By now you probably heard about the little scuffle between our fabulous Senator Reid and the publisher of a local paper. It has made world headlines for the wrong reasons. Here is my take in the threat. And if you read the entire post, you will understand why I see it as a threat.
Last week our (do nothing for his voters) Senator Harry Reid was in town. Schmoozing for more $$ to defend his lousy record and keep his aged, worthless butt in office.
Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, he took questions from the audience. Several were asking how his comrades in Washington were planning to pay for the Obama health care takeover. Like a good little Obama soldier, he dodged the question by making accusations and broad statements about anything but the actual question.
While at the event, he met the publisher of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Las Vegas newspaper), Harry gave this quote “I hope you go out of business.”
The publisher took this little statement as a threat. Rightly so. But if you read the other Vegas bloggers and some of the “journalists” around town, they see it otherwise. They also believe that Obama can do no wrong, no matter how many Vegas jobs are at stake.
Why do I think this was a threat?
Simple. Look not at what was said, but who said it.
If you or I said that to a publisher or any other business owner/manager, it would be laughed off. After all, as individuals we have no real power. But the person who made the statement was not any ordinary citizen. It was an elected US Senator with power to make the statement real.
- This is the man that helped orchestrate the bank bailout debacle, the mortgage loan crises and now the health care scare.
- This is the man that led the bill that created the TARP funds through from start to finish. Then watched his best contributors spend the billions of tax dollars without any strings or oversight.
- This is the man who helped the US Government take over entire industries. He has the power to help decid who gets paid, who gets nothing and who gets everything.
- This is the man who sits in judgment and holds the power to change laws, rules and regulations that will impact your business. He can make the business go broke. We have seen him do it.
- This is the man who sat silently as his boss helped slash six million jobs from the American landscape. The same man who helped kill off thousands of jobs here in Las Vegas, by muttering some other stupid “off the cuff/taken out of context” statement.
It is not always what the person says that counts; Often it is who the person is that makes the statement, that counts.
In this case, a man with a lot of power to easily destroy lives and make a business go broke made the statement to a specific business he hates. That makes it a viable threat.
Go Ahead, Stalk Us