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Harry Reid, Living in Orwell's 1984

He may officially be the Senate majority leader, but Harry Reid (D-Nev.) feels like a powerless rebel trapped in Big Brother's totalitarian world. At least that's the way he portrays himself this week. And in Reid's dark world, Big Brother, the supreme ruler of George Orwell's novel "1984," is President Bush.

"The Bush administration is Orwellian. Orwellian," Reid ranted on the Senate floor Tuesday, accusing the administration in general of saying one thing and doing another.

Big Brother is also Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

"So, Mr. President, the Orwellian Bush administration has now slopped over into the Senate, and now the Republican leader is now becoming Orwellian himself," Reid continued, accusing McConnell and the Republicans of stalling action on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act while saying they support the bill.

Orwellian was just the tip of the iceberg.

On Monday, the day before his "Orwellian" soliloquy, Reid called his (not such good) friend from Kentucky "shallow" during one of their arguments over parliamentary procedures.

After Big Brother McConnell had the audacity to request time to review a substitute amendment to the economic stimulus package before voting on it, Reid fumed at "how shallow the statement made by my friend is."

A few minutes later, Reid apologized to McConnell. Maybe "shallow" was too much. It was "improper," Reid admitted, and asked that his insult be stricken from the congressional record.

"It's something I didn't agree with, okay?" he said to McConnell, offering his version of an apology.

Reid spokesman Jim Manley declined to comment on Reid's colorful descriptions of McConnell. But McConnell himself joked about it, telling us, "Harry and I talked at the beginning of the year about elevating the tone of the debate on the Senate floor. And you can see he's following through because he's using literary references."

But in case McConnell is offended by "Orwellian" and "shallow," he should talk to President Bush. Reid has called the president a "liar" and a "loser," and has glowingly described Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as "an embarrassment" to the Supreme Court.

Alan Greenspan hasn't exactly gotten love pats from Reid either. Last month, the Senate leader blamed the former fed chief for the dismal economy, saying Greenspan was too busy going to "so many cocktails parties" to notice the subprime mortgage crisis. (The cocktail party insult was nothing; Reid has also called Greenspan "a political hack.")

By Mary Ann Akers  |  February 6, 2008; 7:00 PM ET
 
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Comments

so let me get this is straight, the same week Reid is trying to stop another assumption of dictatorial powers in the form of Bush's wiretapping request, you're making fun of him for calling the Bush team Orwellian? This piece epitomizes the way the press drops the ball on real issues in favor of war, tyranny, corporate impunity, and so on. really disgraceful

Posted by: scientist1 | February 6, 2008 7:27 PM | Report abuse

I have just reread 1984.

The Orwellian personality is Sen. Reid and the Democrats who believe in government rather than in individual freedom.

As for Mr. Greenspan, I recently finished his book, and Sen Reid should read it carefully. Mr. Greenspan is not and never was a political hack. And his ideas on the economy ring true, which one can not say of Sen. Reid, Sen. Obama, and Sen. Clinton.

Posted by: Ed | February 6, 2008 8:23 PM | Report abuse

Mary Ann,
Are you saying that President Bush is not a liar and a loser and that Clarence Thomas is not an embarrassment to the Court? Gosh! I guess that I had it all wrong.....

Posted by: rlambert12 | February 6, 2008 8:35 PM | Report abuse

When Nancy Pelosi and George Bush agree on legislation, and Harry Reid refuses to play ball, it makes you wonder what the heck goes on in his head. He's as bad as Bush - "my way or the highway." And his penchant for calling people names when they don't line up and do his bidding, is very Cheney-esque. Where oh where did the moderates go?

Posted by: WJS | February 6, 2008 9:13 PM | Report abuse

I have lived with/through many US presidents and can clearly say that I have NEVER seen such a climate of reflexive venom for a person holding that office - and they are being led by Mr. Reid. It is far beyond the pale of political discourse and is causing a societal devolution that is, at times. frightening.

Posted by: maben | February 6, 2008 9:18 PM | Report abuse

Reid is just nuts.

Posted by: Anonymous | February 6, 2008 9:49 PM | Report abuse

After Harry Reid declared that we had lost the war,and disrespected every military man in or out of uniform by calling for surrender, I have paid no attention to this little man.

Posted by: Southern | February 6, 2008 9:49 PM | Report abuse

Reid is, of course, right about the right. They are Orwellian:

"Blue Skies" law is a license to pollute.

"Privatization" is misappropriation of the Social Security Surplus by borrowing it to finance deficits created by tax cuts for the rich and then repudiating the obligation to repay the debt.

"Fair Tax" means the most regressive and unfair tax scheme in our history.

And so on.

Still, Reid should be a little more diplomatic about it. He might want to call Bush "unfortunately impaired by decades of alcohol and drug abuse" rather than a "liar and a loser."

Posted by: mnjam | February 6, 2008 9:50 PM | Report abuse

If you were trying to stop a slide into an abyss of conservative excess, and watched thousands of America's finest die and be maimed for life, and you failed repeatedly at trying to stop it, despite having a majority behind you...you'd go nutz too.

This "Planet of the Apes" period in America's history is mercifully coming to an end.

Posted by: Dave Morgan | February 6, 2008 10:06 PM | Report abuse

mary ann

after chenney's palace coup you'll need an internal passport to go from one state to another. the born again stalinistas haven't given up yet. why exactly the demo's are so cowed is invisible.

it all smells like the very end of a chinese dynasty where everyone is either corrupt or incompetent because the "decent" faction has been successfully destroyed by greed and stupidity

Posted by: felix random | February 6, 2008 11:56 PM | Report abuse

I love Harry Reid. He is angry about what Bush and the Republicans have done, and so am I.

Posted by: Martin Kavanaugh | February 7, 2008 12:15 AM | Report abuse

My favorite Reid comment was when he said that making English the official language of the US was racist because it was an attack on Hispanics. Of course the only racism was Senator Reid's since he clearly felt that Vietnamese and Russian immigrants could learn English, while only Hispanics were not capable of learning a new language.

Posted by: sscritic | February 7, 2008 12:19 AM | Report abuse

is it worth noting that the Iraq War was lost when Harry said it was,

and that what has happened there since his remark -
the Surge, the ethnic segregation, the mass exodus,
the refusal to count civilian casualties -

the paying of the guys who were fighting us to stop for as long as they are on our payroll -

are the hallmarks of imperial colonization where the subjects' lives are as so much dust ?

would it be impertinent to point that out ?

Posted by: Brian | February 7, 2008 12:32 AM | Report abuse

"and that what has happened there since his remark -
the Surge, the ethnic segregation, the mass exodus,
the refusal to count civilian casualties -"

Brian....take a moment to educate yourself:

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL3134897720080207?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true


Posted by: Rovin | February 7, 2008 7:02 AM | Report abuse

The surprising part is that anyone ISN'T calling the administration and GOP leaders Orwellian.

After 7 years of being peed on by those who insist it's raining, why would you think otherwise?

Posted by: Mobedda | February 7, 2008 7:24 AM | Report abuse

Ed says, "As for Mr. Greenspan, I recently finished his book, and Sen Reid should read it carefully. Mr. Greenspan is not and never was a political hack. And his ideas on the economy ring true, which one can not say of Sen. Reid, Sen. Obama, and Sen. Clinton."

Exactly! Too much regulation was stifling banks and other lenders, so Greenspan loosened the regs. Banks started making mortgage loans to more and more people, home building expanded, firms purchased loans as good investments, etc. The economy boomed!

Of course, many of those financial decision turned out to be bad, and now banks and investors are losing money hand over fist. But the free market will correct itself, and the companies who made the most foolish decisions will go under. The ripple effect will be ugly, but that's the price you pay for a free market.

And we owe it all to Greenspan, the Bush administration, and the anti-regulation core of the GOP. Good job!

Posted by: LC | February 7, 2008 8:10 AM | Report abuse

Has Senator Reid read "1984." It depicts a collectivist (Stalinist) world where lies are truth, and peace is war. And the ordinary citizen is monitored constantly and brainwashed if he strays from the Socialist path.
Don't the Democrats have the majority in the House and the Senate and they are crying about being mistreated?

Posted by: Don Bales | February 7, 2008 10:19 AM | Report abuse

Dave, Obama isn't president.

Posted by: Anonymous | February 7, 2008 11:07 AM | Report abuse

Rovin.

Read the whole article
"The situation is tragic -- no water, no cooking gas and no electricity. If we have enough money we will travel again to Syria. Just imagine, we can't even take a bath," he said.

Posted by: cowanl | February 7, 2008 11:20 AM | Report abuse

LC posted above: "Of course, many of those financial decision turned out to be bad, and now banks and investors are losing money hand over fist. But the free market will correct itself, and the companies who made the most foolish decisions will go under. The ripple effect will be ugly, but that's the price you pay for a free market."
________________________________
You really don't get free market place economics do you? No, they will not go under, instead we lowly taxpayers will have to directly bail them out OR (which is probably worse) they will now have to raise the cost of money (i.e., interest rates) so they can make back all that lost money. Democrats and Republicans alike will not let the incompetent banks and other financial institutions die, like they should, but will do all in their power to ensure that they survive--that is the American way. After all, if they go away who is going to contribute to their campaigns and their retirement--you can't expect a senator or congressman to live on a measly $100K or so a year can you?

Posted by: RedRat | February 7, 2008 1:37 PM | Report abuse

In what world do you live? If living under a near dictatorship isn't Orwellian, (see BUSH THUMBS NOSE AT CONGRESS), what is? Reid's comments are nothing compared to what most American citizens are saying.

Posted by: Linda Naranjo | February 7, 2008 1:53 PM | Report abuse


'Has Senator Reid read "1984." It depicts a collectivist (Stalinist) world where lies are truth, and peace is war. And the ordinary citizen is monitored constantly and brainwashed'

simply subsitute 'corporate' for 'collectivist' and you have the bush administration, in a nutshell.

what don't you get about orwellian, little MaryAnn?

Posted by: drindl | February 7, 2008 2:49 PM | Report abuse

This is from the party that promised a "new tone" in Washington once they got the power. Reid is down right rude, but it appears that most liberals are as well. Look at what's going on in Pelosi's back yard with Code Pink and the Marines.
Socialist stink!

Posted by: jimbo56 | February 7, 2008 3:57 PM | Report abuse

Democrats and Republicans alike will not let the incompetent banks and other financial institutions die? then it's not a free market, dumb@ss

Posted by: Anonymous | February 7, 2008 5:04 PM | Report abuse

been tortured lately, Linda?
been sent to a death camp lately, Linda?
been gang-raped by the police lately, Linda?

go look up dictatorship and STFU

Posted by: Anonymous | February 7, 2008 5:06 PM | Report abuse

who's brainwashing you, claudialong?

sounds like your brain could use some washing, maybe a good bleach and ammonia combo

Posted by: Anonymous | February 7, 2008 5:08 PM | Report abuse

The Bush administration in general and Karl Rove in particular are Orwellian. They use simple word tricks to confuse their followers. A good example is the "War On Terror" vs "The Occupation of Iraq.". It's a simple invasion and occupation, the international equivalent of a "smash and grab" robbery. Loyal Bushies are loath to admit that, they call it the "War on Terror." except we found no terrorists when we invaded Iraq. No weapons of terror, no operational connections to terrorists organizations. What we found was a poorly armed tin pot dictator sitting on an ocean of oil, which is what we always new we'd find.
The point of the story wasn't that it was a socialist collective, the point was the constant brain washing through repetative lying by a government so terrified of its own citizens that it had to watch them every moment of their lives.

Posted by: dijelto | February 7, 2008 6:05 PM | Report abuse

there are no terrorists in iraq

Posted by: baghdad bob | February 7, 2008 7:42 PM | Report abuse

Everyone says Reid should be more tactful, but the fact is that Bush is destroying American Civil Liberties..and if this is not something to get upset about--ignoring the Constitution--I don't know what is. I don't agree with his comment about English, but I'd have to see proof and context to believe that was what he actually said. We should all be VERY upset at the evoloving police-state! But I don't think Americans are going to wake up until it comes home to them--till the boots are kicking down THEIR door. Educate yourself! Do you know that the military is STILL using depleted uranium in its munitions? The whole persian Gulf, Iraq, everywhere we've bombed, is now radioactively contaminated for over a billion years, and indiscriminate killer that I have no doubt that is the cause of Gulf War Syndrome (and the top brass know this). You should see the babies that have been born in Iraq since the war began..unspeakable. Yet we criticize someone for getting mad about this kind of stuff? I'm mad as hell! As so should everone else be! This radioactive poison is affecting both civilians, Iraqi and American, and our troops. The suicide rate among the army is the hishest ever, since they started taking records 30 years ago! If they don't die in Iraq, they're probably going to eventually get sick..not to mention the fear they will have if they ever have a baby? Is this America?

Posted by: Alan | February 7, 2008 7:57 PM | Report abuse

Alan, you are an idiot.

Posted by: Anonymous | February 8, 2008 8:57 AM | Report abuse

Just look at the source. This Congress' rating is lower than Bush's. Reid is not only a democrat and liberal, but a politician. Don't know if he's lawyer, but if he is, that would seal his fate.

Posted by: LTCSTAN | February 8, 2008 10:57 AM | Report abuse

Hooray for Sen. Harry Reid! Standing up for the working class and against the Republicans' obstruction. Ms. Akers, you shouldn't be belittling him but rather Sen. Mitch McConell for getting in the way of the progress the Democratic Senators are trying to accomplish.

Posted by: kind671 | February 8, 2008 11:25 AM | Report abuse

kind671, I threw up a little when I read that.

Posted by: Anonymous | February 8, 2008 11:48 AM | Report abuse

Harry Reid is a crazy old coot.

Posted by: James | February 8, 2008 11:52 AM | Report abuse

Maybe I forgot what Orwell was writing about, but my recollection had something to do with Stalinist society and the loss of personal freedoms. Each side of the aisle would argue that the other is the Stalinist...well, seems to me that BOTH sides can stake some claim to that honor. Bush has, no doubt, created a atmosphere of reduced personal freedoms in the name of defeating terror. On the other side, Mr. Reid, in the name of equality, would seek to redistribute my income and savings to others. Both are a tad too Stalinist for my taste. Not that anyone is listening, but I'd suggest a little moderation on both sides. Mr. Reid would do well to improve his behavior and stop sounding like such a whiner.

Posted by: johnste3 | February 8, 2008 12:14 PM | Report abuse

If Ried didn't whine, he wouldn't be noticed.

Posted by: Mary | February 8, 2008 12:39 PM | Report abuse

Mary Ann,

This article is both shallow and petty. You seem to dismiss all of the Orwellian policy that the Bush Administration has put in place in order to benefit a small percentage of wealthy and well-connected citizens, increase his executive power and pursue an ideologically driven world agenda. This is irresponsible journalism. The article itself, by using these benign comments by Senator Reid to attack him and discount the points he has made regarding the administration's policies, thus trying to manipulate the reader into regarding Senator Reid as the "bad guy" is Orwellian.

Posted by: Indiana Chris | February 8, 2008 12:54 PM | Report abuse

I drank my lunch

Posted by: Indiana Chris | February 8, 2008 2:36 PM | Report abuse

If anything Orwellian was going on you all would be dead or brainwashed, you dumb sh!ts.

Posted by: George Orwell | February 8, 2008 2:50 PM | Report abuse

Hairy Reid is a giant douche

Posted by: Illinois Chris | February 8, 2008 3:12 PM | Report abuse

So what? Barack Hussein Obama is a Turd Sandwich.

Posted by: Wisconsin Sue | February 8, 2008 4:36 PM | Report abuse

Spying on Americans and lying about indicates that Jeb's big brother is a lot like Big Brother in Orwell's disutopian vision of the future. Liars and tyrants and crooks dominate the Republican officeholders in DC. I only wish Reid's rhetoric on Republicans would be matched with substantive action to end the occupation of Iraq. By the way I felt like 1991 was the year we switched from fighting Eurasia (Soviet Union) to fighting Islamia (Iraq etc) and said so at the time. The Soviet Union was dissolving and in order to remain in the permanent state of war that the "Defense" Department needed to find a worthy opponent. I suspect HR Clinton will keep us involved in Iraq and even Obama will find it hard to end the 68 year permanent state of war and will find interventions to send troops to.

Posted by: djw3505 | February 8, 2008 5:38 PM | Report abuse

if republicans were tyrants, Reid's head would be on a pike by now

Posted by: Anonymous | February 8, 2008 10:19 PM | Report abuse

Where are the Senators that really care about the Senate as an institution when you need them including -- Phil Hart, Harry Truman, Richard Russell, Scott, Chiles, Allen, M. C. Smith when you need them? Has the Senate no SHAME!!! A former Senate staffer.

Posted by: Harrison | February 8, 2008 11:21 PM | Report abuse

Someone in comments wrote "The Born again Stalinistas". Very creative and very true.
Reid and Pelosi both got on the wrong train. I seem to recall the good people of America making a decision at the poles about the direction America should go. Reid and Pelosi both are Bush boot-lickers. Both failed the American people in the most masterful way.

Bush/Cheney is something that I cannot understand about the USA. Apparently lying, cheating, deception, loss of liberties, a drunken president and VP getting kickbacks pass with approval for the Stalinistas.

If the Orwellian theory becomes real, it will be in full view by the end of the year when America finds that the person that they hate so much will declare martial law and remain your president (he never has been mine). Bush will kill every American alive who disagrees with him, to hell with trying to brainwash them.

Bush is perfect for the bilderberger's who control America. Completely lacking any intelligence capacity. They wind him up and he walks into a wall. One of these days Cheney will lose it and shoot him thinking he is a Pheasant.

Nope, sorry no Orwellians in DC, they are all much too stupid. They are just dancing the power dance, Waltzing to a Chuck Berry song. Completely ignorant republicans and democrats alike, standing facing, screaming obscenities at each other as America simply slithers away into the pits of hell with those wonderful Born again Christian Stalinista's the first ones to slide in. All following their wondrous leader Jerry Fellwell.

Posted by: Squeezyr | February 9, 2008 1:48 AM | Report abuse

Instructions from the DNC to their political and public debaters,are.Demonise
the messenger,call him a racist,warmonger,
cold hearted and call him names,deserved
or not.Never engage in factual discussions,
it could hurt our cause.

Posted by: Viktor Popp | February 9, 2008 1:15 PM | Report abuse

Harry Reid went to Washington with a dime in his pocket and a hole in his left shoe. He is now one of the most wealthy of the wealthy. Has two sons that are lobbiest and has his wife on the payroll. With all that wealth he still cages free accomodations and fight tickets from the Los Vegas casino.

Posted by: JD Beam | February 9, 2008 3:29 PM | Report abuse

If only the Beltway media were as rigoroous in their view of the Bush administration as they are vis a vis Congressional Democrats, op-eds like this would be credible. This one is not.

Posted by: asnet | February 9, 2008 5:23 PM | Report abuse

Like all the great misquotes, "play it again Sam", "gild the lily" etc, Orwell's point in "1984" was NOT that society as a whole was spied upon. Only the 10-15% at the apparatchik level were so controlled since they had the means & opportunities to know what was going on. The workers were kept content with porn & cheap booze, bread & circus, ..sound familiar?

Posted by: amphibious | February 10, 2008 3:26 AM | Report abuse

Actually, I have been tortured, and right here in this country. Not lately, just by Bush's slime-ball of a father. The Dems were helping.
Reid provided no leadership. The Dems just don't read the bills and then pass torture-abiding legislation.
Get rid of the lot.

Posted by: bong_jamesbong2001 | February 10, 2008 7:30 AM | Report abuse

Whatever you think of Reid his statement that the Bush admin. and cronies are orwellian is right on cue, open your eyes people, you are watching the last gasps of democracy, and who do we have to look forward to in '08-warmed over Bush

Posted by: Anonymous | February 10, 2008 6:32 PM | Report abuse

Reid is just one more posturing fool.

Posted by: P Campbell | February 10, 2008 7:04 PM | Report abuse

Senator Reid has always been in La La Land and I doubt he has the common sense or self discipline to ever extricate himself from his ridiculous demeanor, positions, or absurd comments. Hard to believe he is a "grown up".

Posted by: rgn1 | February 10, 2008 7:39 PM | Report abuse

Sen. Reid is an embarrassment to the Senate, his own Party and America. He is a dour, angry, non-productive, totally partisan political operative that lashes out at anyone and anything. Instead of offering solutions to perplexing national problems he acts confrontationally and viciously almost assuring non-cooperation. The Democrats could not have a more divisive leader. If he doesn't like Bush he should only consider his own leadership style. Bless us Reid is not the President.

Posted by: Bill LaPorte | February 11, 2008 11:19 AM | Report abuse

'Has Senator Reid read "1984." It depicts a collectivist (Stalinist) world where lies are truth, and peace is war. And the ordinary citizen is monitored constantly and brainwashed'

simply subsitute 'corporate' for 'collectivist' and you have the bush administration, in a nutshell.

Posted by: Patriot73 | February 11, 2008 11:37 AM | Report abuse

Bush's legacy is the end of law

Michael Abraham

Abraham is a businessman who lives in Blacksburg.

Virginia Tech Professor Theodore Fuller made a compelling case regarding the negative way history is likely to judge the presidency of George W. Bush ("History will judge Bush harshly," Jan. 30). Consensus is building that the Bush tenure will rank among the worst ever.

Counting the failures has become its own cottage industry. On my desk is a "George W. Bush Countdown Calendar," with each day until his term is over graced with another blunder, misstep, gaffe, inanity or lie -- the abuse du jour.

Fuller's list includes the failure to bring the Iraq war to a successful conclusion, failure to reform Social Security, to maintain the strength of the dollar, to protect the prestige of America in the world.

To these I add: Failure to adequately regulate the financial industry to prevent the subprime crisis that seems destined to hurl our nation into recession. Failure to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Failure to provide a health care system that works for all Americans. Failure to reverse the widening gap between rich and poor. Failure to stem the influence of corporate wealth and power over our nation, its government and its citizens. Failure to adequately fund and provide a secure future for entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid. Failure to reduce our burgeoning trade deficit. Failure to improve the fuel economy of our nation's transportation network. Failure to maintain and rebuild our national infrastructure.

Repairing the carnage will prove a daunting task for the next administration.

Fuller concludes the greatest failure has been the inability to address the threat of global warming. While this will certainly prove significant, Bush's transcendental failure is more pernicious.

At its essence, our nation is but two things: a pair of borders and an idea. And that idea is that laws are inviolable and nobody is above them. The apogee of this test was the impeachment and expulsion of Richard Nixon. This foundational tenet has all but been destroyed in wanton, unapologetic and systematic ways through the acts and words of George W. Bush and his administration.

It's not that they lied about justifications for war, but in their failure to allow oversight into the processes that produced those lies. It's not in the firing of federal attorneys and the refusal to substantiate the firings, but in the pure partisanship of their actions. It's not their countless refusals to comply with subpoenas from Congress or Freedom of Information Act from the people, but in their arrogated stance, setting themselves above the requirements themselves.

Once when challenged for his unwillingness to submit to the rule of law in an obvious snub of the Constitution, Bush screamed, "Stop throwing the Constitution in my face. It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"

And thus our Constitution has now become what Bush has made it. This annihilation of the foundational document of our republic was orchestrated by a president who swore an oath of honor to protect it, a devout Christian who promised to restore honor and integrity to the Oval Office.

Congress, in its acquiescence and subservience, is equally culpable. When Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced, "impeachment is off the table," she not only absolved Bush of all previous transgressions but paved a figurative superhighway for any to come. There's a reason Congress's approval ratings are even lower than the administration's.

That the administration is unapologetic in this power grab is exemplified by this statement by Vice President Dick Cheney, who told Cokie Roberts in January 2002, "[Since Watergate] I have repeatedly seen an erosion of the powers and the ability of the president of the United States to do his job. ... One of the things that I feel an obligation [to do] ... is to pass on our offices in better shape than we found them to our successors." This means placing the president above the laws of the land. Cheney has driven the idea now termed the "unitary executive," which holds that the president is above regulation, oversight or supervision of the courts, the Congress and ultimately the people. All hail King George the W!

It emerges a question of utmost intrigue and expectation as to whether Cheney, Bush and their minions will stand idly by should a Hillary Clinton or a Barack Obama assume this omnipotence, were they to fulfill the will of the people in an election victory.

The decimation of the rule of law and evisceration of the Constitution have been the most insidious of the Bush atrocities.

Posted by: blabla | February 11, 2008 12:10 PM | Report abuse

For the life of me I cannot figure out why anyone in his own party pays attention to Sen Reid. He would certainly cry foul if the nasty right started using the same venom he has used. However, like Sen Clinton it would only be a right wing conspiracy. Lord only knows what she enabled him to do during his 8 years at 1600 Pa Ave.

Posted by: Robert Steele | February 11, 2008 12:11 PM | Report abuse

there should be a word limit for spam comments

Posted by: Anonymous | February 11, 2008 1:08 PM | Report abuse

Give'em Hell Harry!!

Posted by: Tourgon | February 11, 2008 1:14 PM | Report abuse

Blabla, I couldn't agree more with you. As for the poster who somehow gets to post here without leaving any sort of name, and then proceeds to insult anybody against his heroes, the Repukes, you are the idiot, a coward and a traitor, just like your hero, Bushie, the Chimp-in-Chief.

Posted by: toppcatt71 | February 11, 2008 1:17 PM | Report abuse

toppcatt71, you are a racist, go back to beating your wife

Posted by: Anonymous | February 11, 2008 4:07 PM | Report abuse

Harry Reid should be sent to Gitmo for some re-education.

Posted by: Robert Mugabe | February 11, 2008 4:19 PM | Report abuse

Harry Reid is a vicious, nsty person, in the real Mormon mode. He must think, he is a Mormon apostle since he denounces all who disagree with him to any degree and acts as if he has been annointed by the people of his lowlife state to rule the Senate and the U. S. itself. People will soon be sick of him if and when a Democratic president is innaugurated.

Posted by: wiseearl | February 11, 2008 8:15 PM | Report abuse

Your column quotes Mr. Reid as saying "how shallow the statement made by my friend is."
I'm not sure which school of journalism you attended, if any, but an average middle school English student can easily see that Mr. Reid did not call Mr. McConnell anything other than his "friend." He did, however, call Mr. McConnell's statement "shallow."
Mr. Reid expressed an opinion on an issue; you tried to turn it into a personal insult. You would have failed any American public middle school English test.
I guess that even a rudimentary understanding of the English language is no longer a prerequisite for your style of journalism.
Unfortunately, this kind of misinterpretation informs a great deal of the criticisms to which conservatives resort when faced with something beyond their intellectual grasp.

Posted by: S. Traina | February 12, 2008 9:11 AM | Report abuse

Another crap Post column, with little ignorant personal slurs against Reid while ignoring just how ground-breakingly lawless this administration.

Where are all those republican hypocrites who impeached Clinton for lying?

This administration admits to repeated lies and lawbreaking, and lord knows what they haven't admitted to, and yet this personal tripe is the focus of the column.

Republicans have utterly failed to do even what THEY reportedly believe in (restrained executive authority, etc.), much less in failing this country.

I'm very tired of the double-standards too. Liberals and democrats are so routinely slurred in the most vicious ways by republicans and republican organizations, it doesn't even get mentioned.

Posted by: Egilsson | February 12, 2008 11:11 AM | Report abuse

the "ground-breakingly lawless" administration should have send Harry Reid to Gitmo a long time ago

Posted by: Anonymous | February 12, 2008 12:28 PM | Report abuse

Did Frank Luntz and David Frumm work for george bush or Harry Reid? For whom did they invent doublespeak? What Orwell got wrong were the year, 1984 vs. 2000, and the face of Big Brother, george bush. Harry Reid, granted, should be impeached along with Nancy Pelosi for failure to fulfill their Constitutional duty to hold hearings on indicting bush, but george bush should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. Were Winston Smith to read these responses, he'd say, "I've done a heck of a good job in distorting the minds of mainsteam Americans. I see my rewrites of history already taking hold." Reid will go down as a secondary player. Bush will go down as a war criminal.

Posted by: dugan | February 12, 2008 1:32 PM | Report abuse

Why hasn't Bush dissolved the Senate yet?

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