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Boxing Wthout Headgear
Senator Reid accepts free boxing tickets as part of 'doing his job'; misleads public about Senate ethics rules and establishes his utter hypocrisy on ethics and corruption
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Reid’s thin credibility on ethics issues is shattered by recent reports that Reid took free boxing tickets worth thousands of dollars. The initial story is at http://tinyurl.com/om5le.
His first line of defense was that he was doing his job, that taking thousands of dollars worth of free tickets was just part of his job.
When asked why Senator McCain paid for his tickets, Reid misrepresented the Senate ethics rules, saying Reid could accept free tickets in Nevada, but McCain could not because McCain is not from Nevada.
Rational people are not buying what Reid is selling as is evidenced by the editorials below.
Realizing that misrepresenting the Senate Ethics rules was not the best defense, Reid now says he will not accept such tickets in the future. But Senator, if, according to your first defense, you took the tickets in order to do your job, are you now saying you will no longer be doing your job?
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- 06.01.2006
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Reid Protégé Dario Herrera was convicted of corruption after receiving cash and sexual favors in return for votes.
Herrera asserted Reid’s Abramoff defense, saying he did nothing wrong. The jury did not buy it.
Perhaps Herrera should have used the Reid Ticket defense, he was only taking lap dances because he needed to know the industry he was regulating. From the editorials on the Reid Ticket defense,
The Reid World does not think the jury would have bought that one either.
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The Reid World - 06.01.2006
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But an elected official with genuine integrity has enough common sense to recognize when he has received something of value and when it's appropriate to provide adequate compensation for the perk. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote a check for a credentialed seat at a fight he attended with Sen. Reid.
On Tuesday, while answering local reporters' questions about his attendance at boxing matches, Sen. Reid couldn't make those simple acknowledgements. And his defense of those freebies was an embarrassment.
Sen. Reid, himself a former boxer and boxing judge, said he needed to attend the fights to understand boxing regulations. He compared his attendance at the fights to taking an informational tour of a water facility. And he maintained that because he was elected by Nevadans, he should be able to attend events subject to state regulation free of charge, while elected officials from outside Nevada should be expected to pay.
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Las Vegas Review Journal - 06.01.2006
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This story, broken over the weekend by a national Associated Press reporter, has infuriated Reid, who said Tuesday on "Face to Face" that he has been "hit with a few accusations, but this one is beyond the pale."
But it really isn't. Part of the problem is Reid's nonchalant and dismissive response. Reid told AP that he was simply trying to learn how federal regulation of boxing might affect Nevada's industry. "Anyone from Nevada would say I'm glad he is there taking care of the state's No. 1 businesses," he said.
Actually, I don't think there's one person in Nevada who would say that. Or believe that Reid needs to be close enough to the ring to catch an errant mouthpiece to see how federal regulation of boxing might affect Nevada's regulation of boxing.
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Jon Ralston, Las Vegas Sun - 06.01.2006
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Reid accepted thousands of dollars worth of complimentary ringside tickets to three boxing matches from 2003 to 2005 from his home state's boxing regulatory body. At the time, that agency was trying to convince Reid not to support legislation that would establish a federal boxing commission that would diminish its authority and would increase federal oversight of boxing.
The Senate minority leader ended up voting against the wishes of the agency, and he claims he took the gifts because attending the fights would help him learn how the legislation would affect an important form of business in his home state. By that rationale, every member of Congress who represents part of the East or West Coast should be accepting free vacations to the south of France so they can learn more about the beach resort industry.
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Investor Business Daily - 06.01.2006
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In defending his choice seats, Mr. Reid said he just wanted to learn how his legislation would affect an important industry back home, adding that the gifts would never affect his position on legislation.
Horsefeathers.
No one has to sit in the front row of a boxing match to learn how federal regulations would affect the sport, least of all Mr. Reid, a former boxer and boxing coach who probably has forgotten more about boxing than other members of Congress will ever know.
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NorthJersey.com - 06.01.2006
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How does Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, explain why he accepted free tickets to fight nights in Las Vegas even as he was advocating legislation in Congress that would affect professional boxing? "Anyone from Nevada would say, 'I'm glad he is there taking care of the state's number one business,' " Sen. Reid says.
Nice try. But the senator is kidding himself if he thinks anyone on the Vegas strip, much less the nation, would fall for such a bluff. Sen. Reid was wrong to accept the tickets, and he should admit as much. As his party's leader in the Senate, he should set the right example, not offer an alibi. Full story at http://tinyurl.com/rcr84.
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Times Union - 06.01.2006
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If Harry Reid is smart enough to lead the Senate Democrats, he ought to be smart enough to admit his mistake in accepting boxing tickets.
* * *
When Reid accepted those free tickets while he was working on boxing regulation, he created the perception of a quid pro quo. And in drawing his own ethical behavior into account, Reid lost credibility in questioning the ethics of others: That's a dear price to pay for the privilege of watching a sporting event.
Full story at http://tinyurl.com/o9olx.
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The Tenessean - 06.02.2006
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From Las Vegas City Life:
So let the excuses flow, baby!
In a 14-page dissection of
Solomon's story distributed by Reid's office, we learn the Nevada Athletic
Commission had an opinion about the bill and that "Sen. Reid was of course
interested in learning about what his home state commission felt about the
issue because boxing is so important to Nevada." And, since there is no
telephone, e-mail or postal service between Washington, D.C. and Carson City,
Reid absolutely had to discuss the issue at the fight. Hope he could hear the
commission's concerns over the roar of the crowd.
The excuseapalooza goes on to
say "when it comes to boxing, the Nevada Athletic Commission's interests
are the interests of the state of Nevada. There is nothing inappropriate about
Sen. Reid looking out for the interests of the state of Nevada in boxing
legislation. In fact, that is his job." Oh, really? So if the interests of
the commission are the interests of the state, and the commission was against
Reid's bill, then Reid was advocating legislation that was opposed to the
interests of the state? That's an interesting defense. And how the hell was
Reid "looking out for" the interests boxing by sitting ringside --
for free? Full story at http://tinyurl.com/qlaot.
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Las Vegas City Life - 06.02.2006
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From Mullings, an American Cyber column by
Rich Galen (http://www.mullings.com/)
·
Harry Reid is not, by
any normal accounting, a “reasonable person.”
·
In fact, Fast Harry has a real sense of
entitlement. He had at least two
meetings with Abramoff staffers and, shortly afterwards, according to the AP,
sponsored “a spending bill that targeted $100,000” to
an Abramoff client and “also wrote at least four letters favorable to
Abramoff's tribal clients around the time Reid collected donations from those
clients and Abramoff's partners.”
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Yet, he declined to
return any of the associated donations.
·
Am I the only one who is beginning to see the
vaguest skeleton of the dimmest outline of the faintest glimmer of a PATTERN OF
BEHAVIOR here?
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Substitute the name “DeLay” for the name “Reid”
and take a guess at how official Washington – the popular press and the
Democrats in Congress – would be viewing this activity.
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I want the FBI to get a search warrant for the
freezer in Harry Reid’s house. We might
find an entire casino, wrapped in tin foil, hidden in there.
The full column is at http://tinyurl.com/ldqg2.
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Mullings, An American Cyber column by Rich Galen - 06.02.2006
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From The Townhall.com - "Culture of corruption" spreads beyond
party lines By Jennifer Biddison
The third Democrat to stumble
was the Senate’s own Minority Leader, Harry Reid. The AP reported this week
that Reid accepted free ringside seats to three boxing matches from the Nevada
Athletic Commission as it was trying to influence his support for legislation
to create a federal boxing commission. Whether Reid misunderstood the Senate
gift rules or not, the rules warn specifically against accepting gifts if the
giver may be trying to influence official action. This may have been just a
slip-up for Reid, but it was a careless mistake by the leader of the party who
wants to make Republicans out to be the corrupt ones.
A few timeless lessons to take
away:
1. Those in glass houses should
not throw stones. And NLPC’s Ken Boehm notes the obvious: that “the House and
the Senate are glass houses” right now.
See the full story at http://tinyurl.com/e8tz9.
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Townhall.com - 06.02.2006
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