Reid: "Things Are Being Done" To End Dem Primary Before Convention

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) hints at some behind-the-scenes activity to bring the Democratic nomination race to a close:

Q: Do you still think the Democratic race can be resolved before the convention?

Reid: Easy.

Q: How is that?

Reid: It will be done.

Q: It just will?

Reid: Yep.

Q: Magically?

Reid: No, it will be done. I had a conversation with Governor Dean (Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean) today. Things are being done.

Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum adds, "My mind is now at rest. Thanks, Harry."

Comments

[TLV]

YIKES! Sequoia voting machines have hired this guy to do their testing: http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:h9ufowN7z5IJ:profile.myspace.com/index.cfm%3Ffuseaction%3Duser.viewprofile%26friendid%3D48068486+mike+gibbons+kwaidan&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

[candyc]

Heartsick is a good word for how I'm beginning to feel about the current situation. I'm a 60 year old white woman . I cannot face standing by as this demon from hell and her insane supporters undermine the first hope I've felt in 8 years.
The only people who can really end this are the voters in Pennsylvania. I guess all we can do is hope they see this debacle for what it is. A steely mean monster and her thieving sex addicted "husband"
sucking all the hope out of our futures for their own selfish gratification.

If they do steal the nomination, it will be the end of the Democratic Party. Which might not be a bad thing. Because if the party throws its weight behind the Cilntons, then it's too corrupt to continue to exist.

We all need to write to the DNC and let them know how we feel.

[Apphouse50]

You mean, like, leadership?

Whew.

[KerkorianKnot]

Superdelegate Donna Brazile, a former Clinton operative, has said she will leave the party if the unelected delegates decide the nominee. Goodbye Donna. No candidate can acheive the minimum 2024 delegates required without the vote of unpledged delegates being counted.

[InDaZone]

Ummm.... it's safe to assume she was talking about the super delegates overturning the pledged delegate leader..... DUH!

[Gibbons]

The un-elected delegates are new to the process, without them we go to the convention have a vote and nobody wins which calls for a second ballot on the second and succeeding ballots the delegates are free to change their vote. The reason they don't like the process is a convention fight does a lot to divide the party.

[nimzowitsch]

This is a mischaracterization of Ms. Brazile's comments. She said she would leave if the super delegates overturned the popular vote. It has been known (or at least very acurately predicted) since before the election started that candidates would need superdelegates, but that is because they make up such a large percentage of total delegates. However, that does not mean that the super dels should not overturn the popular vote.

[JasonEverettMiller]

What she said is she will leave the party if the super delegates choose a nominee who isn't also the winner of the most pledged delegates. Context is everything.

[Lostskeleton]

You distort what she said...she said if the superdelegates decide the election before others in the remaining primaries had a chance to vote...she would resign as a party insider and become an independent.

[IkeChicago]

Promises Promises

How did Bill Clinton manage to accumulate so much money from so many people for his foundation, has anyone thought of this question. Ah well Bill Clinton went around the world making promises and since George Bush was so unpopular and since there was no one on the Democratic horizon to challenge Hillary Clinton, it was not a great leap to predict Hillary Clinton the next president. So here is how Bill Clinton got his money

John when my wife Hillary is president……

Mr. Arab when my wife Hillary is president……

Mr. President when my wife Hillary is president……

Mr. Contractor when my wife Hillary is president……

When Barack Obama becomes president, Bill Clinton money will all but dry up, his speak fee will be down to the point where he may not care to speak for the pittance he will be offered. Bill Clinton is not only fighting for Hillary, he is fighting for his own relevance, sad but true.

[SoulSistah]

RIP -- HRC Presidential Campaign

..........­..........­..........­..........­..........­..........­..........­..........­..
Save the World from Legacy Presidents
No More . . . Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton!!

[speakingtruth2power]

It will only lead US to JeeBush, the anti-Christ.

[mikonyc]

I LOVE LEGACY, Go HIllary, good bye soulsistah......bet you are voting for obama as your name implies!

[WLA]

This post just made me slap my forehead and drag my hand down my face. Seriously. What the hell is wrong with some of you?

[natasyenehc]

It's a no-brainer. Hilary must concede the nomination to Obama.

There's just no way for her to beat Obama, and even less of a fly's chance in hell to defeat McCain.

Hilary Must GO!!!!

[SharedHumanity]

I hope this is good news, but Reid has not shown any leadership for the past 1 and 1/2 years. He can screw this up in more ways than not.

There is nothing wrong with two candidates competing for Americas vote leading right up to the convention. It focuses the voter on the issues that the Democratic Party views as important.

The key is that the candidates must stay focused on the issues and not engage in personal and devisive attacks.

[newunderground]

Hillary:
Just go away, NOW!

[MSaldana]

Obamabot: We, the REAL constituency of the democratic party will NOT accept and will NOT vote for that empty suit come November. Barack Hussein Obama, take your racist "pastor" and quit this race!!! You are UNELECTABLE!!! From a "typical white person." HILLARY '08!

-MS

[mikonyc]

you and natasy are old underground weirdos!

[nohat]

But she isn't going. Why not? Why doesn't the party MAKE her go. Answer: see Maria's post, above.

[EinChicago]

If HRC does that, Obama will automatically lose. Obama Cultists have worked damned hard and effectively to cast Clinton and McCain as the middle and Obama as the fringe. They've very effectively convinced Clinton's moderate supporters to vote McCain if Obama is told to show us why he has "the Wright Stuff."

[meanguy]

'no-brainer' is right...only not in the way you intended, i'm thinking...please explain how the MOST LIBERAL senator (get used to hearing it, that will be the #1 republican tag) will beat mccain? it's gonna be a mondale-sized DISASTER! hilary has a better chance, mostly because she has a LOT more testicular fortitude than obama... crying 'racism' in a general election won't cut it...

[KerkorianKnot]

Rory Reid, Chairman of Hillary's Nevada Campaign, will help out.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Just vote for Bert! I don't GET any campaign donations, don't WANT any campaign donations, but wait, there's more! Select me as your chosen Candidate NOW, and you'll get my written pledge that the Iraq war will be over, not in 100 years, not in 10 years, not in 1.5 years, not in one year, but in SIX SHORT MONTHS! That's right, if inaugurated, the Big Countdown starts the day I raise my hand! And, I'll PUT IT IN WRITING! If I don't have every last ground troop OUT of that country by the 180th day, Congress can throw me right out on my !@@, that's it, show's over! What other Candidate is willing to do that?!?! NObody!

And, what's more, I'm a godless heathen nonbeliever, so that whole church/state ring-kissing stuff is OVER, if I get George's job, they can go find another hobby, form their own country, self-initiate the Rapture, whatever, I don't really care, just as long as they stop fleecing the flock and stop trying to set our national policies!

Public accountability? You want it, you got it!

(Bert's sickening, boring, tiresome 30-minute infoblog continues....go get coffee)

So, on election day, just vote Bert!
(Brought to you by ME!)

Bert08

[SoulSistah]

LOL. I'll vote for you Bert before I cast a vote for HRC. Just show me your tax returns and prove that you indeed have a red phone.

[Gebby]

nobody is godless in this race. dishonest yes.

[birdflewover]

Reid is such a loser, he's so "halfway" Mr. Compromise...we need leaders with balls not wishy washy halfway people in Congress, we need Fiengold running the show not Reid...his comments are so useless...something being done, behind the scenes....WHAT???? If you can't give it to us straight , don't give us anything, wait until you can say something with meat on its bones...I am sure you were not one of the 23 who voted against the war...you're old , get out of Congress let someone younger with more guts to to the right thing (not the politically expedient thing) take your place!

[nancytheragingliberal]

I liked your "halfway" comment about Reid. I have not problem with him being old, I have a problem with him having no ba**s. Young/old, it does not matter, but this guy has no spine and his voice is barely audible. He said he would rather dance than fight, but if he had to fight he would. I don't think so, Harry. You have chosen to dance and not fight, time and time again for the American people. It is time for new blood, not beholding to corporations. The dems continue to chase their tails, scratch their heads, and come up with the wrong choice, which will give us another 4 years of W., in the form of ol' nutty McCain. The country will then have 12 years of repub. "rule" and will never recover. Never.

[HumeSkeptic]

LOL. Reid is not running for President. Calm down.

[MSaldana]

Screw you "younger" idiots. You're the ones that're trying to foist loser Obama on the country. Barack Hussein Obama must quit for the good of the party, to say nothing of the country. Do you want to see McCain elected? The surest way is to have Obama nominated by the democrats. Hillary '08!

-MS

[Gebby]

dont worry . there is so much negative on mccain. obama will kick his butt. obama has won so its time for hillary to go home.

[fortuna]

Thank you for calling me young. I still feel pretty young at 50. Now go back to the troll cave.

[honesthonest]

Hillary can't win in the general. She is a known liar. Her negatives are too high. She has attempted to fracture the party. Her whole campaign is about her not the country. She has been treated with kid gloves by Obama. She will not be treated with kid gloves in the general. We are a democracy enough with the Clinton's and the Bushes. Aren't hillary supporters tired of defending the Clintons? Enough is enough.

[viewfromiowa]

MS, you use Sen. Obama's middle name like you use the "N" word. How ignorant and racist of you.

[butchie65]

Screw you ! I happen to be 67 years old and I'm voting for Obama, plus all my older neighbors are. So watch who your calling idiots ! No, we don't want McCain nominated, that's why we are voting for Obama. Hillary is the past, we want new blood, not the same old shit.
Obama o8 !

[pammy0125]

What the Senate needs is not Harry Reid but HILLARY CLINTON as Senate Majority Leader.

[losthills]

Democracy is so "Old Fashioned....."

[knerd]

Good old Harry Reid, he said sarcastically. Such an out-front leader with true integrity.

[joeythetrollslayer]

My prediction: They make Hillary the winner, and Obama Veep.
She will venomously go after McCain like a rattlesnake or boa constrictor, never give up. Obama will run in 2016. Maybe that was the plan all along, let the young guy out in front, take all the hits, and then when he falls, bring in the veterans. 2nd scenario: force Hillary to concede, which I think has 0 chance, she'd make that so politically painful, the dems wouldn't dare. History shows, the dems just don't have the spine and prefer to play it safe, i.e. nix Obama who wouldn't stab them in the back because he can still run again, Hillary can't (as easily). One small thing that nobody talks about, what will Edwards do with his delegates. If he gives them to Obama, Hillary loses. Then the DNC won't have to make the decision alone, and Hillary cannot win then without a lot of schenanigans (i.e. delegate poaching, superdelegate arm twisting).
an Obama/Edwards campaign. 3rd option (unlikely): take Gore off the shelf, and dust him off. It's safe, won't offend either side, and Gore is a veteran now, starting out with more positives that either Obama or Clinton. Gore, if he stays funny and loose with the press, very difficult to beat. Both Obama and Clinton broke the unwritten rules (Clinton by taking help from Limbaugh et al), don't beat each other to death at expense of the party-so both forfeit this election cycle.

[kevenseven]

Are you a Democrat?

[Aleka]

Sorry, I thought Hillary couldnt win NOW without "a lot of schenanigans (i.e. delegate poaching, superdelegate arm twisting)".

While I have seen Hillary do things like endorse the republican, which surely must be an "unwritten rule", I have not seen any from him. Which "unwritten rule" did Obama break?

[MSaldana]

How about attend a racist church for 20 years? Or would that be a "written" rule? Hillary '08!

-MS

[birdflewover]

If Obama does not win in 2008, the World will be in ashes, forget about later we need Obama NOW! There's no time left to wait, over a million Iraqi dead and millions more suffering enormous tragedy, our young men and women being brainwashed into doing horrible nazi like things, based on lies and brainwashing, shaming America for decades to come...then coming home in coffins or without limbs or worse, tens of thousands of America's children, learning the truth that they were fighting for ExxonMobile and Halliburton and NOT for freedom, but rather for corruption and greed, well when they learn that, that they sacrificed for that, they naturally go crazy and commit suicide...Cheney and Bush and their corporate puppet masters have shamed this country for decades...only an Obama gives us a chance of redemption , that we can bring honor back to this society we call the USA! I don't know if he will but he definitely is our only hope...HIllary voted for the invasion, she does not have the judgement of a Byrd, Feingold or Boxer who voted against it or an Obama who would have voted against had he been in the Senate at the time! As for the Republicans they're 99% corrupt to the core and would burn our Constitution and Economy in a second for a corporate handout. Why anyone who is not a pervert corporate millionaire would vote Republican is beyond me???

[ashen]

Agree. We need Obama now. He is running to lead, and is clearly the best one for it. He is not perfect. He is a phenomenal candidate. If he wanted to play it safe, he would never have run in the first place. He could have been knocked out of the running at any point in the last year, while Hillary was "inevitable". Now that he is winning based on the quality and consistency of his message and his grassroots appeal -- he is in the lead, because he is who more people, more states, have said they wanted to be president. Why on earth would he be VP.

[jazzyd]

Your first prediction is unlikely because you overlook the simple fact that Obama is winning right now
and given Hillary's recent penchant for stretching the truth Obama is likely to end up with more delegates in the end.

[englishprof]

One slight problem with this scenario: there will be a HUGE walk-out from the Democratic party if HRC and big dog hornswoggle their way into an ill-got nomination. The only option open is for the superdelegates to put her out of her miserly sooner rather than later.

[EinChicago]

Huge is relative. Every Obama Cultist could walk out and it would amount to about 20% of the general dem voter base. Whereas watching the 20%ers walk out behind the Caucus Kid is much less painfuil than watching the remaining 80% of the voting population walk away from his "Wright Stuff".

[gubbypix]

Where the hell was Reid to end the damm war, things are getting done...! My ass. I hate politico speak because it doesn't tell you jack (8&6. Show me, explain. As far as Hilarious and her dumb ass husband, tell them to blow it out thier ear. They the Clintonians are in outer space as far as I am concerned, they don't deserve it,get or other wise get to destroy the democratic party if they don't get the nomination. I am sorry they can't have it both ways. There is no nice guy, we throw the kitchen sink, Obama throws daisies back. There has to be an impeachment of all these bums, shorten the term limits.

G.

[kevenseven]

Um. The Senate is split 50-50. Tough to get much done.

[macracan]

Not really. There are bad things that are done in the senate that need the cooperation of dems. Such as funding for war, or telecom immunity to name a couple. So DOING something in the senate sometimes requires only 40 (or whatever count is to sustain a filibuster), a smaller number then 50 (or arguably 49 they have today if you count out LIEberman). Not to say that sometimes, doing something in the senate requires only one: the sen maj leader: like choosing which version of the legislation you bring to the floor: the one with telecom immunity or the one without telecom immunity. So spare me the 50-50 talking points. Just my tirade against weak leaders....

[WoodyCPM]

Because of the Blue Dog Democrats, the DLC Democrats, the conservative Democrats, the Republicans still effectively have a majority in the Senate. Their policies and the conservative policies that they favor still carry the day. Ideologically, the Senate is still Republican.

[nippersdad]

However, with the majority being Dems, it is not tough to PREVENT a lot of what has gone down. Pelosi and Reid control what reaches the floor.

[faith]

I fear the democratic party is finished. The young, upcoming generation will not vote for Clinton. They voted for Obama and watched the democratic leaders undermine their votes. Mr. Harry Reid, Ms. (nice, ineffective lady) Pelosi, Rahn Emanuel, Howard Dean, et all have truly let down the Democrats. They have refused to state they will return all troops home immediately by pulling them out of the middle east, they continually provide this nut of a president with every thing his petulant heart desires. And they don't have the nerve to stand up to Cheney who says "so" when he is asked to respond to the majority of people who want us out of Iraq. The nation has truly gone to hell in a hand basket, or by whim of the president. These are tragic, immoral, unrelenting times for America. Few people care. Few people understand the costs this congress and presidency has placed on us. But then, posting here, is just preaching to the choir. I am heartsick. I suspect my fellow bloggers are as well.

[EinChicago]

"The young, upcoming generation will not vote for Clinton. "

hogwash. Obama's voting block of under 21 college slackers willing to be paid $20 to attend a caucus is not the "young generation". There are a lot of people in that "little" 22 and up demographic.

[Lemeritus]

HuffPost's Pick

"I fear the democratic party is finished."

So, I'm sure, did Thomas Jefferson shortly after he helped found it in 1792. We're Democrats, after all.