I consider Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) the Democrats’ own dirty little Mormon secret. I am embarrassed every time I hear the man speak. I cringe when he claims to represent people like me.
And I guess I’m not alone. The Houston Chronicle’s Cragg Hines seems to agree, showing how Reid keeps getting it wrong.
There should be an especially fiery place in the political hereafter for Harry Reid if the Democratic leader continues to mismanage the Senate debate on the Iraq war.
To the ga-ga applause of at least some of the most vocal antiwar forces, Reid yanked from further immediate consideration the legislative vehicle that provided a platform for the debate.
The ultimate goal of Reid, some of his senior colleagues and the antiwar movement is wholly admirable. But they have the strategy bass-ackwards.
Reid, once a Golden Gloves middleweight, got sucker punched.
What did President Bush want? At least 60 more days to prosecute the ill-omened battles in Iraq.
What did Reid’s move give Bush? At least 60 more days to prosecute the ill-omened battles in Iraq.
Given the long congressional recess in August, there is now little, if any, prospect for significant Senate debate on a real change of course in Iraq until after Labor Day.
The obvious simple solution for Harry Reid is to do NOTHING. He pulled the funding bill. He should simply strip out funding for Iraq before he re-offers it, and then NEVER let Iraq funding come back to the floor. No Iraq bill, ergo, no filibuster, no veto, no more Iraq.
Iraq is funded until October anyway by the current funding, but not after.How simple can it get?