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    <title>Weekly Reid&#039;s Blog</title>
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                        <item>
            <title>They&#039;ve Fallen. And They&#039;re Not Getting Up.</title>
            <description>  What did Harry Reid do for Nevada this week? What plan of Obama&#039;s are people coalescing around? Can you really put a hold on Superman? Reid on!    Nevada First :  Help is NOT on it&#039;s way . Just how badly damaged is the GOP brand in Nevada? Ignore the &amp;ldquo;voter&amp;rsquo;s remorse&amp;rdquo; many Nevadans are feeling about sending Jim Gibbons to the Governor&amp;rsquo;s Mansion. Pay no attention to the massive  voter registration advantage  Democrats now have ( 60,068 more !). And Mac&amp;rsquo;s down to Barack in the latest  Razz  poll? Forget about it. The clearest sign that the GOP brand is crashing faster even than Fred Thompson&amp;rsquo;s presidential bid - They couldn&amp;rsquo;t get  675 people  to show up to the State Convention. So they canceled it. As  Blue Sage Views  noted on Friday, the NV GOP needed just .1% of the 390,443 registered Republicans in the state to sign a card (postage paid!). Our convention? 2,500 - and there were plenty more who wanted to come. The GOP reminds the Weekly Reid of Mrs. Fletcher, from those  Life Alert  commercials in the 80s. It&amp;rsquo;s fallen -  and it ain&amp;rsquo;t getting up.    Support you can count on . Senate Democrats have done a lot this year to take away the GOP&#039;s favorite talking point - that Democrats don&amp;rsquo;t support the troops. We passed the 21st Century GI Bill. We&amp;rsquo;ve voted 30+ times to bring this war to an end (more on that below). And just last week, Senator Reid announced he helped secure  $194.5 million  in funding for Nevada&amp;rsquo;s military bases. About $80 million of that will go to the National Guard and the Army Reserves.  Harry Reid - fighting (and delivering) for Nevada&amp;rsquo;s veterans in ways only he can.    Must Reid :  Look who&#039;s walkin&#039; back . The weekend news cycle was dominated by the back and forth and back again over Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki&amp;rsquo;s comments to the German magazine Spiegel. In case you missed it, he basically endorsed Barack Obama&amp;rsquo;s position for withdrawing troops from Iraq. This puts John McCain in a pretty pickle - he keeps saying we must stay to finish the job, leaving only when we&amp;rsquo;ve secured Iraq, finished the mission and have been asked to go. His is an open ended commitment. If he were to backtrack now...well. To paraphrase the words of a Republican strategist, as quoted in  Marc Ambinder&amp;rsquo;s blog , they&#039;re in trouble. (Bonus question: Who was Ambinder&#039;s source? Email your guesses  here .)  Look.  The Iraqi people are coming together around Sen. Obama&amp;rsquo;s plan. The Iraqi government is coming around to Sen. Obama&amp;rsquo;s plan. The American people support Sen. Obama&amp;rsquo;s plan.  And, as Sen. Reid said on the Senate floor yesterday, &amp;ldquo;Even President Bush &amp;ndash; who bears the primary responsibility for this incompetently managed war &amp;ndash; is now belatedly and gradually moving toward some elements of key Democratic positions &amp;ndash; on Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq.&amp;rdquo;  Once again, times are changing. The political landscape is changing. And John McCain is behind the ball.    In related news, John McCain got on  the Internet  yesterday. All by  himself .   Coburn-tastic ! The Weekly Reid brought you news of the Coburn Omnibus a few weeks ago. As a  recap , the bill is really a package of bills that have passed the House, cleared the appropriate Senate committee and typically have broad support. Pretty much everyone likes them except Senator &amp;ldquo;Dr. Tom&amp;rdquo; Coburn. Here&amp;rsquo;s just a sample of some of the bills packaged in the Coburn Omnibus: The Emmitt Till Unsolved Crimes bill, The Runaway and Homeless Youth bill, The Combating Child Exploitation bill, The ALS Registry bill, and The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act. Who&amp;rsquo;s against helping runaways and the homeless? Who&amp;rsquo;s for Child Exploitation? How can you possibly put a hold on Superman!?   Reid&#039;s Watching :  Begich Buzz : New Razz poll has Mayor Mark Begich up  50% - 41%  over Alaska&amp;rsquo;s Founding Father Ted Stevens. The poll was taken after Mayor Begich started airing two new (and awesome)  ads .   Other polling updates: Oregon Assembly Speaker Jeff Merkley&amp;rsquo;s up over Gordon Smith  43% - 41% . That&amp;rsquo;s an 11 point swing in the last month (in our direction). We&amp;rsquo;re up 6 in  Louisiana , 9 in  Colorado , and we&amp;rsquo;ve all but won in  Virginia  and  New Hampshire .   DSCC&amp;rsquo;n . In the past, the campaign arm of Senate Democrats - the DSCC - has been a valuable resource for challengers and incumbents alike. The DSCC has the ability to shift large amounts of money around in the final weeks of the campaign - right when races tighten and the attack ads start flying. Well this year, according to both the  WaPo  and  Roll Call , the DSCC is going to be more than just an ad machine - they&amp;rsquo;re investing in field operations. Great idea. Independent and undecided voters pick a generic Dem in most polls these days - let&amp;rsquo;s make sure they get out and vote for our  candidates . </description>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:09:17 EDT</pubDate>
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            <dc:creator>Weekly Reid</dc:creator>
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            <title>69-30</title>
            <description>  How many Nevadans are going to sleep easier this week? Guess who showed up and shocked 9 Republicans? What&#039;s up with Dina Titus&#039;s fundraising prowess? Reid On!      Nevada First :  Throwing Lifelines . Last week was a hectic one on the Hill. And while some of our legislative priorities were blocked by obstructionist Republicans, Senate Democrats threw more than one life preserver to the American people.&amp;nbsp; On Friday, the Senate passed a version of the  Housing bill . The bill, which was sent back to the House for some additional tweaking, focused on the root causes of the (much larger) economic crisis in this country - home foreclosures. You&amp;rsquo;ve probably heard Senator Reid hammer home the point on C-SPAN: This bill will keep people in their homes by allowing  400,000 American homeowners  to swap their adjustable mortgages with ones backed by the FHA. With stable monthly payments, homeowners can turn their eyes to other pressing matters - like saving for their kid&amp;rsquo;s college education. President Bush (surprise!) vowed to veto the bill.   What does this mean for Nevada? It means that thousands of Nevadans can sleep a little easier this week. It also means that Nevadans looking to buy a home for the first time can get a credit of $8,000. Senator Reid has made solving the housing crisis one of his top priorities. And while the bill isn&amp;rsquo;t totally ready, we&amp;rsquo;re one step closer.   The Investment That Keeps On Giving . Proving once again that he stands up for Nevada&amp;rsquo;s interests like no one else, Harry Reid announced on Monday a nearly  $1.5 million grant  for the Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization. The non-profit brings together public and private organizations and aides them in the research and development of clean, renewable technologies.   What does this grant mean for Nevada? Jobs, for one. As Sen. Reid works to make Nevada the world leader in clean, renewable energy, more companies will invest in Nevada&amp;rsquo;s workforce. It also promises to make energy cheaper for Nevadans - and all Americans.  Harry Reid&amp;rsquo;s worked for decades to protect Nevada&amp;rsquo;s natural resources, and breaking our dependence on foreign oil is just one piece of that puzzle.   Must Reid :  Saving the Day . Words cannot explain what happened on the Senate floor Wednesday, nor can they adequately describe the shiver that went down the Weekly Reid&amp;rsquo;s spine as it watched the roll call vote on the Medicare &amp;ldquo;Doctor&amp;rsquo;s Fix&amp;rdquo; bill. Senator Reid did his best summing up the dramatic events of  Wednesday : &amp;ldquo;&amp;ldquo;They [the Bush-McCain Republicans] thought they had us beat until the last minute. They didn&amp;rsquo;t know I started working last Thursday in getting Sen. Kennedy here.&amp;rdquo; And get him there he  did.  After a standing ovation, the Liberal Lion - who was there in 1964 when Medicare was born - cast the deciding vote for cloture, thus ending debate on the &amp;ldquo;Doctor&amp;rsquo;s Fix&amp;rdquo; Medicare bill. With Senator Kennedy on the floor and passage of the bill a sure thing, 9 Republicans - 9! - broke ranks,  changed their vote  and joined a united Democratic caucus in voting &amp;quot;Aye.&amp;quot;   Think about the scene (if you haven&amp;rsquo;t seen it, check it out  here ). Sen. Kennedy, who got on a plane right after getting a chemo treatment, his immune system weakened, makes a triumphant return to the floor of the Senate to cast the deciding vote saving a program he has long championed. How could you not be moved? The Weekly Reid won&amp;rsquo;t speculate as to what was running through the minds of those 9 Senators. But it was either that, or more banal things like getting reelected.  Oh. The president vetoed the bill. Thankfully, House and Senate Democrats brought enough Republicans on board to  rebuke  (for the fourth time in two years)  Mr. 28% . One more thing: if the 69-30 original roll call vote looks weird to you, it does to the Weekly Reid as well. Who would have missed this vote? Someone seeking to avoid casting a vote that would placate the base of his party, yet enrage average Americans? Yes! John McCain - missing yet another vote.    Who has your back ? Pop quiz: What are three things Democrats are doing to solve our energy crisis? What are the three things Republicans are doing? For the former: standing up to greedy speculators (bill coming this week), investing in renewable energy (see above), encouraging oil companies to drill on the 68 million acres of federal land they already have access to. For the latter: &amp;hellip; Um. Nothing? Unless you count giving tax breaks to oil companies for NOT drilling on the 68 million acres of land they already have and lining the pockets of oil executives for NOT investing in renewable energy.&amp;nbsp;    Bush-McCain Republicans in the Senate must think the oil companies need more power and influence over our energy policies. And they must think that Americans are going to continue shelling out $4+ for gas. Democrats are working to lower has prices by combating speculation - Bush Republicans should join their Democratic colleagues in supporting the bill.    Reid&amp;rsquo;s Watching :  Money Money ! Fundraising numbers are slowly trickling in, and we&amp;rsquo;ve got good news. Our two Nevada Congressional challengers, Dina Titus and Jill Derby, turned in great quarters. Dina raised over  $575,000  (her opponent raised a  disappointing  $418,000) and Jill over  $280,000 . Jill also raised more than her opponent. Read those two sentence again: both of our Congressional challengers raised more money that their opponents. Think Nevada&#039;s ready for change?   On the Senate side, Kay Hagan raised  $1.6 million . With her serious (and much needed?) ad blitz, Sen. Liddy Dole spent more money than she raised - and her cash on hand dropped by nearly half a million bucks. What&amp;rsquo;s Kay got going for her? A lot of grassroots support - and an opponent who can&amp;rsquo;t seem to break 51% in any reelection poll.  </description>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:55:13 EDT</pubDate>
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            <dc:creator>Weekly Reid</dc:creator>
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            <title>Plenty Left To Do</title>
            <description>  Which agency lifted a moratorium this week? Know what the Coburn Omnibus is? What was the first casino on the Strip? Reid On!      Nevada First :  Filed Under &amp;quot;That&#039;ll Show &#039;Em.&amp;quot;  Last week, we brought you the news of the opening of the Ausra plant in Las Vegas (Remember? It builds components for solar thermal power plants). Hot on the heels of the opening of the plant - more good news for Nevadans and renewable energy fans across the country. The Bureau of Land Management  lifted a moratorium  on the development of solar plants on public lands (3/4 of Nevada&#039;s land is managed by the BLM). Why the sudden change of heart? Two words: Harry Reid. Nevada&#039;s senior senator was a vocal opponent of the moratorium. And someone at BLM must have seen his ire coming, because they never gave Sen. Reid the customary heads up. He read it in the paper.   But there&#039;s more at work here than just a simple clerical error. The Bush administration refuses to fully pursue viable options for renewable energy.  Two weeks ago, Bush-McCain Republicans blocked a bill that gave tax cuts to American innovators and entrepreneurs who developed clean and renewable alternatives to foreign oil. The Republican Party of Bush and McCain refuse to stand up to Big Oil and would rather line the pockets of oil executives than lower gas prices for American Families. They&#039;d rather fill their campaign coffers with contributions from oil executives than invest in renewable energy. Now that the BLM has realized the error of their ways, will Senate Republicans follow suit?      Filed Under &amp;quot;Odds and Ends.&amp;quot;  Harry Reid had a busy recess (as the LV Sun  notes ). In Reno on Wednesday, Sen. Reid met with representatives from the various agencies working to ensure Nevada is prepared for this year&#039;s  wildfire season . Meetings like this are one of the most important things Sen. Reid can do for the state - bringing stakeholders together to share ideas and coordinate activities.    Did you see this interactive map of the  Las Vegas strip ? Scroll through the years and watch as the Strip blossoms from a &amp;quot; desert stop over town for GIs &amp;quot; to the glitz and glamor capitol of the West (Sorry LA).    The newest voter registration numbers were released this week. And it&#039;s official - the momentum and enthusiasm the caucuses stirred up continue. We now have a  55,560  voter registration advantage. Help our congressional challengers talk to each one of these new voters -  Dina Titus  and  Jill Derby .     Must Reid :  Filed Under &amp;quot;Forecast for DC.&amp;quot;  Sen. Reid took the the Senate floor yesterday to  lay out  a road map for this four-week work period. In a nutshell:  &amp;quot;Everything you guys blocked two weeks ago? We&#039;re going to revisit that. Plus: lowering gas prices, PEPFAR, Consumer Product Safety, DOD Authorization, DOD Appropriations, and The Coburn Omnibus&amp;quot;  (more on that below). The forecast for the month of July in DC is hazy, hot and humid. Bush-McCain Republicans won&#039;t find relief from the heat in hallowed halls of the United States Senate. We&#039;re holding their feet to the fire.     Filed Under &amp;quot;Gotta Know When to Fold &#039;Em.&amp;quot;  Sen. Tom Coburn has placed a hold on hundreds of bills this year - bills that deal with minor legislative issues and typically have broad support. The Weekly Reid isn&#039;t going to bore you with an analysis of the  legislative philosophy of Sen. Coburn; basically, it appears he simply doesn&#039;t like government or governing. Sen. Reid has found a workaround. Ryan Grim of the Politico  writes , &amp;quot;In a stroke of legislative creativity that may have no precedent, Reid could lump all of the bills into one package and bring up the Coburn Omnibus for a single vote. Coburn can still object, but the broad popularity of the bills means that there would likely be more than enough support for veto-proof passage.&amp;quot; How&#039;s that for thinking outside the box? Harry Reid: Giving &#039;Em Hell.     Filed Under &amp;quot;FISA Fight.&amp;quot;  Miss the fireworks on July 4th? Want to see more? Just mention FISA or retroactive immunity in a political circle. Then sit back and enjoy the show. The bill is likely to come up for a vote this week, and Harry Reid will vote  against it . Although the bill is likely to pass, Sen. Reid cannot support the retroactive immunity for the telecoms.     Reid&#039;s Watching :  Filed Under &amp;quot;Big Time Attention.&amp;quot;  The Udall cousins, Mark and Tom, are hoping to bring their Democratic &amp;quot;New West&amp;quot; philosophy to the Senate in 2008, and they got a major press boost on Monday from the  New York Times . Know what&#039;s great about winning these two races? They&#039;ll bring with them the Udall commitment to protecting the natural resources of the West - a longtime priority of Sen. Reid.      Filed Under &amp;quot;On The Air.&amp;quot;  Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich is up statewide with two new ads, &amp;quot; Path &amp;quot; and &amp;quot; Energy Leader. &amp;quot; Mayor Mark&#039;s making a whole lot of noise up there. Alaskans say &amp;quot;North to the Future&amp;quot; but the Weekly Reid says &amp;quot;North to Victory.&amp;quot; Help the mayor keep these ads up on the  air . </description>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:51:03 EDT</pubDate>
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            <title>What Didn&#039;t They Block Last Week</title>
            <description> When do you buy your gas? What&#039;s Harry Reid doing during his recess? Look! Up in the sky! Reid On!  
 
 Nevada First :  Gas Expands . In the Weekly Reid&#039;s AP Chemistry class, Mr. Campion mentioned off-handedly that we should buy our gasoline early in the morning - especially during the summer months. Why? Because, he said, gas expands in high temperatures. So there&#039;s actually more gas in a gallon bought at 60 degrees at 6 am, than there is in a gallon bought at high noon, when the mercury has risen to 80. Made sense to the cash starved high school drivers in the class. Apparently, it also made sense to a number of  Las Vegans  - where morning temperatures in the summer months are, naturally, much higher than out east. They calculated they&#039;re spending $100 bucks a year for gasoline they didn&#039;t get. The law suit may not go anywhere, but it just goes to show - not much gets past Nevada&#039;s consumers. 
 
 Air Traffic Control . Last week Senator Reid  met with  the heads of several major airlines. The topic: rising fuel costs and the airlines reduced service to tourist hot spots - like Las Vegas. With record high unemployment in Nevada, boosting the state&#039;s tourism is the surest way to bolster the struggling economy. Sen. Reid - standing up for Nevadans and delivering in ways only he can - urged Senate Republicans to join Democrats in a bill to aimed to combat rising fuel costs by fighting oil speculation, &quot;From Nevada&#039;s perspective, the sooner people can afford to travel again, the sooner our state will be on the road to economic recovery.&quot; Truer words have never been spoken. Sadly, Bush-McCain Republicans care more about protecting the status quo than they do about providing relief for Americans working to make ends meet. They essentially blocked the bill last week (see below). 
    
 Working Recess . The Senate broke for it&#039;s July 4th Recess on Friday, and while staffers in DC gleefully show up to work in the recess uniform (lots of polo shirts and linen), Sen. Reid&#039;s days are just as packed in Nevada as they are when he&#039;s in DC. On Monday, he officially opened a  solar thermal power manufacturing plant  in Las Vegas. The plant is the  first of it&#039;s kind  in North America, and will be capable of producing 700 megawatts of energy each year. After he pressed the button to start the production line, Sen. Reid said, &quot;Nevada is poised to be a leader in the clean energy revolution. This facility will help position our state as the premiere place to invest in these new technologies.  As the factory expands operations and we continue to invest in clean energy, we&#039;ll create thousands of good-paying jobs and keep our outdoors pristine for future generations.&quot;  
 
On Tuesday, Sen. Reid made a stop at the Southern Nevada Counter-Terrorism Fusion Center, a state of the art center that serves as a collection point for information that will aide first responders during a crisis or natural disaster. The whole idea of a centralized data sharing clearing house makes the Weekly Reid smile. First Responders are true American Heroes, and we need to provide them with the best tools possible. 
 
 Must Reid :  Block, Block, Block, That&#039;s All You Do . Senate Democrats had a number of high priority pieces of legislation to pass last week, but as usual, the Bush-McCain Republicans had different priorities. 
 
 Rather than punish speculators who are driving up oil prices , obstructionist Republicans chose to walk in lockstep with the President and fill the coffers of Big Oil. 
 
 Rather than ensure doctors who participate in Medicare get paid this week , Bush-McCain Republicans chose to protect the special interests who bankroll their reelection campaigns. Our (bipartisan) bill stopped the pay cut doctors would take, expanded funding and access to preventative care, and ended higher co-payments for mental health services. It passed the House OVERWHELMINGLY (355-59), with broad bipartisan support. Did we mention it was bipartisan? The Republican bill? It did nothing to end the over payments Medicare is making to private interests. 
 
 Rather than provide relief for the millions of American families facing foreclosure , Bush-McCain Republicans chose to stand up for the very same people who&#039;ve crushed the American Dream for so many families. The roadblock the housing bill hit last week centered around language the House dropped in the version it passed. Republicans refused to vote on the bill without it. Rather than getting the bill passed quickly - and in the process helping the thousands of Nevadans facing foreclosure - Republicans refused to budge.  
 
 When will they learn? Maybe when they get an earful from their constituents  back home . And maybe when they&#039;re forced to vote on these bills again next week.  
 
 A Moment of Sanity . There were a few bright spots in the Senate last week. We passed supplemental funding bills for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for urgent domestic needs. We got the 21st Century GI Bill passed (and signed by the President yesterday). The bill will help our returning vets readjust to civilian life and ensure they can afford a quality education. The domestic spending bill will extend unemployment benefits to the victims of the failed policies of the Bush-McCain economy. In a week full of partisan bickering and Republican obstruction, it was nice to see some good done for those who deserve it most. 
 
 Reid&#039;s Watching :  It&#039;s a bird! It&#039;s a plane! It&#039;s... . What&#039;s the surest way to raise some dough for a struggling Republican candidate and motivate the Democratic base? Bring in Air Force One. Today, President Bush will attend a closed door fundraiser for interim (not incumbent) Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi). Former Governor Ronnie Musgrove - one of Senator Reid&#039;s favorite challengers - is making this race very competitive.  Remember  what happened last time a high profile member of the Bush Administration flew into Mississippi to raise money for a tanking candidate? Travis Childers - the Democrat - won. Local Democrats are reminding Mississippians that a vote for Roger Wicker is a vote for the failed policies of George W. Bush. Help the Governor offset the W. money by contributing  here . 
 
 Nipping at her (Tar) Heels .  CQPolitics.com  profiles Kay Hagan&#039;s race against Liddy Dole, and notes, &quot;fluctuating polls over the month and a half since state Sen. Kay Hagan won the May 6 Democratic primary have raised questions about how solid and secure Dole is in her status as the favorite.&quot; Kay may have spent a bunch of money in the primary, but she came out much stronger than anyone would have thought. She&#039;s going to win this race, and inside-the-beltway press like this helps raise her profile in the national press.  
 
Have a great week! Tune in next Tuesday for another edition of the Weekly Reid!</description>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:06:49 EDT</pubDate>
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            <title>Myths, Falsehoods and Outright Lies</title>
            <description> The Grand Oil Party? Who&#039;s the newest Pahrump-ian? How many debates is too many? Reid On!   
 
 Nevada First :  Sobering Numbers . On Friday, Nevada&#039;s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation reported that unemployment in the Silver State jumped half a percentage point in one month. It now stands at an  astounding 6.2%  - that&#039;s .7% above the national average. Here&#039;s a couple of statistics to help put that number in perspective: According to the Review Journal,  drive-in traffic  to Las Vegas dropped 7.8% in the month of April; every hotel room in Las Vegas equals six jobs - and more and more of those jobs are union.  
 
So, gas prices are through the roof, Americans are cutting back on discretionary spending, families and frat boys are canceling trips to Vegas. Fewer tourists means fewer jobs in tourism driven cities (like Las Vegas). Fewer job at casinos and hotels means fewer union members at these hotels, which means fewer people getting their ticket to the middle class punched. As people lose their jobs, they struggle to make payments on their credit cards and their mortgages. And Nevada leads the nation in home foreclosures. What&#039;s the cause? The Failed Policies of Bush-McCain Republicans, for one. Gas Prices. Plummeting consumer confidence. Obstructionist Republicans blocking The Consumer First Energy Act, the Foreclosure Prevention Act, the Climate Change Bill, and...well, you get the idea. 
 
Did you know that  84% of Americans  believe our country is on the wrong track? Or that  76% of Nevadans  believe the country is on the wrong track. But, guess what? All of that can change - when we elect Barack Obama president. And when we convene the 111th Congress with an expanded Democratic majority in the Senate - because a President Obama is stronger with a filibuster-proof Senate majority.  
 
 We&#039;ve got the answers . The Las Vegas Review Journal  poses 9 questions  that may help shed light on which way Nevada will swing in the fall (we&#039;ve already told you why one  Nevada pundit  thinks it will go blue). Molly Ball asks, &quot;Will Democrats be unified?&quot; Yes, and now we have  proof . &quot;What role does rural Nevada play?&quot; A big one - and Barack Obama has shown us he knows how connect with  rural Nevada , and with every passing day, John McCain becomes more like President Bush, and less like the maverick he claims to be.  
 
 Noted, without comment . Michael Jackson - the gloved one - living in  Pahrump, NV ?  
 
 Must Reid :  How in the world ? The Weekly Reid noticed something last week. Right after President Bush had his Rose Garden presser saying he wanted to start  drilling off the coast , the Republican noise machine kicked into hyperspeed. We had Lindsey Graham on Meet The Press, Tom Ridge on Fox News Sunday, Tim Pawlenty on CNN - all talking about how OFFSHORE DRILLING will lower gas prices. Excuse me?! Since when did the GOP, where the O stands for OIL, have any credibility on our nation&#039;s energy policy? In typical Bush-McCain fashion, the Republican surrogates on the Sunday shows obfuscated and peddled myth and falsehood after outright lie.  
 
Allow the Weekly Reid to set the record straight:  
 
Myth: We&#039;re drilling as much as we can domestically - if we want more domestic oil, we need to open up new offshore wells.  
 Truth: We have 44 million acres of land onshore, leased from the federal government, capable of producing oil. 31 million - that&#039;s 70%! - are not currently producing. The Weekly Reid&#039;s father had an expression, &quot;Champ, before you start a marathon, you&#039;ve gotta finish a 5K.&quot; They want to build new rigs when they&#039;re not even working the land already allocated!   
 
Falsehood: We can drill our way to cheaper gasoline.  
 Truth: US demand for oil is 25% of the world supply, yet we have only 3% of the reserves. Even if we followed the Bush-McCain Republican&#039;s plan, domestic output on the Outer Coastal Shelf would only be 7% higher - and that&#039;s a measly 22 years down the road.   
 
Outright Lie: Opening up more area to drilling will relieve the pain Americans are feeling at the pump.  
 Truth: The price of a barrel of oil is determined on the international market - just because the oil is closer, doesn&#039;t mean it&#039;s cheaper. Oh, and we wouldn&#039;t even see any of that offshore oil until 2017.  
 
  Continue Reading - Below The Fold  </description>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:53:19 EDT</pubDate>
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            <dc:creator>Weekly Reid</dc:creator>
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            <title>&quot;They Just Don&#039;t Get It.&quot;</title>
            <description> What numbers make Harry Reid&#039;s blood boil? What are the Bush-McCain Republicans going to hate this week? Advice from the Weekly Reid&#039;s Granny? Reid On!   
 
 Nevada First :  1 in 96 ! Every time Senate Democrats try to do something to help ease the burden on middle class Americans, Bush-McCain Republicans find a way to block it, stop it, kill it, stymie it or put a secret hold on it. They&#039;re going to filibuster &quot;themselves right out of their seats&quot; (so  says  the estimable Chuck Schumer). As for Harry Reid, this obstruction is hitting very close to home. In Clark County,  1 in 96  homeowners face foreclosure - that&#039;s an increase of 66% since last year. And Nevada still leads the country in home foreclosures. With these numbers in mind, Sen. Reid&#039;s opened another front in his fight against obstructionist Republicans: he&#039;s taking it to the streets.  Bush-McCain Republicans blocked the Foreclosure Prevention Act, so Nevada&#039;s Senator Harry Reid went to work with Nevada&#039;s Attorney General to establish  Foreclosure Prevention Seminars . Yet another example of how Harry Reid, as leader, delivers results for Nevada that no one else could - and he&#039;s willing to work with anyone and everyone to do it . Last Friday and Saturday, hundreds of Nevadans attended the seminars (the third held in the last few months), which brought together lenders, credit counselors and homeowners. The seminars helped make the American Dream once again affordable and attainable for scores of middle class homeowners.  
 
 Must Reid :  Above the Fold . Last Tuesday, while you all were busy reading the Weekly Reid, Bush-McCain Republicans were doing what they do best: protecting the status quo. That&#039;s the same status quo that provides tax cuts for oil companies (ensuring record profits, longer lunch breaks at fancier restaurants, and corner offices for everyone), keeps gas above $4 a gallon, and prevents thousands of Americans from getting green collar jobs. But don&#039;t take our word for it, the headlines speak from themselves:  Senate Republicans Blocks Windfall Taxes on Big Oil ,  Senate Republicans Block Debate on Gas ,  Oil Provisions, GOP Blocks Energy-Related Bills .  
 
The Bush-McCain Republicans in the Senate just don&#039;t get it. Americans want to see their government working for them - not pretending they don&#039;t exist. We&#039;ve got great ideas. We&#039;ve got new, innovative solutions. We&#039;ve got our finger on the pulse of the American people. The Republicans? They&#039;re listening to a president with approval ratings in the  20s . They&#039;re saying no to the millions of Americans who bear the brunt of their failed policies. And they&#039;re crossing their fingers, hoping they don&#039;t lose all  23 seats  they&#039;re defending this fall. Oh, and they&#039;re probably wishing their press shop was as good as ours.  
 
 Tax and...aide ! Senate Democrats have committed themselves to making the American dream affordable again.  This week , we&#039;ll focus on tax relief. The tax relief package (also known as the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008) will do a few things the Bush-McCain Republicans are sure to hate. Like our efforts to invest in  renewable energy  sources like solar and wind (what kind of tax relief bill doesn&#039;t line the pockets of  oil executives ?). We can virtually assure you that the Republicans will HATE the fact that the bill puts money in the pockets of hard working Americans (what kind of tax relief bill helps ordinary Americans?). In the words of the Weekly Reid&#039;s grandmother, &quot;Politics ain&#039;t a popularity contest.&quot; Which is a good thing for Senate Republicans, because only about 11 people think this bill is a bad idea.  
 
 Reid&#039;s Watching :  Southern Appeal . Handicapping Senate races is one of the Weekly Reid&#039;s favorite pastimes. And we&#039;d just like to say, we agree completely with  Chris Cillizza : North Carolina and Mississippi are two of our favorite sleeper races. In  North Carolina , Liddy Dole is already running ads about how she can deliver for the state. Forget for a moment that she&#039;s been totally ineffective as a Senator (ranked  93rd ! Three of our &#039;06 Freshmen are above her), and get this: the ad doesn&#039;t use the word &quot;Republican&quot; once. And in  Mississippi , Ronnie Musgrove, a popular former governor (who after a few years out of politics is very, very eager to get back in) squares off against an opponent who&#039;s never won state wide office. He&#039;s the kind of Democrat that can win in Mississippi, and he&#039;ll get a boost from what&#039;s likely to be record setting African-American turnout. What they both need is to have a strong fundraising quarter to scare the NRSC into spending some loot in these states.  Online contributions accepted 24/7 on our  ActBlue page .   
 
Have a great week! Tune in next Tuesday for another edition of the Weekly Reid!</description>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:37:53 EDT</pubDate>
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            <title>Fist Pumps and Filibusters</title>
            <description>Who&#039;s the bluest of them all? Harry Reid: Off the Fence. What&#039;s the the Leader&#039;s Netflix Queue? Reid On!  
 
 Nevada First :  Blu-vada . Some of you may have seen this on Friday, but it&#039;s worth another read. Jon Ralston - the Chuck Todd of Nevada Politics - opined on the possibilities of a  Blue Nevada  in November. Jon&#039;s analysis is spot on - For the first time in a generation, Democrats out number Republicans (by nearly 60,000). Our state party - under the leadership of Congressional District 2 candidate  Jill Derby  - employs the best political minds Nevada has to offer. And let&#039;s face it, John McCain isn&#039;t exactly Nevada material. He&#039;s for Yucca, he&#039;s against  gaming (!), and he&#039;s actually going to be on the ballot as George W. McCain. Independent, he is not.  
 
 What you&#039;ve all been waiting for . On Friday, Senator Reid endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama, citing Senator Obama&#039;s ability to inspire millions, to bring new people in to the process, and to make the fist pump hip. Today, he  explained  to Molly Ball from the Las Vegas Review Journal why he thinks Nevada is Obama&#039;s to win. Here at the Weekly Reid, we&#039;ve been watching the nomination battle with keen interest. As a result of the 54 contests held between January 3rd and June 3rd, we have a stronger party, a more engaged and enthused party, and - more importantly - a larger party. But don&#039;t tell John McCain - he&#039;s got no idea what&#039;s about to hit him.  
 
 Must Reid :  492 Pages of Republican Shenanigans . The Republicans in the Senate have filibustered our agenda a record 74 times since Democrats took control in January 2007. They&#039;re on track to break the one-year record (which they set last year). But even they&#039;re getting sick of plain old filibuster. Last Wednesday, they sunk to a new low. In classic Republican chicanery, they dusted off a procedural maneuver not used in a decade. The obstructionist Bush/McCain Republicans forced a  reading  of every single syllable in the 492-page Global Warming Bill. Every. Single. Syllable. It took nine hours. Why? They must have had some problem with the bill, right? Wrong! They were objecting to  judicial confirmations . Our oceans are rising, our forests are burning, our rivers are flooding, and Washington, DC is experiencing its earliest heatwave in recent memory. And the Republicans are concerned about Judicial nominations? Which do you think matters more to most Americans? The first Reid-ier to correctly calculate the carbon footprint of the Wednesday&#039;s Republican tomfoolery gets a Give &#039;Em Hell Harry T-Shirt. Leave your comments below. And then, read this &quot;day in the shoes&quot; account of Senator Reid&#039;s  Difficult Wednesday .  
 
 Shakedown Street . AAA reported Tuesday that gas now averages  $4.02  per gallon. That&#039;s a jump of 20 cents in just one month. On Friday, unemployment jumped  10%  from what it was a month ago. The economy has lost nearly 500,000 jobs this year. Seven long years of the Bush Administration&#039;s buddying up with the oil industry, handing out tax breaks their closest friends and pretending the middle class doesn&#039;t exist has led us to this: The greatest shakedown of the American family in our nation&#039;s history.  
 
Democrats to the rescue with the Consumer First Energy Act (vote today!). What&#039;ll it do? Roll back the $17 billion in tax breaks the oil companies don&#039;t deserve. Stand up to the oil oligarchs in OPEC. End market speculation. And, three words: Windfall Profit Tax.  
 
 The Consumer First Energy Act is an important first step. We can&#039;t erase seven years of failed economic policies with one vote. But we can, and should, expect Republicans to recognize the squeeze Americans are feeling with sagging employment numbers, rising food costs and skyrocketing gas prices. As Democrats, we&#039;re offering solutions. Are Senate Republicans willing to buck the trend set by Bush and McCain? Tune in!   
 
 Reid&#039;s Watching :  The Battle for the Right . What do you get when you pit a Republican congresswoman - connected with a massive White House scandal - against a &quot;True Conservative&quot; willing to win at any cost? The New Mexico GOP Primary! Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce finally finished their campaign to see who could &quot;out-Bush&quot; the other. Pearce  won ; but the big winner is Tom Udall. Tom steps into the general election ring with a clear head and his fists up. Steve Pearce, on the other hand, has been knocked down a few times and is nursing a pretty serious cut above his right eye. Help Tom finish the bout (and end this poor boxing metaphor) by throwing a  few dollars  into the ring.  
 
Have a great weekend! Tune in next week for another edition of the Weekly Reid!</description>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:36:08 EDT</pubDate>
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            <title>65% Blank</title>
            <description>Who&#039;s the biggest land owner in Nevada? What color is your collar? Stop joking - Mississippi? Reid on!  
 
 Nevada First :  Not Gonna Happen for $1000 . On June 3, 2008, the Department of Energy applied for a license to build a nuclear waste dump here. What is Yucca Mountain? Yes. We also would have accepted an earthquake prone area above a water source 90 miles away from the biggest tourist attraction this side of Graceland. Senator Reid, delivering for Nevadans only he can, vowed to kill the proposed dump. The application is only 35% complete (which if this were high school, would warrant an F). Surely the application addresses one crucial question: What would the DOE do in case of an emergency (any emergency). Oh, wait. They left that one blank.  
 
 Landlords for $400 . By far, the biggest landowner in the state of Nevada, the Federal Government owns this much land. What is 87%, Alex. Correct! And we&#039;re not just talking Area 51 and the Nuclear Test Site, either. Thanks to the leadership of Harry Reid, Nevada also boasts some of the most beautiful (and protected)  deserts and mountains in nation .  
 
 Must Reid :  Color Coded Jobs for $600 . This &quot;healthy&quot; type of job accounted for more than  450,000  direct and indirect jobs in 2006. What are Green Collar jobs, Alex? You betcha! As the Weekly Reid mentioned last week, the Senate this week tackles the  Global Warming Bill . Senator Reid and others have acknowledged that passage will be very difficult (especially with President Bush sharpening his veto pencil). Here are the facts: The Bush/McCain economic policies (is it even fair to call them policies?) have squandered countless opportunities to promote economic growth by creating green collar jobs. Case in point: the economy lost 107,000 construction jobs in April alone. The Climate Security Act would create millions of good-paying jobs and spur growth in construction, manufacturing and industries we haven&#039;t even imagined yet. Thomas Jefferson (ever idealistic, always forward thinking) counted on American ingenuity to carry our young nation to greatness - this bill continues in that long tradition. The new, 21st century economic engine runs on Green!  
 
 Fire and Water for $400 . In the last 30 years, the length of this season has grown by 78 days. What is the Democratic Primary Season? No, sorry. The correct answer is &quot;Wildfire Season.&quot; Nevada and the desert southwest are hotter than ever, and what little rain does fall evaporates more quickly because of increased temperatures. The droughts are more intense. The wildfires are larger and more intense (on average, the fires that cover 2,500 or more acres last five times longer). Scientists say we need to reduce our carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. What&#039;s the White House&#039;s response?  Shut the scientists up .  
 
 Reid&#039;s Watching :  Challengers for $800 . This Senate challenger is the Weekly Reid&#039;s newest favorite candidate to knock out a committed Bush/McCain Republican. Who is Ronnie Musgrove? Yes! And now, two polls show that Mississippi is definitely on the table: one from  Rasmussen  (Musgrove +1) and one from the  DSCC  (Musgrove +8). Show the former Governor you  love  him too.  
 
 Rhyming Nicknames for $200 . This former governor and senator got his nickname by walking the length and breadth of Florida during one of his campaigns. Who is  Walkin&#039; Lawton Chiles . Yes! And his niece, Kay Hagan, learned a lot from her uncle - she&#039;s building one heck of a ground game after her primary victory last month. Kay&#039;s hosting  &quot;Family Reunions&quot;  and house parties across the state now, and the phone banks are up and running  already . All politics is local, and Kay&#039;s got one huge advantage over Liddy Dole - her husband can vote for her!</description>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:52:56 EDT</pubDate>
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            <title>&quot;What Influence?&quot;</title>
            <description> How many vetoes will we override between now and January &#039;09? Want to see the Weekly Reid on it&#039;s global warming soapbox? How about some Reid video? Reid On!     Nevada First :  Overridden ! Big news out of the Senate last week. By a whopping margin, the Senate  overrode  President Bush&#039;s veto of the Farm Bill. The Weekly Reid won&#039;t go into the tortured logic Bush used to justify vetoing the bill. We&#039;re all tightening our purse strings as a result of the Bush-McCain economic policies, and low-income Americans are shouldering an even heavier burden. In rural Nevada, the rising cost of healthy food is taking its toll on the neediest of our fellow citizens (see Senator Reid&#039;s  op-ed  in the Reno Gazette Journal) Democrats used the Farm Bill to bring much needed relief to rural America - confirming once again we stand up for struggling families.     Let&#039;s take a look at what the override would do:  -- Provide $10 over the next 10 years for nutritional programs to help millions of families afford healthy food.   -- Provide $1.2 billion over the same period to help food banks replenish their pantries.   -- Raise the minimum food stamp benefit from $10 to $14 - the first increase in 3 decades.    Oh, and the bill would cap payments to absentee farmers who don&#039;t need the subsides.    Like we said, we&#039;re not going to bore you with the tortured logic used to justify the President&#039;s veto. We&#039;ll just tip our hat to James Madison, and say, &amp;quot;Thanks for the Checks and Balances.&amp;quot;      Must Reid :  Veto Proof (Again) . The Weekly Reid is happy to report that the 21st Century GI Bill passed last week, as a part of the  supplemental war funding bill . The bill passed with a veto proof majority: 75-22 (it&#039;s a testament to the sad state we&#039;re in when we need to qualify this bill as &amp;quot;veto proof&amp;quot;). Noticeably absent? John McCain. Who said he&#039;d vote against it anyway.    Against?  Yes . He objects to the amount of money spent in the bill (for things like extending unemployment benefits) and says the GI education benefits would discourage troops who wish to reenlist. Forget the fact that we owe America&#039;s bravest a full ride and a diploma. And forget that the biggest deterrent to reenlistment is the failed strategy of Bush-McCain in Iraq.     On a related note, 25 Republicans broke ranks with the President and John McCain on this bill. 25. What does that say about John McCain as the new leader of the GOP? What about the president&#039;s influence? Leave it up to Senator Reid to, in just a few words, capture the dismal state of the Bush-McCain role in domestic and foreign policy, &amp;quot; What influence ?&amp;quot;     Soapbox Time . When the Senate returns next week, they&#039;ll take up the  Climate Change Bill . We usually think about global warming in terms of crazy weather patterns, super storms and melting glaciers. But an important part of fighting global warming is preventing the humanitarian crisis that comes along with the longer, drier summers and severe storms. For example, with hotter summers and longer droughts, and as farmland dries up, people (especially in developing countries) flock to big cities - cities that don&#039;t have the infrastructure in place to support a population explosion. Diseases run rampant and clean water becomes tougher to find. Next comes a food crisis in these big cities. A recent study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that global warming will likely lead to 40 to 170 million people being malnourished in the coming decades. So the next time a winger tells you global warming ain&#039;t a problem, take away his sandwich and tell him people are starving.      Reid&#039;s Watching :  Recess TeeVee . Two quick video links for you. Senator Reid was on &amp;quot;This Week&amp;quot; with George Stephanopoulos a few weeks ago. Watch the video  here .   And the good Senator was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Check out the video  here . </description>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 28 May 2008 10:37:40 EDT</pubDate>
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            <title>FE...Cya!</title>
            <description>  Nevada First :  File under &amp;quot;Party Unity&amp;quot;  - When you get 2,500 Democrats in a room, only one thing is certain - there are (at least) 2,500 different opinions on how to right the USS America after 8 years with George W. Bush at the helm. But this weekend in Reno, 2,500 Democrats  converged  on the Grand Sierra Resort for the Nevada State Democratic Convention.  In what we all hope is a preview of the Denver Convention, delegates passed a party platform and committed to working together to beat John McCain. We may be the Big Tent Party - but when it comes to ending the greatest  foreign policy blunder  in our nation&amp;rsquo;s history, we stand together.     Senator Reid addressed the convention, noting how many new (and  excited ) Democrats we have as a result. He also took aim at Senator McCain,  reminding  the assembled masses that John McCain isn&amp;rsquo;t the maverick he claims to be, &amp;quot;I know where he stands on the issues. I&#039;ve seen him vote. He&#039;s a flawed candidate. He has the wrong temperament, he&#039;s wrong on the war, he&#039;s wrong on the economy, and we&#039;re going to beat John McCain. We don&#039;t need a George Bush clone.&amp;quot; Watch the whole speech  here .      File Under &amp;quot;Bush III&amp;quot;  - The Weekly Reid is a huge fan of this new DNC sponsored website:  McCainpedia.com . Want the truth on George W. McCain and Yucca Mountain? Click  here  (it ain&#039;t good). Hours of enjoyment - just a click away.       Must Reid :  File Under &amp;quot;Here We Go Again&amp;quot;  - It&amp;rsquo;s supplemental time again in DC. And with Democrats in control of both houses of Congress, we have the opportunity to change course and give our troops the support they&amp;rsquo;ve earned. Whereas the Republican majorities in the 108th and 109th Congress simply  rubberstamped  the Administration&#039;s failed policy, Democrats in the 110th Congress are addressing the problems the Bush Republicans have ignored.      In English: We&amp;rsquo;re cleaning up their mess. The President&amp;rsquo;s failed policies have us spending $5,000 a second in Iraq. That means, in the time it took you to read this paragraph, you could have bought a new car. With the money spent on 15 seconds of the war in Iraq, the Weekly Reid could completely pay off its college loans.       File under &amp;quot;8 Semesters&amp;quot;  - This week the Senate will also take up the new  GI Bill , sponsored by over half of the Senate, half of the House and nearly every veterans group under the sun. Slam Dunk, right? Well, there&amp;rsquo;s still half of both houses who HAVEN&amp;rsquo;T cosponsored it. One reason to support it: This war has put heavy burdens on our National Guard and Reservists. Under the current education benefits, they receive only a small fraction of the money they need for higher education. Which, as you know, is the best ticket we have to the middle class.       File Under The Long Goodbye  - Job Description: Regulate campaign finance legislation; interpret the current laws, issuing rulings and clarifications; maintain the integrity of the commission. Candidate Qualifications: worked to suppress Democratic voter turnout while working at the DOJ. Appointed to the FEC through a recess appointment; faced fierce criticism when nominated for a full term.      The FEC has been hamstrung by a fight over nominees to the commission - with only two full members, they haven&amp;rsquo;t even been able to reach a quorum. With the withdraw of  Hans von Spakovsky  this week (the above referenced resume) it looks like the FEC is making a come back.      Reid&amp;rsquo;s Watching :  File Under &amp;quot;Yep. Alaska!&amp;quot;  - Two polls out last week confirm what the Weekly Reid&amp;rsquo;s been saying for months now. Mark Begich (Mayor of Anchorage) is the real deal. And Uncle Ted is in a heap of trouble. Mayor Mark is up five points in this  Research 2000  poll and two points in this  Rasmussen  poll. Oh, and look at the favorable/unfavorables for Senator Stevens! It&amp;rsquo;s gonna be a long, sunny summer for Democrats in Alaska. On the web:  www.begich.com        File Under &amp;quot;Rocky Mountain Dem&amp;quot;  - Mark Udall was officially recognized as the Democratic nominee for the Colorado Senate seat being vacated by Wayne Allard. At the state convention over the weekend, Mark thanked his fellow Democrats and  took aim  at &amp;ldquo;Big Oil&amp;rdquo; Bob Schaffer, &amp;ldquo;We can&#039;t afford another year of an energy policy written by the oil industry, and we can&#039;t afford to send another politician to Washington who stands up for the oil companies instead of the people and the future of our state.&amp;rdquo; Mark&amp;rsquo;s gonna win this race! On the web -  www.markudall.com . </description>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2008 09:43:06 EDT</pubDate>
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            <dc:creator>Weekly Reid</dc:creator>
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            <title>Pain in the Pump</title>
            <description>  Nevada First :  Empty Wallets . Let&amp;rsquo;s turn the clock back to May 2000. The good ol&amp;rsquo; days. The Boy Band  craze  was on it&amp;rsquo;s way out. No one knew what a  hanging chad  was. And a barrel of crude oil cost  $27.39 . Fast forward to 2008 - instead of *NSYNC we have the  Jonas Brothers . HBO&amp;rsquo;s  &amp;ldquo;Recount&amp;rdquo;  er, recounts, those crazy weeks when hanging chads got the media coverage Star Jones craves for. And oil costs over  $125 a barrel . Nevadans are paying $3,000 dollars more a year for gas than they were 7 years ago. Where&amp;rsquo;s that money coming from?      The Bush administration&amp;rsquo;s oil-friendly policies amount to the one of the greatest shakedowns of American families in our nation&amp;rsquo;s history. And as the  Washington Post/ABC News  poll released this week shows, Americans are looking to Democrats (by 21 points) to fix the disastrous policies of the Bush administration. Exhibit A as to why there are  50,000  new active Democratic voters in Nevada.     Up From Searchlight .  Newsweek  sits down with Senator Reid to discuss his new book,  The Good Fight  (currently the best selling book about Nevada on Amazon.com). Read it for exclusive dating advice from the Majority Leader.      Must Reid :  Stop-This . This  LA Times piece  from last Friday gave the Weekly Reid serious agita. The President promised to minimize the number of troops affected by the stop-loss policy (read: back-door draft) that keeps troops in uniform well past the time their service should end. With the announcement of the surge, there&#039;s been a 43% increase in the number of soldiers who&#039;ve seen their tours extended. To make matters worse, the  Army Times  reported last week that the program will continue until the fall of 2009.       Not even divine intervention . Mere days after the Supreme Court handed the Right a huge victory in their effort to disenfranchise as many voters as possible (and reminded us once again that John McCain is no  maverick ), 12 Roman Catholic nuns were denied their right to vote because they lacked  photo ID . None of them drive. One is 98.      The Samuel Gompers Seal of Approval . The Weekly Reid&amp;rsquo;s been harping on the Bush Republican&amp;rsquo;s war on the middle class for months now. What&amp;rsquo;s the best ticket to the middle class? The right to bargain collectively. This week, the Senate takes up the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act. Want fair wages for the men and women on the front lines of protecting our families? This is the bill for you! Want to strengthen the ties of our first responders to their communities? This bill does just that! Now, if we can just put the L back in the NLRB&amp;hellip;      Reid&amp;rsquo;s Watching :  Webb 2.0 . Lots of people in DC and the blogosphere have been comparing Kay Hagan&amp;rsquo;s challenge to Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina to the now famous Jim Webb/ George Allen  battle in &amp;rsquo;06. Well, on the heels of the new  Rasmussen  poll, perhaps this race should be upgraded from &amp;ldquo;Sleeper&amp;rdquo; to &amp;ldquo;One to Watch.&amp;rdquo; Kay Hagan 48% Elizabeth Dole 47%. One (sarcastic) caveat: Liddy Dole is a GREAT campaigner. Expect Hagan&amp;rsquo;s margin to widen as North Carolinians remember they sent Dole to Washington once before.       Whose side is he on ? Jeff Merkley - Speaker of the Oregon House and architect of their new majority - is ready to take on Bush Republican Gordon Smith in November. And Gordon Smith is already preparing to take on Jeff Merkley. In a rare move, Sen. Smith is running  negative ads  against Merkley before the Democratic primary has played itself out. Some argue Smith&amp;rsquo;s trying to help Jeff&amp;rsquo;s opponent (who is losing to both  Smith  and  Jeff  pretty convincingly now). The Weekly Reid thinks he feels the weight of the Bush Republican water he&amp;rsquo;s been carrying for the last eight years.  </description>
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            <pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 10:42:06 EDT</pubDate>
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            <title>Where&#039;s Howard Hughes When You Need Him?</title>
            <description> Welcome to the Weekly Reid, a compilation of the highlights of the past week about Majority Leader as well as occasional messages and special information from Senator Reid himself. Look for it every Wednesday.&amp;nbsp;  &amp;nbsp;   Nevada First :  Look! Up in the Sky ! Pop quiz: You&amp;rsquo;re a United States Senator, faced with a bill that would upgrade airport infrastructure, improve oversight of the FAA and the airlines, modernize the air-traffic control system, and help the airlines lower the cost of their fuel. Do you a) co-sponsor it, b) offer an amendment to incorporate aspects of the Passenger Bill of Rights into the final bill or c) filibuster it.    If you chose a or b, then congratulations! You&amp;rsquo;re an honorary member of the Democratic caucus! Bush Republicans faced this choice this afternoon, as the vote on cloture for the FAA Modernization Bill came to the floor. For those of you keeping count at home, this is the 69th time in this Congress that Bush Republicans have donned their obstructionist hats and threatened a filibuster. They&amp;rsquo;re not even willing to DEBATE the bill or offer amendments - they just want to kill it. The Las Vegas airport - McCarran International - accommodates 4 million passengers a month. In about 3 years, it&amp;rsquo;ll reach full capacity. What will Vegas do with all those empty hotel rooms? This bill would invest in the future of all airports and air travel (read: tourism). If he were still around, Howard Hughes - everyone&amp;rsquo;s favorite rich recluse aviator - would probably just build another one for Nevada     Maybe If They Served Peanuts . Here&amp;rsquo;s something about airports that isn&amp;rsquo;t controversial. Senator Reid joined forces with Senator Ensign and Congressman Heller in&amp;nbsp;  announcing  funding for Reno-Tahoe airport. The 7 million dollars - split over two separate grants - will help reduce the noise level from the increase in air traffic coming into the airport. Said Senator Reid: &amp;ldquo;Reducing noise levels around the Reno-Tahoe Airport is an important quality of life issue for people residing in nearby neighborhoods. I&amp;rsquo;m happy we&amp;rsquo;re able to bring the money we need back home to Nevada for this important work.&amp;rdquo;      Must Reid :  Mission&amp;hellip;still not accomplished . Half a decade. That&amp;rsquo;s how long it&amp;rsquo;s been since President Bush declared &amp;ldquo; Mission Accomplished .&amp;rdquo; Of the more than 4,000 heroic Americans who&amp;rsquo;ve died in this war, 97% have given their life since President Bush&amp;rsquo;s photo-op on the USS Abraham Lincoln. And if President Bush had not so recklessly vetoed a bill passed by both houses of Congress and supported by the vast majority of the American people, every one of our combat troops would be well on their way home. We&amp;rsquo;re spending $5,000 a second in Iraq. $5,000 a second. How much do you think that banner cost the American taxpayer?     Money in the bank . The Weekly Reid got its economic stimulus check last week - while on vacation in Las Vegas (no, the $600 was not put on  red ). Keep an eye on your mailbox! They&amp;rsquo;re being mailed out to you based on the last two numbers of your social security number.     Reid&amp;rsquo;s Watching :  Thank God For TiVo . Jon Stewart hosted Senator Reid last night - watch the video  here . And listen to his talk with Steve Inskeep from NPR&amp;rsquo;s Morning Edition  here . Still haven&amp;rsquo;t read the book? Order it from  Amazon.com  now - it&amp;rsquo;s cheaper than in the bookstore, and your online purchase will help us move up the list of non-fiction bestsellers! Don&#039;t forget - all proceeds will be donated to charity! </description>
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            <pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2008 10:55:00 EDT</pubDate>
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            <dc:creator>Weekly Reid</dc:creator>
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