Republicans slam Reid for Canada fundraising trip

From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser
July 12, 2010

(CNN) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is coming under attack from Republicans for a fundraising stop Sunday night in Canada.

Reid, who faces a tough re-election fight this year as he bids for a fifth term in the Senate, attended a fundraiser hosted by the "Committee for a Better Future," a trial lawyers association based in Washington, D.C. that's raising money on behalf of Democrats in this year's Senate battles.

"Could Harry Reid be anymore out of touch to think that leaving the United States to raise campaign cash is appropriate while Nevada tops the nation with 14 percent unemployment? What was Harry Reid thinking and, more importantly, where exactly are his priorities?" asked National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Walsh, in a release put out Monday morning by the NRSC.

The campaign of Reid's Republican challenger, Sharron Angle, followed with their own statement a few hours later.

"Harry Reid says that 'no one can do more' for Nevada, so why does he have to leave the country to pad his war chest? It seems callous," says Angle campaign spokesman Jerry Stacy, in the statement.

Angle beat 12 other candidates in the June 8 GOP primary to capture her party's Senate nomination. Angle, a former Nevada state lawmaker, enjoys strong support from many in the Tea Party movement.

"Let's talk about who's really out-of-touch. Sharron Angle wants to kill Social Security, calls unemployed Nevadans 'spoiled', and says it's not her job to create jobs. And now she claims that executive orders like the Emancipation Proclamation and military desegregation are unconstitutional. That's not just out-of-touch, that's in outer space," responds the Reid campaign, in a statement to CNN. "Senator Reid will never back down from fighting to put Nevadans back to work and bring new business to our state, ending the Bush era blacklist on government travel to Las Vegas and passing the Travel Promotion Act, legislation that will create 6,000 Nevada jobs by marketing Nevada and the nation to the world."

According to a Democratic source, eight Democratic Senate candidates also attended the fundraiser, which was held in Vancouver, British Columbia. One of the eight, Rep. Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, became the target of an NRSC email release Monday afternoon.

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