Despite the fact that Franken has legally won the election, all it takes to make Democratic "leadership" cower in fear is some stern glances from the Republicans.

Make no mistake, we all know who's in charge of the Senate, and it sure ain't Harry Reid.

GOP raises eyebrows: Dem "leadership" rolls over.

Tough as nails when it comes to fighting Democrats, weak as water when it comes to confronting Bush or Republicans.

The Republicans have no qualms about stealing an election, while Democrats are too timid to assert themselves even when they've legitimately won one.

Explain how Harry Reid managed for 69 years to live without a spine?

Someone needs to let the democratic leadership know that they won the election in November.

that Reid needs to go as Senate "leader"? Ready to go to the mattresses against a member of his own party, he rolls over and piddles on his belly when McConnell looks cross-eyed at him.

Pathetic and disgusting.

Selah.

If Coleman were a Democrat and it was 2000, the Republicans would be calling Coleman's actions "Sore/Loserman." Reid should attempt to seat Frankin and let the Republicans try to block it, and in the process hold up the business of the United States. If you think GOP stock is at an all time low now, you ain't seen nothing yet.

are so many Democratic leaders pussies? Why can't I have a majority leader who doesn't need Repub votes to get re-elected? Is that too much to ask for?

Harry "Cloture" Reid has got to go as the Democrats' leader in the Senate. It's ridiculous. There is nothing the human doormat won't prostrate himself before, where the Republicans are concerned. Pathetic. And it's exactly what he's done all this time, during the Bush years. One surrender after another. Fucking pathetic. We need third, fourth, and fifth parties in this country. The Democrats are failing to comprehend the results of the 2008 elections, and Reid is their standard bearer, waving that white flag proudly.

Harry Reid likes to avoid controversy, so he always asks Democrats to put aside any differences they might have for the benefits of the Republicans. At some point, he needs to realize that he may have made the wrong career choice. Politics is suppose to center around controversy.

Republicans first asked Franken to step aside right after the election and avoid the delay and cost of the recount process. Now that they have lost, they wish to delay the seating of a Democrat as long as possible, unprincipled trolls that they are. I'm sure Henry Reid blames Al Franken for this mess which is why he won't be seated. If Senator Elect Franken would have just conceded November 6, or heck, dropped out of the race November 4, there would be no controversy now. Its all Al Franken's fault for behaving as if he actually wants to be Senator.

The Bush administration and its political operatives have had complete access to the phone calls, emails, text messages of congressional leaders for almost eight years.

This fact raises an obvious question: how much does the Bush black op political team have on the congressional leaders? Even if they don't, can those Democrats take the chance that interesting stories of their private lives won't mysteriously pop up on Drudge? Has a shot been fired across their bows already, so they live in terror of exposure? Hoover used the FBI as a personal blackmailing machine, and he didn't have the ability to listen or read private exchanges that everyone knows Homeland Security has today.

The spinelessness just doesn't make sense unless you consider that the leaders might have their lives, or their families' lives held hostage explicitly or implicitly.

Senate Democrats are meek and scared of their own shadow even when they win elections. They won Florida in 2000, but were too frightened to actually fight for it when that victory was being stolen from them. They unseat a neocon in Minnesota, but are too scared to seat him. Why doesn't Reid just offer his Republican counterpart the majority leader position and be done with it?

Nate Silver noted the other day on 538 that seating either Franken or Burriss without the other increases the number of votes required to break a filibuster from 59 to 60. Even though Franken is a sure vote, it gains the Democrats no practical advantage to have him seated before the Burriss situation is resolved.

It has nothing to do with spine. Instead, it avoids a political catfight over the Democrats' presumption / unwillingness to let the judicial process work without costing them anything when it comes to votes.

While I agree it is hugely spineless to not seat Franken if its because of Burris, but I want to point out that though the state canvassing board said Franken has more votes, the states Election commission hasn't ratified and signed off on the results. So technically Franken hasn't officially won.

Harry Reid received my first-ever political donation ($50) back in November 2005, as my way of saying 'Thanks' for showing some backbone and putting the Senate into locked door session.

He's just forfeited that spinal fortitude, so I'd like that money back. Now. (Lord knows, in this economy, I need it.)

They derailed the entire senate and have kept the official winner of the seat from joining congress... and all they had to do is just threaten to filibuster.... hilarious.

Nobody could possibly be as spineless as Harry Reid. I have watched him cave to Republicans over and over and yet he has no problem screwing his own base. I long ago came to the conclusion that either the Republicans have photos of a certain Senator cavorting with farm animals or Reid is a Republican plant. We need to work on finding a strong primary challenger to send him packing in 2010.

...with his suggestion that the Republicans have something on Senator Reid---it really is the only explanation for his behavior. No one can get to be Senator (and have a previous boxing career no less) without having some semblance of a spine. So Reid's unbelievably deferential attitude towards the Republicans (contrasted by his never failing to stand on principle against his fellow Democrats) can only be explained by some sort of blackmail (which, of course, was the true objective of Bush's warrantless wiretapping program). Reid did have some suspicious land deals in Las Vegas a while back, and I remember John Solomon of AP (now with the Washington Times) wrote an article about this. Someone should look further into this.