Reid still the better choice for Nevada
Nevada needs experienced leader in difficult times, not newcomer
On Sept. 21, 2010, America took two steps back from progress. Our senators, once again, committed the error of voting to benefit their private and personal interests rather than the interests of those who elect them: the American citizenry.
The Senate reviewed a military defense bill that would repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, along with the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. The Democrats were four votes short of the 60 votes that were needed to break a filibuster enacted by Republicans.
This failure impacts America as a nation because legislation was not given the opportunity to prove its beneficial impact, but the failure to implement the policy is not why we should be worried.
America has ceased moving forward, not because the bill didn’t pass, but because of the reasons it didn’t pass.
With elections around the corner, all representatives are on their toes, making sure they dot their I’s and cross their T’s.
Keeping their distance from anything that has the scent of controversy, politicians have made it their agenda to stay in the safe zone.
It is saddening to see that Congress has now become a playground for grown-ups, where the main goal and focus is to win- even if that means employing dishonest tactics to make opponents look bad.
President Barack Obama’s administration has been criticized for the past couple of months. Not surprisingly, it has been the opposing party at the forefront of such criticism.
Ever since Obama became president, the Republicans have criticized every move he makes. Republicans criticized Obama for appointing Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, for his health care measures and for his endorsement of a Muslim community center near Ground Zero among other issues.
They also criticized him for taking “long” vacations and even for travelling to Denmark to help Chicago in its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
It appears that Republicans have one sole item on their agenda: to gain control by badmouthing the president and the Democrats. Can we, as an educated citizenry, look past these comments?
During the defense bill vote, one particular senator from the opposing side made his comments loud and clear.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., stated several times that the reason why this bill was up for vote was because Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have an interest in winning votes for their party in the upcoming election cycle.
McCain’s theory is that this defense bill is a measure to appeal to the Hispanic community and the gay and lesbian community so that they would vote for Democrats, since this bill would have worked in these constituents’ favor.
If this is the case, and if Republicans believed McCain’s theory, then Republicans committed the same mistake that Democrats supposedly made. Republicans filibustered this legislation because they wanted to prevent any votes from being given to the Democratic Party.
Republicans voted against it because they are also in an election cycle and will not do anything to jeopardize their votes.
So who is at fault — the Democrats, the Republicans or both?
Unfortunately, there is no right answer to this question, but there are several actions that we citizens can take to prevent this form of playground politics.
We can begin by letting go of the anger that we have built up and vote rationally, not emotionally.
The Reid-Angle race is a great place to start. Nevada houses the most important race of this election because the outcome determines Nevada’s power in the national political arena.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, Reid is one of the most important and influential individuals in Washington D.C. because he holds the status of majority leader.
The majority leader holds leverage that no other senator possesses, and even though there has been a great amount of backlash against Reid, his current position places Nevada in a very prominent place.
The economy is terrible and unemployment is at its lowest. We have every reason to be angry and apathetic.
But is that reason enough to let go of Reid as a senator? No.
Letting go of Reid would be the worst action we as citizens could commit.
This is not because I am a fan of Reid but because electing Angle over Reid would be an even greater mistake.
People are angry at the unemployment rate and blame Reid. Coincidentally, the Republican Party and Sharron Angle have taken advantage of this and have attacked Reid on the number of jobs he has created.
We see advertisements and attack videos about Reid not creating any jobs — a clear-cut lie.
What is frightening, however, is Angle’s stance on creating jobs. Even though Reid has not been able to provide a job for every single individual, he has created jobs to alleviate some of the economic burden from his citizens’ shoulders.
Angle, on the other hand, believes that as senator, it would not be her responsibility to create jobs. This is a little contradictory. Angle is criticizing Reid for not creating the amount of jobs needed when she believes no jobs should be created.
And worse, she wants to eliminate the Department of Education and get rid of the scholarships available to hardworking students. Isn’t a great education required to be successful?
Angle is a bad candidate overall. She has no clue what it means to be senator, unlike Reid.
This is where we need to take action. It is time that we stop being angry and stop blaming Reid for everything that is wrong with Nevada.
As human beings, we like to pick a scapegoat and Reid has become the scapegoat for many Republicans.
If Reid is having a somewhat difficult time maintaining Nevada’s economy, is Angle — someone who has no experience and whose interests do not align with Nevada’s — really going to do better?
This is no longer a choice of voting Democrat or Republican. It is a choice of voting for or against Nevada.