Reid: We won't smell the tourists anymore

[ben_meyers]

The Capitol Visitors Center, which opened this morning, may have tripled its original budget and fallen years behind schedule, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid found a silver lining for members of Congress: tourists won't offend them with their B.O. anymore.

"My staff tells me not to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway," said Reid in his remarks. "In the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it's true."

But it's no longer going to be true, noted Reid, thanks to the air conditioned, indoor space.

And that's not all. "We have many bathrooms here, as you can see," Reid continued. "Souvenirs are available."

$621 million well spent.

That's how our elected representatives view us, just smelly rabble.

http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/YeasandNays/Reid_We_wont_smell_the_tourists_anymore_12_02_2008.html

[DS1]

1. what an idiot that guy is

[Parche]

3. he was talking about DuStrange

that guy doesnt use deoderant....:woohoo: :hi:

[Critters2]

44. Parche!

:rofl:

[Lex]

2. Large groups of people in the summertime in DC

or somewhere hot would be on the odoriferous side. Maybe he shouldn't have said it outright like that, but it's got to be true.

[Captain Hilts]

11. It's true, actually. People who come to DC often have no clue how hot and humid it is.

It's just brutal in the summer. Especially when it's busiest - Late June, early July.

People who work on Capitol Hill change into work clothes at the office in the summer. The red line getting off at Union Station looks like the bus to the beach in the summer.

[CBGLuthier]

36. You can say that again

We were there in July. Walked from the train station to the Lincoln memorial but we took a cab back. Humidity was 99% and it started raining as we left town. I can see why they all bail in August.

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. Anybody who has visited DC in the summer knows how sweaty it is there

Particularly in those crowded touristy government buildings that have no AC. The money was well spent.

[onehandle]

9. The capitol in particular is uncomfortable. I'm looking forward to visiting the center in Jan. nt

[XOKCowboy]

40. DC humidity is a killer!

I've been there dozens of times and it's a 2+ shower a day city. I've stood in line at the Air & Space Museum and experienced exactly what Harry was talking about. I'm sure that I was the same way. Heck I've walked the Mall late at night and broken out in a flop sweat.

Harry might have been a little more PC in his statement but I know exactly what he means.

[Sanity Claws]

5. He'd never have made it in the diplomatic corps

It shows his mindset. He's concerned about his nose being offended. A true democrat would be happy that the population would not have to suffer through the heat and humidity of a DC summer. He thinks of himself, not the people he was sent there to represent.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. Just another fucking member of The Old White Guys Club.

Nothing more, nothing less.

[Deja Q]

20. He let that one dude of that one religion pray on the floor - that dude wasn't white.

Was he being patronizing?

[cherokeeprogressive]

28. Either patronizing or politically expedient.

He's LDS. For me, that says enough about him. And, while there may be women and people of color in the Senate, it's STILL the Old White Guys Club. You can argue that all day. I ain't smellin' what you're cookin'.

"He delivered a speech at BYU to about 4,000 students on October 9, 2007 in which he affirmed that Democratic values mirror Mormon values." WTF? Democratic values mirror Mormon values? WTFF?

He also believes that men should be in the position of deciding for a woman how she should treat her body. THAT'S Old White Guy thinking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Reid

[BoneDaddy]

25. So now in the interest of not offending anyone

we will deny reality? We will deny that often people do not practice good hygiene in an effort not to be seen as offensive?

I cannot tell you how many times I need to spray down my office after someone without a concept of personal hygiene leaves.

[cherokeeprogressive]

31. Oh please.

I taught Adult Vocational Education for 10 years. Most of the people I taught computer operations to were either on unemployment, or welfare. Some had been unemployed for too long to collect unemployment any longer. In So. Cal., the temperature regularly gets into the triple digit range.

In my ten years of teaching, I can count on two hands the number of people whose body odor I found offensive. What kind of people do you deal with that you have to "spray down" your office after they leave? Or is it just that your nose is waaaay more cultured and sensitive than mine?

[BoneDaddy]

48. Are you for real?

I am not talking about being more "cultured or sensitive", I am talking full out stink. Many people simply do not care about how they smell. Dirty clothes, unwashed bodies, no deoderant. Parents and kids. I work in a high school and you would be amazed about how often I need to refreshen the office.

[madokie]

7. And he can smell us over his own hind end

I think not. What a douche nozzle

[bdamomma]

8. that is highly insulting.

to tourists.

[BoneDaddy]

26. Those poor tourists

how will they ever recover?

[bdamomma]

42. maybe they can't afford deodorant!!!

[BoneDaddy]

49. Okay here is your logic

They can afford to be tourists but cannot afford deoderant. Well done!!!

They can take tours, eat on the run, pay admission fees, cab rides, bus or other transportation, a vacation, but cannot afford a three dollar (at most) bar of Speed Stick. Lol. you crack me up.

Some liberals will find every excuse to excuse others.

[Rebubula]

39. meh..

I live in DC and I wish that tourists would get insulted a little more.

[Fovea]

10. And they say Congress is too isolated

from the common crowd.

OMG, You can smell Americans!

[FedUpWithIt All]

12. Eh, fuck him.We OWN that building. He is OUR guest. He is insulting his host. n/t

[AlCzervik]

13. i hope they can also install a nice sound system to drown out the noise from the peasants

so Reid doesn't have to hear them.

My god he's just too good for this world.

[spanone]

14. 621 million would buy a lot of deodorant harry

[izquierdista]

15. Reid has a trained nose

Growing up in Searchlight, that was how you were able to tell when another human was within 10 miles: hold your head up to the wind and sniff. If you didn't smell anyone new, it was back to digging in your hole in the ground.

[GodlessBiker]

16. Reid soon will be handing out free pieces of cake for the rabble to eat.

[Individualist]

27. Yep! DLC detests the rabble.

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. Nope..that's Pelosi's job.

She inherited it from Babs Bush..aka " The Silver Douchebag" ( ty, Carlin)

[DemBones DemBones]

17. People will still be hot and sweaty when they get there

so maybe Reid needs to stick potpourri up his nose.

This part worries me:

And that's not all. "We have many bathrooms here, as you can see," Reid continued. "Souvenirs are available."

Souvenirs of the bathrooms? Ewwwww.

[global1]

18. Just Another Reason For Obama To Dump Reid ......

this guy doesn't fit Obama's style. Reid needs to be replaced.

What a stupid thing for him to say. Real classy!!!!

[Deja Q]

19. He won't smell them. He'll ask them to pray on the Senate Floor

"Separation between Church and State", but if everyone else won't separate, neither will I...

[lob1]

21. I guess Reid thinks senators don't smell. I got news, when he's

in Washington, I can smell him here in L.A., and air conditioning won't fix it.

[rocktivity]

22. And to think that I was going to post a joke

pretending that I thought that Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid had said it.

x(
rocknation

[acmavm]

23. Well Harry, you have the stench of failure reeking out of every

pore of your skin.

Which is worse??

[Hippo_Tron]

24. The quote is taken out of context, he was remarking about how people won't have to wait outside

Boehner (of all people) said the same thing but with better words.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aukGXm6J8qGs&refer=us

As someone who has given capitol tours I can tell you that the way that some Representatives/Senators arrange for their staff to meet the group outside in the summer months is ridiculous. Furthermore the official Capitol Guide Services pretty much always has the groups wait outside.

The office I worked for ALWAYS had tour groups meet at the office or if it was a really big group, at least in the atrium of the office building. It solves the weather problem and it adds a personal touch to the tour to let your constituents see the office. Granted I worked on the Senate side. Given that there are only 100 Senators, the tunnel from the Senate Office Buildings to the capitol is manageable. With 435 Congressmen, the tunnel from the House Office Buildings can get crowded. So logistically the visitors center makes sense.

That said, there are some people involved in the tour process who do forget sometimes that it is the peoples' building. If I were Speaker of the House or Senate Majority Leader, there would be a much lower tolerance for capitol employees being rude to visitors than there is now.

Also, Reid's office is about 5 feet away from the Senate Floor and it's in an area that you're not supposed to take tours to.

[walldude]

29. Spoken like a man who has never worked a fucking day in his life

I hate Washington.

[Gold Metal Flake]

32. King Ried

Corman’s character Count De Monet – referred to as Count Da Money – comes frantically racing up to Mel Brooks, playing King Louis, and says: “Your majesty, your majesty, the peasants are revolting!” to which he responds “That’s right, they stink on ice!”

[Vickers]

33. *inhales deeply* I love the smell of tourists in the morning...

...it smells like...VICTORY.

[Dorian Gray]

34. Wow.

What an ass.

[kestrel91316]

35. Question: Have you EVER posted anything whatsoever positive about

or supportive of ANY Democrat? Because I have never once seen you do so.

Just curious.

[Dreamer Tatum]

41. This would be a bad place to start

Just imagine the outrage if a Republican said that tourists stink.

[Kingofalldems]

45. I second that

A real slickee boy.

[riverwalker]

37. the unwashed masses

yep, thats us.

[demodonkey]

38. I have spent plenty of time lobbying for election reform in DC in the summer, and...

...I have never smelled even one tourist. Reid is nuts. More likely to smell some sweaty staffers or even some of the members!

I DID get asked to pose for a picture with some out-of-town type folks once, in the basement of the Cannon Office Building. I guess they thought because I had business attire on (as opposed to the typical shorts and sandals most tourists wear) I was a Congresswoman or something!

Dressing "up" in the Capitol definitely gets you different treatment, that's for sure...

;-)

[n32571]

43. Geez, most politicians should only be allowed to speak through

interpreters!

[KamaAina]

46. Everyone should send cans of Glade to his office

:evilgrin:

[Dreamer Tatum]

47. So, to recap...Harry Reid comes from Nevada...

...where the driver of the entire state economy is people walking between cigarette-choked casinos in 100 degree weather,
so their bodies will aspirate the six vodka tonics they ingested.

And the Strip *never* has blasts of shit-smelling sewer air belching from underground. There's NEVER the stench of
vomit and piss in the stairwells of parking garages there, either.

Tend to your own knitting, Reid.

[Le Taz Hot]

50. Damned unwashed masses, er, I mean, voters!

He is on "our" side, right?