Reid: “A Muslim Cannot Win This Race”

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(Greg Blair) – Harry Reid embarrassed himself again.

Specifically, according to the Washington Post, he’s accused of trying to muscle Jesse Sbaih out of a high-profile campaign by telling him, “a Muslim cannot win this race.”

•  “A Muslim Democrat running for a U.S. House seat in Nevada says that — in a private meeting last year — Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) had encouraged him to end his campaign by saying, ‘a Muslim cannot win this race.’ ‘He said, ‘You should not run for this office,’’ said Jesse Sbaih, an immigrant from Jordan who is now a trial lawyer.”

(David Fahrenthold, “Nev. Candidate Says Reid Urged Him To Quit, Because ‘A Muslim Cannot Win This Race,’” Washington Post, 3/29/16)

According to Sbaih, he also met with Reid advisor Rebecca Lambe, who helped nail down the company line that Muslim candidates can’t win congressional races in Nevada.

•  “First, he said, he met with a political consultant connected to Reid, Rebecca Lambe. At a coffee shop, Sbaih said, Lambe brought up his religion and his Arab heritage: ‘She said, basically, you’re gonna have a problem winning, as a Muslim, as an Arab.’”

(Washington Post, 3/29/16)

Not content to simply insult the man to his face, Reid also attempted to, um, incentivize his departure from the race with a federal appointment. (Is there another word for that? It seems like there’s another word for that.)

•  “A few weeks later, Sbaih said, an aide in Reid’s Senate office offered him a chance to apply for a position on the Election Assistance Commission — a federal job. Sbaih said he declined.”

(Washington Post, 3/29/16)

Read the whole piece. As a bonus, take note of the part where Reid’s office calls Sbaih a liar. Then flip the outrage switch to ‘on,’ because this story is absolutely bonkers.

Mr. Blair is a communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee

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