The media should stop reporting what Harry Reid says

posted at 4:01 pm on April 5, 2014 by Dustin Siggins

One of the most important jobs of the media is to be the so-called “fourth estate” — an unofficial fourth branch of government that holds the three official branches accountable. Ideally, this would take place when reporters provide a look at reality when politicians lie, despite pressure from the same politicians to not report the truth.

However, there is another way to hold a politician accountable: Stop taking the politician seriously by not reporting what he or she said. I propose that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has long passed the point of “unseriousness” to “harmful to society,” and this should be reflected in reporters and editors refusing to publish what he says.

Consider just a handful of truly harmful things Reid has done or said in the last few weeks, and one example from 2012:

In 2012, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) received some level of infamy for claiming that Mitt Romney didn’t pay taxes for a decade. Naturally, the charges were not backed by any evidence, yet the mainstream media treated Reid’s comments as though they had legitimacy. At the time, I asked if Reid had violated Senate Ethics rules by essentially campaigning on the Senate floor.

More recently, Townhall’s Guy Benson hammered Reid for using his Koch brothers obsession as an excuse to block amendments to the unemployment insurance that is set to pass the Senate on Monday. As Guy put it in his headline: “Old Man Still Muttering Incoherently About Koch Brothers”

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough attached Reid’s tactic as “the stupidest strategy” he has seen, but most mainstream and liberal media outlets have taken Reid seriously. They’ve done this despite the probable abuse of power Reid’s statements are, and Ed’s point that at least one of Reid’s anti-Koch efforts likely violates Senate Ethics rules.

Of course, it’s not just the Kochs Reid has gone after recently. He’s also gone after the people sharing how the Affordable Care Act is hurting them – and then denied doing so. If you want to read about how arrogant and abusive of power this is, check out Guy’s excellent takedown of Reid here. Justifiably and rightly, Guy is and was furious, and so should the rest of us be.

Reid’s Koch habit — yes, yes, I used the cliched term; I couldn’t help it — includes accusing the Koch brothers of associating with companies that circumvent sanctions on Iran. Lachlan Markay of the Washington Free Beacon showed that Reid has taken campaign donations from companies doing the exact same thing.

And, finally, Reid recently said the minimum wage Democrats want — $ 10.10 per hour — was not picked arbitrarily, but to bring people out of poverty:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reiterated his “no negotiations” stance on the Democratic proposal to boost the minimum-wage to $ 10.10 per hour, despite calls for a deal from some red-state Democrats up for reelection in 2014.

“No, there are none. Nope,” Reid told reporters following a minimum-wage rally with union members and other Democratic leaders. “The reason we picked that number, $ 10.10, gets you out of poverty — $ 10 doesn’t. $ 10.05 doesn’t. We didn’t pick that number just to be fun.” The current federal minimum wage is $ 7.25 per hour.

You know what would actually help people get out of poverty? Eliminating the minimum wage so low-skilled minorities could work more, or repealing the Affordable Care Act, or tax reform, or cutting the budget, or pretty much anything else that wouldn’t increase the cost of employees for employees. And does anyone believe Reid picked a $ 10.10 hourly wage because that’s the way to help people out of poverty, rather than reasons of political gamesmanship? Why not go to $ 20/hour, Senator?

Like the lies of President Obama on pretty much everything — whether his views on spying on Americans; war without authorization from Congress; fiscal responsibility; and the alleged benefits of the Affordable Care Act — the media would actually be doing its job to not report on what Reid says. But if it must report, fact-checks should accompany what is said in its articles and editorials, not simply an unchallenged and uncorrected reporting of these lies and other brazen violations of the public trust.

Tags: Guy Benson, Harry Reid, Mitt Romney

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The media should stop reporting what Harry Reid says

MSNBC"s Joy Reid: Religious Freedom Could Be Used To Exclude Women From The Workplace

JOY-ANN REID, MSNBC HOST: However, a business, a corporation you form, is separate from yourself, meaning that if your corporation, for instance, were to violate one of the Ten Commandments, if it were to covet another corporation’s products or if it was to steal another corporation’s patent, it could not suffer the wrath of God, right? So how is it possible for a corporation to somehow violate the religious tenants of its faith if it is not a person and doesn’t have a soul?

LORI WINDHAM, BECKET FUND FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: Well, you know, I think that really gets into a theological family. The Green family believes that they are going to be responsible to God and that they have to answer to God for the things that they do through their family businesses. And so for them, it’s not as simple as saying, ‘Oh, well, the corporation’s doing it, it’s okay. And I think that many Americans would really pull back from the idea that, hey, if I’m just doing this as part of a corporation, if I’m just doing this as part of my job, I don’t have any moral agency here. I think that’s a very difficult argument to make.

REID: Except that Christians who own businesses, let’s say lay people off around Christmastime, right? People do things all the time, that they may personally find morally sort of questionable, but they do them for the business. People lay people off at christmastime.

WINDHAM: I think that what we want to encourage here in the U.S. is people who are willing to have social consciences and who are willing to consider their beliefs in the way they run their business. That’s what the Green family has done. They have raised their minimum wage, every year for the last five years. They’re now nearly double the federal minimum wage, because they said, ‘You know what, that’s the right thing to do.’ I think that’s the kind of behavior we want to encourage rather than discourage.

REID: Let me ask you about another business that thinks that the federal minimum wage is usury and they don’t want to comply with federal minimum wage laws because it violates their religious tenants. Or what if you had another business whose owners believe that women’s place is in the home, so therefore they don’t feel they should be compelled to consider women for employment?

WINDHAM: You know, we’ve heard all of these wild hypotheticals and I think Congress has already answered that with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. What they’ve said is, when there’s a compelling government reason, like protecting the minimum wage or stopping discrimination or protecting life, that the government can win in those cases.

The question isn’t who gets to exercise the rights. The question is, how strong is the government’s interests? Here, the government’s interest is really weak, because they have already exempted plans covering tens of millions of Americans from this same mandate. So how can they exempt so many millions of plans on one hand and yet fine the green family on the other?

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MSNBC"s Joy Reid: Religious Freedom Could Be Used To Exclude Women From The Workplace

Reid says GOP may have helped Russia annex Crimea

Local citizens wave flags symbolizing the Soviet victory in WWII and Russian flags gather in support of Eastern Pro-Russian Ukrainians in their fight against Ukrainian government in Simferopol, Crimea on Monday, March 24, 2014. Ukraine’s fledgling government ordered troops to pull back Monday from Crimea, ending days of wavering as Russian forces stormed and seized bases on the peninsula.(AP Photo/Max Vetrov)

Local citizens wave flags symbolizing the Soviet victory in WWII and Russian flags gather in support of Eastern Pro-Russian Ukrainians in their fight against Ukrainian government in Simferopol, Crimea on Monday, March 24, 2014. Ukraine’s fledgling government ordered troops to pull back Monday from Crimea, ending days of wavering as Russian forces stormed and seized bases on the peninsula.(AP Photo/Max Vetrov)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that Republicans may have helped Russia annex Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in a surprisingly sharp attack ahead of a test vote on a bill authorizing more U.S. sanctions on Russia and $ 1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine.

Outlining the Senate’s agenda after a one-week recess, the Nevada Democrat said the first item would be the Ukraine bill that Republicans blocked just before lawmakers went on break. He urged Republicans to consider “how their obstruction affects United States’ national security as well as the people of Ukraine” and said their delay of any congressional action “sent a dangerous message to Russian leaders.”

“Since a few Republicans blocked these important sanctions last work period, Russian lawmakers voted to annex Crimea and Russian forces have taken over Ukrainian military bases,” Reid said. “It’s impossible to know whether events would have unfolded differently if the United States had responded to Russian aggression with a strong, unified voice.”

Reid’s charge comes despite widespread support among Republicans and Democrats in Congress for providing Ukraine with much-needed economic assistance and hitting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government with sanctions.

And GOP Senate aides noted the House has passed different legislation, meaning the Senate bill could not have become law before recess anyhow. They blamed Reid and Democrats for blocking the Senate from taking up the House legislation.

The biggest dispute separating the two chambers appears to be inclusion in the Senate bill of reforms of the International Monetary Fund, which the United States, Europe and others are working with to stabilize Ukraine’s economy. The IMF’s 2010 reforms increase the power of emerging countries in the lending body and shift some $ 63 billion from a crisis fund to a general account it can use for economic stabilization operations around the world.

Although the bill is likely to pass the 60-vote threshold Monday evening to move forward, Reid’s tone suggests a compromise with the GOP-controlled House may prove difficult.

Republicans have long spurned the administration’s attempt to ratify the IMF changes, saying they’d increase the exposure of U.S. taxpayers in foreign bailouts managed by the fund. Making the shift now, opponents such as Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio argue, would also marginally increase Russia’s voting power over the fund’s finances.

The Obama administration and Democrats counter that unless the U.S. approves the new rules, Washington will lose its influence at the IMF and hamper the body’s ability to avert economic meltdowns in places precisely like Ukraine. The U.S. is the only major country that has yet to sign off.

Reid said Republicans blocked the bill to “protect the anonymity of their big-money donors” such as the Koch brothers, two of America’s wealthiest men who’ve strongly supported conservative causes. He was referring to an unsuccessful attempt by some Republicans to include an amendment to the bill halting new IRS regulations on groups claiming tax-exempt status.

“Republicans objected to moving forward with this aid package unless Democrats agreed to allow the Kochs and billionaires like them to continue to anonymously spend millions trying to buy America’s democracy,” Reid said. “It’s hard to believe. But that’s the truth.”

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Reid says GOP may have helped Russia annex Crimea

Reid says Kochs blocking Ukraine aid

Reid (center) has described the Koch brothers as ‘un-American.’ | AP Photos

Harry Reid described the billionaire Koch brothers’ philosophies as “radical” more than a dozen times on Thursday morning, making good on his vow to continue hammering them directly from the Senate floor.

The GOP has blasted Reid for his description of the Koch brothers as “un-American,” but the Senate majority leader said that Charles and David Koch should be able to defend themselves from his attacks and dared the GOP to back the brothers on the Senate floor.

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“When Republican senators rush to defend the Koch brothers, they are also defending the Koch brothers’ radical philosophy. And it’s radical. How do we know it’s radical? They said so. I’m not making those words up,” Reid said. “Is even one of you [Republicans] willing to stand up and disavow the Koch brothers’ radical agenda? It’s radical. It’s radical because they say it’s radical. And it is radical.”

“Obviously, they must agree with the Koch brothers’ radical philosophy. Republicans are willing to defend the Koch brothers on the floor of this Senate, but are they willing to defend the Koch brothers’ radical agenda as well?” added the Nevada Democrat.

The Koch-backed super PAC Americans for Prosperity has carpet-bombed Senate Democratic incumbents with millions of dollars of attack ads ahead of this year’s midterm elections, dropping $ 700,000 in ads on Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) on Thursday.

But AFP is also taking increasing heat from fact checkers for assertions that the Affordable Care Act would make a cancer patient’s treatment less affordable.

Reid called AFP a “phony banner” for the Kochs’ political activities and said the brothers and their allies are “willing to do anything, even exploit Americans suffering from cancer, to advance their campaign of distortion” in a midterm election year.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has criticized Reid for dumping on the Kochs while supporting the efforts of wealthy environmentalist Tom Steyer, who plans to spend millions in support of Democratic candidates this fall. On Thursday, McConnell didn’t directly respond to Reid’s blistering Koch speech, but he did continue his opposition to the Obama administration’s proposed rules that would crack down on the political activities of some nonprofits.

“The IRS needs to get out of the speech regulation business altogether, and the Obama administration can do that,” McConnell said. “This regulation needs to go, and it needs to go now.”

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Reid says Kochs blocking Ukraine aid

Tea Party-Slandering MSNBCer Reid Steadfastly Refuses to Call Putin or Assad ‘Evil’

Appearing on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Monday, MSNBC host Joy Reid repeatedly refused to characterize either Russian president Vladimir Putin or Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as “evil.” During a contentious debate over Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine, Hewitt asked his guest point-blank, “Do you agree that what Russia is doing is evil?” [Video embedded below the break.]

Reid hedged on her answer, replying:

I think what Russia is doing is troubling and is a problem in the world. I don’t really need to use characterizations like “evil.” I think Russia is a bad actor, absolutely.
 

Reid then tried to deflect attention to, of all people, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani: “I think Giuliani thinks that Putin’s a star. I think today he said he’s a great leader or something like that.” In fact, Giuliani said that Putin is more of a leader than President Obama, which is different than calling him a great leader or a “star.”

Reid wouldn’t say what she thought of Putin, so Hewitt pressed her: “[B]ut Joy Reid, it’s a simple question. Is he evil?” However, Reid still refused to make such a judgment. She replied, “I’m not inside anybody’s mind. I don’t need to characterize anybody as evil. I don’t know Vladimir Putin.”

Hewitt then asked if it would be an evil act for Russia to attack Ukrainian bases with women and children inside. Reid only said it would be a “world crisis.”

The conservative radio host then switched gears and asked the liberal MSNBC host if she thought Syria’s Bashar al-Assad was evil. With a chuckle, Reid replied, “Oh, well, you know. I’m not even – like I said, I’m not characterizing people.” She went on to call him “an even worse actor and an awful human being.”

Hewitt asked again if she thought Assad was evil, and Reid responded by answering a question that Hewitt didn’t ask: “Would I like to see Bashar al-Assad gone? Absolutely.” Hewitt asked one final time if Assad was evil, and Reid refused to label him as such one last time. She said, “I don’t see the point of characterizing people like that. I think he’s a bad actor. I think he is a despicable leader, a despicable human being.”

That is the world that too many liberals live in – a world of moral uncertainty, where there is no good or evil and no brutal dictator is anything more than a “bad actor.” By refusing to characterize Putin and Assad as “evil,” Reid is essentially equating them with conservatives, whom she has vehemently attacked over the years.

Last July, for example, Reid compared the Tea Party to terrorists when it came to budget negotiations:
 

To put it another way, when somebody is threatening to bomb the stadium, you don’t go out and make a speech about how you’re willing to dismantle the stadium in order to appease them.
 

In October, Reid likened Republicans to hostage-takers for shutting down the government. She railed, “So they are now essentially taking hostages. But this is beyond a hostage situation. They have shot a hostage. They went ahead and shut the government down.”

And in September, Reid claimed that anti-ObamaCare Republicans were basically asking people to kill themselves:
 

[H]erein lies the great irony about the conservative objection to Obamacare. What are they actually asking people to do? They’re actually asking you to essentially kill yourself, because if you get sick and you don’t have insurance, and you can’t be treated, you cannot survive a catastrophic illness.
 

She makes conservative Republicans sound like “bad actors,” which is how she characterized Putin and Assad. I guess to Reid, there is no difference between two repressive world leaders and the liberty-loving political party in this country.

Below is a transcript of the segment from The Hugh Hewitt Show:

HUGH HEWITT: Do you agree that what Russia is doing is evil?

JOY REID: I think what Russia is doing is troubling and is a problem in the world. I don’t really need to use characterizations like ‘evil.’ I think Russia is a bad actor, absolutely. I think it’s pretty clear who the bad actor here is. It’s Russia – who, by the way, a lot of the right – I think Giuliani thinks that Putin’s a star. I think today he said he’s a great leader or something like that. You have a lot of people on the right who’ve been quite, you know, keen on Vladimir Putin up until now. I think people have to now decide, do they still want to make him their hero because they hate Barack Obama so much when this is the way he’s acting? He’s old, Kremlin, Cold War Vlad. He’s doing what Vladimir Putin does, and now the rest of the world has to realize that this is not, you know, Vladimir Putin 2.0. This is Vladimir Putin 1.0.

HEWITT: But is he – but Joy Reid, it’s a simple question. Is he evil?

REID: That – you know what? I’m not inside anybody’s mind. I don’t need to characterize anybody as evil. I don’t know Vladimir Putin – I know what he’s doing is – it’s risky to his own country. I mean, it’s risky, obviously, to what the Ukrainians need in terms of security. I think he is a bad actor. I don’t need to call him evil, he’s a bad actor.

HEWITT: They’ve got a deadline in a couple of hours. They’re gonna open fire on these Ukrainian bases with women and children in it. Would that be an evil act that he’s authorizing?

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REID: Right, you have intel that I don’t know if the U.S. government has. I think that if Russia were to escalate militarily in Ukraine, it would be a crisis. It would definitely be a crisis, and it would be a world crisis. And it’s not – I think that one of the problems we have is that we have this binary system, right, where people on the right – it feels good to say, ‘this person is evil, let’s bomb them.’ That is not foreign policy. That is bluster that may make Americans feel good, but A) there is no military solution there. Americans are not sending our troops in there to deal with this. We are not doing that.

HEWITT: I didn’t suggest that. I just wanted to call him evil, ‘cause I –

REID: – couple times. I don’t think that’s necessary. We need to deal with it. We have to still deal with Russia.

HEWITT: Do you call anybody evil?

REID: – make it easier – yeah, but does that make it easier? It makes it easier for us to deal with Iran and Russia. We still have to deal with them on Syria. This is somebody that is there, that we’re not going to depose Vladimir Putin. We’ve got to deal with him.

HEWITT: Joy, is Assad evil?

REID: Bashar Assad?

HEWITT: Yeah.

REID: Oh, well, you know. [chuckles] I’m not even – like I said, I’m not characterizing people. Bashar al-Assad is an even worse, an even worse actor and an awful human being. That is a noxious, despicable regime. We’d be better off if he weren’t there. The people of Syria are trying their best to do something about it. Again, there’s no American military solution to be imposed there, either, and I doubt your listeners want us to go in there and try to impose that.

HEWITT: But is he evil?

REID: Would I like to see Bashar al-Assad gone? Absolutely.

HEWITT: Well, yeah, but I just want to know if you think he’s evil.

REID: I don’t – I don’t see the point of characterizing people like that. I think he’s a bad actor. I think he is a despicable leader, a despicable human being.

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Tea Party-Slandering MSNBCer Reid Steadfastly Refuses to Call Putin or Assad ‘Evil’

It Is Time, Democrats, to Send Mr. Reid Home

In these ridiculous times, where transparency is clandestine, science proves instead of disproves, and falsely instilled self-esteem trumps real education, I truly don’t expect even the most honest of Liberal or Democrat – and certainly not any Progressive – to understand, or even hear, what I am about to say, but for the good of our country I pray that they do. Truth be told, we rank-and-file Americans cannot trust the “Frank Underwoods” who lurk inside the Washington Beltway – on both sides of the aisle – to do anything on behalf of their constituencies any longer. They are frauds and converts to the oligarch. It is time we start depending on ourselves to affect real, true and honest change.

The examples of just how power-centered and self-serving the oligarchs in the US federal government have become are too many to list, although, if push came to shove, we could start amassing a list, in and of itself worthy of entry into the Guinness Book for longest continuous list of political transgressions against a people. From the IRS coercion of Conservative non-profit groups, to the political payoff that the billion-dollar so-called stimulus was to Blue State governments and labor unions, to the “too-big-to-fail” redistribution of taxpayer dollars through TARP to the über-greedy financial elites for their irresponsible financial skullduggery, the Janus-faced disingenuousness of our elected class – a disingenuousness meant to stave-off the torches and pitchforks of the taxpaying public – knows now shame…and yet we continue to tolerate it.

Stunning. Have we become that self-loathing as a people?

But even while we tolerate the power-hungry manipulations of the elected class – the elitists, the Progressives, the oligarchs – they have always been careful to at least pretend to care about the people. The entire game Progressives play is based on the false-premise that the “better educated” know how to care for the masses better than the masses know how to care for themselves. The illusion foisted by a great many Inside-the-Beltway Republicans (read: establishment Republican…Ann) is that they are standing with and for “the people,” executing a pursuit of limited government, fiscal responsibility and individual freedoms. Yet we all know that government does everything (but for achieving military superiority) poorly and at a greater price than the private-sector. And we all stand witness as government keeps expanding, both in size and scope. Now we can add overt disdain for the American people to that list.

On February 26, 2014, United States Senator and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), stood on the floor of the greatest chamber of debate – or at least what used to be – and openly expressed his hatred for the American people. Once again, abdicating his responsibility to serve his constituents, while playing partisan politics at the expense of the nation, Mr. Reid said, in defending the Patient Protection & Affordable Healthcare Act:

“Despite all that good news, there’s plenty of horror stories being told. All of them are untrue, but they’re being told all over America.”

I will overlook – for the moment – the fact that the most powerful man in the US Senate can’t speak proper English when entering his testimony into the Congressional Record. Lord knows there are members of Congress guilty of more egregious butchery of the English language.

It is beyond dispute that millions of Americans have been adversely affected by this unconstitutional piece of legislation. Millions have been denied the medical insurance they prefer while millions more have been told they must either pay more or go without; left to pay an IRS extracted penalty. Still hundreds of thousands more are being put into life-threatening situations where medical treatment deemed necessary for survival is not either outside their capability to afford, not authorized, or both. The putridly ironic thing about all of this is that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was imposed on the American people under the ruse of it being “for the common good.”

To say that Mr. Reid’s comment adds insult to injury is to affect injury to insult. And while it is serving as great fodder for the elitist Washington punditry, it is much more serious an issue than that, and two-fold.

For those whose lives have now been called into question; whose life-saving treatments have become too expensive to afford; or whose treatments have now been denied, this is a direct threat – and a government mandated threat, at that – to the guaranteed right, offered us as US citizens under the bedrock understanding of Natural Law, to “…Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” While self-serving, power-hungry, elitist manipulators like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi stare, wax-faced, into the television cameras extolling all of the “common good” that the Affordable Care Act is doing, millions face the prospect of dying for the Progressive Movement’s dream of a one-payer, nationalized health insurance system…health insurance, not healthcare, system.

While this faux benevolence is continuously presented as compassionate, needed and “the right thing” to get behind by the oligarchs and their toadies – the Progressive mainstream media, it is neither compassionate, needed nor the right thing to do. It is a redistribution of wealth that is literally costing people their lives…here…in the “land of the free.”

And what does Mr. Reid say about those who are facing the loss of their lives because of the ACA? What does he say about the real-life, fact-based stories of those who have been denied “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” because of Progressive benevolence?:

“…Tales…Stories made up from whole cloth…Lies, distorted by Republicans to grab headlines or make political advertisements…”

And as egregiously rancid as this reality is – and it is, the idea that the most powerful man in the US Senate would openly call those facing debilitated health and/or death because of his Progressive ideological zealotry “liars” is not only unacceptable, it should serve as the defining reason for why he should be: a) removed from Senate leadership by his Democrat colleagues immediately; b) reprimanded and censured but the whole of chamber immediately; and c) retired by the people of Nevada at the next election.

Our American system of government was based on the idea that those who would be elected to office – be it at the federal state, county, township or municipal levels – would be understood as those in the service of the public; public servants. Today, this notion – this foundational understanding of our American governmental system – has been grotesquely bastardized , done so with all the Progressive glory that could be mustered in its execution; destroyed at first by expunging the check and balance of States’ Rights through the ratification of the 17th Amendment all the way through to the imposition of having to purchase a private-sector product (health insurance) to be considered a true and faithful American citizen. Our country has been fundamentally transformed…“top-down, bottom-up, inside-out.”

George Washington, a man who could have been king would he have wanted the title, warned – warned – in his Farewell Address of the evils of “factions” (read: political party):

“However combinations or associations of [factions] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government – destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion…

“Let me now…warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness and is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty.

“Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and the duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it…”

We, the American people, should not suffer the unbridled arrogance of Mr. Reid, evidenced not only by his lust for partisan faction, but by his open and overt disdain for our fellow citizens; fellow citizens now disenfranchised by the Progressive understanding of “the common good.” Mr. Reid is the perfect example of the “evils of faction.” He is a disgrace to his elected office. He is a disgrace as an American. And he is not suited to his station in the US Senate.

If Democrats in the US Senate – as well as in general – do not seize this moment to make an example of Mr. Reid, then from this day forward let the Democrat Party be known as the toady to the Progressive Movement; the entirety of which is unworthy to lick the heel of Mr. Washington’s boot.

Frank Salvato is the Executive Director for BasicsProject.org a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) research and education initiative focusing on Constitutional Literacy and the threats of Islamofascist jihadism and Progressive neo-Marxism. His writing has been recognized by the US House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention. His organization, BasicsProject.org, partnered in producing the original national symposium series addressing the root causes of radical Islamist terrorism. He is a member of the International Analyst Network and has been a featured guest on al Jazeera\’s Listening Post, Radio Belgrade One, ITN Production’s Truthloader Program in the UK and on Russia Today. He also serves as the managing editor for The New Media Journal. Mr. Salvato has appeared on The O\’Reilly Factor on FOX News Channel, and was featured in the documentary, “Ezekiel and the MidEast ‘Piece’ Process: Israel’s Neighbor States.” He is the author of the series \”Understanding the Threat of Radical Islam\”, an educational pamphlet series. Mr. Salvato is a regular guest on talk radio including on The Captain\’s America Radio Show, nationally syndicated by the Phoenix Broadcasting and ABC Starguide Satellite Networks, catering to the US Armed Forces around the world. He is also heard weekly on The Roth Show with Dr. Laurie Roth syndicated nationally on the IRN-USA Radio Network. Mr. Salvato’s opinion and analysis have been published by The American Enterprise Institute, The Washington Times, Accuracy in Media, Human Events, and are syndicated nationally. He is a featured political writer for EducationNews.org, BigGovernment.com and Examiner.com and is occasionally quoted in The Federalist.

Conservative Daily News

It Is Time, Democrats, to Send Mr. Reid Home

Reid: Get Europe on board before punishing Russia

He says the U.S. must not ‘go off without the European community.’ | Getty

The United States should hold off on punishing Russia until the European community is on board with a specific response to the growing crisis in Ukraine, the Senate’s top Democrat said Monday.

In an interview, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Congress should let the situation play out for “a while” before trying to impose any new sanctions on Russia, which is dispatching military forces into Crimea — forcing the West to scramble for a response.

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“The most important thing is for us – the United States – to make sure that we don’t go off without the European community,” Reid said Monday in the Capitol. “We have to work with them. Their interests are really paramount if we are going to do sanctions of some kind. We have to have them on board with us.”

(Also on POLITICO: Why Russia no longer fears the West)

The comments are Reid’s first since the crisis in Ukraine deepened over the weekend. Congressional leaders from both parties have condemned Russia’s actions in recent days but have said little about how they might proceed.

Reid said he’s spoken to White House chief of staff Denis McDonough “a couple times” about the situation and was scheduled to get a classified briefing from CIA Director John Brennan on Monday. McDonough also has spoken with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

If the U.S. ultimately takes action, Reid suggested the government could move to clamp down on the banking sector to hurt Russia, which he accidentally referred to as the Soviet Union.

(PHOTOS: Ukraine turmoil)

“We can pretty much control banking, which is so important to the Soviet Un – to the Russians,” Reid said with a grin. “How soon we forget, huh?”

“The main thing is the European community,” Reid said. “They need to be part of what we do.”

One reason to wait before pushing penalties on Russia: Gridlock that has brought most legislative activity to a halt in Congress.

“We couldn’t do congressional action if we wanted, we can’t get in the damn building,” Reid said. “I think we should just play this out for a while.”

(Also on POLITICO: Obama’s options on Ukraine)

The Nevada Democrat’s assessment comes as urgent talks take place in New York, where the United Nations Security Council plans to meet Monday, and in Brussels, where European Union leaders were engaged in emergency meetings over the escalating situation in Eastern Ukraine. The leaders of the 28-member European bloc plan to meet Thursday in Ukraine, just as Secretary of John Kerry travels to Kiev on Tuesday and as Vladimir Putin says he’s moving to protect Russians in the unstable country.

Making the rounds on the Sunday talk shows, Kerry raised the specter of potential punitive actions against Russia, insisting that the United States was united in its response.

“There could even be ultimately asset freezes, visa bans,” Kerry said Sunday on NBC. “There could be certainly a disruption of any of the normal trade routine, and there could be business drawback on investment in the country. The ruble is already going down and feeling the impact of this.”

(Also on POLITICO: Kerry to travel to Ukraine)

But there’s concern that imposing sanctions on Russia will have negative consequences on U.S. allies. Russia supplies massive amounts of natural gas to European countries and might decide to cut those ties in response to sanctions.

It remains to be seen whether Congress will do anything.

Reid’s No. 2, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said on CNN that the Senate should pass a resolution “condemning what Putin has done.” He added that the United States should clearly should state that if Ukraine will “stand up for real reform, then we’re going to back them through” the International Monetary Fund.

(Also on POLITICO: Odds slim for U.S. military action in Ukraine)

Still, a non-binding resolution is more symbolic than anything else, and there’s already pressure from Republicans for Congress to take more substantive action.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said over the weekend that Congress should “consider targeted sanctions against Russian persons and entities that undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): “I would fly the NATO flag as strongly as I could around Putin. I would suspend his membership in the G-8, be the G-7. The G-20 would become the G-19 at least for a year. And every day he stays in the Ukraine, I would add to it.”

POLITICO – TOP Stories

Reid: Get Europe on board before punishing Russia

Sen. Reid: The Koch Brothers Are "Un-American"

SEN. HARRY REID: What is going on with these two brothers who made billions of dollars last year in an attempt to buy our democracy is dishonest, deceptive, false and unfair. Just because you have huge amounts of money, you should not be able to run these false, misleading ads by the hundreds of millions of dollars. They hide behind all kinds of entities, Mr. President. It’s not just their front organization, Americans for Prosperity, but they give money to all kinds of organizations, lots of money. You see, when you make billions of dollars a year you can be as immoral and dishonest as your money will allow you to be. It’s too bad that they’re trying to buy America, and it’s time that the American people spoke out against this terrible dishonesty of these two brothers who are about as un-American as anyone that I can imagine.

RealClearPolitics Video Log

Sen. Reid: The Koch Brothers Are "Un-American"

Reid: GOP tactics justify going nuclear

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Republican pushback against the change in the filibuster rules is evidence that the rewrite was needed.

Senate Republicans took turns speaking through the night on the floor to stall votes for nominees that are being moved under the new rules enacted last month.

Continue Reading

“It’s the picture of why we had to change the rules around here, wasting all this time,” Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters on Thursday. “We are wasting all of our time on nominations and not leaving us any time to get to substantive issues.”

(Also on POLITICO: Boehner: Outside groups ‘lost all credibility’)

Under the new rules agreed to by a majority vote – referred to as the nuclear option – the Senate changed the threshold to approve most presidential nominees by a simple majority instead of the long-held standard of 60 votes.

Reid called on Republicans senators to allow votes on the budget deal and defense authorization to quickly move through the Senate.

“We don’t have a lot of time before Christmas, but we’re going to do those two things and a number of nominations we have to complete,” Reid said. “I understand Republicans are still upset … I can’t wave a magic wand and heal hurt feelings.”

(Also on POLITICO: Pelosi on deal: ‘Embrace the suck’)

Reid repeatedly pointed to Republicans dragging out nominee votes this week as a defense using the nuclear option.

“I say again, what they’re doing the last few days is a picture of why we had to change the rules, nothing but obstruction in big capital letters,” Reid said.

POLITICO – Congress

Reid: GOP tactics justify going nuclear

Reid admits Fail - The People Now

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Reid admits Fail - The People Now

Reid Blocks Measure to Keep Tax Credits from Illegal Aliens

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Reid Blocks Measure to Keep Tax Credits from Illegal Aliens

Blast from the Past: Harry Reid Claimed Income Taxes are “Voluntary”

Source: libertyblitzkrieg.com

With Harry Reid in deep negotiations with crony Republican fraud Mitch McConnell, the American public is surely in the process of getting royally screwed once again. Thus, it seems like an appropriate time to revisit an interview in which Mr. Reid claimed on camera that income taxes are “voluntary.” He must have accidentally described the way members of Congress view taxes, you know kind of like how they view insider trading. 

As you watch, try not to get too distracted by Jan Helfeld’s tie. Where can you even buy something like that?!

BlackListedNews.com

Blast from the Past: Harry Reid Claimed Income Taxes are “Voluntary”

Pressure is on Reid, McConnell to make a deal

On Sunday, Reid said he and McConnell had a ‘productive’ discussion. | AP Photos

Time is running out.

All eyes are on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as they hold last-minute talks to prevent the U.S. government from defaulting on its $ 16.7 trillion debt and potentially plunging the country back into a recession.

Continue Reading

Any bipartisan agreement needs to come together very soon – either Monday or Tuesday – or else the nation runs a serious risk of running out of the ability to borrow money. In 2011, a last-minute deal to lift the debt limit resulted in a credit downgrade of U.S. debt.

(PHOTOS: 25 great shutdown quotes)

After a weekend legislative session in the Senate and House, talks appear to be at a standstill, largely because of disagreements over future spending levels. That’s leading to a sharp downtick in the U.S. market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down nearly 100 points. Overseas markets were down slightly overnight, but the chorus of calls from foreign governments for U.S. leaders to end their fiscal infighting is getting louder by the day.

That the federal government is closed for the 14th straight day is getting lost in this debate, as hundreds of thousands of federal workers remained furloughed until Congress and the White House can reach a deal to end the partisan stalemate.

On Sunday, Reid said he and McConnell had a “productive” discussion, but no deal was reached. Some Senate Democrats are pushing to end the sequester spending levels enacted under the 2011 Budget Control Act, a non-starter for McConnell and House Republicans.

McConnell is also aiming to change President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, but Republican efforts to repeal or defund Obamacare have largely ended.

(Also on POLITICO: The ire next time)

On another track, House Republican leadership is readying itself to lift the debt ceiling for six weeks. House GOP aides stress that no decisions have been made, but this legislation is unlikely to be “clean” – meaning it will contain a number of conservative policies attached. Options under consideration include language to cancel health insurance subsidies for members of Congress, their aides and the White House, and an amendment to tighten requirements for health-insurance related subsidies.

House Republicans are expected to meet Tuesday morning to discuss their options. A topsy-turvy day in financial markets could create some pressure to act. The Senate will hold a vote on judicial nominations Monday afternoon, in order to have all senators in one place at one time.

If something comes out of the Senate, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will be in a difficult spot. The House and Senate have been miles apart all year, and Boehner will likely have to put something on the floor that will pass with minimal Republican support.

Boehner has a few options. He could pass his own bill, which would face an uncertain future in the Senate. He could pass a Senate deal, if it comes together — a legislative defeat for House Republicans. Or he could change what comes up in the Senate, and send it back — that scenario seems most likely, since House Republicans will want their imprimatur on whatever becomes law.

POLITICO – Congress

Pressure is on Reid, McConnell to make a deal

Pressure is on Reid, McConnell to make a deal

On Sunday, Reid said he and McConnell had a ‘productive’ discussion. | AP Photos

Time is running out.

All eyes are on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as they hold last-minute talks to prevent the U.S. government from defaulting on its $ 16.7 trillion debt and potentially plunging the country back into a recession.

Continue Reading

Any bipartisan agreement needs to come together very soon – either Monday or Tuesday – or else the nation runs a serious risk of running out of the ability to borrow money. In 2011, a last-minute deal to lift the debt limit resulted in a credit downgrade of U.S. debt.

(PHOTOS: 25 great shutdown quotes)

After a weekend legislative session in the Senate and House, talks appear to be at a standstill, largely because of disagreements over future spending levels. That’s leading to a sharp downtick in the U.S. market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down nearly 100 points. Overseas markets were down slightly overnight, but the chorus of calls from foreign governments for U.S. leaders to end their fiscal infighting is getting louder by the day.

That the federal government is closed for the 14th straight day is getting lost in this debate, as hundreds of thousands of federal workers remained furloughed until Congress and the White House can reach a deal to end the partisan stalemate.

On Sunday, Reid said he and McConnell had a “productive” discussion, but no deal was reached. Some Senate Democrats are pushing to end the sequester spending levels enacted under the 2011 Budget Control Act, a non-starter for McConnell and House Republicans.

McConnell is also aiming to change President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, but Republican efforts to repeal or defund Obamacare have largely ended.

(Also on POLITICO: The ire next time)

On another track, House Republican leadership is readying itself to lift the debt ceiling for six weeks. House GOP aides stress that no decisions have been made, but this legislation is unlikely to be “clean” – meaning it will contain a number of conservative policies attached. Options under consideration include language to cancel health insurance subsidies for members of Congress, their aides and the White House, and an amendment to tighten requirements for health-insurance related subsidies.

House Republicans are expected to meet Tuesday morning to discuss their options. A topsy-turvy day in financial markets could create some pressure to act. The Senate will hold a vote on judicial nominations Monday afternoon, in order to have all senators in one place at one time.

If something comes out of the Senate, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will be in a difficult spot. The House and Senate have been miles apart all year, and Boehner will likely have to put something on the floor that will pass with minimal Republican support.

Boehner has a few options. He could pass his own bill, which would face an uncertain future in the Senate. He could pass a Senate deal, if it comes together — a legislative defeat for House Republicans. Or he could change what comes up in the Senate, and send it back — that scenario seems most likely, since House Republicans will want their imprimatur on whatever becomes law.

POLITICO – Congress

Pressure is on Reid, McConnell to make a deal

Reid: "I am not a criminal"

Reid says the National Review ‘better get a different definition of me.’ | Reuters

There will be no charm offensive from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said Wednesday that Republicans are “obsessed” with beating him in a political chess match rather than opening back up the government.

“Some in the Republican conference are too mad at me personally, too obsessed at getting me personally to back down from doing what most of America believes is the right thing,” Reid said, again reiterating that the Senate’s six-week clean spending bill is the only way out of a shutdown.

Continue Reading

Rep. Larson’s screaming rant

The Nevada Democrat also defended his role in fighting Republican attempts to water down Obamacare as a condition to keeping the government open, responding directly to a National Review piece that called him the “villain of villains.”

“When I read this yesterday, I thought, no one likes to be called a villain,” Reid said, reading aloud definitions of the word that mean “uncouth,” “scoundrel” or “criminal.” “I am not a criminal. I am not a scoundrel. So they better get a different definition of me.”

As the federal government woke up to its second day of a shutdown, Reid came to the Senate floor to rip House Republicans for taking their cues from tea party “anarchists” like Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and not concede anything on Obamacare. Of Cruz, Reid said the Texas freshman firebrand “goes over to the House and tells them what to do.”

“When your latest brilliant plan came from the same person that proposed the dumbest idea ever — according to one of his own Republican senators here — I would [see] this [as]a sign that you are on the wrong track,” Reid said. “It is time to stop throwing one crazy idea after another at the wall in hopes that something will stick. There’s been a sensible plan to reopen the government: A clean six-week resolution that opens the government today — and we passed in the Senate last week.”

Reid’s blistering floor remarks kicked off a day in the Senate mostly devoted to messaging. Senate Democrats will appear alongside furloughed federal workers at a press conference on Wednesday, seeking for a second day to paint the cutoff in government services as a consequence of the “Republican shutdown” — and wait for House Republicans to cave.

POLITICO – Congress

Reid: "I am not a criminal"

Reid Supporter Whittemore Gets 2 Years in Campaign Cash Case

RENO (AP) — Ex-Nevada power broker Harvey Whittemore admitted he was “arrogant and naive” but insisted “I’m not greedy” before a judge sentenced him Monday to two years in prison for funneling more than $ 130,000 in illegal campaign funds to Sen. Harry Reid’s re-election committee in 2007.

U.S. District Court Judge Larry Hicks also ordered Whittemore to pay $ 100,000 in fines for his three felony convictions and serve 100 hours community service upon his release from a yet-to-be determined prison that houses white-collar criminals.

The 61-year-old former lobbyist and wealthy developer is to surrender on his own to federal authorities on Jan. 31, 2014.

“These offenses go to the very heart of our electoral process,” Hicks said.

Prosecutors said Whittemore gave money to family members and employees in 2007 to make contributions he had promised to Reid while concealing himself as the true source to skirt campaign finance laws.

Reid has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He has said he was unaware of any potential problems with the money he received.

Whittemore insisted through his lawyers he didn’t know he was breaking the law. He tearfully addressed the court for the first time directly for more than a half-hour of Monday’s six-hour sentencing hearing, halting several times to compose himself, remove his glasses to wipe his tears, and at one point check on a daughter who was crying in the courtroom gallery.

“Looking back, it was arrogant and naive to believe my conduct was lawful, but I cannot change that now. As a lawyer I gave myself bad advice,” Whittemore said. “I am sincerely, wholly sorry for my wrong decision and I’m here in a state of utter shame.”

Prosecutors wanted the judge to send Whittemore to prison for more than four years, while Whittemore’s lawyers argued he should be spared prison time based partly on his history of extraordinary charitable giving.

Whittemore was convicted in May on three felony counts related to his use of conduit, or “straw” donors, to take money he gave them and in turn write checks totaling more than $ 133,000 to Reid’s 2007 re-election campaign. The jury deadlocked on a fourth charge of lying to the FBI.

Hicks said he was deviating from the sentencing guidelines that suggested a minimum of 41 months in prison partly because of Whittemore’s history of extraordinary charitable giving — an estimated $ 12 million over the past 20 years, much of it to promote medical research, athletics and education at the University of Nevada, Reno. But the judge the crimes were too serious to justify probation without prison time.

“The evidence shows black and white where the money came from — from Mr. Whittemore to his friends and family and employees all for the purpose of them making phony contributions to Harry Reid,” Hicks said.

“Nobody is above the law. There simply must be just punishment for serious felony offense like these,” he said.

Prosecutors described Whittemore as a greedy, power-hungry, unrepentant crook whose “well-conceived and well-executed scheme” was intended to skirt federal election laws by hiding the true source of the money.

His “motivation to do so was not borne from political ideology, hero worship or naivete. Rather it was a knowing and cynical act, conceived in greed, arrogance and the lust for power,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre said.

“He knew what he was doing was wrong but did it anyway,” he said.

Whittemore told the judge Monday he was “stunned” to hear prosecutors characterize him as greedy.

“I am not greedy,” he said. “I didn’t do this for greed. I didn’t do this for power. I didn’t do it for any other reason than a friend asked me to raise money. … I did it in a way that was wrong.”

Whittemore’s lawyers had argued Nevadans would be better served if he was sentenced to probation and community service so he can make up for his mistakes by continuing his philanthropy.

“Confinement would only serve to strip him of that productivity and arguably divest northern Nevada of one of its most active community leaders,” defense lawyer Dominic Gentile said.

“Let him do some good, judge,” Gentile said Monday. “Warehousing Harvey Whittemore isn’t going to do any good for anybody, certainly not in this community.”

Hicks said at the close of the sentencing he’d forgotten to add the 100 days of community service to the punishment. Whittemore responded, “Community service is not punishment, your honor.” 

RealClearPolitics – Articles

Reid Supporter Whittemore Gets 2 Years in Campaign Cash Case

Kevin McCarthy: House Will Send Third Volley to Senate If Reid Rejects Last Night’s Bill

Jonathan Strong
National Review
Sept. 29, 2013

House GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy said the House will send a third government funding the bill with “a few other options” if the Democratically-controlled Senate rejects the bill passed in the House last night as expected.

“We will pass a bill…that will keep the government open, that will reflect the House, that I believe the Senate can accept, that will have fundamental changes to Obamacare that can protect the economy for America,” McCarthy said on Fox News Sunday.

The remarks confirm National Review Online’s reporting yesterday that House leadership is considering an 11th-hour play like passing a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) with language added to end a subsidy for congressional staffers to purchase health insurance with.

Read More

This article was posted: Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 9:23 am

Tags: constitution, domestic news, healthcare, legislation

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Infowars

Kevin McCarthy: House Will Send Third Volley to Senate If Reid Rejects Last Night’s Bill

Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid Reminisce About David Vitter"s Prostitution Scandal

Republican Sen. David Vitter won’t stop bashing Obamacare on the Senate floor this week, and that’s annoyed top Democrats Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid. Vitter demanded a vote on his Obamacare amendment to an unrelated energy and efficiency bill. It’s too bad for Vitter that Reid and Boxer remember the year 2007 — they reportedly floated legislation right back that’s intended to remind everyone of Vitter’s history with prostitutes.

Vitter’s amendment would have gotten rid of government contributions that help cover federal workers’ health care coverage. According to the National Journal, Reid and Boxer floated legislation that “would ban senators from getting government contributions for their health insurance costs if there is ‘probable cause’ they solicited prostitutes.” In 2007, Vitter got embarrassingly caught up in the “D.C. Madam” scandal when his phone number surfaced during an investigation of a D.C. prostitution ring. He addressed the issue by saying he committed a “very serious sin.” 

Vitter told Politico that Reid is acting like an “old-time Vegas mafia thug.” Vitter’s now calling for an ethics investigation focusing on another draft of Reid and Boxer’s legislation. That draft proposes to deny health insurance coverage to those who vote for Vitter’s Obamacare amendment — Vitter says that’s bribery. As it happens, Boxer is the Chairman of the ethics committee.

Vitter noted that Boxer should be stripped of her membership on the committee if she’s found guilty. Boxer told the National Journal late Friday, ”Senator Vitter has manufactured a bizarre and phony attack that demeans the Senate.” And they say nothing gets done in Congress. 

The Atlantic Wire

Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid Reminisce About David Vitter"s Prostitution Scandal