24 of Harry Reid’s Oddest Quotes From His Senate Career

Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP
Alex Wong/Getty Images/AFP
Charlie Spiering

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced this morning that he will retire from the Senate and not run for re-election in 2016.  “Senator Reid doesn’t care” who he makes uncomfortable, Reid’s former spokesperson explained in 2012. “He’s a plain-spoken individual… Yes, he sometimes says things others are afraid to say, but many people believe.”

In honor of Reid’s retirement annoucement, here are some of his more colorful comments from his Senate career.

  1. “I have been a fan of earmarks since I got here the first day.” Harry Reid – May 2014
  2. “Two decades from now, I’m willing to take a look at it, but I’m not willing to take a look at it right now.” Harry Reid – age 71 – March 2011 on Social Security reform
  3. “Seniors love getting junk mail. It’s sometimes their only way of communicating or feeling like they’re part of the real world.” – Harry Reid 2012
  4. “The National Endowment of the Humanities is the reason we have in northern Nevada every January a cowboy poetry festival. Had that program not been around, the tens of thousands of people who come there every year would not exist.” – Harry Reid defends taxpayer dollars for Cowboy Poetry March 2011
  5. “Despite all that good news, there’s plenty of horror stories being told. All of them are untrue, but they’re being told all over America,” – Harry Reid on Obamacare problems – February 2014
  6. “We in the Senate refer to Sen. Gillibrand as the hottest member.” – Harry Reid September 2010
  7. “If you’re over age 50, the internet is something you’re just learning about.” – Harry Reid October 2013 defending the Obamacare website
  8. “My friend from Texas is like a schoolyard bully.” – Harry Reid on Sen. Ted Cruz – May 2013
  9. “Many of our job creators are like unicorns, they’re impossible to find and don’t exist.” Harry Reid December 2011 on millionaire job creators.
  10. “Madam president, have everyone sit down and shut up.” – Harry Reid on the Senate Floor August 2013
  11. “Your dog is fat.” Harry Reid to George W. Bush about his dog
  12. “In fact, one of our core principles is that if you like the health care you have, you can keep it.” – Harry Reid on Obamacare 2009
  13. “One problem that I’ve had today is keeping my Wongs straight.” – Harry Reid speaking to the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce August 2014
  14. “I don’t think you’re smarter than anybody else, but you’ve convinced a lot of us you are,” – Harry Reid to Asians at the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce
  15. “I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican, okay. Do I need to say more?” Harry Reid – August 2010
  16. “That may be some place, but it’s not here in Nevada.” – Harry Reid on illegal immigrant construction workers – July 2010
  17. “We’re going to hear an earful, but it’s going to be an earful of wonderment and happiness that people waited for for a long time.” – Harry Reid Dec. 2009 on effort to pass Obamacare
  18. “This war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday” – Harry Reid on the War in Iraq – April 2007
  19. “He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that’s true? Well, I’m not certain,” – Harry Reid lying about Mitt Romney’s taxes July 2012
  20. “I don’t want to answer that question. That’s a clown question bro,” – Harry Reid dodges a question from a reporter June 2012
  21. “My staff tells me not to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway. In the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it’s true.” – Harry Reid 2008
  22. “One of our core principles is that if you like the health care you have you can keep it.” Harry Reid 2009 on Obamacare
  23. Obama a ‘light-skinned’ African-American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.’” – Harry Reid on Barack Obama in 2008 according to the book “Game Change”
  24. “While I respect his right to say anything he likes, his unpatriotic comments I cannot ignore. During his show last Wednesday, Limbaugh was engaged in one of his typical rants. This one was unremarkable and indistinguishable from his usual drivel, which has been steadily losing listeners for years.” – Harry Reid blasting Rush Limbaugh in 2007

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