Kossacks,
You've watched the election returns. You've seen the results. You're probably saying to yourself right now, Harry Reid probably couldn't get a vote to the floor on sending flashlights to the Chilean miners when he had 59 votes behind him. How in the world is he going to accomplish anything with 53?
Answer: He can't. So do something about it!
The Nevada election is over. Harry Reid has been re-elected by over 40,000 votes and is tucked safely in office until 2017. The Republicans didn't and can't get the seat; the race is over. Sharron Angle can't have it. Sarah Palin can't have it. Jon Kyl can't have it. Mitch McConnell can't have it. The seat is blue. The seat will be blue until 2017. Reid doesn't need a leadership position any longer.
What we have in front of us, if we can only take advantage, is a golden opportunity to replace the weakest Democrat in the Senate with a strong Democrat as majority leader. There is no downside to this. Harry Reid cannot lose his election anymore. Democrats will not lose the seat. Democrats stand to make a substantial gain in leadership if they have the courage.
While Nancy Pelosi got almost everything passed that we asked for, Harry Reid has accomplished almost nothing. In fact, over 420 bills passed by the House are currently stalled in the Senate:
- Middle-class tax cuts
- Food safety.
- Biodeisel tax credit
- Climate change/envronment
- Anti-outsourcing
- DADT
- DREAM Act
- DISCLOSE Act
I could write an almost endless list, but I won't. You know already that Harry Reid has been an absolute failure in every sense of leadership, integrity, and guts.
But it doesn't have to be this way. During the Bush years, Republicans proved that you can pass bills with 50 votes. They did it. They did it by using strong, uncompromising leadership that refused to yield, for any reason, ever. Democrats must learn to have strong leadership if they want to accomplish anything in the Senate and win back seats. It starts by replacing Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader for the 112th Congress. There is no tactical or stratetic, logical or political downside to electing a new leader; there is only room for great improvement.
President Obama taught us that change starts from the bottom, not the top. So let's start a movement now to demand new leadership in the Senate now. "Like" the Facebook page Replace Harry Reid so we can make our voices be heard. Offer suggestions in the comments below on how to proceed and suggest who you would nominate.
Change is the only way to move forward. Change must begin now. Start with your ideas today. We'll ask more questions tomorrow.