Harry Mason Reid (born December 2, 1939) is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, for which he serves as Senate Minority Leader.
Early life and work
Reid is a converted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a native of the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada. Reid attended Basic High School in Henderson, where he had as a history teacher Mike O'Callaghan, who would play a prominent role in his future. Reid received his A.S. from Southern Utah State College in 1959 and in 1961 earned his B.S. from Utah State University. He moved to Washington, D.C. and worked as an officer for the U.S. Capitol Police while attending George Washington University for his law degree. Reid graduated in 1964 and returned to Nevada to work as a lawyer before entering politics. He served in the Nevada State Assembly from 1968 to 1970 and was elected lieutenant governor in 1970, the same year his mentor O'Callaghan was elected governor. He served in that office until 1974, when he ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Alan Bible. He lost by fewer than 600 votes to former Governor Paul Laxalt.
Reid then served as Nevada state gaming commissioner from 1977 to 1981, a post which subjected him to death threats. Reid's wife once found a bomb attached to one of their cars. A character in the film Casino played by Dick Smothers is based, in part, on Reid. Jack Gordon, the manager and future husband of singer LaToya Jackson, once tried to bribe Reid. Reid allowed the FBI to tape Gordon's attempt to bribe him with $12,000, at which point Reid attempted to strangle Gordon, saying "You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me."[1]
National political career
Nevada had been represented by only one member of the United States House of Representatives since statehood, but tremendous growth in the 1970s resulted in the state being split into two districts. Reid won the Democratic nomination for the 1st Congressional District, based in Las Vegas, in 1982. He was easily elected in November and served two terms there, from 1983 to 1987, being reelected in 1984. He was elected to the Senate in 1986, now succeeding Laxalt. Reid was reelected in 1992, 1998 and 2004. In 1998, he narrowly defeated his Republican opponent, future Senator John Ensign (Ensign won Nevada's other Senate seat in 2000); and his Republican opponent in 2004 was Richard Ziser, whom Reid defeated by a vote of 61%-35%. In 1999, Reid became Minority Whip, and the right hand man of Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
On November 16, 2004, Reid was elected Senate Democratic Leader and Minority Leader for the 109th Congress, following Daschle's defeat in his bid for reelection to the Senate.
When Senate Republicans threatened to invoke the nuclear option, Reid became one of the option's most fervent opponents. He threatened to virtually shut down Senate business if it were successfully invoked. However, when a group of moderate senators known as the Gang of Fourteen reached a compromise, he embraced the agreement with open arms.
During the Congressional recess of 2005, Reid suffered a "transient ischemic attack", also known as a mini-stroke. He sought medical help at the advice of his wife, Landra. [2] A three day delay in disclosing the stroke to the press and public caused some controversy. [3]
On November 1, 2005, Reid moved that the Senate go into closed session, a very unusual action. The public was removed from the Senate chambers. The move was intended to draw attention to the continuing controversy as to the inaccuracy of intelligence that claimed Iraq had been in possession of weapons of mass destruction. When he called for the closed session, Reid expressed anger that a letter signed by Democratic senators to the White House demanding such an investigation had been answered by a form letter. The move was an attempt to get around the perceived stalling by Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). Roberts had promised in July of 2004 to investigate the Bush administration's misuse of intelligence before the Iraq War, but to date has not released any findings of such an investigation. During this closed session, Democrats demanded that the Republican majority finish its report on pre-war intelligence.[4] Republicans decried this move as a political stunt as the investigation was already well under way.[5] Reid contended that this investigation has been constantly delayed, and this move necessary to force an end to the delays.
Recently Reid Press Secretary Tessa Hafen resigned her office in order to run against Republican Representative Jon Porter in the 3rd Congressional district with a strong show of support from Reid and others. [6]
Senate committee memberships
- 108th Congress[7]
- Committee on Appropriations
- Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Special Committee on Aging
- Select Committee on Ethics
- Committee on Indian Affairs
- 109th Congress[8]
- Committee on Appropriations
Relationship to Jack Abramoff and his firm
According to a February 9, 2006 Associated Press story, Reid wrote letters and had "routine contacts" with lobbying partners [9] and clients of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Reid's actions aided the interests of Abramoff's Native American clients. Reid has acknowledged receiving $61,000 from clients or collegues of Abramoff, much of which was given to Reid by indian tribes after Abramoff was hired.[10] Reid collected donations around the time of each action he took to help Abromoff's clients. Ethics rules require senators to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in legislative matters regarding campaign donors. While some politicans have returned contributions they received from Abramoff or his clients, Harry Reid has steadfastly refused, noting that he never received money directly from Abramoff, and described the Abramoff matter as "a Republican scandal" [11]
Abramoff's lobbying firm has made public billing records and congressional correspondence of more than two dozen contacts, between Abramoff's lobbying team, and Reid's office. Many of the discussions relate to the passage of a Kennedy bill that would slowly raise the minimum wage of the Northern Mariana Islands.[12][13] Reid was publicly known to support raising the minimum wage there. Both Reid spokesmen Jim Manley and Ron Platt, one of Abramoff's partners involved with the Mariana lobbying, have denied the claim, Platt said "I'm sure he didn't,". [14]
Reid spokesman Jim Manley said that neither Reid nor his campaign has ever received money directly from Abramoff, and Reid said his legislative work was done on behalf of his Nevadan constituents.
Trivia
Senator Reid's nickname since childhood is "Pinky."[15]
Opinions, beliefs and personal traits
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Harry Reid's exact position on abortion is difficult to pin down. Some consider him to be pro-life, or an opponent of legalized abortion, because of his vote against support of Roe v. Wade in 2004. However, Reid was a co-sponsor of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, which set new rules and restrictions on abortion rights protesters. Although he voted on numerous occasions for the ban on partial-birth abortions, in 2003 he supported substitute language that would have banned all late-term abortions, while allowing exceptions for the life and health of the woman involved, a position supported by many in the pro-choice movement. But Reid has refused to answer whether he wants Roe v. Wade overturned. However, Reid proposed that Bush name one of four fervently pro-life Republican senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina (who promptly said he wasn't interested), Mike DeWine of Ohio, Mel Martinez of Florida, or Mike Crapo of Idaho — to fill the seat on the Supreme Court ostensibly vacated by Sandra Day O'Connor. But he voted against John Roberts, nominated to replace Chief Justice William Rehnquist on his death, Bush's first Supreme Court nominee, in part because he claimed Roberts hadn't shown enough devotion to the protection of women's rights, even though Roberts received a confirmation vote from half of the Democrats in the Senate. Reid received a 100% rating from NARAL in 2001, and from 1995-2004 voted with the interests of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association 69% of the time. However, in 2003 and 2004, Reid received a 29% and 20% rating, respectively, from NARAL Pro-Choice America. Still, this is about the same rating that Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), who is universally considered to be pro-choice, has received.
Reid was the first Senator to express support of Bush's second nominee to the Court, Harriet Miers. Bush had discussed the selection with Reid in advance of the announcement. After Miers withdrew her nomination, Reid asked Bush not to reward the religious right's "bad behavior" by appointing a right-wing idealogue.
Reid is an opponent of tort reform. Reid also opposes free trade agreements.[citation needed] On fiscal matters, Reid voted against the Balanced Budget Amendment and opposes the tax cuts passed since Bush took office.
He does not approve of same-sex marriage, but is against a constitutional amendment defining marriage. He has a mixed record on gun control, voting against the ban on assault weapons and in favor of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but in favor of the Brady Bill and background checks at gun shows. Reid is a strong supporter of the death penalty, having voted in favor of limiting death penalty appeals and executing criminals who were minors when they committed their crime. He voted to authorize military force in Iraq in 1991 and 2003.
Reid made headlines in May 2005 when he said of George W. Bush, "The man's father is a wonderful human being. I think this guy is a loser." Reid later apologized for these comments. Reid also called Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas an "embarrassment" [16] and referred to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan as a "partisan hack." When asked to justify his comments about Justice Thomas, however, Reid did not provide support for his claim that Thomas' opinions were "poorly written," leading to accusations of racism; the Congressional Black Caucus told Reid that his comments crossed the line. "I think all of us ought to focus more on substance and less on stereotypes and caricatures," Rep. Mel Watt said.[17]
Reid is married to Landra Gould, a Mormon convert from Judaism. They have five children, one of which is an elected Commissioner for Clark County, Nevada.
Reference
- ^ Walsh, Elsa "How a pro-gun, anti-abortion Nevadan leads the Senate’s Democrats". The New Yorker, August 8, 2005
- ^ Babington, Charles and Dafna Linzer "GOP Angered by Closed Senate Session". washingtonpost.com, November 2, 2005
- ^ Roberts blasts closed session 'stunt', CNN, November 2, 2005
- ^ MAKING MINORITY PARTY ASSIGNMENTS -- (Senate - January 15, 2003)
- ^ MAKING MINORITY PARTY APPOINTMENTS TO COMMITTEES -- (Senate - January 6, 2005)
- ^ Reid's ties to Abramoff are stronger than he let on, The Associated Press, February 10, 2006
- ^ Lobbyist Minimizes Talks With Reid's Staff, Associated Press,February 11, 2006
- ^ Marshall, Joshua Micah Blog Entry on Reid-Abramoff connections, Talking Points Memo, February 9, 2006
- ^ Kouri, Jim ""Sen. Reid Knee Deep in Abramoff Dirt", Axcess News, February 11, 2006
- ^ Solomon, John, and Sharon Theimer "Probe links Reid, lobbyist". The Associated Press, February 12, 2006
- ^ Mark Leibovich Land of Hard Knocks, Washington Post July 17, 2005
- ^ Solomon, John, and Sharon Theimer "Reid Aided Abramoff Clients, Records Show". The Associated Press, February 9, 2006
- ^ Taranto, James "Harry Reid's Big Dairy Error". OpinionJournal, January 3, 2005
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