Lowden, Tarkanian and Reid: Circular Firing Squad

(Mark Noonan) – Reid hits Lowden on the “chicken bartering” comment; Tarkanian hits Lowden for ancient donations to Reid; Lowden hits Reid and Tarkanian for being career politicians. Round and round they go. And what does it all mean?

Fundamentally, it means that none of these three have found a compelling reason for anyone to be for them. Instead of relentlessly making the case in favor of themselves, they cast about for ways to convince voters to be against the other guy. It is easy to see why Reid does it: It’s the only tactic he can possibly use. Less easy to see why Lowden and Tarkanian do it.

Reid’s only hope is to convince people that the GOP candidate is so unpalatable that even 6 more years of Reid seems good. This won’t be an easy task as Reid is, arguably, the very worst Senator and Majority leader in history. But it is what Reid will try to do. He’s really got nothing else.

So, Lowden and Tarkanian really aren’t helping themselves and may end up helping Reid by default. It is time that Lowden and Tarkanian held fire on each other and confined themselves to telling us – and that all-important TEA Party element – why they’ll make best candidate to face off against Reid as well as the best Senator once Reid is out.

Meanwhile, attacking Reid just gives him the ability to hit back. Reid should be ignored by the candidates, themselves. Attacking Reid should be left to the party, independent political groups and, of course, the New Media (I can fire off an anti-Reid polemic at the drop of a hat, ya know? He just provides so much material – in some ways, we’re going to miss him).

Let Reid shout angrily. Let Reid try to poison the political waters. Let Reid, in short, believe that the dead politics of the past are still alive – we’ve already gone past him. Our job is not to make people double-hate a man they already despise, but to present a vision for a restored Nevada and United States. Reid is the dead past, we must be the living future – and we can’t be if we’re arguing over 20 year old donations and other such nonsense.

In 2010 we are poised for a victory of historic proportions. Let us not throw this away because we wanted to fight each other, rather than our opponents. Don’t play Reid’s game. Nevada and America deserve better than Harry Reid, and the job of the people who would replace Reid is to lead us to that victory, not snipe at each other until Reid sneaks back in.