We're already well aware of this clown's economic illiteracy, but give Reid some credit here. Unlike your average pol, he's admirably unashamed of his ignorance -- indeed, he openly flaunts it. Behold:
"Millionaire job-creators are like unicorns; they're impossible to find and don't exist."
There are several problems with the Senate Majority Leader's startling statement. First, it's risibly, factually false (apparently Reid got this morning's memo). Second, and more importantly, it won't pass muster with the most voters' basic sense of economic heuristics. It would be one thing if Reid were arguing that Republicans are exaggerating the number of millionaires who create jobs, but that's not his contention. His contention is that there are zero millionaires who create jobs in the United States of America. How does one begin to respond to such an asinine comment? Private sector corporations employ millions of Americans. Every single one of those jobs was created by someone, and in the vast majority of cases, that someone wasn't a government employee. Many of the people who do the hiring -- or who hire the people who do the hiring -- are executives. Many of these executives are millionaires, according to both the Democrat Party's on-again, off-again working definition (individuals making $200K per annum), and most normal people's definition (individuals who earn...at least a million dollars). Rich people own companies. Rich people own property. Rich people buy things. Rich people invest. Of course rich people create jobs. Reid is the Mayor of Fantasyville.
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I'm tempted to delve deeper into the numbers -- which demonstrate that proposed tax hikes on "millionaires" would affect nearly half of all small business income, as well -- but in the end, Reid's assertion doesn't merit a serious analytical response. Instead, it invites (a) ridicule for its utter preposterousness, and (b) contempt for its author among the people whose collective intelligence it insults: The American public. Harry Reid is the most powerful man in the United States Senate. Thanks to the people of Nevada, that statement will remain true at least until January 2013. In the interim, voters across the country will face a prime opportunity to relegate this hack to the minority status he so richly deserves. Initiatives like this will help in that effort:
As Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., takes time over the holidays to consider whether he'll run for a third term, he might want to avoid turning on the television. Crossroads GPS, the outside group founded by former Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan and top GOP strategist Karl Rove, has reserved more than $500,000 on air time in Nebraska's two largest media markets. The three-month ad buy is apparently aimed at giving Nelson just a hint of the pressure to come, and maybe edge him out of the race.
Crossroads began the two-week blitz last week with a spot blasting Nelson's vote in favor of health care reform legislation. The ad will run through December 21. The group has reserved about $130,000 in broadcast and cable television time in Omaha and Lincoln over the next two weeks, according to a Republican source keeping tabs on the ad market. After a break for the holidays, the ads will return in the middle of January, and Crossroads has purchased time through the end of March, the data show. In total, Crossroads has reserved $519,000 in ad time.
Merry Christmas, Senator! Nebraskans didn't bargain for a crunch-time Obama/Reid/Pelosi lapdog when they elected Nelson, and they'll have an opportunity for a course correction in November -- if Nelson gives them the chance, that is:
Democrats with an eye on holding on to the Senate know that if Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) decides not to run for reelection, their job becomes more difficult. But one year out from the election, Nelson hasn't announced a decision, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says he hasn't told them either.
If Nelson declines to seek re-election, his seat is essentially lost, and the GOP is halfway home to a majority -- all else being equal. Speak up, Harry. Voters in Nebraska and elsewhere are hungry for more pearls of wisdom.
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