Harry Reid has died at 82. The former US Senate Majority leader from Nevada was a force in American politics for more than four decades.
Former U.S. Senator Harry Reid was a pro-gun and pro-life Democrat. Reid was also an amateur boxer. He died at the age of 82.Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the political pugilist who rose from a one-room Southern Nevada shack to become among the most powerful people in American politics, died Tuesday. He was 82.
Yucca only added to the former amateur boxer’s reputation for starting, and finishing, all kinds of fights. Or consider the 2012 presidential election, when Reid came under fire for falsely accusing Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney of failing to pay taxes for a decade. Romney lost. Reid didn’t apologize.In 2013, Reid attracted a fresh round of bipartisan criticism for scrapping the Senate filibuster for judicial appointments.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., memorialized Reid as “one of the most amazing individuals I have ever met” and called him “my leader, my mentor, one of my dearest friends.” Reid stayed with relatives while attending Basic High School in Henderson. There he met close friend and future Gov. Mike O’Callaghan, who was then a teacher and Reid’s boxing coach.
In 1970, O’Callaghan picked the 30-year-old Reid as running mate in his successful race for governor. Reid served as lieutenant governor until 1974, then launched a bid for the U.S. Senate seat, won narrowly by former governor Paul Laxalt. Reid suffered another campaign defeat one year later, losing the race for Las Vegas mayor in 1975.
"You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!" Reid reportedly said to Gordon during the videotaped encounter.Reid had earlier butted heads with infamous mob bookie Lefty Rosenthal, who was denied a gaming license for the Stardust after bickering with Reid during a 1978 commission hearing. The exchange was canonized in “Casino,” the 1995 film starring Robert DeNiro as Rosenthal.
Once in the Senate, Reid managed to secure a spot on the powerful Appropriations Committee. Under the tutelage of longtime U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., he soon learned how to steer hundreds of millions of dollars in pork projects back home. Reid reportedly began circling the Senate leadership within hours of ex-Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s departure in 2004. A long night of phone calls to Senate colleagues saw him sew up the position by noon the following day.
Over his 35-year Congressional career, Reid managed to shield about 5.1 million acres of federal land from development. The designation of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, the Basin and Range National Monument and the Gold Butte National Monument count among his major environmental victories. Reid won four Senate campaigns after taking Laxalt’s seat in 1986, including a sleek ride to re-election in 1992.
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