Can someone explain to me how the Harry Reid scandal hurts Democrats?

by: Chris Bowers

Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 15:30


It's Harry Reid-o-rama in political news today.  On the surface, it would seem that having the Democratic senate Majority Leader under fire would be bad for Democrats in general.  However, I am not really seeing how it changes anything:

  1. Was Harry Reid going to win re-election before the scandal? No, he wasn't. Nevada is in shambles, and someone is going to take the fall for it. That personn was going to be Harry Reid no matter what campaign he ran, or how he acted as Majority Leader.

  2. Are African-Americans going to start voting for Republicans now?  Um, no. There won't even be 1% movement.

  3. Was Harry Reid a strong public voice for the Democratic Party? Um, no. Not a very popular media or campaign surrogate.

  4. Was Harry Reid a popular leadership figure among progressives? Nope. If Harry Reid steps down, the next Majority Leader will be more progressive, not less.

  5. Is the scandal drawing attention away from other, more problematic national issues for Democrats right now, like the final health care negotiations? Yes, yes it is.
While scandals like this usually hurt the party or individual politician in question, the only outcomes here actually help Democrats or progressives.  If Reid doesn't run for re-election, Democratic odds of winning in Nevada increase. If he steps down as Majority Leader, Democrats get a more progressive Majority Leader.  The more mediaa attention on Reid, the less media attention on the still unpopular and still dicey health care bill.

So, I am surprised to write this, since scandals like these are usually damaging, but in this case I fail to see how the current focus on Harry Reid is actually bad for Democrats or progressives.

Chris Bowers :: Can someone explain to me how the Harry Reid scandal hurts Democrats?

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Can someone explain to me how the Harry Reid scandal hurts Democrats? | 47 comments
The "double standard" meme (0.00 / 0)
can potentially hurt. If GOPpers make it appear as though the Democratic Party tolerates "racism" in their own party, yet hold the GOP members to a different standard, it lowers the status of the Dems and may lose votes.

"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
And If Pigs Can Fly... (4.00 / 1)
Then flies can pig, no?

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3
[ Parent ]
More nonsense from Rosenberg (4.00 / 2)
I answered the question posed. Nothing more.


"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
Totally (0.00 / 0)
Sorry Paul, but sometimes you speak in beat poetry and nobody understands but you.  SpitBall offered a perfectly cogent response.
[ Parent ]
Nobody? (4.00 / 2)
Who you callin' nobody? ;-)
[ Parent ]
And I Was MOCKINGThe "Double Standard" Meme (4.00 / 2)
which can only possibly appeal (or even make sense to) the Versailles crowd in pretending-to-be-milkmaids-and-shepards mode.

Who, exactly, in reality-land remembers just enough about Trent Lott to be fooled by this AND would care more about it than something that actually effects their own life & circumstances & that of their family?


"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
Where did I say that the meme (0.00 / 0)
made sense?


"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
And Where Did I Say I Thought You Did? (4.00 / 3)
Yo, Dude! I'm not irrevocably against everything you have to say.  I probably agree with you 75% or more.

So please take it as given that when I aim to attack you, you'll know it.

OTOH, when I just toss in something snarky, you are not the target.  In fact, you just racked up an assist.

p.s. Is this just a commie plot to send me back to the 90s & make me starting using emoticons?


"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
:D (4.00 / 1)
LOL
[ Parent ]
Yo, Dude (4.00 / 1)
Sometimes your writing lacks clarity. Got it?

"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
Less Words (4.00 / 1)
More mystery.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3
[ Parent ]
FUCK MYSTERY (0.00 / 0)
or have I gone too far ;) ?

"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
Oh yes, yes you have, (0.00 / 0)
can I add please?

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
Well, As Nietzsche Might Say (4.00 / 2)
When you fuck mystery, mystery fucks you.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3
[ Parent ]
Stop speaking in your own private language (0.00 / 0)
This is exactly the reason that most conservative blogs are completely unreadable.  The authors use a private vernacular, comprised of inside references and sarcasm, and it's totally inscrutable to outsiders.

"pretending-to-be-milkmaids-and-shepards mode"....what the hell does that mean?  And this was one of your more comprehensible remarks.

[ Parent ]
"You Could Look It Up" -- Yogi Berra (4.00 / 1)
The clueless courtiers of Versailles of old thought that they were France, and hence it was inconceivable to them that France could revolt against them.

One of the most blatant ways in which they acted out this cluelessness was by playacting and pretending to be milkmaids and shepherds.  Much the same way that Tweety and other denizens of Versailles today imagine themselves to intimately understand the inner lives of ordinary Americans (particularly as opposed to DFHs).

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
Shouldn't need to look it up (0.00 / 0)
Which is exactly my point.  That's a great explanation, and now that I have that explanation, it's a great analogy.  But expecting your audience to know, or have the patience to look up, every obscure reference is just poor communication.
[ Parent ]
I'm Not FOX (0.00 / 0)
I'm not oriented toward the lowest common denominator.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3
[ Parent ]
Oh please (0.00 / 0)
You don't have to write stupidly, or for a presumption of ignorance, to be widely comprehensible.  That's just a silly thing to say.

And in any case, how am I supposed to distinguish between good but obscure analogies like "shepards" and nonsense like "pigs and flies"?  Should I google search every phrase that falls from your fingers?


[ Parent ]
I understand Beat Poetry (4.00 / 1)
Rosenberg, not so much.

"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
Not Beat Poetry. Beat Humor. (0.00 / 0)
Think Paul Krassner.

That's who I was trying to channel.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

[ Parent ]
FUCK DOUBLE STANDARDS! (4.00 / 1)


"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
There's no double standard (4.00 / 1)
I really don't see why nobody prominent has pointed out the obvious and simple difference between Reid and Lott.

Reid said something that, in very awkward language, meant he looked forward to the election of a black man to POTUS.

Lott said something that, in pretty straightforward language, meant he was sorry that black people were treated as full citizens, or even as fully human.

Both men's track records confirm the meaning implied by their separate statements.

[ Parent ]
Well said. (0.00 / 0)
And cogent, and considering the drift of merely personal attacks its quite welcome.

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
While I agree with the substance of what you wrote (0.00 / 0)
I always thought that the Lott remarks were overblown.  I think that it was probably an awkwardly-worded compliment to Strom Thurmond and that it shouldn't have resulted in Lott being lambasted and forced to resign as Majority Leader (though Lott's resignation probably had more to due with Republican complaints about his passive style (much like our complaints with Reid's) and Bill Frist's ambitions than with his actual remarks).
[ Parent ]
Erf (4.00 / 1)
He openly pined for the days when segregation was a viable platform.  It's hard to make too much of that.
[ Parent ]
"...lowers the status of Dems"... (4.00 / 1)
Ha Ha good one.  And "...may lose votes" is even funnier.

Both parties look so completely incompetent now I hardly think things can get any worse.
But there is one way it can get worse for Dems. If the aged Harry tears up and drives sympathy voters to the polls Dems might get screwed.  
If Hillary can do it, so can Harry Reid.

Nationalism is not the same thing as terrorism, and an adversary is not the same thing as an enemy.

[ Parent ]
Yeah (0.00 / 0)
and that's ALL that will happen

"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
Can someone explain to me who Richard Goldberg is? (0.00 / 0)
Anyone? Anyone? Bowers?
:-/
Why are you trying to hijack this thread (4.00 / 1)
with unrelated questions and comments?


"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."
[ Parent ]
Because that's the only way anyone pays attention, dammit! (4.00 / 1)
That story is up for more than two hours now, and nobody acknolodges having promoted it, nor provides any explanation! Wtf?
[ Parent ]
Ah, thx for providing this verbose information, Chris! (0.00 / 0)
"Richard Goldberg will be blogging with us from time to time--Chris Bowers"

Well, that of course tells us everything. Totally makes sense. It's the world renowned blogger, Richard Goldberg! Very impressive resume, indeed. Certainly a great addition to the frontpage here. Not to speak of his perfect manners, apparent in the really old school way he's introducing himself. Wow.

Having said that, goodnight, I've had enough of that circus here for today.  

[ Parent ]
re: goldberg (4.00 / 1)
It's the world renowned blogger, Richard Goldberg! Very impressive resume, indeed. Certainly a great addition to the frontpage here. Not to speak of his perfect manners, apparent in the really old school way he's introducing himself. Wow.

he has quite the female following too!

http://www.facebook.com/people...

[ Parent ]
But ... it's good news for McCain!!!! (4.00 / 2)

Nevada Recount! (4.00 / 2)
Feel the love heat air conditioning!

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3
[ Parent ]
Blogger recount! (4.00 / 1)
Is there a new blogger here? Or do we have a stowaway? Pls recount!
[ Parent ]
This Is Hissy Fit Auto-Pilot (4.00 / 4)
It hurts the Democrats because "It hurts the Democrats" is part & parcel of the Hissy Fit Auto-Pilot script.

Any relationship to reality is purely accidental.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

How it hurts the Democrats, I don't know exactly, but there was a time.... (4.00 / 3)
when the Democrats were the party of Southern racism (and northern racism when the Reagan Democrats emerged), when whiteness was good and blackness bad, especially if you tried to vote. The difficulty with Reid's statements is that they were true, and who wants to be reminded that we are still a racist society, in spite of the years that have passed since 1964.

Reid made us face ourselves once again and who wants to do that? Besides I can think of many dark AfroAmericans who I would like to see in office and who might even do a better job than biracial or lighter skinned people like Obama.  

Dems in disarray (4.00 / 3)
Total tailspin. This doesn't look good. This can only be good for the GOP. It's a real shocker. Could be the gamechanger of 2010. Hello Speaker Boehner. Romney now a sure thing in 2012. Validates everything Palin said and then some. Reid can pretty much forget about that Playgirl spread now. Latinos in the GOP column. We're doomed, I tells ya--DOOMED!

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything...Mankind are forever destined to be the dupes of bold & cunning imposture" -- Alexander Hamilton
lol (4.00 / 1)
thanks

--

The government has a defect: it's potentially democratic. Corporations have no defect: they're pure tyrannies. -Chomsky
[ Parent ]
Actually, anything that wakes the Left up (4.00 / 5)
from it's Obama narcosis is a good thing:

Exhibit A: The possibility of losing Ted Kennedy's Seat to a neocon.

Talk about snoozeville!

Subsequent to the loss of Dodd and Dorgan and now Reid;

Now people are screaming: "GOTV! GOTV! Canvas! Fight back!"

People are saying "we can't cede populism to the right".

People are thinking "unless we do something dramatically outside the two-party-lock-down, we are in for some really dark times".

Waking up is a good thing.

Time for (4.00 / 1)
Harry to change his Depends cause his shit is all over the place. It's over.

Extraordinary progressive star in the making
If Reid is such a bad majority leader (4.00 / 1)
Then why shouldn't the left pile on and join with Republicans if it would force Reid to step down as Majority Leader, if not abandon his re-election bid, and put someone more progressive like Dick Durbin in his place?

Sure, it in no way rises to the level of what Trent Lott said in the past (although I think it is fair to say that a Republican who said the same thing, more or less, would get hammered by lefty bloggers in a way that Reid has not), but if it offers at least a chance of more progressive leadership, shouldn't we at least openly consider the opportunity, even if it means cooperating (sort of) with conservatives?

Right now, I'm not saying we should definitely go down that path, but I'd like to here someone else chime in on the pluses and minuses of doing so.

Things You Don't Talk About in Polite Company: Religion, Politics, the Occasional Intersection of Both

Durbin's no better than Reid.. (0.00 / 0)
...In fact, he may even be weaker... Mr. Nice guy couldn't even get 40 votes for a decent credit card bill as majority whip.  I'm not impressed.

REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!
[ Parent ]
Disagree with Chris on one count (0.00 / 0)
I think Reid still has, at least pre-scandal, a reasonably strong shot of winning reelection, based on his massive war chest, weak Republican opposition and a "vaporizing" strategy like the one used successfully in the 2002 CA Gov race and unsuccessfully in the 2009 NJ Gov race.

I don't know if this scandal has irreparably damaged his reelection prospects but I don't think you can fairly say he never had a chance of winning to begin with.

Harry should give in to the GOP demands and resign (0.00 / 0)
Because even a no-name generic democrat would fare better in the election than he will.

Maybe there is an outside chance someone decent will step up to run for the democratic side.

What pisses me off.... (4.00 / 3)
Is Obama instantly forgives Reid, yet instantly dumps Van Jones.  

We won the Battle. Now the Real Fight for Change Begins. Join MoveOn.org and fight for progressive change.  
Can someone explain to me how the Harry Reid scandal hurts Democrats? | 47 comments
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