• Share

Harry Reid is the senior Senator from Nevada and the Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate. He first was elected to the Senate in 1986 after four years in the House of Representatives. According to the biography on his official website, Reid has been in politics since the tender young age of 28, when he first joined the Nevada State Assembly waaaaaay back in 1968.

All that time, he presumably enjoyed his rise in stature from rookie State Assemblyman to powerful Senate Majority leader. Now, I wonder if he wishes he could go back to the anonymity of being just another senator from one of those states out West. Being the face of the party carries with it certain unpleasant realities. Most notably: people pay attention to everything that you say and do, and they’ll let you know if they don’t like it by voting you out of office.
After winning his previous three elections rather handily, Senator Reid is suddenly the underdog after just one term in the national spotlight that comes with being the Senate Majority Leader. Maybe it’s heightened expectations. Maybe it’s backlash against his party or against healthcare reform. Maybe it’s his insulting and bewildering comments comparing opponents of the health care bill to supporters of slavery. Maybe it’s the way he tries to cancel planned work days in the Senate, so they can’t interfere with his trips to lavish fundraisers in Louisiana.

Why does the Senator from Nevada need to raise money in New Orleans, anyway? Shouldn’t those Louisiana donors be ponying up money for their local politicians? Can’t the Democratic voters in Nevada support his reelection campaign without outside help? Or has he lost all support from within his home state, forcing him to go elsewhere to load up the coffers?

Senator Reid has gotten everything he ever wanted from a political career. He’s moved to the highest position of power that the Senate has to offer. We won’t know how the story ends until next November, but it looks like all his success has earned him a one way ticket out of politics.