I admit it. I was wrong.
I was one of the skeptical. Okay, I was more than skeptical. I considered Reid's elevation to Senate Minority Leader to be deeply disconcerting. (I may have used the phrases "GOP-lite" and "concession Democrat". Oh, yeah. And "Reid Sucks".) We just had a Senate Leader from a non-blue state. Now we were going down the same path again? With an anti-abortion rights Senator to boot?
I didn't know Reid's background. An amateur boxer. Standing up to Vegas corruption and being
targeted for a car bomb.
But most importantly, I just didn't know the guy had real balls and would stand up to the GOP.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has threatened to invoke a rules change in the Senate that would prohibit a filibuster of judicial nominees, a move that has been called the "nuclear option" because of its potential to shatter any remaining bipartisan comity in the Senate. Reid all but dared Frist to try.
"They can threaten the nuclear option," he said. "If they feel that's great for the institution and the country, let them do it." Noting that the only complaint he has heard from fellow Democrats is that not enough of Bush's judicial nominees were blocked in the past four years, Reid said he is prepared "to go behind the pool hall and see who wins this one."
Right on, Reid! Who said this guy doesn't have charisma? I like him already. It's time the Dems not only stood up to the GOP but told them where to go.
Obviously, this is just the beginning. There are a ton of battles yet to be fought. But I think it is not too early to admit I was wrong. I pre-judged Reid.
So, I'm sorry Senator Reid. This is one apology that I am happy to make.