Nevada's Questionable Senators

Democrat Harry Reid and Republican John Ensign are about two of the most diametrically opposed senators that even served the same state at the same time, in terms both of their projected images and of their political orientation. Reid is a pugnacious ex-boxer with a heart for working people and a problem with speaking coherently. Ensign is the quintessential corporate hack politician, with a suave manner that would seem to make him more befitting of a stage act in Las Vegas. Yet the two have reportedly gotten along quite well with each other over the years, with each refusing to campaign against the other's reelection bids. And I kind of respect each of them in their own way, for the strengths that they project. But...

John Ensign has been one of those senators who has used his religious faith (right-wing Christian evangelist) as a tool to further his political ambitions. He was, though, recently exposed as having an extramarital affair, while some his GOP colleagues "in the faith" and "in the ideology" have been quick to forgive and forget. So to me, Ensign comes across as a walking, talking self-righteous (but very glib) hypocrite. I have no doubt of his reelection in the future.

Harry Reid, on the other hand, keeps his Mormon religious faith close to his vest. He is personally pro-life, but has respected the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision regarding abortion and has opposed efforts to overturn that ruling by placing hardships on poor women seeking abortions (restrictions which Ensign has supported). Unlike Ensign, Reid seems to have a bit of trouble enunciating his ideas into clear, coherent speech. Which makes me wonder why, of all the people in the Senate that the Democrats could draw upon, he was the one chosen to be the Majority Leader!

It has come out in the news recently that, during the 2008 presidential campaign, Reid had made an idiotic statement to someone about how candidate Barack Obama's relatively light skin color for an African-American, coupled with his lack of a "Negro dialect" (unless he wanted to use one) would help him in the election. A really stupid thing to say, I'll admit. But the furor being raised over this revelation, chiefly by the Republicans, is overblown. Reid wasn't making a racist comment per se; he was giving his opinion, albeit very poorly expressed, as to how others in the electorate perceive race and make voting choices from those perceptions. But, like I said earlier, there seems to be some sort of disconnect between what Harry Reid's mind produces and what ultimately comes out of his mouth!

Ever since Tom Daschle was defeated for reelection in 2004 and Reid became the leader of the Senate Democrats, I have opposed him in this post. I think his heart is in the right place, but he has neither the political skills to negotiate across the aisle nor the ability to effectively express and promote his party's position on various issues. And I am sick to death of hearing him getting up on the Senate floor and sounding personally offended because, lo and behold, the opposition party was behaving like an opposition party!

I would like to see someone like Dick Durbin (Illinois) or Chuck Schumer (New York) step up to the post of Majority Leader. Either would be an vast improvement over what we have had to endure with Reid. Not only are these two much better speakers, but they also represent states that are more likely to reelect them even in the aftermath of a difficult-but-necessary legislative session.

Of course, after the 2010 election, this all may be a moot point anyway. Not that the Democrats will lose enough seats to relinquish their majority status in the Senate. But Harry Reid, at least according to current Nevada public opinion polls, is very unpopular and may be headed for defeat.