The Blue State

Reid investigated for ties with Abramoff

Is it time for fresh blood in the Democratic Senate Leadership?

As if we have not heard enough about the allegations of corruption involving each of the candidates running for House Majority Leader, there is trouble on the Senate side as well.  Jack Abramoff is talking to federal prosecutors while in jail.  The convicted lobbyist has apparently told FBI agents about his ties with new Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  This is not good:

As convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff reported to federal prison today, asource close to the investigation surrounding his activities told ABCNews that Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was one of the members of CongressAbramoff had allegedly implicated in his cooperation with federalprosecutors.

A spokesperson for Reid, elected yesterday as the Senate MajorityLeader, said the senator had done nothing illegal or unethical.

"We have no idea what Abramoff is telling prosecutors to save hisskin, but I do know that these kind of old allegations are completelyridiculous and untrue," Sen. Reid's spokesman Jim Manley told ABCNews.

A source close to the investigation says Abramoff told prosecutorsthat more than $30,000 in campaign contributions to Reid fromAbramoff's clients "were no accident and were in fact requested byReid."

Abramoff has reportedly claimed the Nevada senator agreed to help him on matters related to Indian gambling. 

The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Reid wrote atleast four letters helpful to the tribes that had contributed money tohis campaign.

 

Obviously this is preliminary news, and we won't know whether this is true or not until it is confirmed by multiple sources.

If this is indeed true, then Harry Reid (NV) should not serve as our Senate Majority Leader.  It's as simple as that.  Our majority got elected last week so that we could clean up Washington starting this January.  But now it is looking more and more like the progressive blogosphere will need to give some in the Democratic leadership a reminder that we vote for ethics before partisanship.  We believe that setting an honest and open precedent is more important than reciting machine-style talking points from figure heads like the kind we hear all too often on the Republican side (i.e. Sean Hannity).  Sorry we don't give blind trust like the other side.  But this is where we draw the line in the sand.

Now, quite possibly, this whole Abramoff-Reid connection could turn out to be a bunch of falsehoods.  If all these allegations are a lie, then good luck to Mr. Reid in the coming two years.  But if it is true, then we need a major shake-up in the Democratic Party.  I would even go out on a limb and say that Hillary Clinton should replace Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader.  Not only would this prevent her from running for president (which would be good!), but she would also make an excellent Senate Leader.  Amid all the negative publicity that Hillary Clinton gets, she is an extremely focused Senator.  Even from the very first time she appeared in the pre-impeachment hearings for Richard Nixon, she was legislative material.  The Senate is where she belongs.  A lot could get accomplished under her watch, especially with her ability to rally votes.  Most importantly, she is not a corrupt individual.  She favors certain issues over others.  But in the end, she has not been in the Senate long enough to have buddied up with K-Street.

In the mean time, I hope we can finally get to the bottom of the Harry Reid scandal, if there is a scandal at all.

Nevada: The new political epicenter of the west

As society goes, so goes political power.

Republican strategists like to brag that in 2004 George W. Bush carried 97 of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the country.  Most of those counties were out west in states like Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.  Of those three states, Nevada is seeing the largest influx of new residents partly because the Las Vegas area has one of the best job markets in the country.

Just as Nevada is booming with new residents, it is also quickly becoming the political epicenter of the west.  Within the last few months, the Democratic Party announced that Nevada will hold its presidential caucus before New Hampshire has its primary.  Other than putting more of a financial burden on the 2008 hopefuls to spend more money on air-travel in between Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire in January of that year, within just weeks it is turned into a stomping ground for individuals, like as John Edwards, who are toying with the possibility of running.  Just last Tuesday the former vice presidential candidate joined Harry Reid in Reno, Nevada as the two rallied candidates running for state offices.  Why else would someone like Edwards travel clear across the country to hold a rally for local Democrats other than to possibly turn new relationships into presidential endorsements a year from now?

And it is not just the Democratic nomination that has made Nevada the most politically powerful state in the west.  An article in Sunday's Washington Post spotlights the state's two senators -- Democrat Harry Reid and Republican Mitch McConnell -- both of which have a shot at becoming the next Senate Majority Leader.  Reid is currently the Minority Leader, and would simply take over the Majority Leader status if the Democrats take control of the Senate.  On the Republican side, Bill Frist's retirement opens the door for McConnell to be the top Republican.  As the newspaper added, the two have a western independent streak about them:

McConnell was one ofthree GOP senators to vote against a constitutional ban on flagdesecration, which failed this year by one vote. Reid was among 14Democrats who backed it. Reid bucks Democratic orthodoxy by opposinglegalized abortion in most circumstances.

Still, both men, Simpson said, will have to play down their partisantendencies and emphasize their desire for legislative accomplishmentsif the next Congress is to succeed. "It doesn't matter who the leaderis if there's no outreach to the other party," he said.

Suchefforts have begun. Reid phoned McConnell shortly before Congressrecessed last month "to discuss his desire to work together next yearon a bipartisan basis to work on the priorities of the Americanpeople," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley. He said McConnell "expressed asimilar desire and willingness."

Think about how unprecedented it would be to have the Senate leaders from each party hail from the state of Nevada.  Think about how their close relationship and geographical distance from Washington might lead to more bipartisanship for the rest of the country, overturning the gridlock we see today on lobbyist-infested Capitol Hill.  That kind of dual western independent leadership might be what our country really needs at a tough time like this.

The shift of political power out west only underscores the growing importance that the region plays in American life.

TN-Sen: Ford strikes back in ad

Tennessee Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford unveiled a new ad that responded to Republican attacks on his faith and his record.  This comes as an internal poll released yesterday put Ford up by two points on Republican candidate Bob Corker.

You can view the ad below.

This ad was really impressive, although more will be needed to turn around Ford's negative image in the last week and a half.

The final Senate debate between Ford and Corker will be on Saturday in Nashville.

Hillary Clinton as next Senate Majority Leader?

This one came out of nowhere!  Steve Clemons over at The Washington Note is reporting that there is buzz within inner circles of the Democratic Party about Harry Reid's disinterest in remaining the Democratic Senate leader past 2008.  Reid apparently wants Hillary Clinton to take his spot:

First of all, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, whom most give highmarks for the manner in which he has stewarded the Dems in the Senatedespite the absence of a clear Democratic Party chief, has sent privatesignals to Senator Hillary Clinton and other stalwarts of the partythat he "would like to" step down from his post in early 2009. Reid hasnot stated definitively that he will -- but he apparently prefers"whipping" the Party from behind and the side rather than serving ascommander-in-chief on the Senate floor.

What Reid is offering Senator Hillary Clinton is his total, robustsupport to succeed him as Senate Majority Leader if she elects not topursue the Democratic nomination for President.

Many are realizing that the electoral map is not something one canwave a magic wand over and reverse the views of 42% of Americans whobelieve that they know Hillary Clinton well and have strongly formedviews of her and will not vote for her under any conditions --according to recent polls. Reports are that Senator Clinton herselfknows this and that her own enthusiasm for running (for President) actually trails thatof her husband, her advisors, and her staff -- whose enthusiasm for therace is ranked in that order with Hillary the least enthusiastic.

Some Republican Senators have been privately queried -- not by Reid but by high level Republican Party funders(Northeast Republicans) who are frustrated with Bush, unsure of McCain,and considering supporting alternative candidates like Mark Warner --what they think of Hillary Clinton serving as either Senate DemocraticLeader, either in the Majority or Minority. Senators such as SenatorChuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, and Lindsay Graham have reportedly saidthat they would welcome Senator Clinton in such a role, albeit from theother side of the aisle.

If Clinton did take the position, it would sure shock the same conspiracy theorist conservatives who thought it was inevitable that she would run for president.

Although she is not my personal top pick to replace Reid, she still would make an excellent Democratic Senate Leader.  I would strongly prefer that she run for that position than for president.  It would be better for Hillary politically, especially since a lot of Republicans were looking forward to her running for president.  They couldn't wait to smear her!  It would be hilarious if she caught everyone off guard by sticking with the Senate instead.  Hillary Clinton helps provide some of the fire within the Republican base because they perceive her as polarizing.  It would really be a let down to them if she declared that she was not running in 2008.  I like the sound of it a lot!

As for my preference to replace Reid goes, here are my picks in order: Pat Leahy, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, Kent Conrad, and Joe Biden.

-----------------------------------------------

Other sites blogging about this story: Las Vegas Gleaner, The Left Coaster, Make Me a Commentator.

Senate will agree to drilling -- but will the House budge?

8.3 million acres right off the Florida coast will no longer be protected from drilling once the Senate passes a measure today.  The Senate is expected to back a bill that would continue the line of thinking that we can drill our way out of high gas prices.  Yesterday the Senate voted 72 to 23 to abruptly cut off debate on the measure.

Last week Harry Reid warned everyone that this bill was a trick:

"This bill is not going to fix America's energy needs and it's not going to solve America's energy crisis," Reid said. "This bill will do nothing to bring down gasoline or diesel prices."

Granted the Senate version is better than the House bill, which would have allowed oil companies to drill as close as 50 miles from the Florida shore.  But this is not a long-term solution.  Want to know a real long-term solution?  Try Steny Hoyer's bill for example.

Once the Senate bill passes, the House and Senate will have to work out a compromise.  Harry Reid and fellow Democrats have promised to filibuster the House's version.
----------------------------------------------------
Other blogs writing about this issue: FLA Politics.

Reid wants intelligence truths on Iran

After 9/11, Neo-conservatives wanted the President to invoke a policy of preemption, which he ultimately ended up doing.  Now, Harry Reid is invoking some preemption of his own with Iran:

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said here Saturdaythat he will seek greater transparency from the Bush administrationabout possible threats posed by Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Hesaid he wants to prevent possible misuse of intelligence as theadministration deals with the crisis.

Speaking before a partisanaudience of Internet bloggers and Democratic activists, Reid said heplans to introduce legislation next week that would require a newnational intelligence estimate for Iran, along with an unclassifiedsummary that could form the basis for a public debate about possibleaction if Tehran continues to seek nuclear weapons.

He also said he will require Director of National Intelligence John D.Negroponte to demonstrate that he has in place a process to reviewpublic statements by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and otherofficials with regard to Iran. Many Democrats allege that Bush andCheney manipulated intelligence in making the public case for war withIraq.

"We face many threats -- threats that have grown worse -- because thisadministration took its eye off the ball," he said in remarks preparedfor delivery. "We must address these threats, but we must not bemanipulated into acting for ideological or political gain."

I will be particularly interested to see whether or not the 2008 Republican prospects, such as John McCain and George Allen, end up supporting Reid's resolution.  If they refuse, then whoever becomes the Democratic nominee in 2008 can rightfully say that McCain (or Allen) voted against both transparency and accountability.

What Harry Reid did was perfectly legal

A huge fuss has been created because Harry Reid accepted free boxing tickets.  This is part of an effort led by conservative personalities on both talk-radio and Fox News television to try and prove that Congressional Democrats are no less corrupt than their Republican counterparts.  But before we start comparing Harry Reid to Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham, let's make sure we know the specifics.

Reid accepted these boxing tickets between 2003 and 2005 courtesy of the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC), which is not a private firm.  The NAC is a state-run wing of the Department of Business and Industry in Nevada, and was created in the year 1941 by the Nevada legislature.  So what we have here is a public agency in Nevada allowing a public official in Nevada to have free access to one of its events.

So why the fuss?  Conservatives raise the point that Reid received those free boxing tickets from the NAC at the same time as the agency was lobbying the U.S. Senate to vote on a measure that would have positively impacted that industry.  So was Reid bought off?  As it turns out, Reid actually voted against the side of NAC anyway -- meaning that Reid's vote was not impacted by the free tickets that they gave him.

Reid, a former boxer himself, has served the NAC as a boxing judge.  Surely the NAC, not to mention just about every government agency, rewards those that serve in the public sector.  This is completely different than Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham, who advanced a system that allowed private firms to manipulate the votes of lawmakers.  While Harry Reid's boxing tickets that he lawfully received from the state were each around one-thousand dollars, Duke Cunningham made an estimated $2 million in bribes from Jack Abramoff's private firm.

See the clear distinction?  Fox News and the rest of the Republican noise machine need to pick their fights more wisely.