May 20 2009
Verbal Miscues come in Threes for Sen. Reid
In a press conference yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) flubbed not once, but three times when asked about the party’s policy on the release of Guantanamo inmates and the health of two of the chamber’s most senior and respected members.
Senator Reid, when asked about Massachussetts Senator Ted Kennedy, responded that his inoperable brain cancer was in remission. Kennedy’s office did not dignify the inaccuracy with a response. Reid also commented on the health of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, who was hospitalized with an infection. He assured reporters that the 91 year old and longest-serving senator in history was improving and would be released as soon as this week.
A spokesman from the Byrd camp corrected Reid: “His doctors, in consultation with his family, have not yet determined when he will be released.”
Finally, in light of the Senate’s announcement that it, like the House, will not appropriate funds requested by President Obama before a plan to relocate Gitmo inmates was announced, Reid butchered his party’s stance on the issue. A few Democrats have expressed interest in relocating some of these inmates to prisons in the United States. Reid’s statement to the press: “We will never allow terrorists to be released into the United States.”
Reid made matters worse when he tried to clarify his statement, saying that he would not allow terrorists to be relocated to U.S. prisons. This was a severe departure from the message expressed by other ranking members in the party.
After a long evening of damage control, Reid’s spokesman put it perfectly: “Tomorrow is a new day.”
