More Democrats Stepping Forward Against Harry Reid’s Tax-Hiking Agenda

(National Republican Senatorial Committee) – With national unemployment hovering near 10 percent and on the rise in several states – including Nevada, which leads the nation at 14.3 percent – a number of leading Democrat Senators and candidates are abandoning U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and President Barack Obama as they prepare to implement the largest tax increase in American history later this year.

During just the last two weeks, three Democrat Senate candidates in key swing states joined a group of Reid’s colleagues in Washington who oppose the Obama-Reid-Pelosi tax hike efforts.

“When Nevada voters consider just how out-of-touch Harry Reid is when it comes to the economy and the struggles facing working families and small businesses, they should look no further than what his own fellow Democrats are saying about Reid’s tax-hiking efforts,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Brian Walsh.

“More and more Democrats are stepping forward, reversing their positions and finally acknowledging that raising taxes on families and small businesses is the last thing we ought to be doing in the midst of a recession, yet liberal Harry Reid is standing firmly against them. This will be a critical issue in November because it highlights not only how out-of-touch Harry Reid is, but how out-of-step his liberal views are with the majority of Nevadans.”

On Friday, Louisiana Democrat Senate candidate U.S. Representative Charlie Melancon (D-LA) became the latest Democrat to announce that he now opposes efforts to raise taxes by repealing any of the 2001 and 2003 tax relief measures. Melancon’s announcement comes on the heels of two other leading Democrat Senate candidates, Rubberstamp Robin Carnahan (D-MO) and liberal trial lawyer Jack Conway (D-KY), who recently flip-flopped on their positions.

In addition, several sitting Democrat Senators, including Budget Committee Chairman U.S. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), have announced they will oppose Reid’s efforts, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said recently that extending the tax cuts would strengthen a still struggling U.S. economy.

Yet Reid is standing firm, even in the wake of last week’s report that Nevada’s unemployment now stands at 14.3 percent and he’s insisting on a September fight in the Senate over this issue.