Senator harry reid biography nevada staff

United States Ruling body Minority Leader

Born Dec 2, 1939, in Searchlight, NV; son of Harry Sr. (a gold miner) and Inez (a laundry worker) Reid; married Landra Gould, 1959; children: Lana, Rory, Leif, Josh, Key. Religion: Mormon. Education: Utah State University, B.A., 1961; George Washington University, J.D., 1964.

Addresses: Office —528 Hart Senate Office Estate, Washington, DC 20510. Site —

Career

Police officer at U.S. Washington, c. 1961-63; city attorney, Henderson, NV, 1964-66; Nevada state archetypal, 1969-1970; Nevada lieutenant governor, 1970-74; ran for U.S.

Senate nevertheless lost, 1974; chairman of birth Nevada Gaming Commission, 1977-81; barrister in private practice, 1981-83; stateswoman, 1983-87; U.S. senator, 1987—; Committee Democratic Whip, 1998-2004; Senate Immaturity Leader, 2005—.

Sidelights

When Harry Reid was chosen to lead the U.S. Senate's Democrats in November of 2004, his party was struggling unthinkable needed new direction.

The Democrats had just lost the statesmanly race to George W. Bush-league and seen their former Legislature leader lose his re-election appeal. At first glance, Reid muscle not have seemed like primacy obvious choice to take power the job. He is oral, sometimes shy, not a well-endowed speaker, and more conservative outweigh most Democrats on some community issues.

But Reid, a sagacity

legislator skilled at making deals, quickly showed a willingness nip in the bud joust with the president haughty core Democratic issues such pass for preserving Social Security. Also, Philosopher comes from Nevada, the kind of moderate-to-conservative swing state whirl location Democrats need to win gratify order to make a staterun comeback.

Most of all, lay out a party whose last shine unsteadily presidential candidates were criticized be thankful for not relating well to general people, Reid is a reserved leader with a tough, entrepreneurial life story.

Reid was born in 1939 in Underscore, Nevada, a town so petty that he had the harmonize teacher for eight grades.

Trans siberian orchestra biography templates

His father, Harry Sr., was a gold miner with smart limited education; his mother, Inez, did laundry, some of residence from Searchlight's bordellos. Reid's cloudless when he was growing get down was made out of track ties. There was no inside toilet or running water. Feigned a town where most children had a nickname, sometimes unblended cruel one, Reid was renowned as "Pinky" (either for culminate pinkish skin tone or rule reddish hair).

There was inept high school in Searchlight, deadpan Reid hitchhiked every week add up Henderson, 40 miles away, pole spent the week with one\'s nearest there while he went nearly high school.

In Henderson, he became friends with Microphone O'Callaghan, a high school guru who taught him how touch on box and later became copperplate key political ally.

He besides met his wife, Landra Palaeontologist. In 1959, when he was 20 and she was 19, they eloped. (Her parents challenging disapproved of their relationship in that they were Jewish and good taste was not, but once glory young couple called from Las Vegas with the news ditch they were married, the Goulds supported their daughter's decision.) Philosopher went to college in Utah, where he also boxed likewise an amateur middleweight.

He topmost his wife converted to Protestantism while there (he was gather together raised in a religion), on the contrary they also observed Jewish holidays until the deaths of both of her parents.

Care for graduating from college in 1961, Reid moved to Washington, D.C. to attend George Washington Organization law school.

Money was hold close for him and his growing family (his oldest son elitist only daughter were born coach in 1961 and 1962); he stilted six days a week considerably a police officer at class U.S. Capitol. He returned expel Henderson to practice law, attend to became the city government's legal adviser.

Reid was elected disapprove of the Nevada state assembly bring to fruition 1968—beginning his term in 1969—where he criticized the telephone people for providing bad service, tighten up of the issues that gave him a reputation as first-class consumer advocate.

Two years afterward his friend O'Callaghan, who challenging also become successful in civics, decided to run for educator of Nevada and invited Philosopher, just 30 years old, manage run for lieutenant governor; Philosopher accepted. O'Callaghan was considered impossible to win, but he upfront and so did Reid.

Quaternary years later, Reid decided communication run for U.S. Senate, on the other hand he ran a negative ambition and narrowly lost. "I was young and impulsive and faked everybody," he told Fresh Yorker writer Elsa Walsh. "Every day, we would come by up and find out who we were going to set upon that day."

O'Callaghan gave Reid a new, tougher costeffective in 1977: he appointed him to head the Nevada Diversion Commission, which regulates the state's casinos.

The commission was conflict to keep organized crime immigrant taking over gambling in loftiness state; Reid banned several mobsters from all of Nevada's casinos and closed some casinos fully. When a man named Ass Gordon tried to bribe Philosopher with $12,000 to win liveliness of his gaming devices, Philosopher reported him to the Operative, which arranged a sting.

They caught Gordon on tape buck up to hand Reid the specie. Reid, furious that Gordon design him corruptible, tried to suffocate Gordon until FBI agents closed him. Two years later, Reid's wife discovered that the coat car had been rigged able a bomb that failed register explode. Reid suspected Gordon adequate having the bomb planted, on the contrary no connection was ever proved.

After his term steal the commission, Reid spent low down more time as a queen's in private practice, then ran for Congress in 1982. Sharp-tasting won, taking office in 1983. He moved up to depiction Senate four years later. Climax website touts his work notch the Senate on prescription treatment costs and health care help, securing more funds for force bases in Nevada, protecting beautiful areas of Nevada such primate Lake Tahoe and Red Stone Canyon, and increasing federal back for education.

Reid became the Senate's Democratic whip, integrity number-two leader, in 1998 (after winning a third term entertain the Senate by less outshine 500 votes). The job take in the whip is to muster votes for the party's priorities, and it fit Reid's facility. He "had long been wily at the hand-holding and favor-brokering that lubricate so much Congress business," wrote the Educator Post 's Mark Leibovich.

"Some senators are known be thankful for their constituency work, some used for their campaign skills, some merriment their media savvy." Reid, Leibovich wrote, "is a floor-and-cloakroom guy," meaning someone whose power be obtainables from persuading colleagues behind influence scenes.

In 2001, Philosopher played a major role birdcage convincing James Jeffords, a member of parliament from Vermont, to leave rendering Republican Party to become pull out all the stops independent, and vote with rank Democats, briefly giving the Democrats a majority in the Convocation.

Reid also gained attention gather single-handedly conducting an eight-hour delayer in 2003—speaking on the Congress floor in order to own the Senate's Republican majority distance from scheduling bills and advancing closefitting agenda before its Thanksgiving hollow.

Reid's chance to energy leader of the Senate Democrats came with the 2004 purpose, when Sen.

Tom Daschle, fuel minority leader, lost his fundraiser for re-election (while Reid won another term with 61 pct of the vote). Reid locked away earned a good reputation renovation the minority whip, and elegance had explored running for high-mindedness top post earlier, when Daschle was considering a run funding president. By the morning care for the election, Reid had have a tendency up the support he required.

Senate Democrats chose Philosopher to lead them even scour through he has more conservative views than most of them regulation some social issues: he practical against gun control, abortion, added gay marriage. Since Nevada much votes Republican (Bush won drop, 50 to 48 percent, auspicious 2004), Reid is said connected with be sensitive to fellow Democrats from Republican-leaning states when they feel the need to remnant to the wishes of their constituents, not the party.

Ramble helped make Reid a pleasant choice for minority leader, terrible observers argued, since some Republican senators up for reelection tackle 2006 are also from states that supported Bush, and Democrats need to expand their attraction if they want to trap the presidency in 2008.

Reid strikes many observers translation an unlikely leader because soil is not a gifted the population speaker or particularly charismatic.

"I know my limitations," he try Walsh of the Original Yorker. "I haven't gotten where I am by dejected good looks, my athletic uncertainty, my great brain, my magniloquent skills." Walsh agreed: "He appreciation sixty-five, a trim man run into short, graying hair and on a small scale stooped shoulders, and not kindly who appears likely to leap up and down screaming," she wrote.

"In public presentations, Philosopher is sometimes barely audible. Funny story his haste to finish a- speech, he sometimes mangles high-mindedness text, and he is distant much liked by television—he suffers from a certain charisma gap."

But, Walsh noted, illustriousness fact that Reid does pule try hard to impress justness media makes his fellow senators trust him more.

Reid, she added, has done better rather than other Senate leaders at control his party united (at small in his first several months as leader). "He is grasp constant contact with colleagues, charge even reserves a pocket pull his suit for their destined requests," Walsh wrote. She additionally quoted Reid's chief of pole, Susan McCue, as saying rove her boss is always usage for someone's vulnerabilities in train to "disarm, to endear, test threaten, but most of edge your way to instill fear."

Rendering Washington Post 's Mark Leibovich portrayed Reid although a rough, tough guy who would rather talk about fistfights and boxing matches from youth than become more tactful.

Reid has worked with put in order media consultant, but he dismisses the therapy-like advice of predetermined consultants (who advise, for item, that the Democrats need compare with seem like strong father canvass, not weak ones). A hearing with a speech-making coach who tried to make him ultra conscious about hand motions add-on other non-verbal cues did throng together go well.

"I uniformly would rather dance than race, but I know how turn fight," Reid told reporters, orang-utan quoted by the Educator Post 's Dan Biologist after he was officially chosen minority leader in November fail 2004. That seemed to condense Reid's approach to dealing ordain Republicans: willing to attack them on some issues and cooperation with them on others.

In the first few months of his leadership, Reid's curt attacks on the president gained more attention than any deal-making. He has called President Foundry a "loser," and "liar," charge "King George." At one daily news conference in May have a high regard for 2005, he blamed the helmsman for "a fictitious crisis oddity Social Security," "deficits that distinctive absolutely unbelievable," "an intractable fighting in Iraq," "destroying public education," and leaving people "begging mind prescription drugs," according to honourableness Washington Post 's Dana Milbank.

"It's either jurisdiction way or no way," Philosopher complained about Bush at implication appearance at an elementary faculty in Las Vegas, according take advantage of Walsh in the Newborn Yorker.

Some of Reid's problems with Bush involve potentate decision to support storing thermonuclear waste inside Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a plan Reid opposes.

Hair appeared to oppose the road in 2000, when running set out president, but he approved deter once he was president. Philosopher confronted Bush at an Oviform Office meeting about the jet in early 2002 (at unadulterated time when most Democrats were being careful to support description president because of the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks); desert was the first time earth called Bush a liar.

Other dispute came up in Apr of 2005, when Reid stated Bush told him he would stay out of a Ruling body debate over the use model the filibuster. Vice-President Dick Cheney soon declared that, as boss of the Senate, he would vote to change the fili-buster rule if a Senate referendum on it ended in swell tie, infuriating Reid.

Gather March of 2005, Reid along with called Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan (whom many Democrats hold exempted from partisan criticism) suspend of Washington's biggest "political hacks," according to Dan Balz sell the Washington Post. Reid was angry that Greenspan had supported fellow Republican Bush's privatization plan for Social Protection and had not opposed rectitude president's deficit spending.

Republicans fought back. In February stand for 2005, the Republican National Council (RNC) attacked the new age leader as too partisan highest brought up a 2003 Los Angeles Times article about how one of Reid's sons and his son-in-law locked away worked as lobbyists for associations seeking support from Reid. (After the article came out, Philosopher banned relatives from lobbying him.) Reid denounced the RNC's incursion and the president on say publicly Senate floor.

But he difficult already received an invitation hinder a dinner at the Milky House that night, and recognized went anyway. When he checked in, the president assured Reid of course had nothing to do thug the attack. The material be aware Reid was later removed detach from the RNC's website, on give instructions from Bush strategist Karl Validate.

Sometimes, Reid's bluntness has even upset fellow Democrats. They were upset when he avowed on the Senate floor go off it would take a episode for the Democrats to fetch back a majority in the Mother of parliaments in 2006, and when smartness speculated that he could keep up out-spoken conservative Supreme Court objectivity Antonin Scalia for chief equity.

Reid also reportedly had public housing argument with Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic candidate occupy president, about how best exchange oppose Bush in early 2005. But most early reviews arrive at Reid's tenure as the Mother of parliaments Democrats' leader were positive. Joe Klein of Time, for instance, noted that Philosopher had successfully opposed Bush's denationalisation plan for Social Security viewpoint convinced moderate Republicans to mechanically with Democrats to pass spick major budget bill with subvention for education, Medicaid, and cities.

In August of 2005, Reid was briefly hospitalized clasp Las Vegas for what was alternately described as a mignonne stroke and a transient ischaemic attack, a neurological dysfunction off and on considered a warning sign school a stroke. It did shriek slow him down for future. Within a week, he was making a public appearance entertain North Las Vegas, where, forecast another reference to his antecedent as a boxer, he joked that he felt ready harmonious go a couple of safeguarding with the reporters there.

Reid surprised some observers advocate September of 2005 by notice that he would vote antithetical John Roberts, whom Bush abstruse nominated to be chief objectiveness of the Supreme Court. Philosopher said the arguments of nonmilitary rights and women's groups difficult swayed him. Reid declared give it some thought he had too many doubtful questions about Roberts (who, love most Supreme Court nominees, difficult to understand declined to discuss how significant would rule on specific issues).

He also noted that Evangelist had not distanced himself strange remarks in his legal handbills from when he was regular lawyer for the Reagan Oversight that some considered insensitive. Nonetheless, Reid also declared that Self-governing senators should vote their consciences, and many of them rapidly announced they would support Evangelist.

Observers speculated that, since Gospeller seemed destined to win Mother of parliaments confirmation, Reid was using vote to send a tell that Bush should choose top-hole moderate as his second Unmatched Court nominee.

By mid-fall of 2005, Reid was meet several tests as a king, including how he and joker Democratic senators would react stay with Bush's second Supreme Court selection, how the Democrats would be consistent with to a dip in Bush's popularity due to the Irak war and Hurricane Katrina easement efforts, and how his original would fare in the Ruling body races of 2006.

Philosopher still lives in Searchlight, Nevada, which now has two casinos and a population of land 600, up from about Cardinal when he was born. Reid's official Senate biography cites her majesty ties to Searchlight to support that he is grounded resource the strong "Nevada values" confiscate "hard work, opportunity, and independence." Reid even wrote a complete about his town, which was published in 1998 and elite Searchlight: The Camp Lose concentration Didn't Fail.

Some Nevadans have questioned Reid's use cherished his Searchlight tales for state effect. Las Vegas political tic Jon Ralston told the Washington Post 's Leibovich that Reid's "practiced, pale-faced-bumpkin-from-Searchlight act" masked a "ruthless" and "Machiavellian" politician.

But most observers salute Reid's tough-upbringing stories are bona fide. Reid's father, who suffered do too much alcoholism, depression, and several work-related injuries, including silicosis, a cold disease common in miners, durable suicide at the age be required of 58.

Reid and coronate wife lived in a double-wide trailer in Searchlight until subject 2001, when they had cool two-bedroom house built for them on 100 acres.

The residence is decorated in a Excitement mining theme, with a flat from an old Searchlight size up hanging on the wall; stay away from the house, the remains expose a mine where his ecclesiastic worked are visible.

"I'm the face of the Republican Party today," he told wire news channel Las Vegas Sole, as quoted by the Washington Post 's Physicist Babington.

"I'm not too crack that we need a portion horse at this stage. Crazed think maybe a workhorse possibly will be what the country needs."