Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Reid's performance gets thumbs up from most

Sen. Harry Reid Click image for enlargement.

WASHINGTON -- Days before an anticipated Senate filibuster showdown, a slight majority of Nevadans disapprove of Sen. Harry Reid blocking some of President Bush's judicial picks, according to a new poll.

But despite splitting from him on federal judges, a majority of Nevadans believe Reid, D-Nev., is doing a good job representing them in the Senate, the poll showed.

The poll, taken last Thursday through Saturday for the Review-Journal and reviewjournal.com, was the first constituent measure of Reid's performance since he became Senate minority leader in January.

It also was the first test of Nevadans' sentiment on how Reid has led Democrats' continuing threats to filibuster Bush nominees they believe unsuitable for lifetime federal judgeships.

Analysts said the poll results on balance looked positive for Reid, although some said they could be better for a senator who was re-elected last November with 61 percent support and has broad powers to help the state. Several analysts added Reid is operating in the Senate with an added comfort of not having to face voters again for another six years.

"A slight majority feel they are disappointed in his leadership tactics. What does that really mean? Probably not a whole lot. If he runs again it will be six years down the road, and this (judicial fight) will be forgotten," said Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. Inc., which conducted the survey.

On the matter of judges, the poll showed 51 percent of responding Nevadans, including one in four Democrats, said they disapproved of Reid's strategy to filibuster some of the president's selections. Forty-two percent of Nevadans said they approved of Reid's efforts.

On job performance, 55 percent rated Reid "good" or "excellent," 28 percent rated him "poor," and 15 percent said he was doing a "fair" job.

Despite his leading role in partisan fighting over judges and Social Security reform, Reid drew some support from Nevada Republicans, with 29 percent of GOP respondents rating him "good" or "excellent." Forty-nine percent rated him "poor."

Pollsters interviewed 625 registered voters for the survey that carried an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

After reviewing the poll results on Monday, Reid said through a spokeswoman he found them "encouraging."

"It's been five months since he's been leader," spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said. "It is a new role for Senator Reid and an expanded leadership role, and it is important that people in Nevada know they come first."

On Reid's filibuster strategy, Hafen said other polls have shown larger margins of support for Democrats when the question is worded to emphasize that the party wants to protect minority rights in the Senate.

Democrats blocked 10 of Bush's most conservative judicial selections in the 108th Congress. The president has renominated seven of them. Republicans, who control 55 seats of the 100 Senate seats, are insisting all judicial nominees receive up-or-down votes for confirmation.

Reid has offered to allow votes on three of the seven, as well as two other nominees the Democrats do not like. No deal has been reached, and Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., may move soon to force a Senate rules change to restrict filibusters against nominated judges.

Brian Nick, a Republican spokesman, said the poll shows Nevadans want Reid to "stop placating left-wing groups like MoveOn.org and People for the American Way by obstructing the president's judicial nominees."

But William Eric Davis, a political science instructor at the Community College of Southern Nevada, said Reid's job approval numbers may give him more freedom to move aggressively against Bush on judges.

"I think there are probably issues more important to Nevadans than federal judges and filibusters," Davis said. "The filibuster thing doesn't seem to be salient enough to do a lot of damage to his approval."

Experts said they saw mixed clues whether Reid might become vulnerable to accusations that he is beholden to special interests and overlooks constituents back home. Republicans used that strategy last fall to defeat Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.

Reid's job approval ratings "are pretty good numbers," said Jennifer Duffy, managing director for the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter. "With everything that has gone on in Congress this year, we've seen numbers drop for members just generally," she said.

"Voters will always ask the question, 'What have you done for me lately?' and Reid is pretty attentive to the state," Duffy said.

But pointing to Nevadans' sentiment on Reid's handing of judicial nominees, Coker said Reid "is falling a little bit into the Daschle trap."

"As a Senate leader in Washington, you have to work with a broad array of people in your party and then go home to a moderate-to-conservative Western state," Coker said. "Fortunately for Reid, he just got re-elected, and he doesn't face voters for another six years."

Reid should not take comfort in the support level, said Eric Herzik, interim dean of liberal arts at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"I would want better numbers if I was Reid," Herzik said. "He did win by a landslide and assumed a very salient leadership position for Nevada. Those numbers aren't bad, but they aren't great. This early in this term, there should still be a honeymoon effect."