Probably more than any other sitting U.S. Senator up for reelection next year, Harry Reid’s prospects cannot be judged by present polls. Reid will be judged by Nevadans’ interpretation of his job performance as Majority Leader, and if they think he has accomplished a lot, his poll numbers will rebound. If Obama’s agenda is repeatedly blocked by filibusters when Reid technically has 60 members to overcome them, the voters of Nevada are going to conclude that he is ineffective. It could be, although I am not ready to concede it, that Obama’s agenda is a little too far left for comfort in Nevada. If so, there could be a slight negative effect for Reid in enacting that agenda. But, realistically, even if that is the case, Reid will get more credit for showing leadership than he will get credit for failure.
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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It could be, although I am not ready to concede it, that Obama’s agenda is a little too far left for comfort in Nevada.
How so? Obama won the state!! Rather handily IIRC.
Obama the embodiment of hope for change, or Obama’s policies? Or both?
Harry will do fine, I think. We liberals get mad at him and threaten to not support him but we will when election day rolls around. Beats electing a Republican.
He’s also got an automatic block of voters – the HUGE Mormon population. They always vote for the Mormon candidate from either party and they always show up to vote. Gov. Jim Gibbons may not do so well even though he is a Mormon. He’s been a BAD Mormon in office and is a real embarrassment. With all the skirt chasing and the ugly public divorce – he’s toast.
But good old Harry will get re-elected unless the Republicans run a better Mormon candidate. And that candidate would have to be REALLY good for us to un-seat the Senate Majority Leader who had the power to kill the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump once and for all.
But that’s the problem. Will Democrats turn out in sufficient numbers?
Obama (and Howard Dean as DNC Chair) helped Dems in Nevada come out of the closet. They got them to go door-to-door and talk to their neighbors about their Democratic beliefs – proudly, where they were previously tight-lipped about their political beliefs for fear of being shouted down in public by some Dittohead.
If Obama comes to Nevada and brings his family and has some nice speeches at big venues, singing the praises of Harry Reid, which I expect WILL happen and will be widely publicized, we will get all of our Dem friends out to the polls on election day. Only because of the Obama campaign, plus Howard Dean’s 50-state strategy and their door-to-door activities do we even know where the Dem’s live in this state.
The Dems will show up for Harry. The Mormons will show up for Harry and the Republicans won’t even know what hit them.
Unless he does something worse than he’s done already, I don’t see liberals turning on him in the election. Turnout might be something else again. But if we do get a decent healthcare reform, he’ll be able to claim credit and should have no problems. Nonetheless, it’s time for a new majority leader.
“Nonetheless, it’s time for a new majority leader”.
amen to that.
l suspect he’s been, and will continue to be, a strong and successful proponent for the state, but he’s been mediocre, at best, as senate majority leader. definitely past time for a change, imo.
l have no desire to see him replaced; and as randy writes above, it’s not all that likely. but l also think it’s not so much “that Obama’s agenda is a little too far left for comfort in Nevada”, as it is a little too far left for comfort for reid.
I hope that, after re-election, that he steps down as Majority Leader. That’s the biggest gripe his own Democratic constituents have with him. He’s got seniority, therefore he has the power we want him to have. But he is a piss-poor leader of the Senate. Give us a Russ Feingold or something, please.
Yeah, healthcare is too far to the left for Nevada.