Senator Dirty Harry Reid & Corruption

Did you ever wonder how a career politician and member of Congress for many years currently making about $174,000 a year some how ends up as a millionaire by the end of his " years of public service ". This would seem to be very improbable particularly since a Member of the House of Representatives, or US Senate must maintain two homes; one in Washington DC, which is expensive and one in their home state. If you want to read how it's done, just get a hold of Dick Morris's book, 2010 Take Back America in which he writes about some of our illustrious, corrupt, elected representatives.

One of the more interesting stories is about Senator Dirty Harry Reid of Nevada. Reid is an old time deal maker who uses his influence to "line his own and his families pockets". Harry Reid comes from a "poor family" in Searchlight, Nevada, an old gold mining town in the desert about 50 miles from Las Vegas; yet somehow, some way after years in public office, Dirty Harry can afford to live at the Ritz Carlton luxury hotel in Washington DC. To support his reelection to the Senate in 2010, Reid has received major contributions from Lawyers/Law Firms (the trial lawyers), Casinos/Gambling interests, Lobbyists, Securities and Investment Companies, Real Estate Firms, Health Professionals, Insurance Companies, Commercial Banks various Unions and many other industries. Reid has said that he will raise $25 million to conduct his re-election campaign and he is well on his way to doing it. It should be no surprise that Harry Reid is a champion for both the Gambling and Mining Industries which are important to Nevada. This is all business as usual for most career politicians in Washington DC.

But it goes much further related to Reid's family. Harry Reid's three sons including Rory Reid, who is currently running for the Democrat Socialist nomination for Governor in Nevada, and Reid's son-in law Steven Barringer have all been paid lobbyists for various special interests. Harry Reid is in a "class by himself " according to Dick Morris. One of Reid's sons and his son-in-law lobby in Washington for companies, trade groups and municipalities seeking Reid's help in the Senate. A second son has lobbied in Nevada for some of those same interests, and a third son has represented a couple of them as a litigator.

In the last four years alone, firms associated with the Reid family have collected more than $2 million in lobbying fees from special interests that were represented by Reid's sons and helped by Senator Dirty Harry Reid. The Reid family is so tied to Nevada's leading industries and institutions that it's difficult to find a significant field in which there is not some tie to the Reid family. In fact, as a Nevada resident, I have been told that Reid extracts "protection money" from Nevada's leading industries by threatening them with harmful laws if they don't give, so to speak, to fund his campaigns. The Reid stories floating around Nevada are notorious.

The corruption does not end there. Senator Dirty Harry Reid, the so called champion of the little guy, has been involved in various shady land deals in Nevada that have made him rich. And, in 2005, Reid sponsored an earmark in the 2006 transportation bill that provided $18 million in federal funds to build a bridge over the Colorado River to connect Laughlin, Nevada with Bullhead City, Arizona. Laughlin is a casino town; but most of its workers live in Bullhead where Harry Reid happens to own 160 acres of land. While that bridge may have been good for the area, there is no doubt that this bridge seriously enhanced the value of Reid's land. Gosh, could there have been a connection related to this bridge pork barrel project and Reid's land investment? In this case, this was not a bridge to no where; but rather it was a bridge to Reid's property just a few miles away.

The other game Senator Dirty Harry Reid and other career politicians have played is being fast and loose with campaign contributions. Some how these politicians find a way to use campaign contributions to fund personal expenses and who knows what else. Again, how has Senator Dirty Harry Reid accumulated the monies to make various property purchases over the years on his public employee salary. It just does not add up, or maybe it does.

The corruption in Washington DC is so pervasive that it has just become business as usual. We absolutely need a Constitutional Amendment requiring Term Limits for members of Congress. In fact, Harry Reid is the poster child making the case for Term Limits. Term limits, will not end the corruption; but at least it will make it a little harder for the special interests, that are vested in these career politicians, to buy long term influence.

We must take back our country in 2010 and 2012 by electing Conservatives who support free market capitalism, limited government, lower taxes and less regulation, a balanced budget, a strong national defense, TERM LIMITS, real energy independence and health care reform, the right to bear arms, the sanctity of life and family values. Most important, we must elect Conservatives who support the Constitution as written by our Founding Fathers, not as contrived by our current Socialist President, or former Presidents, Congresses, or the Courts. We must take back our country in 2010 and 2012 by defeating career politicians like Socialist Senator Dirty Harry Reid of Nevada. We can do it. We must do it.