Does Obama want Harry Reid Out?

For years, conservatives have called on Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) to resign as Senate Majority leader. This was due to his statement in 2007 that the war in Iraq was effectively "lost." He was wrong then both in principle and reality, but members of his own party embraced him warmly as they all collectively denounced our troop in ability and worked to undermine their morale. The warmth he shared among Congressional Democrats may now be lost since he has become the single most powerful obstruction to Barack Obama's agenda. Republican rants, tea party tirades, and conservative condemnations cannot compare to one man who sets the policy agenda in the US Senate. Reid, who is fighting for his political life in his reelection for 2010 is saying "no" to a second stimulus and is delaying the vote on Obama's health care agenda. This is not due to the economic consequences of these bills, but because of the political consequences as he faces a very difficult election in just over a year. The truth is, Nevada is not nearly as liberal as Harry Reid. In fact, he replaced one of the most conservative members of the Senate, Paul Laxalt, who was arguably Ronald Reagan's best friend and ally in the Legislative Branch.

Things are getting ugly on the left, many small, liberal bloggers have declared he needed to go. Now, the situation is worsening for Reid, as The DailyKos says "Harry Reid...for the good of Country...Please Resign!

The writing is written on the polls for Reid as well. The Las Vegas Sun reports "he still has some of the worst polling numbers in the country for a senatorial incumbent — a Mason-Dixon poll last month found that only 34 percent of the electorate had warm and fuzzy feelings about him, and 46 percent did not think too highly of him. Those are fatal numbers for most elected officials, especially one who has been around for four decades, which surely has caused a contagion of Reid fatigue." It goes on to point out that, in spite no "name brand" GOP candidates seems to be looking seriously at Reid's seat, "There are plenty of folks talking about and even campaigning for Reid’s seat on the GOP side. And even a no-name has a chance against someone whose approval numbers are upside down. Ex-Assemblywoman Sharron Angle may draw tittering from the political cognoscenti, but she is relentless, and with some outside funding, she almost cost Heller that congressional seat two cycles ago. And there will be plenty of outside funding this cycle as the national Republicans have Reid as their No. 1 target — and, I’d guess, their Nos. 2 through 10, too." Finally, it notes that "Except the national atmospherics could make somebodies out of nobodies pretty quickly if the economy does not improve, if health care reform implodes, if President Barack Obama’s numbers turn Reid-like. As the most powerful Democrat in the legislative branch, he would not just have to carry the national negatives if they exist; he would be the symbol of them — at thousands of gross rating points a week next summer."

Because of these realities, Reid will play it safe between now and November of 2010, making himself the single biggest obstruction to President Obama. Here are just a couple scenarios bouncing around.

If Reid resigns as Majority Leader, he can free up the Party to be as liberal as it wants and he can vote with the "conscious of a conservative" up to the end of next year. Problem is, much of the money he brings to his reelection is because he is Majority Leader. Furthermore, it is how he makes his case for reelection. "As Senate Majority Leader I have enormous influence on how states, like Nevada, benefit from Washington's policies." Difficult to make that case if you are no longer leader.

On the other hand, he doesn't resign and the Obama agenda goes down like the Titanic (an ever growing possibility), I could see the President and his minions pour money in to get a Primary opponent funded that will force Reid to resign to spend time on his reelection efforts.
Either way, Reid is in one ugly position.

Rumor has it, pressure is already being applied on Reid to resign within the government, in spite Congressional leaders defending him. I believe it will soon be revealed that Obama himself is applying that pressure. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Sarah Palin's Odd Move

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin shocked the political world by deciding to resign from office by the end of July. The blogosphere is making assessments about her decision based on their opinions of her. If they like her, it is some how "brilliant." If they don't, she is a "complete moron." I want to take this a little deeper.

For disclosure sake, I'm a fan of Gov. Palin. She is the first major political candidate to fully embrace and epitomize Reagan's "3 legged stool" of limited government, pro family, and national security since the Gipper himself. Furthermore, she is the only candidate in years who seems to understand the morality of economics. In fact, in her resignation speech she mentioned that the stimulus package was "immoral" because of its redistributive nature and control it placed on the states. You simply don't hear that from politicians today, but that message is desperately needed.

Now, with that disclosure, I simply don't understand her decision at all. I read her speech several times and watched it as well, and the more I studied it, the less I "got it." With the information I have before us today, I have to come to one of the following conclusions:

• She couldn't stand the heat of constant scrutiny on the family and her and simply needed to get out. This may be noble, but it likely spells the end of a powerful political career. Furthermore, if they can't handle the governorship, they certainly can't handle the White House or even the Senate, where they would deal with the constant questions by the much larger and more hostile cadre of journalists in DC. Than again, she could take a decade off and have her kids much older and she would certainly be young enough to run. She could rightly hope they will forget her resignation, but they will also likely forget her.


• A much bigger scandal that will "stick" is about to come upon her. Palin has been plagued with scandals since August of 2008, about the time she received the GOP nod for VP. None of them have had any staying power and they all appear to be trumped up to discredit her. You get the sense with this announcement, that "the other shoe" is going to drop and it is going to be big.


• She wants a fresh start. Tired of getting exonerated of one scandal to make room for another, she might think this is the best way to create a new beginning. She will be free to travel the country and make large amounts of money as a speaker, accumulate the financial largess to run for higher office and build a name around the country. Barack Obama and George W. Bush were the only Presidential candidates since John F. Kennedy to have a full time job while running for President and get elected. Furthermore, Reagan, Carter, and Clinton were former governors when they ran, making it a great springboard for office. The difference between Palin and these others, were the circumstances of which she left.
  

My concern is that no woman or minority is going to have a prayer dealing with the mainstream media if they are Conservative. The left tries to place these groups on a plantation, stating they would have nothing without liberal policies. This is a very narrow view indeed, but those who break it will suffer.

The jury will be deliberating on this for quite some time. However, she is going to have a difficult time distancing herself from accusations of being unable to finish things, or being scandal plagued, or not tough enough, or several other things that will do nothing to help her case as a GOP front runner.

See Kevin Price's new video commentary on the subject here.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.