Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid won’t seek reelection when his term comes up next year. I’ll have a lot to say about that later, but I have some regular job work I have to do before I can ruminate about the Searchlight, Nevada senator’s career.
Just as a preliminary, Reid and his wife have had some very serious health scares over the last few years and I think he’s wise to retire just so they can take care of themselves. As for the man, Harry Reid has disappointed and frustrated me over the years but I think he finally came around to my way of thinking on most things, and he’s surprised me. I didn’t think I’d be sorry to see him go, at all, but I will be sorry to see him go. I think he understood, if somewhat belatedly, the nature of the conservative revolution within the Republican Party. And he had a boxer’s instincts.
More later…
I didn’t think I’d be sorry to see him go, at all, but I will be sorry to see him go.
I’ll be sorry to see him go only because it means Chucky Schumer is likely to be the next Democratic leader in the Senate.
Are you on the Durbin bandwagon?
I hope not, but seeing as how he’s on the Hillary bandwagon, he well might be.
Me on the Hillary bandwagon? I’m most certainly not. If she is the Democratic nominee, I live in a state she should carry by 10+ points.
I meant Booman, Phil. Sorry for the ambiguous pronoun.
I should of said “you”. E-filed my taxes about ten minutes ago. Hope I didn’t screw that up.
I don’t know where you get that idea.
I’m not. All three likely choices are Meh!! Chuckie, Durbin and Patty Murray. If I had to chose, I’d probably take Murray.
Durbin’s a good Senator, I think he’d make a good majority/minority leader
Harry did the best he could with the Congress that the voters or should I say those that chose not to vote gave him.
Another symptom of the coming Right wing tidal wave.
I’m also surprised to say I will also miss Harry. He was very frustrating to watch during most of Obama’s 1st term as he believed in the sanctity of Senate procedures and tradition but eventually started fighting fire with fire, to the extant that he has become a bulwark against GOP attempts to sabotage this country.
He will be missed, and I hope the Senate he leaves behind will continue to have his imprint. Good on Harry for the work he has done.
Looking at the Senate caucus, you have to ask again, “Where’s the bench?” Where now are the young upstarts who will come roaring forth to surprise the pundits? I’m having a hard time considering Patrick Murphy anything of an upstart.
Republicans sure have cultivated their ability to turn out those types with political skills if not any other kind of smarts. Cotton, Cruz, Rubio, Walker,….the image is of a dynamo that can roll over anything. And that creates a psychological and media advantage. It seems that these aren’t the stars finally. They are the shock troops and foot soldiers who create the narrative. With the collaboration of the media, even Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann created a mainstream narrative. Alan Grayson has gotten under conservatives’ skin and Bernie Sanders has mainstreamed some very sensible progressive proposals. But the rest of the Democratic Party is pretty much MIA on creating waves.
The Old Guard is pretty old and pretty worn. There is almost a punch-drunk air about the Democratic Congressional caucus with the same Vichy Democrats never getting what the Republicans are up to and being played as the suckers again. Even if its kabuki and a bunch of sold-out politicians, the dramatic content has gotten a little stale.
So come January 2017, Harry Reid and his dry powder will go home to Searchlight to retirement. And unless the characters change, I suspect the Democratic caucus will select someone like Tim Kaine as the majority leader who can gain consensus of approaching 50 big egos. A dreary prospect that only a Republican and conservative implosion can forestall.
We don’t have a strong and young Democratic bench anywhere that I’m aware of (I live in the all too red south). That’s the Democratic party problem, there are no youthful firebrands. I’m not casting stones as I am a lifelong Democrat but have never been a party operative, mostly because there is no party apparatus at the local level that’s remotely viable. Hence the reason there are no up and coming energetic firebrand Democrats. There are young Republican organizations in my state but there aren’t any comparable viable Democratic ones.
So, how do we change all that?
I couldn’t hear what he was saying half the time. Good decision Harry and Thank You for your service.
The best good thing that Reid did was to bring Elizabeth Warren to DC. A shame he didn’t do more of that.
Will miss you Senator Reid.