Harry Reid, 1939-2021

 

Former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), former Senate Majority Leader and political giant, has died:

Harry M. Reid, a Nevada Democrat who rose from a hardscrabble mining town to become one of the longest-serving Senate majority leaders in history and a political force during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, died Dec. 28 at his home in Henderson, Nev. He was 82.

The death was confirmed by David Krone, a former chief of staff. Mr. Reid was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018.

A combative but soft-spoken former amateur boxer, Mr. Reid displayed an economy of personal magnetism and embraced the art of the scrappy insult. Columnist Molly Ivins called him ­“charismatically challenged.” Obama, a friend and political ally, euphemistically remarked on his “curmudgeonly charm.”

Mr. Reid was never a commanding presence before a crowd or on television. Sometimes he was barely audible, and he tended to litter his speeches with awkward pauses. But he was the consummate inside player, exercising his political and legislative skills behind the scenes.

He was Senate majority leader from 2007 through 2014. Since the position’s creation in the 1920s, only two senators have held it longer: Democrats Mike Mansfield of Montana, from 1961 through 1976, and Alben W. ­Barkley of Kentucky, from 1937 through 1946.

His greatest legislative achievement was shepherding the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") through the Senate in 2009.  He was also responsible for making a Senate rule change that lowered the threshold for confirming Federal judges to a simple majority, after Republicans filibustered President Obama's nominations.  Those two achievements alone ensure that Reid will be remembered as someone who was a fighter who used his power for good in an age when so many are using their power otherwise.  Rest in peace.

BONUS:  You can see some tributes to Reid here.

(Photo:  Reid in 2005/ Melina Mara, Washington Post)