GOP Savages Harry Reid: 'If at First You Don’t Succeed, Lie, Lie Again'
Daniel Halper
April 23, 2014 7:25 AM
The Republican National Committee has released a brutal memo on Senate majority leader Harry Reid, savaging him for repeatedly lying. The memo, under the name of press secretary Kirsten Kukowski, is titled "Nothing’s Too Unethical for Harry Reid."
"Harry Reid is having a bad month," the memo begins. "He was caught funneling campaign money to his relatives. His Senate Majority PAC was caught lying to voters. And he was caught hypocritically accepting money tied to people he calls 'un-American.' As he desperately clings to power, is there anything Harry Reid won’t do to promote his own self interests?"
Handcrafted Nepotism
As Jon Ralston outlines in Politico, FEC reports revealed Harry Reid funneled $31,000 to his granddaughter’s jewelry company for what a spokesperson claimed was holiday gifts of “jewelry” and “knick knacks.” (Thirty grand must buy a lot of knick knacks.)
Why does this matter? First, because when an initial payment of $17,000 was found, Senator Reid dismissed it, paid his campaign back, and insisted there was nothing to more to see. But there was: $14,000 more. So what else is he hiding?
Second, the FEC requires that gifts paid for by campaign funds be of “nominal value.” Either Reid is buying boatloads of “nominal” gifts or he clearly violated that standard. Or a third option: he’s just using campaign dollars to prop up his granddaughter’s business.
As Ralston reports, Reid has a long record of nepotism:
“…e lobbied a local city council to help land his son Josh a city attorney’s post. He has also been accused of helping another son—Ryan Elisabeth’s father, Rory—get legal clients, and of taking a special interest in Asian investors represented by Rory.”
Liar, Liar PAC on Fire
Harry Reid’s Senate Majority PAC doesn’t believe in facts. It’s running a barrage of attack ads that fact-checkers all agree are false. The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler gave “four Pinocchios” to ads the PAC is running in Louisiana and in Arkansas. In other words, they’re complete lies.
About one Louisana ad, Kessler writes, “Television stations in Louisiana should be ashamed of falling for such an obvious gambit.” On the Arkansas ad, he says, “None of the allegations made about Cotton or his policies are factually correct.”
PolitiFact gave the Arkansas ad a “false” rating and the Louisiana ad a “mostly false” rating.
These ads reveal two things. First, Harry Reid and his allies have no respect for the truth and is perfectly content to lie to Americans. Second, Harry Reid is so desperate to cling to power that he’ll resort to whatever means necessary to keep his perch as Majority Leader.
It’s not really surprising that Democrats are lying through their teeth. They’re losing because of ObamaCare, which was sold on a lie. So the only way they can defend themselves—or attack those who support patient-centered healthcare reform—is to lie some more.
In Harry Reid’s world, the mantra seems to be, “If at first you don’t succeed, lie, lie again.”
Un-American Activities
To distract from his shady dealings, his corruption, and his PAC’s lies, Harry Reid likes to label Charles and David Koch as “un-American.” Interestingly, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from their Koch Industries PAC, and Democrat Senators like Mark Pryor (D-AR), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have taken donations from the PAC as well, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Harry Reid’s own campaign has previously accepted donations from a Koch Industry lobbyist.
Does that make him and his fellow Senators “un-American” also?
Once again, the truth doesn’t matter to Harry Reid. For a Senator who tells outright lies and funnels campaign money to his family, hypocrisy probably seems like no big deal.
But the hypocrisy doesn’t end there. Even as he attacks political donor, Harry Reid happily rents out the Senate floor to major Democrat donors. Last month, after donor Tom Steyer promised to spend up to $100 million in Super PAC money for Democrats, Harry Reid organized a meaningless talk-a-thon in favor of one Steyer’s pet projects: cap-and-trade.
As Morning Joe said the other day, Harry Reid’s behavior is undoubtedly “beneath the office” and “out of line.”
***
There’s little doubt that Harry Reid is abusing his power as Majority Leader and resorting to desperate and deceitful measures to hold on to his position. And in so doing, he’s showing that he’s not fit to hold the position.
From ObamaCare to the economy, Americans have plenty of reasons to vote Democrat Senators out of office this November, but Harry Reid’s abuse of his office gives them another one: firing Harry Reid from his position as Majority Leader.
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