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babylonsister

(171,056 posts) Thu Mar 6, 2014, 08:09 PM Mar 2014

Harry Reid to Politico: 'Get a brain, OK?'

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/06/1282599/-Harry-Reid-to-Politico-Get-a-brain-OK?detail=facebook

Thu Mar 06, 2014 at 08:11 AM PST
Harry Reid to Politico: 'Get a brain, OK?'

by Joan McCarter

This might be the most refreshing interview Politico has ever conducted with a politician. Politico's Manu Raju and Burgess Everett sat down with Harry Reid, but don't take his admonition seriously, judging by the results in this story.

Republicans think Harry Reid is running the Senate like a dictator: His no-compromise style is almost like Vladimir Putin’s, and his inflammatory rhetoric is reminiscent of the Joe McCarthy era.

But Reid doesn’t seem to care.

"Get a brain, OK?" the Senate majority leader snapped at a reporter, when asked why he doesn't permit far more votes on GOP amendments. "You're a smart guy."

In an interview this week in his Senate office, a feisty Reid pushed back aggressively against Republican complaints over his leadership, pinning the blame entirely on the GOP for the gridlock and polarization that define the historically unproductive 113th Congress.

snip//

But this might be the worst Politico has to offer:

In Reid's mind, it's Republicans who have shifted and tossed out their moderate wing, particularly during the Obama era. He says the likes of Karl Rove and McConnell made it their top priority to make Obama a one-term president to "make him look bad" by denying him legislative achievements. GOP senators, he said, tie up Senate votes by making far-fetched demands that are not policed by Republican leaders, such as Louisiana Sen. David Vitter’s demand for votes to slash Capitol Hill health care subsidies, leading to the obstruction of even the most routine business.

In Reid's mind? He's just imagining the tea party took over? He just imagined it when Mitch McConnell said his top priority was denying President Obama a second term? (Which Politico reported on, btw.) He's just imagined all those bullshit amendments, every cloture vote required on every nominee—even those that end up garnering 100 affirmative votes? He's imagined the most filibusters ever forced? Politico reporters obviously don't spend enough time with C-SPAN2.

The last thing Reid should be apologetic for is speaking the truth about Republican obstruction. And he really doesn't need to apologize for telling Politico reporters to get a brain.