Harry Reid Out-Obamas Obama With Working Class Coalition - FDL

[WillyT]

Harry Reid Out-Obamas Obama With Working Class Coalition
By: David Dayen - FDL
Thursday November 4, 2010 7:57 am

<snip>

I’m going to express what may be an unpopular opinion around these parts: Harry Reid’s victory was crucially important. First of all, it wouldn’t speak well to the durability of the Democratic Party to see their Majority Leaders go down to the defeat twice in six years. Second, we all may have problems with Harry Reid. He’s a slave to rules that cannot work in a 21st-century political system, he isn’t a good communicator or face of the party, etc., etc. But I’m looking at the race he ran. In a state with 14% unemployment, foreclosures everywhere, Reid put together a coalition that was unusually potent and a model for Democratic victory.

“CNN’s exit polls show that men and white voters broke for Angle by significant margins. Angle carried white voters by a 53 percent to 41 percent margin and men by a 48 percent to 46 percent margin. Reid made that up among women (53 percent), African Americans (78 percent), Latinos (68 percent) and Asians (79 percent). Even though white voters made up 72 percent of the vote and Reid only carried 41 percent of that block, those large margins among other ethnic groups carried him to victory.”

Harry Reid, unassuming Harry Reid, ran the Obama campaign from 2008 better than the Obama campaign. Having Sharron Angle as a foil didn’t hurt, and Reid benefited from attack ads that defined her almost immediately after she was nominated by the GOP. But Reid had a hand in that, of course, amplifying the “chickens for checkups” from Sue Lowden and basically helping to get Angle that nomination. And then the ground work was remarkable.

What really stands out is how Harry Reid turned out the Latino vote. I noted way back in August the beauty of his strategy. Anjeanette Damon of the Las Vegas Sun has a great analysis of the race I think nuts-and-bolts politics lovers will enjoy.

Reid’s frontal assault on GOP racism isn’t textbook DLC “be like a Republican” stuff or even textbook Obama “let’s all get along” stuff. It is old school, hardball, walkin-around money, ward boss “whose side are you on?” kill-the-enemy Democratic politics. I love it. God help me, I love it.

Reid went in with his union base, Latinos, and just enough of the white vote to pull out a win that everybody said was impossible:

“At the same time, Reid’s get-out-the-vote operation capitalized on Angle’s tough stand on illegal immigration to mobilize Hispanics, who turned out at a greater rate than in the 2008 presidential election and voted for Reid, 66-31. And Reid got help from organized labor, as union households voted for him 69-29.”

Got that? Reid turned out the Latino vote better than Obama!

Everyone talks about a multicultural, working families coalition that Obama ushered in. Well, he didn’t. Only one campaign in the country effectively found that electorate again in the midterms. And it was Harry Reid.

<snip>

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/11/04/harry-reid-out-obamas-obama-with-working-class-coalition/

Go Harry!



:kick:

[SugarShack]

1. Thank you for a very valuable post. Ears still ringing from anger and hate on both sides.

[WillyT]

3. You Are Quite Welcome !!!

:hi:

[onehandle]

2. K&R. Harry Kicked Ass! No matter what the unreccers say. nt

[enlightenment]

4. You know, I'm willing to give credit where credit is due -

but I live in Nevada and I think this article gives Harry a little more credit than he deserves.

His victory was as much about people recognizing that Sharron Angle is batshit insane as it was about his campaign. Yes, he did an okay job getting out his message, but her message - which made it very clear that the people who would suffer most were minorities and women - was just as relevant.

To suggest that he won over those voters is probably not correct - if it were, I think we would have seen a closer race for Governor, and Dina Titus would have probably pulled it out as well (no one has mentioned that she was one of the Dem's who lost their seat in the House).

Instead, the Governor's race was a runaway - Rory Reid came in a distant second to the Republican Brian Sandoval, the state's first Hispanic Governor. I haven't looked at the details yet, but I suspect that he had very strong support from the Hispanic community, despite a platform that promises nothing but grief - he has an equally strong stance against illegal immigration.

Sharron Angle didn't just threaten a strong stance against illegal immigration, she repeatedly insulted the Hispanic community on a very personal level. So, was the Hispanic community voting for Harry or against Angle?

Dina ran against Joe Heck - a Republican WASP with just the sort of libertarian, small government views that send a tingle down the legs of Northern Nevada's conservative majority. That said, most of the state's population is in the South - and that's where most of the liberals' live, as well - yet Dina couldn't even pull a majority in Las Vegas.

It was a fairly close race, and perhaps she did benefit from Harry's campaign - but I'm not sure there is any way to prove it.

My point (if there is one) is that few of the liberals I know are impressed with Harry, but without a viable challenger, we're left with little choice . . . and this election cycle he lucked out having an opponent who is so far around the bend that she makes a raving lunatic look reasonable.

[WillyT]

5. Perhaps...

He was definitely fortunate to have two losers, Lowden the Chicken-Plucker and Angle the Insane-Fucker, to help out his odds, yet he was supposed to be dead and buried.

He pulled it out, and won by almost 6 percent, but putting together a great coalition of women, minorities, and union members.

And that's the model that we're gonna need in the future. It's been successful for us throughout our recent history too.

:shrug:

:hi:

[enlightenment]

7. Whatever you say, WillyT.

I live here, I see it differently from my position.

[laughingliberal]

9. I live here, too. I haven't seen being bat shit crazy is a liability in Nevada. He ran his campaign

very well. He targeted the right constituencies and he made sure everyone knew her stands on the issues.

No, he's not a liberal lion but he's far to the left of some of our Democratic Senators. And he gets high marks for constituent services.

[enlightenment]

10. I'm surprised at your statement.

You enjoy perpetuating the mythology that Nevada is full of loons and idiots?

Interesting.

Harry did okay - I didn't say he didn't do an okay job. I don't think he ran such a spectacular campaign, though, and I'm entirely unconvinced that his 'strategy' will translate across the board. If there had been a decent primary challenger, he'd be history - and since you live here, you know that's the truth. Turning him into some sort of uber-candidate after the fact is sort of silly.

[mimitabby]

6. so the people who voted for Angle

were all the guys tuned into talk radio. PERIOD.

[laughingliberal]

8. He kicked butt. He's been written off in elections here, before. Don't bet against him.

There's a reason Ensign went along with the gentlemen's agreement between the 2 of them not to engage in attacking each other.

K & R

[LoZoccolo]

11. Fire Dog Lake: automatic unrecommend. n/t

[WillyT]

12. Well Thanks For The Kick !!!

:bounce:

:hi:

[Luminous Animal]

13. Thank you for telling us.

Again. Your pat rejoinder to anything FDL serves to remind me of your outstanding debating skills, your discerning analysis, and your political acumen.

If anything, your input proves that DUers appreciate a big tent and have the skills to articulate why a big tent is crucial to the success of the Democratic party and U.S. citizens.

[ibegurpard]

14. funny...i was just thinking the same thing about all of your OPs

[Luminous Animal]

15. Oh c'mon... regular screeds filled with nonsense is how the teabaggers won.

If it worked for them, it is bound to work for us. If not this generation then the next when all critical thinking skills are tested out of the voting population.

[Egnever]

20. If this is an example of their reporting

it's no wonder so many dismiss them.

[Luminous Animal]

16. Kick.

[Greyhound]

17. K&R.

[Egnever]

18. Sorry but thats hard to swallow

Harry lucked out.

I live in vegas and had his opponents not utterly destroyed themselves he would be packing his bags right now. He is not well liked here at all. Hell I was ready to vote against him cause he sucked so bad as majority leader I wanted him out of that position.


Harry won the minority vote and they came out heavily for him because angle insulted them directly. She left little doubt how uncomfortable she was with minorities and they came out to stop her.

Harry won because he is senate majority leader and the media focused so heavily on this race that every misstep angle made was reported.

Nope sorry harry is no genius this election, and the only way to follow his model would be to have batshit crazy opponents for all our races.

[FrenchieCat]

19. But, but...it's FDL!

How could they be wrong, when they are so right about everything!

[Egnever]

21. as i said above if this is an example

of the quality of their reporting its no wonder they are dismissed by so many.

[FrenchieCat]

22. They did what Fox does, but in reverse....

creates a narrative and then used the stats to bolster it....without regard to what motivated
those who came out; those representing those stats. That got left out....conveniently.

Reid needed all of the help he could muster.....
and he got it, from voters, but also from his opponent.
Where he didn't get any support was here at DU, and as well from FDL.
Many folks here were rooting his demise. They didn't care on how it
would impact our political position on issues, cause they sure called
him a whole bunch of names. Some were opining who should replace him.....
for months, even.

But of course, the entire article is meant to make sure we understand that
Harry Reid Out Obama, Obama.......

There's always an anti-Obama angle to every story over there.