Comments on: Senator Harry Reid: Democrat, Senator, Worm

By: Indy

Indy — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 06:50:25 +0000

mmm, i’m guessing that he’s representing a vocal portion of his constituency?

By: belledame222

belledame222 — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:58:04 +0000

yeah, i just can’t imagine why i can’t get enthused over electoral politics anymore.

By: RepubAnon

RepubAnon — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 19:54:14 +0000

Don’t forget to thank all those Nader voters in 2000 who said a Republican President couldn’t pack the Supreme Court and get Roe overturned.

What this decision really proves is that we can’t just let the politicians punt these issues to the Supreme Court. If opposing a measure costs votes, but supporting it doesn’t cost votes because people think it doesn’t matter - politicians will go for the votes.

It’s like gun control - we need to build a powerful pro-choice single-issue PAC modelled on the NRA’s Second Amendment stance. Something like a push for a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights would be a good start.

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 19:20:43 +0000

Bush does this all the time, and it’s one of the things I like least about him.

By: Brandon Berg

Brandon Berg — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 15:50:54 +0000

I suspect that lawmakers sometimes play games of chicken with each other. If a Congressman doesn’t think a bill has a chance of becoming law—either because he thinks it won’t get enough votes, that it will get vetoed and not overridden, or that the courts will strike it down—he may vote for it even if he doesn’t support it, as an appeal to certain voters. For example, there’s been some speculation that Bush imposed the steel tariffs as a sop to the unions, knowing that the WTO would overrule them.

Sure, it’s lame, and dangerous, but a democratic system selects for the people who are willing to play this kind of game.

By: Sebastian Holsclaw

Sebastian Holsclaw — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:45:41 +0000

Maybe when he says “a lot of us” he doesn’t mean himself?

By: Just Another One of Those Days... « UFO Breakfast Recipients

Just Another One of Those Days... « UFO Breakfast Recipients — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:50:44 +0000

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By: Myca

Myca — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:35:10 +0000

The difference between Republicans and Democrats is that not all Democrats are wrong virtually all of the time.

Damn, I want that on a t-shirt.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:29:29 +0000

Right, but my point was that he was simply trying to finesse. He can’t critique the decision because he voted for the bill that was upheld, but he can legitimately critique the guy who made the decision and in that way appear to be on the side of the angels without actually being there.

In other words, he isn’t being hypocritical by being sneaky, he’s avoiding being hypocritical by being sneaky.

By: Ampersand

Ampersand — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:22:38 +0000

Kate, keep in mind that the majority of Democrats did vote against the ban. The difference between Republicans and Democrats is that not all Democrats are wrong virtually all of the time.

Robert, Reid knows perfectly well that if O’Connor had still been on the court, the decision would have (with 99.99999% certainty) been to find the PBA ban unconstitutional. O’Connor’s views on the matter are well-established and there’s no sign at all that they’ve changed.

By: Jamila Akil

Jamila Akil — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:19:16 +0000

As someone who agrees with the majority opinion in this case, I have to say that Harry Reid is clearly trying to play both sides of the fence on this one.

He is definitely a hypocrite.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 17:19:34 +0000

Well, he wishes that Alito weren’t there. He didn’t say he was unhappy with the decision, just with the decider.

By: Kate L.

Kate L. — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 17:14:16 +0000

This confirms my belief that politicians are all pond scum for the most part. As much as I’m frustrated with republican politicians, democrats have been disappointing me even more for quite some time. I suppose I don’t expect any better from the Right, and I probably was deluding myself to believe I should expect more from the Left.