Nevada voters don't want Harry Reid, re-elect him anyway

Washington Examiner ^ | Nov. 3, 2010 | Byron York

[Colofornian]

LAS VEGAS — At polling places across Nevada Tuesday, researchers conducting exit polls asked voters one fundamental question about Harry Reid: Do you approve or disapprove of the way he has handled his job as senator? The results were terrible for the Senate Majority Leader. Fifty-five percent of voters disapproved of the job he has done, while 44 percent approved. Such numbers might seem a sure indicator of defeat, and yet by Tuesday night, Reid was leading his supporters in a victory celebration.

The exit pollsters also asked whether Reid, running for a fifth term in the Senate, has been in Washington too long. Fifty-five percent of voters said yes, while 41 percent said no. And still Reid won.

It's long been common knowledge here that many, many Nevadans don't like their senior senator. What Tuesday's exit polls showed was that their feelings go well beyond simple dislike. And yet, if the exit polls are correct, a significant number of people voted to re-elect a man they think isn't doing a good job and who has stayed too long in the Senate. In the end, Reid won 50.2 percent of the vote to Republican challenger Sharron Angle's 44.6 percent.

It would be hard to find a more telling measure of Angle's deficiencies as a candidate or the devastating effectiveness of Reid's scorched-earth negative campaign against her. Funded by millions of dollars from public-sector unions, Reid relentlessly attacked Angle from the moment she won the GOP nomination. Many of the earliest attacks went unanswered, forming impressions of Angle so negative that they outweighed the voters' negative opinion of Reid.

And then there was Reid's organizational strength. Both Reid and Angle held their election-night parties in Las Vegas casinos, Reid in the new Aria complex and Angle at the Venetian. That's nothing out of the ordinary in Nevada, but the difference between them was that Reid was entirely at home, with the enormous financial power and organizing muscle of the gambling industry and its union allies in his corner, while Angle was relying on votes from people who live far from Las Vegas. Republicans across the country who were hoping for a miracle in this race discovered that raw power wins the day.

And bending the rules, too. On election day there were reports that casino giant Harrah's had worked with the Reid campaign and the unions, particularly the Culinary Workers Union, to herd virtually all unionized employees to early voting stations to vote for Reid. According to a report in National Review Online, one Reid staffer told Harrah's officials that he would do anything -- for emphasis, he wrote it ANYTHING -- to get those workers to the polls.

By mid-day Tuesday, the Nevada Republican Party had filed a complaint with the Secretary of State's office. "Employees' votes were being tracked and supervisors were instructed by top management to personally confront employees to find out why they had not voted," the complaint said. "Further, the evidence shows that Harrah's management has continually communicated to employees their concern with electing Harry Reid and not just to ensure that the employees voted for the candidates of their choice." Such conduct, the complaint argued, violates Nevada law.

Democrats denied any such violations. And the fact is, Reid won by about 40,000 votes, a margin difficult to explain by charges of fraud. Also, squabbling over alleged irregularities tended to obscure the enormous advantage that open union support gave Reid. Nationally, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees spent $91 million trying to elect Democrats. A good chunk of that went to Reid, mostly for get-out-the-vote operations.

Even though they are not a huge part of the electorate, unions gave Reid an important edge. Exit pollsters found that 18 percent of voters had a union member in their household, while 82 percent didn't. The voters who didn't have a union member in the household split right down the middle between Reid and Angle, 48 percent to 48 percent. But among those who did have a union member in their household, Reid won 67 percent to 29 percent.

Every single aspect of the Reid campaign was organized to the max. "For people willing to volunteer, there's a free lunch afterward in the cafeteria," Reid staffers told people waiting in line to see First Lady Michelle Obama at a Reid rally on Monday. Everyone at the rally was given a sheet of paper with the phone numbers of people, presumably Democrats, to call and urge to vote. Speakers at the rally said they wanted to create the "biggest phone bank in the country," which sounded like an exaggeration but did indicate how much emphasis Reid put on getting in touch with voters.

When it comes to Angle's troubled campaign, one last statistic tells the story. The exit pollsters asked voters whether they had a favorable opinion of the Democratic and Republican parties. Among those who said they had a favorable opinion of the Democratic party, Reid won 93 percent of the vote. Of those who said they had a favorable opinion of the Republican party, Angle won 82 percent. Reid did a better job winning Democrats than Angle did winning Republicans.

So in the end, there was Reid onstage at the Aria, smiling as his supporters chanted HAR-EEE! HAR-EEE! HAR-EEE! Never terribly popular, for the last two years, he had defied the voters of his state as he pushed Barack Obama's unpopular agenda through the Senate. And as he did so, unemployment in Nevada climbed to 14.4 percent, the highest in the nation. It was no wonder, then, that a majority of the Nevadans who went to the polls Tuesday disapproved of the way Reid has done his job. The wonder was that he got away with it.

[Colofornian]

Sorry FRiend, the corruption, illegals and voter fraud was the reason.

Didn't deny it. Don't deny it.

Just wasn't the "entire formula" for Reid's success. My disdain extends from the gambling industry thru the mechanisms of the Lds church, which invited Harry Reid to speak to all its faculty and students in '07.

Sorry, FRiend...just too many indicators there was Lds support for Reid, even if it was a minority.

Since Lds are 8% of Nevada, all it would take is for 2% of Nevada (1/4th of Mormons) to vote for Reid...and what's 2% of Nevada? Well the U.S. Census Bureau (ttp://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/32000.html) says the 2009 population estimate was 2,643,085...meaning that 1/4th of Nevada Mormons = about 53,000 Nevadans.

Obviously, you need to reduce that 'cause
(1) Not all Mormons were registered to vote; and
(2) Not all registered Mormon voters voted...
But if 55-60% of Mormons voted...and if 25% of them voted for Reid...then Mormons probably gave almost 30,000 votes to Reid easy...(let's say 27,000 - 28,000 to be on the conservative side)

Sorry, FRiend...you just don't crunch numbers very well.

[DoughtyOne]

Exactly right...

[netmilsmom]

>>My disdain extends from the gambling industry thru the mechanisms of the Lds church, which invited Harry Reid to speak to all its faculty and students in ‘07. <<

Obviously. Leaning towards the LDS.

[jimt]

Never miss a Mormon sniping opportunity, right ?

Had somebody surveyed the Mormons, I'd bet they either went the same way the rest of the electorate did and for the same reasons, or gave Angle an edge. Why ?

Harry Reid is a "Jack Mormon". You cannot be a devout Mormon and support abortion on demand. It's a moral impossibility. He has taken numerous other stands inconsistent with Mormon teachings. So Harry's political positions would disincline Mormons from voting for him, not the reverse as you state.

[RegulatorCountry]

Harry Reid is a "Jack Mormon". You cannot be a devout Mormon and support abortion on demand. It's a moral impossibility. He has taken numerous other stands inconsistent with Mormon teachings. So Harry's political positions would disincline Mormons from voting for him, not the reverse as you state.

What, then, is Mitt Romney, having taken stands inconsistent with Mormon teachings as he has over the course of his political career? Are Mormons disinclined to vote for him as a result, too, or does he get some sort of special consideration because he's wavered back and forth like a weathervane?

[Colofornian]

(Hey, they both are pied pipers to hell if you follow them...)
...the apostle Paul told the Colossians that your belly can become an idol...
...greed [the gambling industry and non-recreational gamblers] can easily set up greed as their god...
...and then you have temple Mormons...like Harry Reid...who if he's a TBM -- a true-believing Mormon -- sets up mankind in the land of idolatry [Mormon leaders have repeatedly called their followers "gods in embryo" -- i.e. potential grown-up gods...which is just more rampant idolatry]

But, hey, if you're a fan of idolatry, who am I to intrude upon your Mars Hill religious experience?

[svcw]

If he is a Jack Mormon then why does he get awards from BYU on a regular basis. Oh, and the temple recommendation stuff, too.
I have a huge lds family in NV and they supported Reid, but they are all dems, so it makes sense.

[svcw]

Romney got 92% of the vote in UT, so the lds did vote for him even though every political position is opposed to lds teachings.

[Colofornian]

Harry Reid is a "Jack Mormon".

Morally perhaps, but not attendance wise and not in standing with the church.

You cannot be a devout Mormon and support abortion on demand. It's a moral impossibility.

Not true.

October 2007: Here’s the FReeper story on that Reid Gets Warm Reception at BYU

Well, that’s an interesting “angle”, Jim. Please tell us, does BYU usually invite “MINOs” to speak at all-student body, all-faculty rallies? (‘Cause guess what? That’s exactly what BYU did in October 2007 – ensuring Reid spoke to over 4,000 on campus. Here’s the FReeper story on that Reid Gets Warm Reception at BYU

From the above linked article, written by the Lds church owned Deseret News: At the end of his speech, Reid earned a standing ovation from a small percentage of the crowd and applause from the rest.

Tell us, Jim do BYU students & faculty usually applaud ALL MINOs like that?

Not only that, but the Salt Lake Tribune ran an October 2009 article – here. Harry Reid: A Mormon in the Middle

Here were two “interesting” comments by fellow Mormons about Reid, including one from Sen. Orrin Hatch: Bennett's Utah Senate colleague, Orrin Hatch, says it's not fair for fellow Mormons to disparage Reid as anything but a devout Mormon..."I can personally tell you that Harry is a good member of the LDS faith and he was expressing a personal opinion that his side feels very deeply about," Hatch says.

Well, there ya go, Jim. Are you being contentious against Sen. Hatch by calling him a liar – or mistaken – re: his eval of Reid?

I mean, come on Jim, the Salt Lake Trib article also mentioned how ”Today, Reid, with his security escort in tow, likely will be making his home teaching rounds after his ward's three-hour service. Anyone who questions his Mormon credentials should see that, says Jim Vlock, his home-teaching companion.

I mean, what? Do you think the Mormon church just allows any nominal "Jack" Mormon to become home-teaching companions? Really?

So there ya go, Jim – yet another Mormon “testimonial” about Reid that claims he is a bonifide Mormon. (Of course, we all know how mistaken those Mormon testimonials are all the time about another Mormon leader – a Mr. Joseph Smith -- so I guess Mr. Vlock can be wrong just like all the other Mormon testimonials, eh?)

Never miss a Mormon sniping opportunity, right?

Well, one more thing, Jim, that same Salt Lake Trib article makes this claim: "I think some of the most unChristian-like letters, phone calls, contacts I've had were from members of the [LDS] church, saying some of the most mean things that are not in the realm of our church doctrine or certainly Christianity," Reid said...

Wow! Jim. I guess you just don't keep up on out-West politics and the way the Mormon church interacts with powermongerers --
--both from the hierarchical vantage point [Lds church making Reid a home-teaching companion and rolling out the red carpet for Reid @ BYU three years ago]
--as well as how apparently grassroots haven't missed their opportunities to "snipe at Reid" in supposedly very "unChristian-like" manners...eh? But "no comment" from you re: the Mormon snipers?

But this whole thing is quite ironic, Jim: Here you start off a false, gossipy rumor claiming Harry Reid is a MINO…and here Harry Reid was claiming in an interview a year ago that based upon the ”letters, phone calls, contacts I’ve had…from members of the [LDS] church,” he apparently thinks many Mormons are CINOs! (Christians in Name Only)

So, who’s right in all this Jim?
Sen. Hatch?
Harry Reid?
BYU’s speaker invite committee?
Lds Home-Teaching companion assigners?
Reid's home-teaching companion, Mr. Jim Vlock?
You? He has taken numerous other stands inconsistent with Mormon teachings. So Harry's political positions would disincline Mormons from voting for him, not the reverse as you state.

[Colofornian]

He has taken numerous other stands inconsistent with Mormon teachings. So Harry's political positions would disincline Mormons from voting for him, not the reverse as you state.

Sorry. I should have italicized this at end of my last post...this was Jimt's comment, not mine.

...Harry's political positions would disincline Mormons from voting for him, not the reverse as you state.

I've already indicated that several times on this thread. In one thread I guestimated that only 25% of Nevada Mormons would have voted for him; and even then, from the very first post, many of these probably held their nose as they voted.

I agree with you Jim that Harry Reid has taken many stances inconsistent with Mormon emphasis and some teachings as well...but let's face it, Mormon leadership has only opposed abortion on demand, not abortion per se.

If you look at Lds leader past statements on abortion going back to 1973, it's really a matter of degree.

Mormon leaders have allowed abortion for reasons of rape, incest, health of the mother (pretty wide open exception), if the abortionist says so...as long as he is "competent" (whatever that means), oh...and this gem: If God says so as an answer to prayer.

[Impy]

Some have said Reid is a better leader (for us) for Senate rats than Chuckie or Dick Durban despite their even stronger liberalism.

Reid is GREAT at saving his own a$$ but he’s a tone death idiot.

Angle was the wrong choice as many of us thought. Tark or Lowden would have won.

[stephenjohnbanker]

” Angle was the wrong choice as many of us thought. Tark or Lowden would have won. “

I think so too. Angle ran a horrible campaign until the last 6 weeks. 6 weeks ain’t enough to recover though.

[sickoflibs]

RE :”Angle was the wrong choice as many of us thought. Tark or Lowden would have won.”

Yep, but I figure once she got nominated the best approach was to either support or be critical of her campaign depending on what it was doing. No point crying over spilled milk until after the election. Backup goal : Make Reid even more unpopular even if he wins.

The other factor is there are lots of Hispanics in LV city and Democrats spent lots of $$$ on get out the vote. The race baiting worked. They took Angle's ad on illegal aliens and told Hispanics the ad was talking about them using a picture in the ad. The 'propose amnesty reform' strategy by Obama to save Reid worked. Rush was wrong, he said it would fail when Dems failed to get the bill passed. But Hispanics saved Reid contrary to his prediction (not the only one either) .

I asked my sister in NV what happened, she said “Illegals” (voted).

[BillyBoy]

>> ” Angle was the wrong choice as many of us thought. Tark or Lowden would have won. “ I think so too. Angle ran a horrible campaign until the last 6 weeks. 6 weeks ain’t enough to recover though. <<

I'm a rock ribbed conservative who always supports conservatives in the primary, but Sharron Angle's candidacy is one of the reason I'm not a "tea party" conservative. I've been to a couple of tea party events and worked with the tea party on a lot of campaigns, and I've been on the same page as them when they backed conservatives like Joe Miller and Christine O'Donnell over RINO scum.

But alot of the people the "tea party" pushed for were damaged goods. Angle is a prime example of that. Fieldmarshaldj warned against nominating her and in hindsight he was absolutely right. We had three conservative Republicans running against Reid, and the tea party folks pushed for the weakest one, Sharron Angle.

Rand Paul did win in KY (which is a much more Republican state than Nevada), but that's another race where Fieldmarshaldj and I parted ways with the "tea party" folks in the primary. Rick Scott vs. Bill McCollum is another example. And I think alot of the tea party people were pushing for Todd Tiahrt too. I actually agreed on that one, but I was embarrassed to be on the same side as people hurling a "Jerry Moran is RINO scum" smear to try and get votes for Tiahrt. And many of the folks here in Illinois who acted like Adam Andrejewski walked on water were tea party folks.

I agree that we don't want career politicians to stick around in office for 30 years, but I don't support the opposite extreme of running total unknown outsiders for the top political office in a state, either. I also disagree with running a candidate over and over again after they've lost 3 times in a row. You can't keep trying the same thing over and over again and expect the result to be any different.

So yes, nominate conservatives in the primary, but nominate well-qualified, articulate conservatives without baggage.

[eyedigress]

Oh Well. I’ll take the President’s advice and make sure my company avoids Nevada altogether. They only made 18B last year.

[eyedigress]

That’s not how God works Billy. Obama is stopped and a learning process begins. We are a Nation of principle. God creates liberals and conservatives alike. We now pray for what he wants.

[Colofornian]

Oh Well. I’ll take the President’s advice and make sure my company avoids Nevada altogether. They only made 18B last year.

Good advice.

I've always tried to avoid Vegas. When I've had to go thru it, I try to avoid even adding a few cents to their local economy.

I think God did Sharron Angle a favor here. The gambling industry would have tried to corrupt her in no time.

Which makes me wonder how it is that a so-called Mormon leader like Harry Reid could be so cozy with the gambling industry -- without an accompanying reaction from the supposed "moral compass" of the Mormon church?

[Colofornian]

According to the Nov. 3 Las Vegas Sun, Reid got 50% (50.24%) of the vote; Angle 44.6%...a little over 5% voted for somebody else.

What % of the voters, per the exit polls, thought that Angle was "too conservative?"

Per NBC's John Yang: In the exit poll, 44 percent said Angle was "too conservative"... How Harry Reid won

So Angle didn't get 55.4% of the vote...44% of them thought he was "too conservative"...hence almost 11 1/2% of the Nevada voters who didn't vote for Angle DID NOT believe she was "too conservative" -- meaning they were as conservative or More conservative than Angle!!!

There ya go: 1 in 9 conservative Nevada voters voted for somebody other than Angle! [Now who might that be???]

[wildwood]

Does anybody have a corporate email address for Harrahs? I’m protesting their illegal political activity on the behalf of Harry Reid.

[Impy]

With the ‘wins’ of Bennett and Murray, we only ended up beating 2 Senate incumbents. Russ and Blanche. It was no 1980.

Rat incumbent Senators remain almost impossible to beat. Some more would have lost if they hadn’t retired, lost the primary, or stole the election (see Johnson, Tim 2002), but...

2010 2

2008 0

2006 0

2004 1

2002 2 (1 of them appointed)

2000 1

1998 1

1996 0

1994 2

1992 2

1990 0

1988 1

1986 1

1984 1

1982 1

1980 9

Will 12’ be the year to crack 2?