Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Come on, man.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

This blog will pay for itself.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Battle won, war still ongoing.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Republicans don’t trust women.

You are here: Home / Absent Friends / RIP / RIP, Harry Reid

RIP, Harry Reid

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Dead at 82:

Harry M. Reid, the Democrat who rose from childhood poverty in the rural Nevada desert to the heights of power in Washington, where he steered the Affordable Care Act to passage as Senate majority leader, died on Tuesday in Henderson, Nev. He was 82.

Mr. Reid had been treated for pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed in 2018, but lived to see the Las Vegas airport renamed for him earlier this month. His death was confirmed in statements from Gov. Steve Sisolak of Nevada and Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader.

Even by the standards of the political profession, where against-the-odds biographies are common and modest roots an asset, what Mr. Reid overcame was extraordinary. He was raised in almost Dickensian circumstances in tiny Searchlight, Nev.: His home had no indoor plumbing, his father was an alcoholic miner who eventually committed suicide, and his mother helped the family survive by taking in laundry from local brothels.

RIP.

Reader Interactions

65Comments

  3. 3.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Harry Reid

    A man named Jack Gordon, who later married LaToya Jackson, tried to give Reid a $12,000 bribe. Reid let the FBI videotape Gordon offering him the bribe, and then, according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal account, he “put his hands around Gordon’s neck and said, ‘You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me.’”

    is there another U.S. senator who has been part of the inspiration for a character in a Martin Scorsese film? (A character played by Dick Smothers, no less.) In Casino, Robert DeNiro’s character melts down in front of the Nevada Gaming Commission after the commission denies him a license to operate a casino.

    the son of an alcoholic gold miner who killed himself. His mother did laundry for, in Reid’s words, “houses of ill repute.” He once disguised himself as a homeless man and spent the night at a mission in Las Vegas. Quirkily, he never says good-bye, even to his children, when he hangs up the phone. He once filibustered the Republicans for nine hours, by himself, by reading from the history book he wrote about his hometown of Searchlight, Nev. (Even better, the reason for the filibuster was to prevent the GOP from protesting the delaying tactics being used by Democrats.) And just this past week in Time, Reid told Joe Klein that he got into a fistfight with his future father-in-law before he eloped with his wife.

    God bless Harry Reid for delivering 60 votes for ACA (photo)

  5. 5.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Through the years he has called President George W. Bush “a loser” and “a liar”, named then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan “a political hack” and gone after Sen. John McCain during the 2008 presidential race as someone too temperamental to be president.

    Reid attacked Romney for refusing to publicly release tax returns prior to 2010. Reid said, “His poor father must be so embarrassed about his son,” referring to George Romney’s decision to release 12 years of tax returns when he ran for president in the late 1960s.

    Reid told the website that about a month earlier, a person who had invested with Bain Capital called his office and said, “Harry, he didn’t pay any taxes for 10 years.”

    ***
    And later that day, Reid tripled down on the accusation, releasing a statement that said in part, “I was told by an extremely credible source that Romney has not paid taxes for 10 years.”

    Rest in peace, Harry.

  7. 7.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    A man named Jack Gordon, who later married LaToya Jackson, tried to give Reid a $12,000 bribe. Reid let the FBI videotape Gordon offering him the bribe, and then, according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal account, he “put his hands around Gordon’s neck and said, ‘You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me.’”

    is there another U.S. senator who has been part of the inspiration for a character in a Martin Scorsese film? (A character played by Dick Smothers, no less.) In Casino, Robert DeNiro’s character melts down in front of the Nevada Gaming Commission after the commission denies him a license to operate a casino.

    the son of an alcoholic gold miner who killed himself. His mother did laundry for, in Reid’s words, “houses of ill repute.” He once disguised himself as a homeless man and spent the night at a mission in Las Vegas. Quirkily, he never says good-bye, even to his children, when he hangs up the phone. He once filibustered the Republicans for nine hours, by himself, by reading from the history book he wrote about his hometown of Searchlight, Nev. (Even better, the reason for the filibuster was to prevent the GOP from protesting the delaying tactics being used by Democrats.) And… got into a fistfight with his future father-in-law before he eloped with his wife.

    God bless Harry Reid for delivering 60 votes for ACA (photo)

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    This saddens me very much. Harry Reid was definitely one of the good guys. Our country is a little bit diminished because he’s no longer here — but it is better because he was.

    RIP, Mr Leader.

  12. 12.

    Another Scott

    He made an important difference to America, and was his own person.

    Thank you Harry. RIP.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne

    In just the past three days, we’ve lost:

     

    Harry Reid

    John Madden

    Sarah Weddington

    E. O. Wilson

    Archbishop Desmond Tutu

     

    That’s just off the top of my head. I’m sure I’m forgetting other equally distinguished names. Tough final week of 2021.

  14. 14.

    Sure Lurkalot

    I didn’t know about his humblest of beginnings. I liked his soft spoken chutzpah and I’m listening to MSNBC to learn all the things I never knew. Sad day.

  15. 15.

    Miss Bianca

    Ugh, why does it always seem like we lose a string of the good guys to every one of the bad ones? Why *do* “the wicked flourish like the green bay tree,” huh?

    RIP, Harry.

  17. 17.

    dr. bloor

    The political world changed a bit faster than he was able to realize toward the end, IMHO, but one of the good guys and underrated as a force for positive change.

  20. 20.

    Roger Moore

    @Miss Bianca:

    Ugh, why does it always seem like we lose a string of the good guys to every one of the bad ones? Why *do* “the wicked flourish like the green bay tree,” huh?

    I think we lose more good people than bad ones because your second statement is wrong.  There are more good people than bad ones.  It’s just that one bad person can destroy the work of many good ones, so we need many good people for every bad one to keep moving forward.

  27. 27.

    The Dangerman

    RIP Harry and Coach Madden. Next time I’m in Harry’s (Pismo Beach, where he met his wife), I’ll do something appropriate.

  29. 29.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Reid once called the Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan a “political hack,” Justice Clarence Thomas “an embarrassment” and President George W. Bush a “loser” (for which he later apologized) and a “liar” (for which he did not). In 2016, he dismissed Trump as “a big fat guy” who “didn’t win many fights.” Reid himself was more than ready to fight, and fight dirty: “I was always willing to do things that others were not willing to do,” he told me.

  30. 30.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think it’s been about a year since I read Obama’s memoir, but I remember being struck by the role Reid played in his decision to run for President, and then securing the Dem nomination. This seems to confirm that recollection

    Barack Obama @BarackObama

    When Harry Reid was nearing the end, his wife Landra asked some of us to share letters that she could read to him. In lieu of a statement, here’s what I wrote to my friend:

  34. 34.

    Dan B

    Here’s hoping all the bad ends up in 2021.  I’m looking at a photo of Pramila Jayapal who would probably enjoyed Harry Reid.  When Pramila is mincing, or parsing, her words she’s taking someone down a notch and when, like Harry, she speaks the simple truth, she’s already completed the task.

  35. 35.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @stinger:

    Actually, at this point, I don’t care if he hangs on a while longer. Liz doesn’t need any personal distractions right now.

  39. 39.

    Alice

    I met Senator Reid a number of times – Nevada is a small state – and he was unfailing kind. But he took no prisoners and if he said something was going to get done, it did. An old school politician in the best way. We will miss him here.

  40. 40.

    NobodySpecial

    I’m so old I remember when everyone thought Harry Reid was a Blue Dog.

    Rest in Peace, good sir. It was an honor to shake your hand.

  44. 44.

    Mai Naem mobile

    This one really saddens me. Harry Reid just came across as a good principled person who gave a crap about regular people.  Reid did incredibly well given the crappy hand he was given as majority and minority leader. Also an incredible tactician turning Nevada into at least a light blue state.

  45. 45.

    mali muso

    I was just thinking about him the other day and wondering how he would be handling the current senate situation if he were still in charge. He was such a fighter. A life well lived.

  47. 47.

    Yutsano

    @SiubhanDuinne:  I was scared because Nichelle Nichols was trending on Twitter. Fortunately it’s her 89th birthday. It’s so unfortunate that she’s suffering from dementia now. She touched so many lives just by being graceful.

  48. 48.

    kindness

    I remember all the times Harry would be polite and let Republicans appear to walk all over him and then he’d come back with a zinger that would turn the whole conversation around. Liberal web sites would castigate him in the morning and praise him in the afternoon.

  49. 49.

    feebog

    A loss for the country. Harry Reid was a brilliant political tactician and a take no prisoners Democrat. RIP Harry.

  50. 50.

    danielx

    @Viva BrisVegas:

    Sorry for mentioning Kissinger.

    As you should be – name him three times and he appears in a cloud of smoke and odor of brimstone.

    And we certainly do not want that.

  52. 52.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Yutsano:

    Yup. I noticed that too, today, and in recent days Betty White — but those were simply anticipating her 100th birthday in January.

  53. 53.

    James E Powell

    Election night, 2004. I had been working as a volunteer for Kerry in Las Vegas for the last week of the campaign. All afternoon people had been honking horns & telling us that Kerry won Ohio (remember Zogby?) so we were all in a grand good mood. Another guy & I returned the rented vans and drove to the Rio where the Reid’s big campaign party was. I lost my way walking through the casino and came upon one of those movable walls they use in such places. I saw a door, opened it, walked through & found myself right in the middle of Senator Reid’s entourage. Didn’t seem to be anyone who was security, just a bunch of suits. Right as I walked in, an aide told the senator that Kerry was about to give his concession speech. That was the first I knew for sure that Kerry lost. Senator Reid was about to go up on stage, he started shaking everybody’s hand and shook mine. I said “good luck senator” and he said “thank you” and that’s my Harry Reid story.

  54. 54.

    Ruckus

    @Miss Bianca:

    The good ones you know, because they are good.

    The good ones leave a far better mark on the world, because they are good.

    The good ones give more than they take, because they are good.

    The good ones are not a waste of protoplasm, because they are good.

    The good ones are not trying to screw everyone else, because they are good.

    You miss the good ones, because they are good

    The years always end with a list of the good ones no longer with us as a reminder that we are all here temporarily and that at least attempting to be good is worth more than one can imagine.

  55. 55.

    Fake Irishman

    He was quirky and amazing. a young man with courage and anger facing a nearly impossible childhood situation found love, God, boxing and politics and managed to put it all together into something truly spectacular.

    Also, interesting to see how his politics evolved over time, in part out of pragmatism: look at how he approached LGBT issues and immigration. Perhaps he wasn’t always the biggest idealist, but he never let racism or homophobia blind him to potential political alliances, and I suspect he learned a lot about life through merely recognizing many of his constituents and being open to their needs. He went from being anti-immigrant to handpicking a Hispanic woman to replace him.

    And like Pelosi is, he was a master of politics. He knew where his caucus was, took care of its needs and made the hard trades to maximize its leverage (fighting no the urge to dump on Lieberman after 2008 and giving up things to keep him onside during the ACA debate was a decision that was and is distasteful, but has been shown by history to be the right one.) His work on the ACA, which he took a lot of crap for at the time, was extraordinary. And he shepherded through the legislative end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in the last hours of the Large Dem majorities in 2010, which prevented a lot of mischief starting 6 years later.

  56. 56.

    Fake Irishman

    @L85NJGT:

    and it’s amazing how uncontroversial the repeal is now. There’s a bill that has gotten out of committee in the senate that would make the repeal retroactive and restore benefits to those the policy harmed. That bill is cosponsored by Joni Ernst, of all people.

  57. 57.

    Fake Irishman

    @kindness:

    He patiently waited and worked for to get the votes. Then he ran right over you. Mitch McConnell still has several very attractive sets of tire tracks on his back from this very reason.

  58. 58.

    Another Scott

    Short thread.

    Today, America lost a titan of public service. Senator Harry Reid was a leader of immense courage and ferocious conviction who worked tirelessly to achieve historic progress for the American people.

    — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 29, 2021

    Well said.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  60. 60.

    Geeno

    This saddens me. Reid was one of the “Good Guys”. His position in the Senate often required that he not lead the attack, but he always had a shiv in his pocket for enemy passers by.

  62. 62.

    Elizabelle

    Harry Reid was a good, good guy. And a decent one.

    We are lucky to have had him as Senate Majority Leader.  Rest well.

  65. 65.

    Ramalama

    Jamison Foser on Twitter:

    When we launched Media Matters, Harry Reid was way ahead of the curve among prominent elected Democrats in understanding the need to hold the media accountable from the left, and was supportive at a time when we were getting a lot of funny looks.

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