Lately I’ve found it difficult to figure out precisely what might be motivating Harry Reid. You would think this would be a time for popping champagne corks and perhaps even some resting upon laurels. Sitting at the head of a newly enlarged Senate majority and with his party’s candidate poised to take the White House, things would seem to be fairly well under control for him. Still, as Sen. John Cornyn notes in this editorial, Reid can’t seem to get his tongue under control.

But recent comments by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) regarding the Minnesota Senate seat still at play threaten that promise from being realized and threaten the very trust and confidence of the American people. Reid recently stated, “Norm Coleman will never ever serve [again] in the Senate. He lost the election. He can stall things, but he’ll never serve in the Senate.”

This astounding, power- grabbing statement by an individual who will set the course of action for the Senate is completely antithetical to the way our government operates. We are incredibly privileged to live in a democracy, where we have the constitutional right to choose our own elected officials and lawmakers rather than have them chosen for us.

I’m not sure, but I think the Burris situation has gotten Senator Reid a bit too fixated on the whole issue of the Senate being the final judge of who sits in their chamber. There is an election in Minnesota which unfortunately is still underway. The process is playing out as intended under state law. We’ll have an answer sooner or later, but it is clearly not the province of the Majority Leader to declare the victor.

Reid needs to find a way to walk back from these statements and confirm his understanding that the voters will pick their Senators. There is enough drama going on surrounding a couple of these races. Comments such as this do nothing to encourage confidence in the Senate leadership and cooler heads need to prevail until all remaining electoral questions are sorted out in proper fashion.