5 Reasons Why I Won't Miss Harry Reid

Yesterday, Harry Reid spent his last day in the Senate ending a 30-year career.




Well, goodbye and good riddance.




Here are five reasons I won't miss him:




1. "This War is Lost"


During a floor debate about continuing funding for the War in Iraq in April 2007, the then Senate Majority Leader said, "I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and — you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows — (know) this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday."


Thankfully President Bush and General David Petraeus saw things differently. The surge was successful and brought stability to Iraq. Harry Reid's remarks were designed to demoralize our troops on the ground. An absolute disgrace, but it doesn't end there.




2. Comparing Opponents of Obamacare to Those Who Supported Slavery


There's something about the floor of the Senate that brings out the worse in Harry Reid. During the Obamacare debate in December 2009, Reid uttered this doozy:




Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.'


So because Republicans want Americans to have more choices with regard to their health care, Harry Reid saw fit to compare them to champions of slavery. It's the kind of demagoguery that made President Obama proud.




3. Barack Obama is 'Light-Skinned' & Has 'No Negro Dialect'




In January 2010, Reid was forced to apologize for remarks he made to Mark Halperin and John Heilemann which were published in Game Change their book about the 2008 election. Halperin and Heilemann write:




He [Reid] was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama -- a 'light-skinned' African American 'with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,'


Although Reid did apologize for the remark, he got away with it because he has a D in front of his name. Had any Republican (even Donald Trump) described Obama as a Negro they would have been tarred and feathered.




4. He Lied About Mitt Romney Not Paying Any Taxes for 10 Years & Is Damn Proud Of It


Harry Reid and Mitt Romney are both Mormons, but politics trumps religion. In a July 2012 interview with The Huffington Post, Reid claimed that an anonymous Bain Capital investor had told him that Romney hadn't paid federal taxes in 10 years. “He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that’s true? Well, I’m not certain,” said Reid, “But obviously he can’t release those tax returns. How would it look?"




Well, this Bain investor was about as phony as a $3 bill. By April 2015, Reid admitted he told a big fat lie and had no regret whatsoever telling CNN's Dana Bash, "Romney didn't win, did he?"


It was Lincoln who said that if you want to test a man's character, give him power. Harry Reid fails the character test with flying colors.


5. Attempting to Repeal the First Amendment


In June 2014, Reid spearheaded an effort to restrict the political activity of Americans by empowering Congress to regulate federal election spending. This was in response to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. Of course, the First Amendment says in part, "Congress shall make no law....prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech." If Reid had his way Congress would have enthusiastically prohibited the free exercise thereof and abridged the freedom of speech of those who dared disagree with him. Thankfully, Senate Republicans would block the measure three months later. Nevertheless, this effort and the others mention represent Harry Reid's ugly legacy.