Philip Klein noted yesterday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s attack on ObamaCare opponents came in the immediate aftermath of a poll showing a majority of Nevada voters oppose ObamaCare.

Smearing 53% of his own state’s voters is the latest political blunder for Reid, whose re-election in 2010 is looking increasingly doubtful. Reid provided fodder for his leading GOP opponent:

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian — a community activist with a history of working with at-risk African-Americans in Las Vegas — called on Senator Harry Reid to apologize on the Senate floor for comparing his health care opponents to defenders of slavery.
“Harry Reid’s comments comparing opponents of his health reforms to defenders of slavery are a disgrace to the institution of the Senate and an embarrassment to Nevada. If there is any dignity left in this man, he will apologize on the Senate Floor,” said Tarkanian.
Danny Tarkanian has been personally active in Las Vegas’ African-American community through the Tarkanian Basketball Academy which teaches young Las Vegans — many of whom are African-American — life lessons through sports.

Tarkanian — a former UNLV point guard and son of legendary coach Jerry “Tark the Shark” Tarkanian — is leading Reid in the polls. Tarkanian is only one of nine candidates seeking the Senate nomination in next June’s Republican primary, but benefits from strong name recognition from his basketball career.

Another advantage: Tarkanian has Tea Party credentials, while his main rival for the nomination, former state GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden, has been called the “preferred candidate of the Republican party establishment” — the kiss of death in a year when GOP primary voters are clearly in a populist mood.