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Long overdue
- Thread starter Derec
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laughing dog
Contributor
You only think those 2 people in Congress have long overstayed their welcome in that body?
Derec
Contributor
They are both leaders of their caucuses in Senate and House respectively, they are both ancient (75) and - most importantly - they have both performed miserably in recent elections.
McConnell might be ancient as well, but he managed to win the Senate majority rather than lose it like Reid.
laughing dog
Contributor
They both got re-elected.
There are plenty of other people in both chambers who have been there long enough: Orrin Hatch, Patrick Leahy, Charles Rangel, John Conyers, Thad Cochran, Dan Young, Charles Grassley, Barbara Mikulsky, Richard Selby, Ed Markey and Jim Sensenbrenner have all served more than 35 years in Congress. Notice that is a bipartisan list, unlike your biased observations.
Somehow I seriously doubt if the Democrats had held the Senate that you would be so happy if McConnel or Grassley had announced his retirement.
The "get off my lawn" caucus will surely miss him.
I'm always amazed at how reflexive partisans react the wrong way to news like this. Republicans should be sad to see him go and Democrats should be relieved.
And of course all Americans should be dismayed that incredibly unappealing people who if they were in your family would be considered your nutty great aunt/uncle at Christmas can get continually reflected to congress and named to leadership positions until they leave in a box or walk away after losing a fight to an Exercycle.
I'm always amazed at how reflexive partisans react the wrong way to news like this. Republicans should be sad to see him go and Democrats should be relieved.
And of course all Americans should be dismayed that incredibly unappealing people who if they were in your family would be considered your nutty great aunt/uncle at Christmas can get continually reflected to congress and named to leadership positions until they leave in a box or walk away after losing a fight to an Exercycle.
Derec
Contributor
Hardly an achievement for Pelosi since hers is a very safe district. Reid only got reelected (barely) because GOP put up a nutcase to oppose him.
But as you well know, I wasn't talking about their personal reelections but their responsibility, as party caucus leaders, for the failures in the recent elections. Pelosi lost the House in 2010 and in 2014 GOP won its biggest majority since 1930. Reid lost the Senate majority in 2014.
As I tried to explain, I named Pelosi because she is Reid's counterpart in the House and shares negative qualities of advanced age and lack of performance as leader. I wasn't making a comprehensive list of Congresscritters who are staying in Congress too long. That's quite a different conversation.
I would think rethinking McConnell's minority leader position would certainly have been in order.
Derec
Contributor
Partisans, yes. Which I am not. I support the more Democratic line on some issues, Republican on others, and disagree with both on the rest.
The fact remains that Harry Reid was a very lackluster leader with many decidedly illiberal position, which is ironic given he hails from Nevada.
laughing dog
Contributor
No, the Democrats lost the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014.
No, it really isn't.
TacticalLoco
New member
Irony, the best medicine.Derec
Contributor
I do not think you quite understand the meaning of "no". What you wrote is just a different version of what I wrote.
Same goes for "isn't".
laughing dog
Contributor
Only if you make the colossally bogus assumption the Reid and Pelosi = Democrats.
Good. We need the space for more fear mongering retards.
Derec
Contributor
They are the congressional leaders. They carry the lion's share of responsibility for dismal (no pun intended) performance at recent congressional elections.
Nice Squirrel
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How powerful do you think they are?
laughing dog
Contributor
Says who?
It's called attacking the symbols.
Ford
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Wow. That's incredible! You, Derec, have correctly identified both Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi as being members of Congress. Not only that, but you have somehow managed to figure out that they are Congressional leaders, presumably on the basis of your in depth research into the secretive power structure on Capitol Hill which can only be ascertained by means of a Google search or paying scant attention to the news.
Bravo, Derec, on your super-sleuthing ability.
Why, next thing you know, we'll all learn that John Boehner is some sort of important figure in the Republican Party!
Derec
Contributor
Well according to laughing dog, he's just some guy, no different than 534 others in Congress. Or several million other Republicans for that matter.
laughing dog
Contributor
Never wrote anything remotely resembling that idiotic statement.
Nice Squirrel
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Well we can see how powerful he is at running the House as Speaker. Yep, he seems to be so important Republicans take him to be their leader like Mitch McConnell in the Senate.
