Important Reminder: Harry Reid is despicable

**Posted by Phineas

Seven Marines were killed in a training accident in Nevada last night. So, how does Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader, Democrat of Nevada, respond to this tragic accident? Does he offer condolences to the families? Prayers for the dead? Ask for a moment of silence?That’s what any decent human being would do.

But we’re talking about Harry Reid, instead:

As I indicated, it was quite a big explosion. We’ll follow this news very closely. I will do whatever I can going forward to support the United States military and the families of the fallen Marines.

Mr. President, it’s very important we continue training our military, so important. But one of the things in sequester is we cut back in training and maintenance. That’s the way sequester was written. Now, the bill that’s on the floor, we hope to pass today helps that a little bit. At least in the next six months, it allows the military some degree of ability to move things around a little bit. Flexibility, we call it, and that’s good. But we have to be very vigilant. This sequester should go away. We have cut already huge amounts of money in deficit reduction. It’s just not appropriate, Mr. President, that our military can’t train and do the maintenance necessary.

These men and women, our Marines were training there in Hawthorne. And with this sequester, it’s going to cut back this stuff. I just hope everyone understands the sacrifices made by our military. They are significant, being away from home, away from families, away from their country.

Emphasis added. In other words, if we hadn’t had a roughly 2% scale-back in the rate of increase in spending, which is what the sequester is, these Marines wouldn’t be dead. And, following the administration’s political line, those deaths are therefore the fault of the Republicans, even though the sequester was Obama’s idea and Reid opposed a Republican plan to give Obama flexibility in applying the cuts:

β€œRepublicans call the plan β€˜flexibility,’” Reid said in February before the Senate killed the bill. β€œBut let’s call it what it really is: a punt. As President Obama said Tuesday, it would simply raise the question: β€˜Do I end funding that helps disabled children or poor children? Do I close this Naval Shipyard or that one?’”

He told reporters that he would not change the sequestration law if Republicans didn’t agree to tax hikes. β€œ[U]ntil there’s some agreement on revenue, I believe we should just go ahead with the sequester,” Reid said, per The Hill.

So, using Reid-logic, are he and President Obama then ultimately to blame for these deaths?

Of course not. This is just a tragic accident, something that’s been happening in militaries since time immemorial. The Marines will investigate and find either faulty equipment or procedural errors, and then fix the problem. It has nothing to do with a minimal slowing of the growth in federal spending that’s only just begun.

But that doesn’t stop a petty, weaselly punk like Harry Reid from using dead Americans to score cheap political points.

Like I said: “despicable.”

RELATED: In case you don’t know, Harry makes a habit of putting party ahead of decency. In 2007, as Majority Leader and with the war in Iraq just entering a crucial phase, Harry Reid went before the nation to say America had lost, cutting the legs out from under our troops to depress morale at home, giving aid and comfort to the enemy in order to advance the Democratic Party, before our forces had even entered the battle known as “the Surge.” A battle which, by the way, they won in a brilliant fashion, crushing al Qaeda.

Have I mentioned that Harry Reid is despicable?

UPDATE: The Marines aren’t happy with Reid, either.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

Comments are closed.