Reid Surprises Allies, Opponents Alike With Stance on Antiwar Bill

By Lois Romano
Thursday, April 12, 2007

Democratic senators and staff members, and even his political opponents, were stunned when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced last week that he would co-sponsor the strongest antiwar bill floating around the Capitol -- one that would cut off funding for the Iraq war within a year and set a hard deadline for withdrawing troops.

Reid (D-Nev.) had been cautious about endorsing a timeline for ending the war and had advised colleagues to stick together in order to reach a unified compromise, rather than stake out independent positions on Iraq. So when the leader said he will support a measure from Sen. Russell Feingold (Wis.), one of the Democrats' loudest war critics, and neglected to notifying his caucus beforehand, jaws dropped.

"Where exactly Harry Reid is, is anybody's guess," said one senior White House official, who requested anonymity.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, did not dispute that Reid went into business for himself, so to speak. "Senator Reid made it very clear that that this was not a caucus position, and that each member is free to vote as they choose when it comes to the Feingold bill," Manley said.

Manley and other sources said that Reid was reacting from his gut, having just returned from visiting injured soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

His announcement came as the Senate and House begin negotiations to write a single compromise bill from their two spending measures, which call for more than $100 billion in military spending for Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush has promised to veto any bill with a timeline for ending the war.

Democratic Hill sources fret that by staking a position so far to the left, Reid will give a bright green light to other members to move in that direction -- making it harder to satisfy the party's base with anything less than a hard timeline for withdrawal.

Wanted: A New Face for the Clinton Campaign

Word around town is that Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential operation is looking for an additional spokesman or spokeswoman to be the "face" of the campaign. Any such person, we're told, would not disrupt the current hierarchal lineup, led by communications chief Howard Wolfson. Sources say that he has spoken to some candidates, but that no finalists have emerged. "Why -- do you know anyone?" responded Wolfson when asked if he is looking around. We don't.

Meanwhile, Clinton (D-N.Y.) jumped on the Down With Imus bandwagon in an e-letter to supporters, calling the shock jock's comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team "nothing more than small-minded bigotry and coarse sexism." She offered her backers the opportunity to write a note of support to the young women, whom Don Imus insulted in racially tinged terms. Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), a fellow Democratic presidential candidate, called for Imus to be fired.

Clinton said on Tuesday that she has never appeared on Imus's morning show and never wanted to.

Who is surprised? Imus once referred to her as "that buck-toothed witch, Satan" and said she was "worse than" Osama bin Laden.

He did pull that last one back, adding, "Well, that's a little strong."

Who said he wasn't contrite?

Next Time, the Elevator

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and his wife, Elsie, stumbled down the escalator at Penn Station in Newark on Monday after her suitcase got caught, causing them to take a spill. A witness told the Star-Ledger that she went "down on her head, and he was yelling for someone to help her."

Both sustained cuts -- facial and elsewhere -- and were taken to the hospital to be checked out. Yesterday, a spokesman said Pascrell boarded a train later that day for Washington and that the couple was doing fine.

Whatever Happened to . . .

Jim Nussle was a little-known Republican congressman from Iowa in 1992 when he made a speech on the House floor -- in front of rolling cameras -- with a brown paper bag over his head, protesting the "shameful" behavior of colleagues involved in the House banking scandal. You'll recall that some lawmakers had made a practice of bouncing checks.

Nussle became known thereafter as "the guy with the bag on his head." He gave up his seat in 2005 to run for governor; he won the Republican primary but lost in the general election last November.

Last month, Nussle turned out the light on his campaign committee by giving the balance of his account -- $7,322.42 -- to his alma mater, Luther College, in Decorah, Iowa.

He is now an adviser to Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.

The Speaker on the Couch

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is to appear tonight on NBC's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno," her first time on the late-night program, although she's been seen on David Letterman's show. Will she be funny? No scripted jokes, her spokesman insists.

A Little Help From His Friends

Sen. Tim Johnson hasn't been to his office in four months, recovering from surgery as a result of a brain hemorrhage. But the South Dakota Democrat is nonetheless primed for his 2008 reelection bid.

His campaign raised more than $660,000 in the first three months of the year, according to aides, in part through the help of Democratic colleagues, who hold a one-vote majority in the Senate. Max Baucus (Mont.) created a joint fundraising committee with the Johnson campaign so that he could raise funds for himself and also transfer funds to Johnson -- $30,000 so far. In addition, Harry Reid, Edward Kennedy (Mass.) , Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Kent Conrad (N.D.) hosted events for him. Johnson currently has $1.2 million in the bank.

Although there are no announced candidates for his seat, his 2002 race was a bruiser: Johnson won by 524 votes.

A spokeswoman said yesterday that the senator remains at an inpatient rehabilitation facility, participating in speech and other therapies for six hours a day. The spokeswoman, Julianne Fisher, said Johnson continues to improve and meets with his chief of staff about once a week. She said Johnson will eventually ease into an outpatient situation, then start the process of returning to the Senate. No date has been set.

Seeking Closure on Hate Crimes

Judy Shepard will be on the Hill tomorrow to help Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy (Mass.) and Republican Sen. Gordon Smith (Ore.) introduce federal hate-crime legislation, nine years after her 21-year-old son, Matthew, was murdered in Laramie, Wyo., because he was gay.

"It's been a long, long time since Congress wanted to talk about this. We have Republicans friends who support it, but we could never get anywhere with the Republican leadership," she said in a telephone interview this week, referring to the new Democratic majority.

Shepard heads the Matthew Shepard Foundation, founded by her and her husband, Dennis, with small contributions that trickled in while her son lay dying in the hospital. The foundation today has good corporate support, and Shepard says she travels the country speaking to students, hoping to raise awareness about tolerance. She said she advises young people to talk to their parents about their sexual orientation.

"It has helped me a lot," she said.

The bill would strengthen the ability of local law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violent crimes. The two men who killed her son are serving life prison terms.