Posted on 09/04/2012 6:01:33 PM PDT by mdittmar
CARSON CITY U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today defended President Obamas record of accomplishments in his first term, citing his preservation of the nations auto industry, the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a threat to America and his push to regulate the banking industry as examples of why he deserves a second term in office.
Reid, speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, called Obama a man who has brought courage and character to the presidency.
President Obamas strength of character leads him to do the right thing even when it isnt the easy thing, he said.
Reid also attacked the conservative Tea Party element in the Republican Party, saying it must be stopped before the United States Senate falls into the hands of extremists and ideologues who leave no room for reason or compromise, who dont recognize common ground even when theyre standing on it.
In his brief remarks, Reid also criticized Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, saying never in modern American history has a presidential candidate tried so hard to hide himself from the people he hopes to serve.
Reid has been leveling criticisms at Romney for the past several weeks for failing to release more of his tax returns for public scrutiny.
But there has been some for his focus on Romneys tax returns. Reid was criticized for claiming to have information from a source that Romney paid no taxes at all for 10 years, but he did not make that claim in his convention remarks.
When you look at the one tax return he has released, its obvious why theres been only one, Reid said. We learned that he pays a lower tax rate than middle-class families. We learned he chose Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island tax shelters over American institutions. And we can only imagine what new secrets would be revealed if he showed the American people a dozen years of tax returns, like his father did.
Reid said the American public should not take Romneys word that he paid his fair share of taxes.
His word? His word? Reid asked. Trust comes from transparency, and Mitt Romney comes up short on both.
Reid did not mention Nevadas highest-in-the-nation unemployment rate or its high foreclosure rate in his defense of Obama.
Reid said he is ready to tackle the challenges faced by Americans in the coming four years.
But I want to do that work with Barack Obama, and not a Tea Party ideologue, he said.
There was some bad timing as the Democratic Convention kicked into full gear, however, with the news from the U.S. Treasury that the national debt for the first time in history. The debt has increased approximately $5.4 trillion since President Obama took office on January 20, 2009.
The news prompted a comment from Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., who said: Todays ominous milestone is yet another reminder of the dire fiscal straits our country is facing and the need for serious solutions to getting our deficits under control and reducing the debt.
After running on a promise to cut the deficit in half and reduce our debt in his first term in office, President Obama has added trillions to the debt by pursuing failed stimulus policies and has left the American people and future generations holding the tab, he said. Not only has this administration broken these promises to the American people, it has ignored the seriousness of the situation by repeatedly proposing budgets with deficits of more than $1 trillion.
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Audio clips:
Sen. Harry Reid says the Tea Party is a group of extremists that doesnt know how to compromise:
No anti Mormon stories about Harry?
Yawn...maybe I’d listen if you would have passed a budget the past 3 years, as you are legally required to do.
and why should the Tea Party compromise with marxist/fascists?
blessings, bobo
Reid also attacked the conservative Tea Party element in the Republican Party, saying it must be stopped before the United States Senate falls into the hands of extremists and ideologues who leave no room for reason or compromise, who dont recognize common ground even when were standing on their necks.
Well, that’s a shock!
There, fixed that. (Okay, I know you needed to go with the original title the MSM outlet pasted on the story.)
And there's something grimly amusing about Reid asserting that trust comes from transparency given Obama's locking up of all his past records and invocation of executive privilege in regards to Fast and Furious. (I'm not sure how that assertion fits with the notion Reid was defending Obama's record.)
I find their rhetoric dangerous. Calling someone a radical or extremist makes it easier for them to make the case that we are not needed. In my opinion we are heading down a slippery slope. Remember the Jews in Germany were blamed for every thing and look how that turned out. Pray people Pray!
‘Course, when a poweful political gangsta threatens to step on citizen's necks, then it connotes the image of dry roots on the tree of liberty.
Harry...your pomegranites are calling you...
Did he happen to mention his son getting millions for his part in the Chinese - green contract...didn’t think so.
"Hades Harry"
Reid also attacked the conservative Tea Party element in the Republican Party, saying it must be stopped before the United States Senate falls into the hands of extremists and ideologues who leave no room for reason or compromise, who dont recognize common ground even when theyre standing on it.
When did Carl Rove and John McCain start writing Harry Reid’s speeches?
Dingy Harry knows he can slander the tea party because he can steal enough votes to overwhelm them.
” - - - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - - - .”
Based on his actions, or lack thereof, shouldn’t we call him “ U.S. Senate DICTATOR Harry Reid?”
BTW, good Morman that he is, I’m shocked that for 4 years he has been spending his drunken Grandchildren’s money. (Why else would they let him do it?)
Dingy Harry’s future in the Senate will be to vote present, a task he is already accomplished at.
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