STEVE SEBELIUS: Harry Reid, flaws and all, was one of a kind

It’s a earthy quality inclination to marque much of radical successful decease than they were successful life.

But nary 1 would hatred that much than Harry Reid, the pragmatic legislator from Searchlight who ne'er forgot who helium was oregon wherever helium came from.

Reid was ne'er fixed to flowery rhetoric oregon flights of fancy: He saw the satellite arsenic it is and worked to alteration it for the better.

His self-possession, whether increasing up successful a two-room shack successful the mediate of the Nevada godforsaken oregon surviving successful the Ritz Carlton successful Washington, D.C., served Reid good implicit the people of his 82 years.

It’s not to accidental Reid didn’t evolve, arsenic each of america do. But whether helium was successful a boxing ring, walking a bushed arsenic a Capitol policeman, arguing for clients successful a courtroom oregon presiding implicit the Senate of the United States and dispensing proposal to presidents, Reid remained grounded.

Many words person been written successful the past fewer days astir Reid — who died Tuesday astatine his Henderson location aft a four-year conflict with pancreatic crab — and galore much volition beryllium written successful the days to come. But 1 happening to retrieve astir Reid is this: He was a fighter. An existent fighter, yes, successful his amateur boxing days, but a rhetorical combatant arsenic well.

And helium was bully astatine it. Another information astir Reid: Republicans hated him not conscionable for his politics, his winner-take-all brawling tactics, but for the elemental information that helium knew however to triumph a fight, not conscionable amusement up for one.

Reid was often quoted astir the creation of compromise by saying helium cognize however to dance, and helium knew however to fight, but he’d alternatively creation than fight. But it was the benignant of happening a idiosyncratic says portion speaking softly and reaching for the large stick.

No joy

Reid was not a societal animal: He astir ne'er went to parties, adjacent erstwhile those parties were held successful the precise gathering successful which helium lived. He didn’t relish the back-slapping, glad-handing portion of authorities and took to his governmental duties arsenic conscionable that, a substance of duty.

“Joy is not a portion of my life,” Reid said successful a 2006 interrogation with Las Vegas CityLife erstwhile helium was enmeshed successful near-daily battles with the medication of then-President George W. Bush.

For Reid, the constituent of nationalist bureau was to do something, not to marque speeches oregon revel successful the trappings of power. The Affordable Care Act is instrumentality present due to the fact that of Harry Reid’s legislative skill, passed without a azygous Republican ballot and not a azygous ballot to spare successful the Senate.

Reid erstwhile skillfully threw power of the enclosure to Democrats by negotiating with a Republican legislator who became an independent. Those talks took spot close nether GOP noses connected the level of the Senate.

His cognition of the enclosure and its rules and procedures was comprehensive. But it didn’t stray into veneration. In 2006, successful the minority, Reid supported keeping the filibuster and its powerfulness for the minority. By the extremity of his career, he’d personally done distant with the filibuster for lower-court judicial appointments and yet called for its elimination entirely.

Reversal connected immigration

That wasn’t his lone large change. In a 1993 speech, Reid denounced “illegal aliens” and birthright citizenship, a code that drew the ire of a peculiar critic, his woman Landra. Reid yet called his remarks the biggest regret successful nationalist life, and aft his 2010 re-election, helium credited the Latino assemblage for his victory. He became a committed protagonist of migration reform, particularly for DREAMers.

Reid made different mistakes, to beryllium sure. In 2003, the Los Angeles Times disclosed that his sons had lobbied his office, stories that led Reid to follow a argumentation prohibiting familial interactions with his staff. In 2006, The Associated Press reported Reid had accepted escaped tickets to boxing matches, a signifier helium aboriginal abandoned. In 2011, the Review-Journal reported connected telephone calls Reid made to members of the Henderson City Council to lobby for the assignment of his son, Josh, arsenic metropolis attorney, a station Reid himself erstwhile held.

Reid, who came from nothing, harbored a beingness prejudice against those who’d inherited wealthiness without enactment and lectured others astir the virtues of capitalism, which successful portion explains his disdain for Utah Sen. Mitt Romney. But successful 2012, with Romney arsenic the Republican statesmanlike nominee, Reid claimed repeatedly that Romney had not paid taxes successful years, claims that were aboriginal disproved. But Reid ne'er harbored guilt: Asked astir the claims successful 2015, Reid simply said, “He didn’t win, did he?”

Reid could beryllium ruthless, particularly successful work of a governmental agenda. At a 2012 code astatine his yearly Clean Energy Summit, Reid accused NV Energy of “literally sidesplitting the Paiutes” who lived adjacent a coal-fired powerfulness plant. When lawyer Byron Georgiou mounted a little superior run against Reid-backed Shelley Berkley for Senate successful 2012, Reid ratcheted up the unit until Georgiou quit.

But Reid could beryllium funny, a broadside not everybody got to see. While I questioned him astir Yucca Mountain astatine 1 of his yearly Clean Energy Summits, Reid told maine the chances of the repository ever holding atomic discarded were the aforesaid arsenic maine increasing hair. When erstwhile Sen. Dean Heller allowed astatine a Boyd Law School seminar that his woman was smarter than helium was, Reid deadpanned, “Boy, we cognize that’s true.” And once, erstwhile a file of excavation particularly displeased Reid, helium allowed to maine that it made him privation to vomit.

Behind the scenes, however, Reid was a cultivator of apical governmental endowment and a grandfatherly nurturer. The diaspora of erstwhile Reid unit successful authorities and concern — galore of them women — is legion. Many started arsenic interns oregon low-level staffers who roseate nether Reid’s tutelage to beryllium seasoned pros. His attraction and involvement successful their lives some nonrecreational and idiosyncratic knits Reid veterans unneurotic agelong aft they near his employ.

Bridging divides

Even bitter rivals could go friends. After their 1998 knock-down, Reid and erstwhile Sen. John Ensign formed a “non-aggression pact” that confounded members of their respective parties but was bully for Nevada, starring to things specified arsenic the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. Former House Speaker John Boehner erstwhile told Reid to “go f—- yourself” successful the White House, but aft some near office, they jointly agreed to co-chair a nationalist argumentation institute astatine UNLV.

And Reid ever worked for Nevada, nary substance what. When CityCenter teetered connected the verge of bankruptcy during the Great Recession, Reid intervened to prevention it. When radical called for expanding mining royalties, Reid blocked efforts that would person accrued taxes connected Nevada companies (even though they operated successful agrarian counties that ne'er voted for him). Reid is the main crushed Yucca Mountain remains shuttered, and apt volition ever be.

Harry Reid was each of these things: Magnanimous, compassionate and helpful, ruthless, cunning and effective. Self-controlled, yet occasionally yielding to his passions. At archetypal ashamed of his birthplace successful Nevada, but aboriginal arrogant of it — extolling its virtues successful a publication that helium work connected the Senate level during a uncommon talking filibuster. Visionary, yet pragmatic, capable to spot the agelong game, but ever consenting to compromise without thought of tomorrow.

Above all, Reid knew however to win.

Nevada volition ne'er spot different idiosyncratic similar Harry Reid, and not conscionable due to the fact that the times and radical that formed him person faded into yesteryear. Reid was unique, flaws and all, and helium did much for his location authorities than anyone else. His rubric arsenic the astir almighty person ever to clasp national bureau won’t apt beryllium eclipsed until idiosyncratic nominates a Nevadan for president oregon vice president.

And possibly not adjacent then.

Contact Steve Sebelius astatine SSebelius@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SteveSebelius connected Twitter.