Reid To Liberals: Back Off
This story was written by Manu Raju.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that liberal groups targeting moderate Democrats with ads should back off, saying pressure from the left wing of his party won't be helpful to enacting legislation.
"I think it's very unwise and not helpful," Reid said Friday morning. "These groups should leave them alone. It's not helpful to me. It's not helpful to the Democratic Caucus."
Reid, who said he hadn't seen or heard the ads, added that "most of [the groups] run very few ads?- they only to do it to get a little press on it."
MoveOn.org and Americans United for Change, the labor-backed organization that serves as the White House's chief third-party operation, have started separate ad campaigns targeting moderate House and Senate Democrats to back Obama's budget. A number of liberal activists have expressed concerns about a group of 16 Senate?Democratic moderates who have been meeting in an attempt to bolster their influence.?
Reid has no qualms about the group, and said that "any public statements" Senate moderates have made have been helpful as the chamber takes up a budget next week that would cost more than $3 trillion. And he added: "Some people of course go to those meetings so they can issue a press release back home that'll make them appear more moderate."
"I'm not one who is going to be driven by people on the extremes, saying it's only my way or no way," Reid said. "That's not the way legislation works."
Reid's comments came at a wide-ranging breakfast briefing hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, where the Nevada Democrat expressed confidence that Democrats would pick up seats in the Senate next cycle, said he raised $2 million in the last quarter for his 2010 reelection and acknowledged that efforts to enact health care legislation have been temporarily set back by the loss of Tom Daschle as Health and Human Services secretary.?
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Reid also?acknowledged that he spoke with Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) about becoming a Democrat. Recently, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said that he and Vice President Joe Biden tried to bring Specter to the Democratic side since the senior Republican faces a tough 2010 primary back home.
"Yes, I've talked to him," Reid said when asked if he'd approached Specter about switching parties. Specter has resisted such overtures, and Reid said that the Republican's decision this week to announce his opposition to the labor-backed Employee Free Choice Act "kind of stopped" that effort and "hasn't helped him in the polls back in Pennsylvania."
On running a competitive race back home as a top target for Republicans, Reid said he's not going to position himself any differently in the coming year.
"I've watched other senators change who they are during the election cycle," Reid said. "I think it's real ugly and I'm not going to do that."
And he said Democrats are now in a position "to pick up a number of seats" in 2010, but stopped short of making a prediction on whether his party would exceed the 60 seats needed to break a filibuster.
"I would love to have 60, I'd be happy with 59, [but] I think we focus a little too much on numbers," Reid said. "I think if the tone is right in Washington, if we have 59 or 63 or 64, we should be able to accomplish a lot as we've shown."
Reid added: "I think that our success is tied to Obama's success."
By Manu Raju
The Politico Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that liberal groups targeting moderate Democrats with ads should back off, saying pressure from the left wing of his party won't be helpful to enacting legislation.
"I think it's very unwise and not helpful," Reid said Friday morning. "These groups should leave them alone. It's not helpful to me. It's not helpful to the Democratic Caucus."
Reid, who said he hadn't seen or heard the ads, added that "most of [the groups] run very few ads?- they only to do it to get a little press on it."
MoveOn.org and Americans United for Change, the labor-backed organization that serves as the White House's chief third-party operation, have started separate ad campaigns targeting moderate House and Senate Democrats to back Obama's budget. A number of liberal activists have expressed concerns about a group of 16 Senate?Democratic moderates who have been meeting in an attempt to bolster their influence.?
Reid has no qualms about the group, and said that "any public statements" Senate moderates have made have been helpful as the chamber takes up a budget next week that would cost more than $3 trillion. And he added: "Some people of course go to those meetings so they can issue a press release back home that'll make them appear more moderate."
"I'm not one who is going to be driven by people on the extremes, saying it's only my way or no way," Reid said. "That's not the way legislation works."
Reid's comments came at a wide-ranging breakfast briefing hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, where the Nevada Democrat expressed confidence that Democrats would pick up seats in the Senate next cycle, said he raised $2 million in the last quarter for his 2010 reelection and acknowledged that efforts to enact health care legislation have been temporarily set back by the loss of Tom Daschle as Health and Human Services secretary.?
?
Reid also?acknowledged that he spoke with Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) about becoming a Democrat. Recently, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said that he and Vice President Joe Biden tried to bring Specter to the Democratic side since the senior Republican faces a tough 2010 primary back home.
"Yes, I've talked to him," Reid said when asked if he'd approached Specter about switching parties. Specter has resisted such overtures, and Reid said that the Republican's decision this week to announce his opposition to the labor-backed Employee Free Choice Act "kind of stopped" that effort and "hasn't helped him in the polls back in Pennsylvania."
On running a competitive race back home as a top target for Republicans, Reid said he's not going to position himself any differently in the coming year.
"I've watched other senators change who they are during the election cycle," Reid said. "I think it's real ugly and I'm not going to do that."
And he said Democrats are now in a position "to pick up a number of seats" in 2010, but stopped short of making a prediction on whether his party would exceed the 60 seats needed to break a filibuster.
"I would love to have 60, I'd be happy with 59, [but] I think we focus a little too much on numbers," Reid said. "I think if the tone is right in Washington, if we have 59 or 63 or 64, we should be able to accomplish a lot as we've shown."
Reid added: "I think that our success is tied to Obama's success."
By Manu Raju
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This revolution talk is annoying. I never hear people in real life having these opinions, only on the internet and from morons like glen beck. Get a life.
Really, you call disrespecting the British Priminster thinking and hiring a tax cheat to head up treasury, thats thinking. I dont know what rock you crawled out from but the man in the white house has shown he is the least experience candidate in History. That is a fact.
**** It is a FACT that HILLARY CLINTON won the HISTORICAL POPULAR VOTE!!!
**** Gives us BACK the DEMOCRACY in the Democratic Party. Obama, Pelosi and Reid are a SHAM!!
** And to think that Obama did nothing but talk about Hillary voting for war during the campaign.
***** Obama was going to start bringing home the troops from Iraq his FIRST DAY IN OFFICE. What a SHAM!!! NOW we have three wars going; Iraq, Afghanistan (and sending 17,000!!!! MORE troops) and Pakistan. And don't forget our southern border which he seems anxious to SEND TROOPS too also!!!!
The man who DIDN'T vote for WAR.......perhaps it wasn't that he didn't vote for war....perhaps he just DIDN'T VOTE, so it would appear he didn't vote for it.
If this guy isn't a WAR MONGER, I don't know who is. He is worse than GWB!!!!!
Give us BACK our Democratic Party, please.
One of the FIRST things this guy does in office is to DOUBLE GWB Faith Based Policies.....and then start BOMBING ALL OVER!! and SENDING MORE!!! TROOPS......
There is something in our CONSTITUTION about the SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE.......We've had 8!!! years of the CHURCH in our government, and look what a War Machine we became.......NOW more of the same......only MUCH MORE!
Those of us that were around for VIETNAM know a BAD THING WHEN WE SEE IT.......Especially when a president says the executive branch has to have its SECRETS!
People around the world hate the US because we are nothing more than a WAR MACHINE to them now.....
Obama's mandate is to repair the damage done by the Bush Administration. Beyond that HUGE undertaking he as an additional mandate to address the major problems facing the u.s. in a MODERATE fashion.
Accomplishing just those tasks will be sufficiently daunting for any individual. IF they are successfully addressed THEN it may be possible to consider more "progressive" actions in the future.
The "left" may have "brought obama to the party", but they didn't elect him. He understands that. They don't. :-)