Democrats are preparing to throw the race card back in the laps of Republicans as part of a counterattack designed to help save Harry Reid's political career.First, Reid's allies plan to distribute the NAACP vote ratings of Republican senators who have scolded him. The data will be made available to editorial boards, cable programs and the blogosphere -- including votes on minimum wage, community-oriented policing, education funding and HIV/AIDS programs.
Separately, the Congressional Black Caucus plans to issue a new statement Monday, defending Reid and brushing back Republicans.
"Senator Reid's record provides a stark contrast to actions of Republicans to block legislation that would benefit poor and minority communities -- most recently reflected in Republican opposition to the health bill now under consideration," CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said. "I look forward to Senator Reid continuing to serve as Majority Leader to guide this important agenda through the Senate."
These moves to turn the race issue back onto Republicans is risky, yet it shows how Reid and his allies are ready to pull out all the stops to help the majority leader recover from his disastrous comments about Barack Obama being "light-skinned" and having no "Negro dialect." The comments were revealed in the book "Game Change" by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.
"There are some Republicans who are trying to use this for political advantage," said a source close to the Reid camp. "If Senators [Jon] Kyl, [John] Cornyn and others want to have an open and honest debate about race -- and if they want to discuss their records on issues of importance to the African-American community -- we welcome that dialogue. But we are not going to stand idly by while hypocritical Republicans take swipes at Senator Reid, distorting his record of achievement and their own record of failure."
Top Democrats tell POLITICO that they have no doubt that that Reid, a former amateur boxer, will keep fighting and survive in his leadership job. Indeed, Reid's racial flub is already turning out differently than the one made by Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) in 2002. When Lott made a nostalgic remark about the segregationist Dixiecrat presidential run of Strom Thurmond, his Republican allies quickly abandoned him. Democrats are sticking by Reid so far.
Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat, is said to be quite certain Reid would ride out the controversy, particularly because Obama and the Rev. Al Sharpton had accepted Reid's apology and issued effusively supportive statements.