Reid Reverses Course on Boxing Tickets!!!

Nevada senator says he will no longer accept such gifts

Harry Reid Once Again Suffers From Foot In Mouth Disease.

Please check out my blogs of May 20th and 30th and then follow with this gem.

Earlier the Senior Senator and Senate Leader from the great State of Nevada got caught with his hand in the cookie jar when it was reported he was attending boxing matches for free. It was noted that Senator John McCain had also attended at least one of the fights, however he paid for his ticket.

Well, Harry, never at a loss for words, stated "he believed it was appropriate to accept the free tickets because the gifts were from his home state and that McCain had to reimburse because he was from out of state." Reid continued and stated "he would continue to accept such tickets and did not believe he did anything wrong even though a fellow senator, John McCain, R-Ariz., who joined him for one of the fights, decided to reimburse $1,400 for his seat."

And you have been a Senator how long Harry? You say on Tuesday "McCain had to reimburse because he was from out of state," but once those comments quickly reached Washington, several ethics experts concluded that you had misstated the Senate rules to your constituents.

In your true politician's mode while under fire, instead of talking for yourself, you have a spokesman speak for you. Within hours of being questioned by AP about the ethics experts' assertions, Jim Manley speaks for Harry Reid and acknowledged Wednesday night Harry had misspoken about the ethics rules.

Manley then continues "Senate ethics rules generally allow senators to take gifts from any state, not just their home state. But they specifically warn against taking normally permissible gifts if the giver may be trying to influence official action. In light of questions that have been raised about the practice, Senator Reid will not accept these kinds of credentials in the future in order to avoid even the faintest appearance of impropriety." But, he added "he believes Reid still could ethically accept the tickets."


Wow, Harry, if this were about a Republican, I bet you would do the talking and not use a spokesman! Running a little scared Harry? Use a spokesman in case you have to change what he said for you, that way your spokesman takes the hit?

Harry, the gifted double speaker, said on Tuesday the free tickets did not influence his position, noting he voted for the legislation when it passed the Senate. Oh! Harry Double Speak you forgot to add: However, you forced a change in the bill that let the federal commission regulate the TV networks when they promoted fights.

Let's see what the bipartisan groups had to say about your innocence:

"He is no more obligated to go to boxing matches than he is to a Celine Dion concert in Vegas," said Melanie Sloan, a former Justice Department prosecutor and head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Fred Wertheimer, a longtime ethics watchdog, agreed. "The test under congressional ethics rules in these circumstances is not what state a member is from but whether the gift creates the appearance that the gift is motivated by a desire to influence the member or gain favorable official action," said Wertheimer, president of the nonpartisan Democracy 21 group that advocates campaign finance, ethics and lobbying reforms. "If the gift creates such an appearance, it should not be accepted."

Boxing promoter Bob Arum said "when Reid did go to boxing matches in earlier years he always paid for tickets."

Ethics experts said the fact that Reid paid for past tickets, then accepted free seats from the commission after he became a Senate leader and was pushing legislation affecting the sport only worsened his ethical picture.

Ellen Miller, head of the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan group studying the ethics and inner workings of Congress, said Reid's comments in Las Vegas should make voters suspicious. "Any time a politician starts parsing language and telling different stories, you have to assume they may have something to be ashamed of," Miller said.

And Harry's response: "Jim Manley speaks for Harry Reid."

The Indians in Nevada have bestowed Harry with an honorary Indian name.
It is Chief Silverware Mouth.

The translation to English is "He With Forked Tongue."

OK my friends, that's it for Friday. Enjoy the weekend, stay in touch and stay tuned!