Progressives memorialize Harry Reid - The Washington post

Barbara's case, retold by means of Reid in his 2008 memoir "The first rate combat," changed into what one former Reid staffer noted as an early example of the late senator's worldview, one which finally made him a mentor to many liberal Democrats.

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"every person else turned into like, 'You're crazy, why are you doing this for this girl?' It's because Harry Reid hated bullies," said Ari Rabin-Havt, who labored as a Senate staffer for Reid and later became Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) deputy presidential campaign manager. "He hated bullies and individuals ... who had unearned stature that used that stature to bully others. He could not stand that. and i suppose that was [a] hyperlink to the left."

Tributes poured in for Reid, who died Tuesday at eighty two, from across the Democratic spectrum, amongst them liberals who've described Reid as certainly one of theirs, and additionally as a e book. They and others frequently used "fighter" to explain the previous boxer.

"Sen. Reid did greater than simply combat for working individuals, he refused to back down," tweeted Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the progressive Caucus. "That changed into clear year after yr and concern after subject — from immigration reform and fitness care to holding public lands and preserving our democracy. He all the time put americans first."

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"Harry Reid became the sort of fighter i like: a fighter who is aware of a way to win," tweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was first called to Washington by Reid to supervise the financial institution bailout in 2008. "Harry never wavered in his dedication to do what's correct."

Grief over the lack of a pacesetter with a deft very own contact changed into evident in conversations with former personnel participants and colleagues Wednesday.

Sanders, who picked a few key campaign staffers from Reid's historic congressional workplace, spoke of he will in no way forget the kindness with which Reid welcomed him into the Senate. It turned into Reid who had encouraged him to run for the Senate.

"What i will say, on a really very own degree, changed into that Harry Reid turned into extremely variety to me, now not simply as a revolutionary, but as an independent," Sanders mentioned in an emotional interview. "I came into the Senate in 2006, and the medication I received from him and the Democratic leadership within the Senate became totally different from what had took place when i used to be elected to the condominium ... i was greeted with open palms."

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"every so often, in a quiet or complex second, Harry Reid would reach out," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted. "It become like he knew. His advice, encouragement, kindness, and generosity became so deeply relocating. It become straightforward. and i will by no means neglect it."

Raised in poverty in a condo constructed of railroad ties, the Nevada Democrat lost his first race for Senate, then 12 years later eked out a win for a similar seat. After surviving his 1998 reelection through simply 421 votes, Reid jumped into Democratic management and became a soft-spoken force, punctuated by an eight-12 months run as majority leader.

Reid's own evolution via 5 a long time of politics charts the transformation of the Senate, and in lots of ways, the national political environment. He went from being a conservative western Democrat — pro-gun, antiabortion, an preliminary supporter of Justice Clarence Thomas's affirmation — to a liberal icon who blew up the Senate's cherished filibuster suggestions to ascertain extra liberal judges for President Barack Obama to key federal courts.

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And, in that point, he grew to be a mentor to a era of liberal Democrats who've fanned out to work for the latest leaders of the Democrats' left flank, key among them Sanders and Warren.

"I don't think any part of the Democratic birthday celebration would look like what it feels like now with out Harry Reid," Rabin-Havt talked about. "He shaped a lot of pieces of the Democratic party in techniques people don't be aware of."

over the years, Sanders and Reid labored on a number of considerations, most specially the inclusion of funding for community health centers within the reasonably-priced Care Act, whatever thing Sanders had pushed for. with out Reid's help, americans wouldn't have considered "the kind of dazzling enlargement in community health capabilities" of the ultimate few years, Sanders talked about.

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Sanders remembers him at all times making mighty speeches on the Senate ground in defense of the wants of working households. He had no need to create a media storm or heighten the dramatics to get things completed, Sanders pointed out.

"according to his personal own life ... He had a very strong sense of type attention and intensely lots resented the origins of the wealthy and the powerful who at all times thought that they might get their manner," Sanders observed. "[He] just labored quietly to make issues ensue that benefited working households."

Alumni of Reid's congressional workplaces encompass staffers in both Sanders's and Warren's 2020 presidential campaigns. among them is Faiz Shakir, who worked as a senior adviser to Reid years earlier than he grew to become Sanders's 2020 crusade supervisor.

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Reid, Shakir referred to, in no way forgot the place he came from, and that described his politics.

"Some individuals grow out of poverty and then stream on, but it surely become at all times a core a part of his DNA," Shakir said. "if you look to the policies, you see how it impacted him, it's all throughout the board."

Reid, Shakir mentioned, changed into a Democrat forward of his time through many measures, starting from his efforts to handle climate alternate and put money into renewable energy, to his criticism of huge funds in politics. Reid, Shakir referred to, became even ahead of the curve when he criticized the previous identify of the Washington football team in 2014.

Reid, Shakir mentioned, fought fiercely for the public option to be covered within the ACA and wanted to get it performed, he simply didn't have the votes for it. He also pioneered clean energy guidelines, making Nevada one of the leading states in photo voltaic vigour. He understood climate trade from a populist viewpoint, Shakir mentioned, and turned into mindful that it is "going to have an effect on populations of the most marginalized, frequently the ones who don't have someone searching for them." And Reid, Shakir mentioned, fought "against each trade deal," as a result of he understood it as "an effort that changed into going to hurt working-classification jobs in this country."

"these are the issues he turned into most proud of," Shakir referred to.

Paul Kane and Sean Sullivan contributed to this record.

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