Reid: Sheldon Adelson is Fine, Koch Brothers are Not

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that, in spite of polls showing Democrats in midterm trouble, his party is doing “just fine” particularly as it tries to sign up new voters.

“In spite of the huge amount of money the Koch brothers have spent, starting last October, we’re competitive in virtually every — well, I shouldn’t say virtually — in every race that they’ve spent a lot of this money on,” Reid told MSNBC. We’re doing just fine. Now, I understand the last six months — and that’s what it is now — is going to be difficult, but also understand this, all — you and all the other pundits. All this money being spent with this crazy opinion and rendered by the Supreme Court Citizens United, that they can hide behind all this money, free speech is free and the more money you have, the more free the speech is.”

“Come September, we’re not — that money is not going to amount to as much as it did because we’re going to be spending under statutory limits, the DSCC limit money and the individual candidates’ money.”

Despite the prospect of being outspent,”we have the registration going on around the country that’s important,” Reid stressed.

“And you cannot develop overnight the ability to register lots of people. We’ve been working on this for a long time and we are registering lots of people as we speak in states where they need to be registered,” he said. “We’re doing a good job in North Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas and other places.”

Reid kept his criticism for the Koch brothers, defending Sheldon Adelson, CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation who pledged $100 million to Republican presidential candidates in 2012.

“Sheldon Adelson’s social views are in keeping with the Democrats on choice, on all kinds of things. He just had a beef with the organized labor a few years ago and he previously was a Democrat. So Sheldon Adelson, don’t pick on him. He’s not in it to make money,” Reid said.

“The Koch brothers are in this — folks… and I’ve talked about it and I’ve used their name on the floor lots of — I might continue to use it… They are — they are — they are in it to make money. Anything that affects their bottom line, they oppose it. They have warned Republicans, you do anything that’s green, we will oppose you.”