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What Is the Difference Between Harry Reid and Most Other Public Servants?
Well, for starters, most other public servants are not nearly as rich as Harry Reid. Of course, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, but the way in which Reid has acquired his wealth ought to raise more than a few eyebrows:
Last month, as the Senate was busy negotiating the final details of its Ukraine aid package, Majority Leader Harry Reid became temporarily distracted with a campaign finance issue. Since winning re-election in 2010, Reid’s campaign had purchased gifts for supporters and donors from vendors like Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon, Nordstrom, and the Senate gift shop, among others. But one round of spending was directed to a less recognizable firm: Ryan Elisabeth, a jewelry line.
In 2012 and 2013, the campaign spent $31,267 purchasing gifts from the company, which is owned by Reid’s granddaughter, Ryan Elisabeth Reid. All told, she took in nearly seven times more cash than all vendors of donor gifts combined during that period of time.
Veteran Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston first reported the news after receiving a tip about the expenditures. (Ryan Elisabeth’s last name did not appear on the FEC reports, and the senator’s office initially failed to confirm her identity.) While Sen. Reid does not appear to have broken the law, he understood that the purchases created a perception of favoritism. Lamenting the unwanted attention heaped on his granddaughter, he decided after the news broke that “it would be best to pay for her work out of my own pocket.”
This was not the first time that Reid had mixed family and politics — or potentially run afoul of ethics rules.
Read the whole thing, which is chock-full of instances in which Reid seriously skirted—or completely broke—ethics rules. Again, why did anyone obsess over Reid’s McCarthyite charges regarding Mitt Romney’s tax returns, which was an utter non-story in comparison to Reid’s complete disregard for standards of propriety? I recognize that some will respond with “because Mitt Romney is a Republican and there is a double standard at work here.” But while that is an explanation, it is not an excuse.
Published in General
Just think of Harry Reid as the Senate’s version of Jack Brooks. Brooks was born dirt poor, spent all his life as an elected official (first in the Texas Leg, and later as a long-time U. S. Representative), and died a wealthy, wealthy man.
Everyone please eviscerate the word “public servant” from the lexicon. Politician, elected official, bureaucrats, or government worker will suffice. Little of what they do these days seems to be actually done in public but rather opaque at best or worse veiled in secrecy. Neither are they servants. More like nattering nannies.
Most other politicians aren’t so corrupt that villians in mob movies are based on them…
I get the sense that Harry Reid’s malfeasance is getting so blatant and egregious that the mainstream news outlets are almost being shamed into noticing it. Then again, I’ve been guilty of wishful thinking before. The Politico two-parter may be the crack in the dam. It’s hard for us conservatives to fathom that the American people don’t look at Harry Reid and see the same vile, reptilian slimeball that we do.
Thank you for writing this article. Every right leaning media outlet should be constantly detailing his corruption.
DeMint was on Rush when he went over to Heritage Foundation. At one point he uttered those words, ‘Harry Reid is a friend, but…’ I was done with him at that point. HReid is despicable.
I’m not saying whether Harry Reid is corrupt or not. However, a couple or three years ago, I read an article on how Lamar Alexander went from being middle class to being wealthy. He’s been in government employ all his life. The article is probably still available online. The gist is, once people gain power, movers and shakers come to them with deals. Blackberry Farm is a fancy resort in the mountains not far from Knoxville. No one came to me and offered to let me invest. They did to Alexander. Why would he say no? Power and wealth go together. I’m not sure there’s anything that can be done about it.
I’m with George Will on this issue. The wealthy and powerful are going to control the government regardless. The only way to limit the damage is to limit the government.
Far too kind. They are self-absorbed narcissists, which is why creatures like Reid have no problem bouncing up against the limits of what’s legal, much less ethical, because he’s in it for himself.
I’m surprised Senate office walls aren’t completely covered in mirrors.
When Bill Nelson, then a Representative took his ride on the Space Shuttle back in the 1980s he apparently endeavored to get in every camera shot broadcast down from the Orbiter. At one point in the mission the crew turned on cameras in both the mid-deck and flight deck so they could watch Nelson go back and forth between them, like a donkey between two bales of hay.
Finally, the commander was reputed to have told CapCom if Nelson did not back off they would tell him there were four cameras in the Payload Bay and let nature take its course. (The Payload Bay is in vacuum, exposed to space.)
Seawriter
Harry Reid has been blatantly corrupt for a long time, not just with regards to how he’s gained his riches, but how he lies. It’s all in plain site, yet he hasn’t been run out of town. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate should be turning their backs to him, if for no other reason than he’s so obvious. At least other corrupt politicians have the shame to try and hide it.
Reid may not even know he is doing anything wrong. That’s more dangerous given his position.