Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Reid doesn't back down from Friday remark about Bush

Senator says administration has done 'very, very bad job for this nation and the world'

WASHINGTON -- If Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada still feels remorse for calling President Bush a loser, he didn't show it on Tuesday.

In a news conference, Reid was asked if his comment about Bush would make it more difficult to negotiate with Republicans.

"I tell people how I feel about things. I don't try to hide how I feel," Reid said.

"Maybe my choice of words was improper, and I have indicated that maybe they were, but I want everyone here, I repeat, to know I'm going to continue to call things the way that I see them, and I think this administration has done a very, very bad job for this nation and the world."

Asked for a comment, the White House referred a call to the Republican National Committee.

"I think the Party of 'No' would be better served if it set aside its angry rhetoric and obstructionism and joined Republicans at the table to provide solutions for the issues confronting our country," said RNC spokesman Danny Diaz.

While speaking to students Friday in an American Studies class at Del Sol High School in Las Vegas, Reid referred to Bush and said, "I think this guy is a loser."

Later that day, Reid acknowledged his comment was inappropriate and said he called White House adviser Karl Rove to apologize.

Del Sol High School Principal John Barlow said he has not received any substantive complaints from parents or students about Reid's comments to 60 juniors at his southeastern Las Vegas school.

Barlow said he did receive two messages from parents "not necessarily wanting to talk to me, but just to express their concern about the comments made in general."

Nevada State Republican Party Chairman Earlene Forsythe issued a press release Monday saying Reid's comments "stirred the anger of Republicans across the country and here in Nevada.

"He has shown himself to be an embarrassment to Nevada because of his intemperate remarks," Forsythe said.

She also said she has received hundreds of e-mails from voters, some of which ask whether Reid can be recalled as a U.S. senator.

During Tuesday's news conference, Reid also challenged Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to schedule a vote on the "nuclear option," under which Senate rules would be changed to allow a simple majority vote to stop a filibuster of a judicial nominee. This would mean a filibuster could be ended with 51 votes instead of 60, as in now required.

"We are prepared for a vote on the nuclear option," Reid said. "Democrats will join responsible Republicans in a vote to uphold the constitutional principle of checks and balances."

Earlier, Frist told reporters he does not plan to seek a vote on the nuclear option before the Senate passes a highway bill and a supplemental spending bill to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and tsunami relief. So the Senate would be unlikely to vote on the nuclear option until next week at the earliest.

Review-Journal writer Erin Neff contributed to this report.