Free Republic

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) says Tuesday’s Republican victories in Virginia and New Jersey should be a “wake-up call” for Democrats in Congress. Here are 10 likely to be hearing alarm bells. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) No one noticed the election results more than Reid’s advisers, who know he faces a situation similar to that which befell New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. Like Corzine, Reid is an unpopular incumbent running in a state whose economy is in the tank. And like Corzine, he’ll have to use his massive war chest to create a negative impression of his opponent...

Last week in a dramatic announcement, Senator Joe Lieberman announced that he will vote along with the Republican Party to filibuster the Obamacare bill in the senate. It was a big blow to the Democratic efforts to take over our healthcare, so big that Senator Tom Harken threatened to throw Lieberman out of the Democratic Caucus. Yesterday Senator Reid's office reported that the Majority Leader and the Connecticut Senator reached a secret deal where the Senator will not vote for a filibuster but will continue to vote against the bill in the final roll call: But sources said Reid’s staff...

If you’ve been reading the papers lately you’ve probably concluded that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s political future doesn’t look good. The headlines speak for themselves: “Poll: Reid’s re-election numbers don’t add up”; “Harry Reid Seen Losing 2010 Reelection, Poll Shows”; “Senate Leader Harry Reid faces tough re-election” — just to name a few. If you’re just glancing at the polls, Reid’s two likely challengers are clobbering him in hypothetical match-ups — and some polls show Republican challenger Danny Tarkanian has a double-digit lead over him. Further, Reid’s approval rating ranges between 20 and 40 percent, with some polls showing...

It’s no secret that Harry Reid is in trouble in Nevada. The Senate Majority Leader’s approval ratings in his home state of Nevada is lower than Rush Limbaugh's at a Move-on convention. been in the dumps. A poll conducted two week ago showed Reid with an anemic 38 percent approval rating, down more than 15 points since he won re-election back in 2004. But Reid’s falling popularity with Nevada voters isn’t the only thing that has Dems worried. The last two Mason Dixon polls in the state have found Reid losing against two potential GOP challengers: businessman Danny Tarkanian, who...

Here is video of Michelle Malkin talking to Sean Hannity last night about plans by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to use the "reconciliation process" to ram through ObamaCare legislation. This is also called the "Nuclear Option," because it would disregard to rules of the Senate and use a process intended for funding legislation to ram through Obama's radical agenda. It would require only 50 votes to bring a bill to a vote, rather than the usual 60 votes to invoke "cloture." Using this approach would also limit debate to "20 hours," and limit the number of amendments that can...

Could a dynasty of Reids, Harry and son Rory, both get elected to high office in Nevada a year from now? Of course, Harry Reid is the highest-ranking Mormon in political office. His son, not as well-known outside of Nevada, is also running for governor. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is looking at a tough battle in his home state. More than half of likely Nevada voters think Harry Reid is a "weak" leader -- with 84 percent of Reid's Democratic base supporting a public option for health care reform, according to a poll sponsored by a progressive group...

According to CBS and other media reports, “Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) said Tuesday that he would support a Republican filibuster of a health care bill that includes a public option.� This is a serious blow to the passage of any Obamacare bill including a public option, yet the blow may not be fatal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) yesterday announced a deal and it is notable that he was not accompanied by any member of the secret team negotiating a deal on Obamacare including Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Director...

So Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stood up to conservatives and the entire health care industry and included an opt-out public option in the bill he will take to the Senate in a few weeks. Bully for you, Harry. You did what you should have done all along. I can't believe there was any question whether we'd include a public option in the mix to make sure the insurance companies had something to compete against. And now we have to worry about...conservative Democrats. This is really too much for me. Two terms of Bush and his wall-to-wall idiocy took all...

Angry KOmmies are FUn to watch! And in this case the KOmmies have gone absolutely BERSERK over the promise by Senator Joe Lieberman to filibuster the ObamaCare bill. That promise alone is enough to KILL ObamaCare in the senate but add to that the very high possibility of Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, and perhaps a couple of other Democrats refusing to vote for cloture and that bill is DOA. If the bill is later changed to DUmp public option, then the "progressives" will filibuster it. Heads We win, tails you lose. And the fringe benefit is watching the KOmmies...

Everything is going wrong for Dingy, having trouble with the Health Care Bill and it looks like he had some trouble in high school...

Grayson: “You know…FOX News and their Republican collaborators are the enemy of America. They’re the enemy of anybody who cares about health care in this country, the enemy of anybody who cares about educating their children, the enemy of everybody who wants energy independence, anything … good for this country. And they’re certainly the enemy of peace, there’s no doubt about that. They ARE the enemy.”I’ve seen people like Alan Grayson, the Democratic Representative from Florida’s 8th Congressional District, before. For example, I once attended an event held by Michigan Congressman John Conyers in the southern, suburban, part of his...

<p>After a weekend of intense consultations with fellow Democrats, Senate majority leader Harry Reid has decided he has the votes to get a health-reform bill with a public option to the Senate floor. "I believe we clearly will have the support of my caucus to move to this bill and start legislating," Reid declared at a news conference Monday afternoon.</p>

Harry Reid was caught red-handed and red-faced in a bold-faced lie yesterday by Fox News that he’s been spouting for months in his ideological battle to scam the American people into coming around on the universal healthcare-mess known as Obamacare, being the Obama gofer that he is. The Reid Lie centers around this talking point that, in all fairness, is one that many Democrats including Pelosi have been repeating or at least implying; however, Reid is the one which Fox News’ fact-checking can actually expose as the total liar he is because of what he incriminatingly said on tape.

What Harry Reid did Monday afternoon gave new meaning to the phrase "public option." The Senate majority leader, after haggling behind closed doors with members of his Democratic caucus, realized that he couldn't cobble together the 60 votes he needed to pass health-care legislation with a government-run health plan. So Reid chose another option: He shut down the private talks, booked the Senate TV studio and went public with his own proposal. "I've concluded," he told the roomful of cameras and reporters, "that the best way to move forward is to include a public option." For Reid, it was an...

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) —Nevada Republicans who supported Ron Paul in last year's GOP presidential contest announced a political action committee Monday to oppose the U.S. Senate bid of former state party chairwoman Sue Lowden. Robert Holloday, spokesman for the Fair Nevada Elections PAC, said Lowden's handling of last year's state convention when delegate selections were stopped amounted to betrayal. "Sue Lowden's leading role in improperly halting the delegate election disqualifies her for any position of trust in government," Holloday said. "Our group hopes to raise awareness of the dismal record of Sue Lowden and to oppose her election to...

SEARCHLIGHT, Nev. -- Along a curve of desert highway near the gated home of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, mechanic Bill Johnson is struggling to keep his checkbook balanced. With Nevada's economy poisoned by recession and the nation's highest foreclosure and bankruptcy rates, business at Johnson's boat-repair shop has nose-dived 40 percent since last year. He cannot afford health insurance, and his sewer bill jumped to $875 a year. "I really have to pose a question: Harry, what have you done for me lately?" asks Johnson, who vows to vote against Reid and other incumbents unless health care is made...

Senate Majority Leader will announce this afternoon that he plans to push ahead with a public option vote -- one that includes an opt-out provision for states -- even though he's currently short several votes for passage, according to people close to the situation. The Nevada Democrat has a 3:15 p.m. press conference to discuss details. Leadership sources tell me that Reid, who spoke with virtually every member of his 60-member caucus this weekend, currently has between 56 and 57 votes for the opt-out, which is being pushed by Sen. Charles Schumer, according to Democratic aides. A public option with...

Just from the title of today's Huffington Post cover story, Leaderless: Senate Pushes For Public Option Without Obama's Support, you can see that they have pretty much given up on counting on Barack Obama demonstrating leadership in the fight to pass ObamaCare. Here are Huffington Post correspondents Sam Stein and Ryan Grim registering their disgust with Obama in a grim story: President Barack Obama is actively discouraging Senate Democrats in their effort to include a public insurance option with a state opt-out clause as part of health care reform. In its place, say multiple Democratic sources, Obama has indicated a...

Here is video of Good Morning America today reporting that Democrat Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring forward a Senate Health Care Bill that DOES contain a Government-run "Public Option" Insurance program: "I am told that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is leaning toward including the creation of a new government-run insurance program – the so-called public option – in the health care reform bill he will bring to the full Senate in the coming weeks. Democratic sources tell me that Reid – after a series of meetings with Democratic moderates – has concluded he can pass a bill...

The public option. The idea was believed to be dead. Liberals wanted it, but Senate vote counters insisted it simply could not pass the Senate. The dynamic, however, has changed. The public option may be back from dead. I am told that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is leaning toward including the creation of a new government-run insurance program – the so-called public option – in the health care reform bill he will bring to the full Senate in the coming weeks. Democratic sources tell me that Reid – after a series of meetings with Democratic moderates – has concluded...

In a vote that was a highly symbolic proxy for the larger partisan fight over health care policy, the Senate on Wednesday rejected a bill that would have averted steep cuts in Medicare payments to doctors. Senate Democratic leaders had pushed the bill, which would have cost $247 billion over 10 years, as a standalone measure separate from the broader health care legislation that is President Obama’s top domestic priority. The bill was meant to fix a longstanding payment formula that calls for annual cuts in Medicare payments to doctors — cuts that for years Congress has avoided with yearly...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is prepared to run a sharply negative campaign if that’s what it takes to win reelection next year, with a top adviser predicting that the Nevada Democrat will “vaporize” his Republican challengers with attack ads. Trailing in the polls and under constant attack from the GOP, Reid’s campaign has just launched a warm-and-fuzzy million-dollar ad campaign to reintroduce the veteran senator to his constituents. But Reid’s team also wants to be the one that introduces lesser-known opponents to the electorate — and will be ready, when the time comes, to unleash a torrent of ads...

Politics: Move over, John McCain and Olympia Snowe. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is fast becoming the Democrats' favorite Republican as he partners with John Kerry to push cap-and-trade through the Senate. Earlier this year, eight Republican congressmen made it possible for Waxman-Markey, the 1,400-page job- and economy-killing cap-and-trade legislation, to barely pass the House of Representatives. At the time it seemed dead on arrival in the Senate if it was brought up there this year. Once again, as with their medical plan, the Democrats seek to better the odds by putting a GOP hood ornament on a Democratic clunker....

<p>Two normally savvy observers weighed in on Sen. Harry Reid’s electoral prospects, and both were, well, sort of wrong.</p> <p>“The fundamental dilemma that Reid faces — how to carry Obama’s agenda effectively while also appealing to Nevada voters to whom that agenda is too liberal — is quite similar to the puzzle that (Tom) Daschle tried (and failed) to solve six years ago, however.”</p>

Democrats' secret 4-step plan to jam public option!! Step 1: The Senate Finance Committee must first approve the marked-up version of Sen. Max Baucus (D.-Mont.) conceptual framework. Then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) can say that two Senate Committees have passed a health care bill, which will allow him to take extraordinary steps to get the bill on the Senate floor. During the mark-up last week, members had difficulty offering amendments and trying to make constructive changed because they lacked actual legislative text and Baucus made unilateral last minute changes. For example, the AP reported that under pressure from...

SENATOR HARRY REID: He talked about CBO saying that there would be $54 billion saved each year if we put caps on medical malpractice and put some restrictions — tort reform — $54 billion. Sounds like a lot of money, doesn’t it, Mr. President? The answer is yes. But remember, we’re talking about $2 trillion, $54 billion compared to $2 trillion. You can do the math. We can all do the math. It’s a very small percent.

HARRY REID: "He talked about CBO saying that there would be $54 billion saved each year if we put caps on medical malpractice and put some restrictions — tort reform — $54 billion. Sounds like a lot of money, doesnt it, Mr. President? The answer is yes. But remember, were talking about $2 trillion, $54 billion compared to $2 trillion. You can do the math. We can all do the math. Its a very small percent."

Run for the hills. Halloween's coming early, inspired by one lawmaker in particular. We can expect locked doors, dim back rooms and mysterious murmuring in the very near future, predicts Rick Scott, director of Conservatives for Patients' Rights, a grass-roots group. "You'd think we were in a haunted house. But it's Capitol Hill we're talking about here, now that the fate of health care reform is in the hands of Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid," Mr. Scott tells Inside the Beltway.

It's become increasingly clear in recent weeks that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is in deep trouble in his re-election race next fall. A new independent poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review Journal shows Reid trailing two unknown opponents -- former state party chairwoman Sue Lowden and businessman Danny Tarkanian -- and just 38 percent of Nevada voters had a favorable opinion of their senator. At the heart of Reid's vulnerability is the disconnect between his role in Washington as the leader of Senate Democrats and his status as Nevada's senior senator. In Washington, Reid is tasked with carrying...

(CNSNews.com) -- A senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told CNSNews.com that it is “likely� that Reid will use H.R. 1586—a bill passed by the House in March to impose a 90-percent tax on bonuses paid to employees of certain bailed-out financial institutions—as a “shell� for enacting the final version of the Senate’s health care bill, which Reid is responsible for crafting.

The Tusk has mentioned his prospects in this race before, but now it looks like it's all over for Senate Democrat Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada. Polls are consistently showing him lagging behind his two potential competitors, Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian. But the surest factor indicating his assured retirement is this: Though respondents can't decide whom they want to win the Republican primary, they're certain they don't support Reid, the Senate majority leader seeking his fifth consecutive six-year term. In one general election scenario, 49 percent of respondents picked Lowden and 39 percent chose Reid. In another, 48 percent...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would lose to either of the two Republicans who lead the GOP field of possible contenders if the 2010 Nevada Senate race were held today, according to a Mason-Dixon poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal that was published today. Realtor and former Las Vegas college basketball star Danny Tarkanian leads Reid by 48 percent to 43 percent with 11 percent undecided, although that's way down from the 11 point margin he enjoyed in September. However, former Nevada state senator state Republican Party chair Sue Lowden has increased her lead over Reid to 49 percent to...

RUSH: Remember last week I told you how Harry Reid was going to pull a trick on everybody to get the Senate health care bill actually over to the House for conference committee by attaching a merged bill. Two Senate bills -- there's the Harkin committee bill, and there's the Baucus committee bill -- and he's going to take the best parts that he likes, gonna merge them into one bill, and attach them to some other bill that the House has already passed, sent over to the Senate that they haven't acted on yet, and that bill will be...

How good is Sen. Max Baucus's health reform bill? So good that Democrats have made sure some of the most costly provisions don't apply to their own states. The Senate Finance Committee is gearing up for a final vote next week, and Chairman Baucus now appears to have the Democratic votes to pass his bill. Getting this far has of course meant cutting deals, and those deals, it turns out, are illuminating. The senators are all for imposing "reform" on the nation, so long as it doesn't disadvantage their constituents.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' bill got a thumbs up from the Congressional Budget Office, clearing the way for a committee vote, but health care overhaul is still nowhere near the end of the road. CBO's scoring provided a boost to the momentum, but Democrats still need to iron out key differences among the various bills. The CBO analysis concluded the Baucus measure would come in under budget at $829 billion, and would expand coverage to 94 percent of eligible Americans. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said today the Finance Committee will vote on Baucus' bill next Tuesday....

Because of my obsession with the proposed rural water grab (aka Pat's Pipeline), I spend a lot of time out in the cow counties, talking to the folks who live in places like Alamo, Ely and Elko. I can tell you there isn't a lot of love out there for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. A single handmade sign reading "Anybody Butt Reid" that popped up months ago in Ely has now spread all over White Pine County, and letters to the editors of small town newspapers are almost universally harsh to our senior U.S. Senator. Reid has never fared all...

War Strategy: When Bush and Petraeus proposed the surge in Iraq, Democrats demanded that the general testify before Congress. So why has the Senate blocked a similar invitation to our commander in Afghanistan? Those with memories longer than the 24-hour news cycle recall that in the dark days of the Iraq War, David Petraeus was summoned to Washington to explain the surge strategy that would eventually lead to victory in Iraq. Democrats hoped for a show trial. MoveOn.org took out a full-page ad in the New York Times labeling the commanding general of our efforts in Iraq "General Betray-us." Then...

Reid ‘Likely’ to Make Entire Health Bill an Amendment to Unrelated Tax Bill That House Passed in March(CNSNews.com) -- A senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told CNSNews.com that it is “likely” that Reid will use H.R. 1586—a bill passed by the House in March to impose a 90-percent tax on bonuses paid to employees of certain bailed-out financial institutions—as a “shell” for enacting the final version of the Senate’s health care bill, which Reid is responsible for crafting. Under the procedure, the substance of House Resolution 1586 would be removed and replaced with the entire Senate...

Here is video of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi talking to the press outside the White House after meeting with President Obama today as part of a bipartisan group of Congressional Leaders on our strategy going forward in Afghanistan. Harry Reid spoke first, saying it was an excellent meeting that allowed everyone to share their views. He was followed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who said there was "some agreement" in the room and "some diversity of opinion." At one point, Harry Reid was about to speak to a question and before he could open...

Sarah Palin’s father Chuck Heath will travel from Alaska to Nevada on October 2 to spend the weekend campaigning with Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian, one Republican hoping to unseat the Harry Leader next November. The retired science teacher is scheduled to make five stops across Nevada with Tarkanian, the son of legendary college basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian. He is considered to be one of the frontrunners for the GOP nomination along with Nevada GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden, if she decides to formally enter the race.

Reid: No Columbus Day Recess By Jessica Brady Roll Call Staff Sept. 30, 2009, 11:51 a.m. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Wednesday that the chamber will not take a recess next month in order to plow through a heavy legislative agenda that includes passing a host of appropriations bills and perhaps health care reform.

It has been two weeks since the shocking undercover video work of James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles was released to the world. Those videos reveal beyond any shadow of a doubt that ACORN is the very definition of a "corrupt organization." Furthermore, they demonstrated clearly that ACORN officials in several cities are more than willing to get involved in the most heinous kind of criminal activity – up to and including murder and white slavery rings involving the exploitation of helpless underage foreign minors. Nevertheless, since the astonishing sting operations were made public, no charges have been filed against ACORN,...

ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- is stinking up Washington. And this is far more significant than if a suspiciously large number of operatives for a purely "private" outfit had been found systematically bending and breaking the law, because ACORN receives and spends taxpayer money -- lots of it -- and had carried the imprimatur of official partnerships with the IRS, the Census Bureau ... the kind of "cred" that in the political world comes only from "who you know."

More bad news for the Democratic Parties Favorite community organizing group, ACORN. While Harry Reid continues to get heat at home for refusing to allow Senate hearings on ACORN, Senator Grassley had his staff do a little investigation of their own. According to the Capital Research Center, Grassley (R-Iowa), asked the IRS to probe ACORN – and asked that the group be dropped from the Combined Federal Campaign (a charitable program for government workers). This is not the first time the Senator has gone after the ACORN criminal enterprise, in 2006 he asked the IRS to investigate ACORN for voter...

BULLHEAD CITY - An “Un-Elect Harry Reid Rally” will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of the Searchlight, Nev. Community Center. Reid, 69, serves as majority leader of the Democratic Party-controlled U.S. Senate. He was first elected senator in 1986 and is up for re-election next year. The rally is being held in Searchlight because Reid was born and raised there. He maintains a legal residence in the historic mining town on U.S. Route 95, located roughly halfway between Laughlin and Las Vegas. The event is organized by the Lake Havasu City-based Committee on...

The IRS yesterday severed its ties with ACORN, the profoundly corrupt community organizing group embroiled in a seemingly never-ending string of controversies, criminal investigations and voter registration fraud charges.  Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau also severed ties with the group. The latest controversy is over the series of videos covertly taped by new media journalists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles.  In these videos, O’Keefe and Giles, posing as a pimp and prostitute, are given tax advice by ACORN representatives in different cities across the country.   The tax advice included listing “performance artist� as the prostitute’s employment code in...

Senate Republicans issued a blunt warning to their Democratic colleagues today: Don’t even think about using reconciliation to ram through a health care bill. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that Democrats suffer a severe backlash if they used the procedural tactic, which would allow them to pass reform legislation with a bare 51 votes. This warning is not new – GOP leaders have gone so far as to call the use of this procedural maneuver a “nuclear” option – but McConnell renewed his warning amid reports that the Senate could still use reconciliation of they can’t win bipartisan support...

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid secured a deal today that would give Nevada full, 100 percent funding in the Senate health care bill for an initial expansion of Medicaid. The agreement reached with the committee chairman comes after Reid vowed last week to strike a better deal for Nevada before bringing any legislation to the floor. Reid took heat from Republican Rep. Nathan Deal of Georgia who bemoaned the majority leader’s powerful reach into Senate negotiations to improve the bill for Nevada. The deal would give Nevada full funding for the first five years of the program —...