I did not want to let the announcement by senator Harry Reid that he is retiring at the end of this term go by without a moment of celebration. Of call the members of the Senate, Reid has done more to damage this country than any other. For six years, he was majority leader while Obama was president, and he used that post strictly for the good of his party rather than for the good of the country. Here are just a few of Reid's "accomplishments".
1. Worst of all, Reid let the Senate go six years without adopting a budget and passing appropriations bills. As part of the effort to hide the truly massive nature of federal spending increases, Reid just had the Senate (and the country) proceed with continuing resolutions that supposedly repeated the prior year's spending but which actually built in a generous increase (way more than inflation) each year. The government kept functioning, but the main point of appropriations bills was lost. Each year, Congress is supposed to consider which programs work and which don't and to adjust funding accordingly. For all his time as Majority Leader, Reid made sure that everything got more, more, more, even if the program in question was a total failure. It was a massive waste of resources.
2. Reid destroyed the Senate rules that were drafted by Thomas Jefferson. The Senate used to be called the "world's greatest deliberative body". Not anymore! Under Reid, amendments to bills were prevented through all sorts of games he played. Bills were completed in back rooms by small groups and presented for a vote only at the last minute. The idea that a bill might be improved through debate was abandoned. Even the rights of the minority were abandoned. Reid ended the filibuster on appointments so that he could pack the DC Circuit with new liberal judges. Indeed, he set the stage for the GOP to do the same thing this term if Reid and friends continue to filibuster endlessly (as they are now doing.)
3. Reid used the floor of the Senate to state blatant lies. Under the Constitution, a senator is free from slander laws no matter what he says on the floor of the Senate. Reid made a practice of saying things that he had to know were false. The two best known Reid lies are his claim that Mitt Romney had not paid taxes for ten years (which was ridiculous) and his ongoing attacks on the Koch brothers as being behind essentially everything that goes wrong in America.
4. Reid's own adherence to law is suspect. Somehow, a man who has been a public employee for the last forty years or so amassed a personal fortune in the region of $25 million. That's pretty good for a government worker. No one has ever offered a coherent explanation for this great wealth as far as I know.
In any event, January of 2017 will be a time for rejoicing as president Obama leaves office. Now, it is also going to the be the end of Reid's time in office. We can celebrate that both will be gone. Of course, the evil that men do lives after them. Sadly, so it shall be with this pair.
1. Worst of all, Reid let the Senate go six years without adopting a budget and passing appropriations bills. As part of the effort to hide the truly massive nature of federal spending increases, Reid just had the Senate (and the country) proceed with continuing resolutions that supposedly repeated the prior year's spending but which actually built in a generous increase (way more than inflation) each year. The government kept functioning, but the main point of appropriations bills was lost. Each year, Congress is supposed to consider which programs work and which don't and to adjust funding accordingly. For all his time as Majority Leader, Reid made sure that everything got more, more, more, even if the program in question was a total failure. It was a massive waste of resources.
2. Reid destroyed the Senate rules that were drafted by Thomas Jefferson. The Senate used to be called the "world's greatest deliberative body". Not anymore! Under Reid, amendments to bills were prevented through all sorts of games he played. Bills were completed in back rooms by small groups and presented for a vote only at the last minute. The idea that a bill might be improved through debate was abandoned. Even the rights of the minority were abandoned. Reid ended the filibuster on appointments so that he could pack the DC Circuit with new liberal judges. Indeed, he set the stage for the GOP to do the same thing this term if Reid and friends continue to filibuster endlessly (as they are now doing.)
3. Reid used the floor of the Senate to state blatant lies. Under the Constitution, a senator is free from slander laws no matter what he says on the floor of the Senate. Reid made a practice of saying things that he had to know were false. The two best known Reid lies are his claim that Mitt Romney had not paid taxes for ten years (which was ridiculous) and his ongoing attacks on the Koch brothers as being behind essentially everything that goes wrong in America.
4. Reid's own adherence to law is suspect. Somehow, a man who has been a public employee for the last forty years or so amassed a personal fortune in the region of $25 million. That's pretty good for a government worker. No one has ever offered a coherent explanation for this great wealth as far as I know.
In any event, January of 2017 will be a time for rejoicing as president Obama leaves office. Now, it is also going to the be the end of Reid's time in office. We can celebrate that both will be gone. Of course, the evil that men do lives after them. Sadly, so it shall be with this pair.
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