Harry Reid Lights Up YearlyKos

Blogging from YearlyKos

As the Rolling Stones' 'Street Fighting Man' blared from the speakers, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid entered the massive ballroom at the Riviera Hotel to speak to 1,000 YearlyKos attendees and, it's safe to say, wasn't sure of precisely what reception he would get.

While the Senate Democratic Leader should by default feel somewhat comfortable addressing a conference filled with progressive activists and bloggers, Reid is a moderate-to-conservative Democrat and, with problems that attendees may have with some of his previous stances, the decision to appear was, to some extent, a political risk.

But the former boxer from tiny Searchlight, Nevada jumped gamely into the ring last night, played to a packed house and, by the time his 20-minute speech ended, Reid appeared to leave as a rock star, mobbed by so many well-wishers and autograph seekers that his phalanx of security could barely get him out of the room.

"As a former boxer, I know fighters when I see them -- you're fighters," said Reid to wild applause. "You're fighters for the truth. You've made a tremendous difference in our country and for the Democratic Party."



With "Give 'em Hell, Harry" signs waving throughout the audience, Reid, who was the first major Democrat to sign on as a YearlyKos speaker, stoked the progressive fires and encouraged those present to remain active and prepare for a tough fight this election year and beyond.

"It was you who were quick to stand against the Swift Boat attacks on Senator John Kerry," he said to an enthusiastic response. "It was you who defended Valerie Plame, an American spy, and Ambassador Joe Wilson against Scooter Libby and Karl Rove. And it was you who led Democrats to victory against the privatization of Social Security."

Reid also announced to the crowd that he will propose legislation next week to force stronger Congressional oversight of the White House and hold the Bush administration accountable for any future statements or intelligence claims on Iran.

"Everything they say will have to be supported by facts," Reid said. "I have no doubt the White House won't like this requirement, but after what happened in Iraq, the American people deserve nothing less."

In addition to their failure at providing oversight of the executive branch of government, the GOP was also taken to task for their lack of a true agenda and their utter failure to address real problems facing America.

"Instead of finding ways to fix health care or make progress on energy, they plan to spend the coming months stoking the fears that divide us. Look at the Senate. Where is the Republican agenda? It's flag-burning, it's gay marriage, and it's estate tax. That's an old playbook. And that playbook doesn't account for a new team on the field and that's you."

Here's a great section from the middle of the speech:

"In the coming months, America faces a great choice. And for such a great choice, the question we must answer is simple.

"Do we -- as a country -- unite and change direction toward a better future for us all, or do we continue in the wrong direction of the last six years? A direction that has resulted in three dollar gas prices, a mess in Iraq, a crisis in health care and incompetence in government.

"You and I have the answer to that question. Unfortunately, the Republicans have their answer -- that's distract and divide.

"Republicans have no interest in changing direction, or taking on the issues before us. Their only goal is for them to stay in power -- even if it jeopardizes the future for us all. You see, Bush Republicans know what we know. Karl Rove knows what we know. And that's if Americans focus on real issues, Republicans will plummet even lower than they are now."

As Reid went on with a speech that seemed to pick up momentum with every soft-spoken word, a conference attendee yelled "shut it down, Harry," an approving reference to last November when Reid used a procedural rule to shut down the Senate until the GOP began addressing the corrupt pre-war intelligence that led the U.S. to the Iraq war.

"Sadly for the American people, the Congress is shut down 24 hours a day," replied Reid.

Reid backed that up by talking about the total lack of Congressional oversight on the Bush administration's misdeeds.

"During the Clinton years, the House Government Reforms Committee issued 1,052 subpoenas to the Clinton administration and more than that to the Democratic National Committee," said the Nevada Senator. "That's a lot of subpoenas. How many do you think they've issued regarding Abu Ghraib or Haditha? Zero. How about the war in Iraq? How many subpoenas? Zero!"

By this time, it was obviously that Reid had won over the room and he parted with a rallying cry that reminded all of what to expect in the coming months.

"We know the Republicans are going to attack us with everything they have. They do it every election -- but this time it's going to be different," said Reid in closing. "Because of you, no attack will go unanswered. You tell the truth one day at a time. You tell the truth one round at a time and, come November 7, the rounds will be over and we will declare victory."

You can reach Bob Geiger at geiger.bob@gmail.com and read more from him at Democrats.com.

Sounds like an incredible speech.

...eom :kick:

....a lot.:applause: He has a level head on his shoulders and he's not too politically radical.:patriot:

:applause:

reid is a straight talker...a middle of the road down to earth honest democrat...and i would have loved to have been there to cheer him on. goodonya for posting this.

With 90% media has all but quit doing their jobs.

Tim Russert at least to me, will always be defined by his, "principals are for paupers" line.

The NY Times called me and a lot of other good Americans "Dead End Conspiracy People"
when we questioned the 2000, 2002, and 2004 vote. I live in Ohio God Damn it and saw it
with my own eyes first hand .... DU, Stephanie Miller, One Thousand Reasons, Buzz Flash,
Steven Freeman's work, Truth is all, and now RFK Jr & Prof. Loo's work have let me know that
I am not crazy.

Bloggers outed Jeff Gannon even though no doubt all the White House Press corp knew the real story.

John Conyers does remarkable work and the press kills it .... but his work lived on in the blogs.

America's freedom and future live in the blogs too. I heard somebody from Daily Kos this AM
on NPR and they tried to nail him with the "lefty blogger" label .... he said that for the progressive
bloggers it is not a left v right battle but right v wrong and "we" want dems w/ spines and guts
that match our spirit.

DU Bloggers = :patriot:

but none of them would listen..many still don`t understand but that god there are fewer than there were before. it`s time to take a stand..we can no longer put up with appeasers

He gives me hope. :patriot:

sucking members of Congress on Net Neutrality so we can keep our internet going for activists, educators and American citizens in general. Peace, love Baby!

That is total validation of the blogging efforts. And it solidifies us as a party. I could cry tears of joy. We aren't alone! They hear us! And i get a sense that there is a lot of quicksand that has kept them from going anywhere. We know that. We're all coming to an understanding of each other. I love these old guys who know the value of truth. Thank you Reid, Kos, and all of the rest who've worked so hard. We've got a foundation built.

How very unscrub-like.
I applaud Sen Reid's decision to go and speak to a wing of the Democratic Party that could have been very unreceptive to him and his message.
Thank you for posting the article so we could all see what the msm probably wouldn't show much of -- The Moderate-Conservative Sen Reid speaking in front of mostly liberals and receiving applause.

In coming years, elections will be won in the West.

:patriot:

NOW, down to issues.
What will YOU do about these, Harry?

. Look at how the majority feels about some of the issues that you'd think would be gospel to a real Democratic party:

1. 65 percent say the government should guarantee health insurance for everyone -- even if it means raising taxes.

2. 86 percent favor raising the minimum wage (including 79 percent of selfdescribed "social conservatives").

3. 60 percent favor repealing either all of Bush's tax cuts or at least those cuts that went to the rich.

4. 66 percent would reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

5. 77 percent believe the country should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment.

6. 87 percent think big oil corporations are gouging consumers, and 80 percent (including 76 percent of Republicans) would support a windfall profits tax on the oil giants if the revenues went for more research on alternative fuels.

7. 69 percent agree that corporate offshoring of jobs is bad for the U.S. economy (78 percent of "disaffected" voters think this), and only 22% believe offshoring is good because "it keeps costs down."

8. Over 65% of all Americans believe that the Invasion of Iraq was a mistake.


http://alternet.org/story/29788/

THESE are the fucking meat-and-potatoes issues, and we need to get back to them. The American people have gone long enough without having our most basic of domestic concerns addressed!

However, I still can't forget his vote for the bankruptcy bill - a giveaway to credit card companies.

He's flawed, but he's ours. And nobody's perfect.

if it wasn't for the gagging of the media by this Bushjunta then people would hear what Harry and Nancy have to say. They have a lot to say and their hard work goes largely unnoticed.

RedTail Wolf

Sent a wit in undercover. Some delicious ironic stuff (he rather likes the Kossies, just finds them cultish, left-lite and not terribly distant from what they purport to criticize).

www.counterpunch.com