'Harry's Going Down With the Sinking Ship'

The stunning election of Scott Brown Tuesday night has reverberated across the political landscape. Already an endangered species, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been sent a clear warning from Nevada Republicans.

The political peril has deepened for Sen. Harry Reid and the entire Democratic ticket in Nevada after the stunning special election victory of a Republican who won the Massachusetts seat of Sen. Ted Kennedy, the late Democratic icon.

The head of the Nevada Republican Party, in a chest-thumping conference call with reporters, said Wednesday the GOP is launching a voter registration and fundraising drive to take advantage of the momentum fueled by voter anger against the party in power. Chris Comfort vowed to retire Reid and Congresswoman Dina Titus and lead a "Republican renaissance" by erasing an 84,000-voter Democratic edge over the GOP and bringing money into Nevada from out of state.

"We have many candidates who are perfectly capable of taking the job from Harry Reid," Comfort said. "Harry's going down with the sinking ship."

The already crowded GOP field of potential Reid opponents might get more crowded.

Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki said Wednesday that former GOP presidential candidate John McCain and others have urged him to run for Reid's seat, although well before Brown's victory. The calls started after Dec. 7 when a judge tossed from court a criminal case alleging he misused funds in a college savings program he oversaw, he said.

The field is getting crowded already, with Danny Tarkanian and Su Lowden already leading Reid in potential matchups. Let's just hope the Republicans don't damage themselves with a rough primary.

On the upside, Reid may well drag down a lot of Democrats with him.

Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, said Reid as the highest-ranking Democrat is a potential drag on every race, federal and statewide, which means he could hurt the chances of his son, Rory Reid, who is running for governor.

"He could take down every Democrat running statewide," Coker said. "That's the one thing that yesterday told me. This thing may go a lot deeper than just Harry Reid."

One thing almost assured to finish off Dingy Harry is the news Barack "Kiss of Death" Obama will campaign for him.