Perhaps trying to save face by proving he can win something, outgoing Senate majority leader Harry reid is reportedly putting the arm on Democrats in a big way in an effort to save a struggling Mary Landrieu in Louisiana.
Politico seems to be taking a certain delight in portraying Reid as a shake down artist.
Reid shakes down Dems to help Landrieu
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is leaning on Democrats to give cash to help Sen. Mary Landrieu win a runoff race that will be critical if the party wants to reclaim the Senate in 2016, according to two Democratic sources.
Amid reports that New York Democrat Chuck Schumer may be eyeing a challenge to Reid as leader, saving Landrieu may be an attempt by Reid to demonstrate that he still have enough power to hold on to the top slot among Senate Democrats.
Landrieu is being badly outspent in her runoff election against GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy after Democrats lost the Senate and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee slashed her broadcast and cable advertising budget last week. The advantage for Cassidy is stunning: By one estimate, Cassidy and his allies are airing 96 percent of the ads in the race right now, according to Bloomberg.
Reid is also advancing a bill on the Keystone XL Pipeline purely for the purposes of propping up Landrieu in her uphill battle against Republican Bill Cassidy.
Still, Landrieu is neither a “lost cause” nor worried about the lack of advertising support she is receiving from her party leaders, the Louisiana Democrat said shortly before finally securing a Senate vote on her legislation to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.
And some Democrats are questioning the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee’s retreat from the airwaves after regularly spending as much as $68,000 per week on individual television stations in Louisiana markets to benefit Landrieu, according to ad trackers.