Harry Reid as Tom Daschle

There have been some calls for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) to step aside due to some recent comments where he basically said that the US has lost the war in Iraq and that we should adopt the equivalent of a cut and run strategy to get out of Iraq. Some people have compared Reid's verbal gaffes to those which cost Republican Trent Lott his position of majority leader. Those comparisons don't work but I think comparisons between Harry Reid and Tom Daschle do work.

The defeatist views that Harry Reid has recently spouted aren't out of line with the far left of the current Democratic Party. The Code Pink wing of the Democratic Party and their ilk have Reid's back and will shout down the people who think Reid's comments are disgraceful (just read the comments to this post for proof of my statement) and thus effectively protect Reid from suffering any repercussions to his job status.

This far left wing of the Democratic Party is a Catch-22 for Democratic leaders. Just as in Presidential politics where the far left has to be appeased in order for candidates to win primaries but find that the candidates acceptable to the Kos-kids are usually unelectable in general election because their adopted positions are out of step with the general population - there are risks for any member of Congress in appeasing the left.

Take Tom Daschle as an example. He was once one of the most powerful men in the country but as he started adopting positions and views that he thought were popular to the inside-the-Beltway Washington cocktail party circuit crowd - he found himself further from the belief set of his constituents in South Dakota. The result was that when Tom Daschle faced re-election - he lost (even though his position of power could have helped the state much more than the power wielded by a freshman Senator). Now Tom Daschle is the invisible man. Really - when is the last time you heard about or thought about Tom Daschle? Likewise - do you think Harry Reid's Code Pink appeal extends to the average voter in Nevada?

The good news for Reid is that he's not up for re-election until 2010 and by that time he's sure to be a very rich man. Maybe no politician has en-riched themselves more while drawing a simple government salary. So it should be no real surprise that a Senator who long ago adopted the morals of a French politician is suddenly espousing the military strategy most often used when the French find themselves in battle (surrender).

So Harry Reid is probably secure in his job (unless he's arrested for ethics violations) until 2010 and Nancy Pelosi would be hard pressed to take positions that are too-far left for her Congressional District. However, the hard left turn of the Democratic Party and their Congressional leaders will probably cost them the Presidential election in 2008 and control of both houses of Congress in 2008 as well. For that - I guess we should be thankful to Harry Reid and his inability to control the things he spouts off about.