Obama Makes It Tougher for Dem Senators Facing Reelection

How'd you like to have the guy that heads your team endorse something the voters of your state hate?

Senate Democrats facing difficult reelections are breaking with President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage, a sign the issue is politically dangerous in battleground states.

Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.), the two most vulnerable Democratic senators, have declined to endorse Obama’s call for the legalization of gay marriage.

Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Bob Casey (Pa.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.), Democrats who have easier races but in states that could become more competitive by November, have also backed away from Obama’s stance.

They all represent states with constitutional amendments or laws banning same-sex marriage.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) predicted Thursday the Democratic Party would adopt a pro-gay marriage plank in its platform. While that may happen when delegates to the Democratic National Convention meet September in Charlotte, N.C., the party remains divided.

Given that Obama is the head of the Democrat party, his record of failure in office was already making things tough for other Democrats, but supporting a divisive social issue that's been overwhelmingly rejected in so many states just makes it worse.  These Democrats now get to dance the fine line between supporting gay marriage supporting the will of their state's voters.

Harry Reid might find himself out of the Majority Leader job by the time this is all done.

Fourweird! #Forward

H/t Jay:

And a bonus:

Education Cartoon of the Day

Facts are tricky things:

Harry Reid Fights To Save Junk Mail for Old People

The Senate he runs hasn't passed a budget in three years, but at least old people will still get junk mail (from Morning Jolt):

Every couple of weeks, there's some random burbling of words from the Senate majority leader, and I shake my head and sigh, "I can't believe we didn't beat this guy." The latest:

In his opening speech on Wednesday, Reid called on the Senate to quickly move forward on the passage of S. 1789, the 21st Century Postal Service Act, which restructures pension plans for Postal Service employees as well as allows the USPS to access overpayments in the Federal Employee Retirement System.

"Madam President," Reid said to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the presiding officer of the Senate, "I'll come home tonight here to my home in Washington and there'll be some mail there. A lot of it is what some people refer to as junk mail, but for the people who are sending that mail, it's very important. 

"And when talking about seniors, seniors love getting junk mail. It's sometimes their only way of communicating or feeling like they're part of the real world," Reid continued. "Elderly Americans, more than anyone in America, rely on the United States Postal Service, but unless we act quickly, thousands of post offices . . . will close. I've said this earlier today; I repeat it."

As Greg Corombos and I say on the Three Martini Lunch, "Way to go, Nevada. Way to go."

The guy's an embarrassment.

Harry Reid: Drop the Tea Party and Agree With Me

Harry Reid is such a moron.  I can't wait until he's flushed from the Senate leadership in November:

Saying it's time to rebuild America by working together to create jobs, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Sunday prepared for Congress' return to Washington this week with a warning to Republicans to leave Tea Party "extremism" behind and "learn what legislation is all about."

"I would hope that they understand that everything doesn't have to be a fight. Legislation is an art of working together, building consensus, compromise. And I hope that the Tea Party doesn't have the influence in this next year that they had in the previous year," Reid said.

You first, Harry. Why don't you show the GOP how it's done by coming over to their side on some important piece of legislation. Until then, shut up.

Everyone knows that to Dems bipartisanship is Republicans abandoning their principles and doing whatever Dems want.  Those days better be over.

Senate Prospects For GOP Looking Better

The Senate field for 2012 offers some hope for ending Harry Reid's reign of terror as Senate Majority Leader:

Democratic Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson’s retirement presents Democrats with a serious problem. Right now, they control the Senate, 53-47. They have a slim margin for error, and their hopes of keeping a toe-hold in the federal government's elected branches could ultimately depend on their ability to limit losses to two or less.

But barring an unlikely entry to the Nebraska race by former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D – and perhaps even if he does enter – Democrats will probably lose two seats without much of a fight. In addition to the Nebraska retirement, Kent Conrad’s retirement in North Dakota has created a very favorable pickup opportunity for the GOP.

After counting those two seats, Republicans will enjoy a target-rich environment elsewhere. First, there is Montana, where freshman Sen. Jon Tester, D, faces the most popular Republican in the state, Rep. Dennis Rehberg. Polling shows that Rehberg can definitely win, and might even be the favorite already. At the top of the ballot, President Obama is unlikely to do as well in Montana as he did in 2008 (47 percent), and that could also affect the race.

Then there’s Florida, which no one really expected to be competitive. The sudden entry by Rep. Connie Mack IV, R – son of former Sen. Connie Mack III – has made this one unexpectedly competitive. An early Rasmussen poll already gives Mack the lead. Other polls give Nelson the lead, but with low enough numbers that he is quite vulnerable.

After that, several other Democratic seats will be in serious jeopardy. The top tier consists of the open seats in Wisconsin and Virginia (Republicans are guaranteed to nominate a top-shelf challenger in both), then Missouri, where the GOP field appears weak, but the incumbent is also weak. The next tier consists of Michigan (which could get very hot later this year), New Mexico and Ohio.

The GOP will have challenges in Nevada and Massachusetts, but there's still hope for getting rid of Reid even if those states are lost.

And 2014 looks even better:

And if you think that’s bad, have a look at the map for 2014. Democrats will need several miracles to avoid more bloodletting (although, importantly, miracles do happen). Republicans lost so many seats in 2008 that they have, by my reckoning, only two theoretically weak ones left in the 2014 class (Maine and Kentucky). They will be gunning at more than ten theoretical Democratic targets, even assuming no Democrats retire.

There is no point in counting one's chickens early in politics. But it is worth noting that a filibuster-proof GOP Senate majority by 2015, while perhaps a stretch, is far from unattainable. That is doubly true if Barack Obama squeaks by to re-election in the new year.

Never count political chickens before they hatch, but unless the GOP has a major meltdown (which is always possible), we should be rid of both Obama and Reid by next January.

House Republicans Are Going to Make The Democrats Do Their Job

Harry Reid passed a bad bill and adjourned the Senate for the year expecting the House to meekly go along.  Think again:

The Republican-led House of Representatives will set the stage on Tuesday for a showdown with Senate Democrats over a payroll tax cut extension that is becoming a proxy for 2012 election year battles.

The tax legislation has become the latest in a string of battles in Congress this year, all of which have contributed to widespread public discontent with Washington politicians.

When the House votes on Tuesday it will in effect be rejecting a bill that passed the Senate overwhelmingly on Saturday and calling for formal negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate.

The Senate bill would set a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut with the aim of crafting a full-year tax cut extension early next year.

The House move will cast doubt on the future of the popular payroll tax cut, which is caught up in a high-stakes game of brinkmanship between the two political parties that some say could backfire.

Washington gridlock is fueling an anti-incumbent mood among voters heading into next year's elections.

"Our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again," House Speaker John Boehner said late on Monday after a closed meeting with fellow Republicans.

The thing is, Obama wanted a year-long deal. He didn't want a short term deal that would require new negotiations almost immediately. Obama wants to kick as many things as possible down the road past the election, so in some ways Boehner is doing him a favor.

Harry Reid will undoubtedly have a major snit over this and probably will refuse to call the Senators back to D.C.  Should be very entertaining.

Harry Reid's Nuclear Bomb

Read this headline from Say Anything - it's like Bizarro World:

Harry Reid Goes “Nuclear” To Punish Republicans For Trying To Vote On Obama’s Jobs Bill

And yet, that's exactly what happened. Read the whole story at Say Anything.

Harry Reid has just bet the farm that either the Dems are going to hold both the Senate and White House next year, or he knows they're going to lose and he's going to use the new Senate rules to pass a host of things that couldn't otherwise get past a filibuster, such as the Dream Act.

If the former is true and Harry has bet wrong, Obamacare is dead even if it survives the Supreme Court.  If the GOP has 50 Senators and a President, under these new rules there will be nothing to stop the Senate from repealing Obamacare.  Without the ability to filibuster the Dems will be lame ducks under a GOP Senate, and if they think they're getting the old rules back...well, unfortunately some Republicans are just stupid enough to do that and give them back their power.  But if McConnell wants to be Majority Leader, that better not happen.

I'd like to hear the GOP go on record with the Dems and tell them that however long these rules in effect while the Dems are in the majority, they'll be in effect at least that long under a GOP majority

Harry Reid is going to regret this because it will be a factor in every Senate election next year.

Sen. McConnell: "Let's Vote on the Jobs Bill." Harry Reid: "That's a Political Stunt."

Harry Reid got played by Mitch McConnell yesterday:

On a day rich in political maneuvering, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell announced he was ready for an immediate vote on the bill, even though he opposes it. Reading aloud on the Senate floor from a copy of Obama's speech, he said, "I do think the president makes an important point that he is entitled to a vote."

The request was blocked by Reid, who called it a "political stunt" and said he would make sure the bill comes to the floor this month. Aboard Air Force One, White House press secretary Jay Carney accused Republicans of gamesmanship.

Why wouldn't Harry agree to an immediate vote? After all, that's what the president says he wants.

Very simple - Harry doesn't have the votes. He can't even get his own caucus to line up behind this mess, let alone the GOP.

The same article says Reid is planning to propose a 5% surcharge on millionaires.  That's not gonna pass either.

Wishful Thinking Headline of the Day

From Drudge:

Reid expects 'Tea Party' to fade away...

Sorry, Harry, but the Tea Party is here to stay as long as people like you are in government.

House Does It's Job, and In the True Spirit of Obama the Senate Votes "Present"

John Boehner has thrown the ball into the Senate's court:

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said at just concluded press conference that it was now up to the Senate to pass its own plan to raise the debt ceiling.

“The House has done its job," Boehner said. "We’ve given the president an increase in the debt ceiling of $2.4 trillion, which would take us at least the next 18 months. For that, we’re asking for real cuts in spending and a balanced budget amendment. So the House has done its job, and I hope that the Senate will do theirs.”

As he was holding his press conference, the Senate was voting to table the Cut, Cap and Balance plan passed by the House this week.

“If they don’t like our version of Cut, Cap and Balance that two-thirds of the American people support, then what’s their plan?" Boehner said. "They can make amendments to it and send it back over.”

The Senate hasn't passed a budget in over 800 days and has never offered a plan to handle the debt ceiling situation. Instead they have voted "present".

Harry Reid plans to stay in session this weekend. Doing...what? They just tabled the Cut, Cap and Balance Act and that's the only plan on the table right now. I guess Harry just gets lonely on those long weekends and wants to see Barbara Boxer every day.

And it looks like Obama himself has ruled out the possibility that he's a dictator with unlimited power (from Mark Knoller at CBS):

Pres Obama says his lawyers have told him that ignoring debt limit or raising it himself is "not a winning argument."

However, it would be easier if he was a dictator (from SE Cupp)

Obama: "This would be easier if I could do this on my own." Oh, if only America were a dictatorship.

UPDATE - just in, Harry cancels the weekend Senate session:

So much for that weekend session.

A day after criticizing House Republicans for leaving town this weekend, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced there would be no more business in his chamber until Monday. Reid said since House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Barack Obama were working on a broad deficit deal to avert default on Aug. 2, it made no sense to move forward this weekend on a “fallback” plan that he was privately drafting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

And in a striking admission for a Senate majority leader, Reid announced he wasn’t in the loop in the Boehner talks.

Voters Support House Cut, Cap and Balance Act

From Daily Caller:

Cut, Cap, and Cut the Crap -- According a new CNN poll, America is saying Yes, Please, and Thank You to Cut, Cap, and Balance. Ed Morrissey at Hot Air writes: "Harry Reid might consider the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act the worst piece of legislation in the history of, well, legislation, but he doesn't get much company among American adults. In the latest CNN poll, two-thirds of voters favor the idea of tying a raise in the debt ceiling to spending caps and a balanced budget amendment, and this isn't a survey of conservative-leaning likely voters, either... The CCB/BBA approach wins majorities in every single demographic — including self-described liberals. Sixty-three percent of Democrats back the House bill. The least supportive age demographic is 50-64YOs at 62/37; the least supportive regional demographic is the Midwest at 61/39. Even those who express opposition to the Tea Party support it 53/47. In other words, it's a clean sweep. Simply put, there is no political demographic at all where the CCB/BBA doesn't get majority support." Yeah, b-b-but... Dead grandmas! Big Oil! 

The Senate needs to pass this bill and Obama needs to sign it. Both are unlikely.

Political Quote of the Day

A lengthy one this time as casino mogul Steve Wynn unloaded on Obama during a company conference call (via Seeking Alpha):

I believe in Las Vegas. I think its best days are ahead of it. But I'm afraid to do anything in the current political environment in the United States. You watch television and see what's going on on this debt ceiling issue. And what I consider to be a total lack of leadership from the President and nothing's going to get fixed until the President himself steps up and wrangles both parties in Congress. But everybody is so political, so focused on holding their job for the next year that the discussion in Washington is nauseating.

And I'm saying it bluntly, that this administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime. And I can prove it and I could spend the next 3 hours giving you examples of all of us in this market place that are frightened to death about all the new regulations, our healthcare costs escalate, regulations coming from left and right. A President that seems, that keeps using that word redistribution. Well, my customers and the companies that provide the vitality for the hospitality and restaurant industry, in the United States of America, they are frightened of this administration.And it makes you slow down and not invest your money. Everybody complains about how much money is on the side in America.

You bet and until we change the tempo and the conversation from Washington, it's not going to change. And those of us who have business opportunities and the capital to do it are going to sit in fear of the President. And a lot of people don't want to say that. They'll say, God, don't be attacking Obama. Well, this is Obama's deal and it's Obama that's responsible for this fear in America.

The guy keeps making speeches about redistribution and maybe we ought to do something to businesses that don't invest, their holding too much money. We haven't heard that kind of talk except from pure socialists. Everybody's afraid of the government and there's no need soft peddling it, it's the truth. It is the truth. And that's true of Democratic businessman and Republican businessman, and I am a Democratic businessman and I support Harry Reid. I support Democrats and Republicans. And I'm telling you that the business community in this company is frightened to death of the weird political philosophy of the President of the United States. And until he's gone, everybody's going to be sitting on their thumbs.

Steve needs to quit supporting Harry Reid, because Reid is nothing more than Obama's handmaiden in the Senate. The very things Wynn is complaining about were moved through the Senate by Reid.

All You Need to Know About How Bad Mitch McConnell's Plan Is

I think this pretty much sums it up:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday praised Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for putting forth a plan to raise the debt ceiling, calling it a “serious proposal” that he’s continuing to study.

There's no way Harry Reid will support anything that's good for the country.

UPDATE:  Nancy Pelosi piles on:

Asked about GOP plan to allow President Obama to raise debt ceiling, Pelosi said "Bravo for Senator McConnell"

If that doesn't kill the McConnell plan stone dead nothing can.

Huntsman Gets an Endorsement From a Powerful Senator

Unfortunately, that Senator is Harry Reid:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, reviled by conservatives for ushering Democratic legislation through Congress during Obama’s first two years in office, told reporters Tuesday that he’d pick Huntsman over GOP rival and fellow Mormon Mitt Romney.

“If I had a choice, I would favor Huntsman over Romney,” said Reid, who like Romney and Huntsman belongs to the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

The Senate leader proceeded to take a broad swipe at the former Massachusetts governor, whom he described as a “a man who doesn’t know who he is.”

Stick a fork in him...he's done.

The 41-Second Senate Day

Must be tough working 41-second shifts. Do they think they're hockey players?:

At 10 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Senate came to order. Forty-one seconds later, it adjourned.

During this legislative session, there was no bill under consideration, no debate on the floor, not even an opening prayer or a pledge of allegiance. The only senator in the chamber was Mark Warner (D-Va.), the presiding officer.

After completing his gavel duties, Warner looked up at the 20 tourists in the public gallery and wondered aloud to the clerk what the spectators must think of the proceedings.

“They think, ‘this is our government?’ ” the clerk replied.

That’s if they’re being charitable.

The Senate is supposed to be in Memorial Day recess this week. But the chamber is so ungovernable that Majority Leader Harry Reid doesn’t even have the votes to declare a recess. So he decided instead to have a few “pro forma” sessions, such as Tuesday’s, allowing senators to take a vacation without voting for it.

What a leader that Harry Reid is.

Harry Reid's Oil Tax Hike Goes Down in Flames

Never had a chance:

The Senate handily rejected cloture Tuesday on S. 940, the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act, which, shorn of political slogans, was the legislation to raise taxes on oil and gas development in the United States.

The vote was 52-48, with Democratic Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska, Mary Landrieu of Lousiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska joining Republicans to block the bill that would do nothing to address gas prices, but would discourage U.S. energy security and global competitiveness. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was the sole Republican to vote for cloture.

Even if this bill had passed it could never have become law because it was unconstitutional. Any bills that raise revenue must start in the House. This was simply a show trial put on by Harry Reid.

Senate May Investigate Koran Burning, Seek New Limits on Free Speech

Doesn't the Senate have ANYTHING else to do?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says congressional lawmakers are discussing taking some action in response to the Koran burnings of a Tennessee pastor that led to killings at the U.N. facility in Afghanistan and sparked protests across the Middle East, Politico reports.

“Ten to 20 people have been killed,” Reid said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We’ll take a look at this of course. As to whether we need hearings or not, I don’t know.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Congress might need to explore the need to limit some forms of freedom of speech, in light of Tennessee pastor Terry Jones’ Quran burning, and how such actions result in enabling U.S. enemies.

“I wish we could find a way to hold people accountable. Free speech is a great idea, but we’re in a war,” Graham told CBS’ Bob Schieffer on “Face the Nation” Sunday.

I've looked at the First Amendment and I can't find a political correctness exception anywhere. Free speech means you're going to have to allow some things you don't like. If you can burn an American flag, you can burn a Koran.

Harry Reid Urges John Boehner to Commit Political Suicide

I'm sure Reid has Boehner's best interests at heart:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to ditch members of the Tea Party and cut a deal with Democrats to avert a government shutdown.

Reid insisted it is those GOP internal divisions that are threatening to shut down the government after April 8, in less than two weeks.

“For the sake of our economy, it’s time for mainstream Republicans to stand up to the Tea Party and rejoin Democrats at the table to negotiate a responsible solution that cuts spending while protecting jobs,” he said.

So, Mr. Speaker, who is more likely to have your back when things get tough, Reid or the Tea Party?

Screw Harry Reid - shut it down.

Political Cartoon of the Day

Michael Ramirez offers his ode to Harry Reid's love of cowboy poetry (larger version here):