Reid Pressured on Public Option in Liberal Group’s New Ad

ABC News’ Teddy Davis reports:

A liberal group called the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) is launching a new television ad in Nevada pressuring Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to back a government insurance option as part of comprehensive health-care reform.

The ad features Nevada nurse Lee Slaughter. She says in the ad that she has seen insurance companies cut off care to patients in need — and says that in 2010, she will vote on only one issue: “I’m watching to see if Harry Reid is strong and effective enough as a leader to pass a public option into law.”

Watch it HERE.

The PCCC is the same organization which joined Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., last week in delivering nearly 90,000 petition signatures to Reid’s office telling him to strip Democratic senators of plum committee assignments if they join a Republican filibuster on health care.

Reid’s office did not take too kindly to the petition.

“The only thing Senator Reid is worried about right now is putting together a bill that can get the 60 votes necessary to overcome a Republican filibuster,” Reid spokesman Jim Manley told the Washington Post last week. “He has no intention of stopping by” to receive the petition.

In its push for a public option, PCCC is taking advantage of the fact that Reid finds himself in a tough fight for re-election.

Last week, the Senate Majority Leader launched two television ads in Nevada more than a year before he faces the voters.

Republicans have not yet settled on a nominee against Reid.

Top GOP contendersinclude Sue Lowden, a former head of the state GOP who was the second runner-up for Miss America in 1973, Danny Tarkanian, the son of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, and John Chachas, a wealthy investment banker.

The ad pressuring Reid on the public option was filmed over the weekend and will start airing Wednesday in the Las Vegas media market on both broadcast and cable.

PCCC, which has touted the ad in an email to 225,000 members, is setting an initial online fundraising goal of $100,000.

ABC News’ Rick Klein contributed to this report.

Harry Reid, in Trouble at Home, Launches Two TV Ads

ABC News’ Teddy Davis reports:

As Harry Reid works to craft health-care legislation in the Senate, he is also fighting for his political life back home in Nevada.

The Senate Majority Leader is launching two television ads a full 383 days before he faces the voters.

Reid’s campaign says that the ads were “long planned” to begin airing a year out from the election to introduce Reid to the 395,749 new voters registered in Nevada since his last election in 2004.

The new registrants represent roughly one third of all registered voters in the state.

The first ad, which is called “Nevada Jobs,” features Jim Murren, the CEO of MGM Mirage, touting Reid’s work to get the economy back on track.

The second ad, which is called “Hard Work,” highlights Reid’s humble origins.

Republicans have not yet settled on a nominee against Reid.

The top two contenders are Sue Lowden, a former head of the state GOP who was the second runner-up for Miss America in 1973, and Danny Tarkanian, the son of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

Republicans are hoping to make Reid into the Tom Daschle of 2010.

Daschle, a former Senate Democratic Leader, was knocked off by Rep. John Thune, R-S.D., in his 2004 re-election bid.

At a recent briefing with reporters, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said: “Harry Reid is not Tom Daschle” and pointed to the ways in which Nevada, with its growing Latino population, is more Democratic than Daschle’s home state of South Dakota.

DSCC’s Menendez: ‘Harry Reid Is Not Tom Daschle’

ABC News' Teddy Davis and Brittany Crockett report:

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (D.S.C.C.), said Tuesday that he is “confident” that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will be returned to office next year despite facing low approval-ratings from voters.

“Harry Reid has probably been one of the greatest senators of Nevada, if not the greatest senator, that Nevada has ever had,” said Menendez. “Stopping Yucca Mountain, bringing jobs to Nevada—it's not surprising why there have been so many Republicans in Nevada publicly supporting his candidacy.”

Menendez acknowledged that it has become popular in recent years to target the opposing party's Senate leader as Democrats did unsuccessfully last year with Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

He argued, however, that Reid does not face the same peril as former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who lost his bid for re-election in 2004 to then-Rep. John Thune, R-S.D.

“At the end of the day, I am convinced that while it has become the new system to go after the Majority Leader, Harry Reid is not Tom Daschle and this is not South Dakota,” said Menendez. “And the reality is that I am convinced that Harry Reid will win that race and I would not bet against Harry Reid by any stretch of the imagination.”

One of the reasons why Menendez believes Reid is in less trouble than Daschle is that the current Democratic Leader comes from a state with a political make-up that is more favorable to his party.

“It is a state that for the first time now has more Democratic registrations than Republicans, largely because of the influx of the Latino community after the last election. He does very well with that community,” said Menendez.

Another reason why Democrats feel confident about Nevada despite the current poll numbers is that Republicans failed to recruit two well-known Republicans into the race: Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and former Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.

Currently, a crowded field of Republicans is eyeing the race against Reid.

Republican officials in Washington view Sue Lowden, a former head of the state GOP, and Danny Tarkanian, the son of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, as the top two contenders.

A Republican spokesman scoffed at Menendez's confidence in Reid's re-election chances and pointed to poll numbers which show Reid trailing lesser-known Republicans.

“The DSCC is absolutely right about Harry Reid not being Tom Daschle. When John Thune got in the race, Daschle had a clear lead in the polls. In contrast, poll after poll has shown Harry Reid trailing not just one, but several, candidates who are arguably far less well known than John Thune was in South Dakota four years ago,” said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “If the DSCC is so confident that Harry Reid is positioned to win re-election, why have the Democrats been unable to produce a single poll which has him in the lead?”

“Finally,” Walsh continued, “we're not normally in the business of giving advice to our political opponents, but it's probably not a helpful talking point to brag about Harry Reid bringing jobs to Nevada at a time when they have a 13.9% unemployment rate.”

Menendez made his comments about Reid during a pen-and-pad briefing with reporters on the 2010 Senate outlook. It was held at D.S.C.C. headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The DSCC chairman said that Republicans had a good August. He argued, however, that their success would be short-lived because their strident opposition to President Obama puts them in the position of betting that the country will fail.

Reid causes stir over Kennedy’s health

ABC News’ Z. Byron Wolf reports:

At his weekly press conference today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was asked about Sen. Kennedy’s condition and a minor stir ensued.

Here’s the transcript of what Reid said:

QUESTION: The latest on Senator Kennedy’s health?

REID: Yes, I had a conversation with Mrs. Kennedy in the last couple of days. He’s doing fine. He’s going through another regimen of treatment which he is not unusual. This is something that was expected. He wanted to have the treatment next week. They had to move it up a week, as I understand it.

QUESTION: His cancer is in remission as far as you know?

REID: As far as I know it is, yes.

It was a loud room and Reid may have misunderstood the question. But the exchange was taken by some outletsas a declaration that Kennedy’s condition has improved.

Kennedy’s office, as a matter of policy, does not comment on his treatment or daily condition. But its unclear that there has been any change to warrant the label “remission” being applied to his brain cancer.

UPDATE: FROM SENATOR REID’S PRESS OFFICE: “Senator Reid will leave the diagnosing to doctors. But he does look forward to the prospect of Senator Kennedy’s return to the Senate as soon as he is able.”

–Z. Byron Wolf

Reid: Progress Being Made on Stimulus Bill

ABC News’ Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Opening the Senate floor this morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said progress is being made with the bipartisan group of senators trying to trim the stimulus bill. Reid said he doesn’t agree with everything the group is proposing, but he respects their effort and thinks they are trying to make the bill better.

“There is a small group of Republicans who are working — try to work — are working to come up with a solution,” Reid said. “They have been genuine in their efforts. They have been responsible in their efforts. While I don’t agree with everything they’re trying to do, I agree with the efforts that they’ve made. And we’ve made progress. We’ve made progress since last night. We’ve been in a number of meetings already this morning. We worked into the night last night. And I think that we’re going to be able to work something out. I feel very comfortable that we can do that. If we succeed, Mr. President, there’s going to be a lot of credit to go around. If we fail, there’s going to be a lot of blame to go around. As I’ve said, our entire country will — as I’ve indicated, our entire country will … suffer and the world will suffer; we are the economy that drives the world economy.”

“There is no perfect solution to what we’re attempting,” he added. “There’s no book we can check out of the library to say, ‘This is what should be done.’ There’s no group of economists we can go to and tell them to prepare a paper in the next couple hours to give us directions what to do. We must do this on our own and we will do this on our own.”

Meantime, Republican negotiators this morning were coming and going from Sen. Arlen Specter’s Capitol building office, including Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Mel Martinez, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. George Voinovich and Specter. Democrat Tom Carper was also seen coming and going from the office.

Upon leaving Specter’s office this morning, Collins said she was going upstairs to meet with Reid.