http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/261777-reid-gop-running-on-platform-of-hateDecember 02, 2015, 11:20 am
Reid: GOP running on 'platform of hate'
By Jordain Carney
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid slammed the Republican presidential field on Wednesday, saying that they are “running on a platform of hate.”
“The simple fact is Republicans are running on a platform of hate, and every Republican who fails to speak out against this hateful, dangerous rhetoric being spewed by their party is complicit,” Reid said.
The Nevada Democrat pointed to businessman Donald Trump’s refusal to disavow a supporter who beat up a Black Lives Matter protester, Ben Carson’s comparison of refugees to dogs, and Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) suggestion that a majority of violent criminals are Democrats.
“I’m very disappointed that instead of talking about issues important to the middle class, Republicans have turned to the politics of hatred and division. It seems no one is safe from the Republican vitriol,” he added. “Fanning the flames of intolerance is un-American. We’re better than this. I’m disappointed Republicans who should know better are not speaking out against this vile rhetoric.”
Many Republican lawmakers have been hesitant to get in a rhetorical battle with Trump, and suggested they would back the billionaire businessman if he were to win the party’s nomination.
Reid added that he was “amazed” that Cruz “had the audacity” to say that most violent criminals are Democrats. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, mocked Cruz’s comments on Tuesday, giving them “five Pinocchios.”
The remarks come in the wake of a shooting at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado. Reid added that his colleagues, as well as candidates, “must realize that our words have deep meaning. We can influence people far and wide.”
Democrats, including Reid, have called for House Republicans to disband their committee investigating the organization in the wake of the attack. But House Republicans have defended the panel, and pledged that it would continue.
