Reid has done a masterful job of keeping the Democrats in line to the extent they're sticking together. It is really unreasonable to expect more. It just doesn't comport with the reality of being a minority in the Senate.

[saracat]

12. Odd. Lyndon Johnson and Tip O'Neill used to be able to do it!

[ohioan]

13. Ummm - Johnson was MAJORITY Leader. Tip was SPEAKER

They weren't the minority leaders in a Senate controlled by the Republicans operating down the street from a White House controlled by a Republican President.

BIG Difference.

And, by the way, when Tip was speaker, Democrats whined about his inability to keep the Democrats in line on every issue, too.

[saracat]

14. Majority has more to keep in line!

And when our side was in control the deal making was more advantageous so they could be tougher to control. And it is true that Dems will always whine!I am not impressed by Reid yet. But I hope to be!:)

[ProudToBeLiberal]

16. thats a hefty compliment to the republican majority nt

[saracat]

19. Well, you have to admit, they are way

better at getting their people to vote party line than we are!:)

[LittleClarkie]

15. That's the point I guess

why would he get anyone in line to vote against a bill he favored.

I may not be thrilled with that vote, but I won't make him swing for it.

[saracat]

18. There are some things I don't find negotiable

and the selling out of the middle class is one of them. I honestly can't imagine a more egregious vote. The next non negotiable for me would be choice.I wouldn't make him swing, but I don't trust him. He doesn't represent what I consider the best interests of the party. Who the heck ever thought of a Dem minority leader selling out his middle class constituency for business in a recession with no jobs? I hope he turns around, but he certainly has aroused my suspicions.I want to be wrong. I hope he proves me so! :)