[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/25/art.reidnn0725.gi.jpg caption=" 'I know that there are times I am told that I get on your nerves,' Senate Majority Leader Reid said to some laughter in a gathering of progressive activists. 'And I am here to tell you ... you get on my nerves sometimes.'"]
Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) - Acknowledging that he and they don't always see eye to eye, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) on Saturday praised the influence of progressive activists gathered at the annual Netroots Nation convention.
Speaking to a large ballroom filled with bloggers and others in the movement, Reid said they help represent the voice of "real Americans."
"I admire how you pursue the truth as relentlessly as you reveal hypocrisy," he said. "You shine much-needed light on fear tactics and misinformation. I am calling you to keep calling them out."
But Reid, who has not always pushed agenda items as liberal as progressives would like on such issues as health care reform, acknowledged their past differences.
"I know that there are times I am told that I get on your nerves," Reid said to some laughter in the room. "And I am here to tell you ... you get on my nerves sometimes."