Reid relishes role of attack dog

[Geee]

TheHill:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) bashing of Mitt Romney has sparked a debate over whether he has gone too far, but Democrats are happy to cheer him on.

Reid has adopted the role of attack dog with relish, repeatedly bashing Romney for his wealth and record as CEO of Bain Capital.

It’s an unusual brawl from the standpoint that congressional leaders usually moderate their rhetoric and also because he and Romney are two of the highest profile Mormons in national politics.

 

Some political veterans cannot imagine House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) dishing similar shots at Romney.

“I do think that Harry is a fearless leader,” said former Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Calif.). “I think Nancy is totally focused now on raising the money and working her base to make her party competitive in the face of super-PACs. Unfortunately people think of her as a polarizing figure and she’s probably not doing anything to aid or abet this [perception].”

It’s a reprise of Reid’s tactics in the 2008 election, when he called Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the GOP nominee, “erratic” and declared he did not have the temperament to be president.

Reid famously announced that year he could not stand McCain, a long-time colleague. It was a shocking statement in the clubby Senate.

Democrats say they are grateful to have a leader who is playing tough with Republicans while admitting it may color Reid’s reputation in the future.

Republicans are fuming over Reid’s rhetoric, which has been unusually harsh for a congressional leader. They say it is a breach of Senate decorum.

Independent political experts say Reid has pushed the envelope but note that Republicans deserve blame as well for escalating partisan tensions.

Reid this week claimed Romney did not pay federal taxes for ten years. He said he was informed by a Bain investor who called his office.

Reid went further to slam Romney for only releasing one year of tax returns, drawing a contrast with Romney’s father, George, who released 12 years of returns while running for president in 1968.

“His poor father must be so embarrassed about his son,” Reid told The Huffington Post.

The statement drew an angry rebuke from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who said, “the majority leader has more important things to do than use the Senate as a forum for his baseless accusations.

“Frankly, it’s beneath the dignity of his office,” he added.

[Valin]

@Geee

 

I guess it really is true That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,

[Pepper]

@Geee

 

I guess it really is true That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,

 

"When I was a Tadpole and You were a Fish

When I was a tadpole and you were a fish

In the Paleozoic time,

And side by side on the ebbing tide,

We sprawled through the ooze and slime,

Or skittered with many a caudal flip,

Through the depths of the Cambrian fen,

My heart was rife with the joy of life,

For I loved you even then.

 

Langdon Smith, 1895

[Geee]

@Geee

 

I guess it really is true That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,

 

"When I was a Tadpole and You were a Fish

When I was a tadpole and you were a fish

In the Paleozoic time,

And side by side on the ebbing tide,

We sprawled through the ooze and slime,

Or skittered with many a caudal flip,

Through the depths of the Cambrian fen,

My heart was rife with the joy of life,

For I loved you even then.

 

Langdon Smith, 1895

 

You are SUCH a romantic