Is it too late to replace Harry Reid as the Nevada democratic senatorial candidate?

[AnArmyVeteran]

The democratic party bosses could have had a lottery or picked up someone off the streets of Las Vegas and ran them against Angle and they would be 30 points ahead of the fanatical tea bagger. So why didnt they do it? It would have meant certain victory for the democrats. Reid is the worst candidate to run for office as a democrat in the entire country. Why wasn't he forced to not seek reelection and have another person run in his place?

I look at the people in powerful political positions and I wonder how in the hell did they ever get to their positions. For being political experts they don't seem to be very bright. Why would ANY party run a candidate with disapproval ratings above 50%? Surely there is a better candidate somewhere in Nevada than Harry Reid. They could have thrown a dart at a phone book and got someone better than Reid. If not for the totally insane and radical extremist Sharron Angle, Harry Reid would be losing by 20 or 30 points. Even the chickens-for-health-care nut would be slaughtering Reid if she had beaten Angle in the republican primaries. As crazy as she was she was still considered more mainstream than the looney Angle.

Hey Harry, it's not too late. Quit running and give some lame excuse for not being able to continue your campaign. I don't know how Nevada politics are ran but it seems like another person could step in and have an instant 20 point lead over the insane Angle.

Are there any Nevada residents who know of any pre-campaign speculations about forcing Reid not to run for the sake of our party, our government and our country?

I wonder how many democratic Nevadians would have loved to have had another option on the ballot than Harry Reid or None-of-the-Above? A Reid replacement would get all of Reid's votes, most of the None-of-the-above votes and even some of Angle's votes. Just the NOTA votes alone would have ensured a democratic victory in Nevada.

Having said the above I am hoping Reid wins because I don't know if I could stomach seeing and hearing stories about 'Senator' Angle during the next six long years.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Yes. Obviously.

[blondeatlast]

2. CEEZUZ. I didn't bother to read past the SL and I don't apologize for it. nt

[AnArmyVeteran]

13. Can I ask why you didn't get past the SL? (?????)

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Nah

You can always drop out of a race after the voting has begun and election day is five days away.

What makes you think you couldn't?

[AnArmyVeteran]

8. There have been candidates who got sick or were killed and substitute candidates were selected.

After Paul Wellstone of Minnesota was killed in a plane crash Walter Mondale was selected. And when Senator Carnahan of Missouri was also killed in a small plane crash that same year his wife ran and won. It was suspicious to me how both senators died in the same way just when republicans were doing all they could to maintain control of the senate.

My OP wasn't frivously written as at least one other respondent suggested. What I asked was a legitimate question but I don't know how Nevada politics work. Every state has different rules but it seems as if there is a possibility under Nevada election law to allow the selection of an alternate candidate.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. Yes, but those candidates were dead and couldn't run.

If Reid were to leave now it would not look good for any other Democrat who stepped in to take his place -- it would seem like Reid quit only because he couldn't defeat Angle. And anyhow, while Reid may suck as Majority Leader, that's not to say he shouldn't be a Senator at all. It's important to keep as many Dems in the Senate as possible and not risk any unnecessary losses. We can only hope they can be convinced to elect a better leader once the midterms are over, whether or not Reid wins. And I hope he does.

[tularetom]

4. He's a crappy majority leader but that doesn't mean he's a poor senator

And he isn't running for majority leader.

So of course anybody with half a brain would support him to retain his seat. And urge the democrats to shit can him as majority leader in favor of somebody who actually understands the meaning of the word "majority".

[AnArmyVeteran]

11. Not sure how to take your post.

I support Reid but all my OP is asking is could he be replaced. I also asked if there were pre-campaign efforts to replace Reid for someone who isnt despised by most Nevadians. I do understand what a majority is and by replacing Reid during the primary season would have ensured having a senatorial candidate who would have done a lot better than Reid. Surely in the entire state of Nevada there is s better candidate than Reid. If he's the best, I'd hate to see the worst!

By the way, read my other post in this thread about Mel Carnahan and Paul Wellstone. Both of them were replaced after they were killed in small plane crashes.

[tularetom]

14. Simply this

I may be wrong and if so I apologize, but it appears to me that you are judging Reid's performance as a Senator based on the shitty job he did as majority leader.

If he were running for majority leader I'd be screaming at the top of my lungs for him to drop out but he isn't, he is running to retain his seat in the senate.

As far as I know he is a good reliable Democratic senator and deserves reelection. If after the election, the Dems want to kick him out as majority leader, I'd be all for that.

[AnArmyVeteran]

15. I believe we are both thinking the same thing.

My OP had nothing to do with Reid being the majority leader or his effectiveness as a senator. My only consideration was him as a senator and I want democrats wanting to keep that Nevada senate seat. With Reid's negative ratings the highest in the country the leaders of the democratic party must have known that high negative ratings lead to losing candidates. With the importance of keeping every seat they can I believe it would have been best for the party and keeping control over the senate to have replaced Reid as the Nevada candidate. Had Reid been replaced with someone with virtually no negatives the replacement candidate would be leading Angle by a large margin and I believe Nevada wouldn't have been in danger of being lost to the likes of Sharron Angle.

I will mention Reid's performance briefly though. When faced with one filibuster after another from the republicans Reid never once forced republicans to actually perform the duties of a filibuster. All republicans had to do was threaten to filibuster and Reid gave in and gave up every time. He should have forced republicans to filibuster speaking days or weeks at a time. If Reid had forced republicans to filibuster every bill, they would have soon got tired and wore down and Reid would have a much stronger position to negotiate. It's not smart to give in to bullies but Reid did that all the time. I can't think of a single instance where Reid forced republicans to filibuster. He doesn't seem like a very strong or forceful leader.

I hope he beats Angle, but if he does Reid has no business being leader of the senate. That position needs to go to someone who is strong and not constantly compromising away everything in a bill knowing he won't get a single republican vote. All of those bills that were finally passed were watered down and even though republicans were allowed to gut bills they didn't vote for them. That's not good negotiating, compromise or leadership. And it certainly isn't a sign of strength.

[tularetom]

16. The reason he has high negatives is because he has been a terrible majority leader

If he was just Senator Reid he would be just another senator that never did jack shit and nobody would have a negative impression of him because he would never make any waves. Unfortunately he is in a responsible, high visibility position and every move he makes is under a microscope. And he's made a lot of dumb ones.

I agree that the position require somebody who is more of a strategist and more of a poker player than Reid. If the Democrats manage to pull this one out of their hat and keep the Senate, he should immediately be voted out as majority leader and replaced by somebody who is willing to take some risks for the agenda.

We are thinking the same thing. I want him to be re elected and then removed as majority leader so he can go back to being a mediocre senator instead of undermining the president's agenda like he has done for the past two years.

[Bobbieo]

5. This is a sad, sad state of affairs!

[CoffeeCat]

6. It's very sad that anyone is losing to Angle...

It really is.

She's a pathetic politician. She's a radical. She is just as
embarrassing and stupid as O'Donnell. The only reason she
is winning is because Reid is a horrible candidate and most
Dems don't even want him.

It's really sad, and too bad. But it's the situation we're in
and we must defeat that nutjob right Angle.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Ya Think Harry Would Be Losing

Ya think Harry would be losing if the casinos were full, the homes were occupied, and unemployment was four perecent instead of fourteen percent.

[CoffeeCat]

10. There are plenty of Dems...

...who are winning right now in these trying economic times.

Some people may like Harry Reid, and that's great. However, there are plenty of Dems who
are done with him. Harry Reid is a weak candidate.

OTOH--I wish I lived in Nevada, because I would vote for him. Anything is better than Angle.

[AnArmyVeteran]

12. I agree, I would vote for Reid over Angle. But I'd vote for a mouse with a human brain over Angle!

[gmoney]

17. We seem to specialize in nominating...

the one person in the world who could NOT beat the pants off the other candidate. (I.E. Gore and Kerry vs Bush)