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Opinion
Jul. 06, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: YouTube sensation

Nevada's own Harry Reid has become a YouTube sensation for continually combining his gloomy disposition with rhetoric that makes even his most partisan supporters cringe.

His latest hilarious monologue came a few days ago on the Fox Business channel when, in trying to defend the exorbitant costs (and federal subsidies) of renewable power, he asserted that money is overrated in debating the country's energy policy.

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    • "Coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick. It's global warming. It's ruining our country. It's ruining our world," Sen. Reid blurted out between pregnant pauses. "We've got to stop using fossil fuels."

    Yes, the resources that not only drive the world's economy and rising standard of living, but make life and prosperity possible in his political base of Las Vegas, are "ruining our country" and "ruining our world."

    By Thursday afternoon, the video clip had close to 400,000 hits on YouTube. Like an "American Idol" reject who has no idea he can't sing, Sen. Reid serves up speechification that crashes and burns in spectacular fashion. Doesn't the Democratic Party have its own Simon Cowell, someone with enough common sense to cut off the Slipup from Searchlight before he finds all new ways to embarrass his home state?

    Funny thing about coal and oil. Before they began transforming Americans' everyday lives by providing electricity and transport that didn't require a horse, average citizens trudged though life with mouths half-full of teeth, fortunate to live past age 40. Far from making us sick, they've powered advances that have extended the country's collective life expectancy to about 80, helped eliminate hard-core poverty and made us the wealthiest nation in the history of the planet.

    Today, coal still provides half the country's electricity -- power that allows Las Vegas air conditioners to run 24 hours per day during the soul-searing heat of July, power that lets partygoers enjoy the city's luxuries at all times. And how did they -- and the foodstuffs they ate for breakfast -- get to this otherwise uninhabitable tourist outpost? They drove or flew here on a tank of fossil fuel.

    Perhaps we should be grateful for Sen. Reid's uninspiring words. If Congress ultimately gives up on sacrificing our economy and quality of life, Sen. Reid's stumbling, mumbling policy pitches might be his lasting gift to this nation.

    Then again, one only has to look up a different YouTube clip to see that any well-reasoned discourse escaping Sen. Reid's lips is a miracle worthy of papal recognition. In an interview with Jan Helfeld, Sen. Reid first denies that America's progressive tax structure transfers wealth from its most productive citizens to its least productive, then attempts to argue for several minutes that the federal income tax is voluntary. That clip already has about 175,000 Web hits.

    "Our system is a voluntary system," he says again and again.

    Hoo hoo! Stop it, Sen. Reid. You're killing us!

    But do please tell us where we can pick up our Monopoly-game "Get out of Paying Taxes Free" cards.



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    I am from OHIO. wrote on July 16, 2008 04:56 AM: There should be a national boycott of Nevada until either Harry Reid finds some other reasonable fuel OR you people in Nevada vote him out of office!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    PS- Tar and Feathers would work also.


    the man wrote on July 08, 2008 08:38 AM: If the left loving media spent just an once of energy listening to reid, they would stop bashin Bush on being stupid and focus on the one who has more power, the lovable idiot from searchlight...

    Isn't Harry the one who once said his mother, living on a fixed income, has to chose between food and medicine?

    Imagine, the mother of a millionaire, has to live on a fixed income!!


    Skep41 wrote on July 08, 2008 07:39 AM: As an American and former Nevadan (Valley High '69) I'd like to ask how this genius got reelected last time? Why is Obama, whose views are equally idiotic but whose delivery is much better, going to win Nevada this year? The answer is simple; people want to live in poverty, they want to give up their cars, they dont want air conditioning in July. Why else would they vote for ANY Democrat? Even though Global Temperatures have declined for the last ten years people will insist on panicking and pushing this carbon crap until the economy falls over a cliff. Global Warming Myths are just an excuse for these reckless socialists to gain total control over the economy and ultimately run it into the ground, as these misguided fanatics always do in every country they take power. The Dems will win big and taxes and energy prices will shoot through the roof,ending the ability of people to go to Las Vegas to gamble. When you vote for any Democrat in Nevada you are voting to commit economic suicide. The only question is, are you people dumb enough? I think you are. Enjoy the Depression!


    SAH wrote on July 07, 2008 04:49 PM: you didn't link to the YouTube you were talking about, so I couldn't use your piece


    DBCooper wrote on July 07, 2008 03:31 PM: Boxer, Brown, Byrd, Cantwell, Durbin, Harkin, Kerry, Klobacher, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Leahy, Levin, Martinez, Menendez, Mikulski, Nelson, Reid, Rockerfeller, Stabenow,. Stevens, Voinovich
    So many dimwits, so little time!


    LvTmplr wrote on July 07, 2008 02:41 PM: It's 'people' like this guy, Who 'we' elected, that need to leave politics forever.....for this country to have real 'change'. A 'Democrat'......

    Sorry to say, This harry reid won't go away until he see's fit to do so.....sadly, too little too late...Nevada suffers more than it benefits when this harry reid opens his mouth...."Coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick. It's global warming. It's ruining our country. It's ruining our world," Sen. Reid blurted out between pregnant pauses. "We've got to stop using fossil fuels."

    ......Incredible


    Ojisan wrote on July 07, 2008 01:21 PM: Birds of a feather flock together. Imagine those who voted for him and supported him. Imagine..., sorry I can't. I'm not as ignorant and st_p_d like him and the voters.


    Rick wrote on July 07, 2008 12:35 PM: You guys keep relecting him............


    Big John wrote on July 07, 2008 11:27 AM: Would it destroy the LVRJ to actually link to the video they are discussing? And they wonder why newspapers are dying...


    c'est moi wrote on July 07, 2008 10:54 AM: When i gwow up, i want to be a democwat because they get to say an' do anything they want, an' because they have lots and lots of money and the news people wuv them all the time, because they wuv the widdle people soooooooo much.


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