Dennis Miller
Miller speaking at JavaOne, 2005.
Born	(1953-11-03) November 3, 1953 (age 58) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Medium	Stand-up, Television, Film, Books, Radio
Nationality	American
Years active	1978–present
Genres	Satire/Political satire/News satire, Observational comedy, Wit/Word play, Black comedy, Surreal humor
Subject(s)	American politics, American culture, current events, pop culture, libertarianism, American conservatism
Influences	Richard Belzer,[1] Jay Leno,[2] Dean Martin,[3] George Carlin, Don Rickles.[4]
Influenced	David Spade,[5][6] Norm MacDonald[7]
Spouse	Carolyn (Ali) Espley (April 10, 1988 – present) (2 children)
Notable works and roles	Weekend Update anchor on Saturday Night Live Host of Dennis Miller Live Color commentator on Monday Night Football Host of The Dennis Miller Show
Website	dennismillerradio.com
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 Dennis Miller Live Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1996 Dennis Miller Live
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special 1996 Dennis Miller: State of the Union Undressed

Dennis Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references. He rose to fame as a cast member of Saturday Night Live in 1985, and subsequently hosted a string of his own talk shows on HBO, CNBC and in syndication. He currently hosts a daily, three-hour, self-titled talk radio program, nationally syndicated by Dial Global.

Although in his early years of fame he was perceived to be quite liberal and anti-Republican, in recent years, Miller has become known for his right-leaning political opinions. He is a regular political commentator on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor in a segment called "Miller Time", and previously appeared on the network's Hannity & Colmes in a segment called "Real Free Speech".

Early life[link]

Miller was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Castle Shannon, a suburb of Pittsburgh, where he graduated from Keystone Oaks High School in 1971.^[8] His parents separated and Miller was raised by his mother, Norma, a dietitian.^[9][10] Miller is of Scottish descent.^[1] At Point Park University, he majored in journalism because he thought it would be easy: "I remember seeing All the President's Men and thinking Redford looked cool in his crinkled tie."^{[citation needed]} He was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity.^[11] About his social status during this period, Miller writes: "When I went to college, I lived on campus, and the guys I hung out with made me do some things I'm not proud of, although they made the characters in Revenge of the Nerds look like the Rat Pack in 1962. I myself made that kid Booger look like Remington Steele" (I Rant, Therefore I Am). Miller graduated from Point Park University in 1976.^[12]

In 1979 Miller won $500 as a runner-up in Playboy magazine's first annual humor competition with the following joke:^[13]

Television career[link]

In the early 1980s, Miller hosted The Trolley Show, a Saturday afternoon newsmagazine for teenagers, on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV.^[14] He also produced humorous essays for the syndicated Evening Magazine television program. Miller then began performing stand-up in New York comedy clubs such as Catch A Rising Star and The Comic Strip, as well as in Los Angeles at The Comedy Store. He appeared on Star Search, where he lost out to fellow comedian Sinbad after the two tied with judges' scores, but Sinbad won with a higher studio-audience approval rating.

[edit] Saturday Night Live

Miller's big break came in 1985 when he was discovered by Lorne Michaels at The Comedy Store. He landed a spot on Saturday Night Live, where he succeeded Christopher Guest as the Weekend Update anchor. The spot was supposed to go to comic Jon Lovitz, but Lovitz was scheduled for other parts on the show and needed the Update segment to do costume changes; so Miller was drafted to read the news.^[15] Miller began his fictional news reports with "Good evening, and what can I tell you?" and closed with "That's the news, folks, and I am outta here!" Fans of SNL became accustomed to his smirky delivery, high-pitched giggle, and frequently primped hair idiosyncrasies that would be spoofed by Dana Carvey, Tom Hanks, and Jimmy Fallon, all of whom have impersonated Miller on the show. When Miller left SNL in 1991, the anchor's chair was turned over to Kevin Nealon.

In 1988, Miller released a stand-up comedy CD, The Off-White Album, derived from an HBO special titled Mr. Miller Goes to Washington,^[16] which drew heavily from the observational and metaphor-driven style he was known for on Saturday Night Live, and showed glimpses of the political humor that would influence his later work. A well-received HBO special, Dennis Miller: Black and White,^[17] aired shortly after the release of the CD.

Although Miller spent much of his time on SNL behind the Weekend Update desk, he was included in some sketches and did a few recurring characters and celebrity impersonations.^[18]

Recurring characters[link]

• Koko, one of the pixies in the recurring sketch "Miss Connie's Fable Nook"
• Steve, one of The Stand-Ups (others include Jon Lovitz as Bob, Damon Wayans as Keith, and Tom Hanks as Paul)

Celebrity impersonations[link]

• Gary Hart
• George Harrison
• Nathaniel Crosby

[edit] The Dennis Miller Show

In 1992, following his departure from Saturday Night Live, Miller launched a late-night TV talk show, The Dennis Miller Show, syndicated by Tribune Entertainment. The Dennis Miller Show continued in the tradition of "alternative" talk shows, which started with the Late Night with David Letterman show, which debuted on NBC in 1982. The Dennis Miller Show featured cutting-edge bands and other groundbreaking guests. For example, Toad the Wet Sprocket made their national television debut on the show, and Henry Rollins stopped by occasionally to chat with Miller and perform spoken word.^[19] Andy Summers, formerly of the band The Police, led the house band, and Nick Bakay was the announcer. The show's staff boasted a standard mix of past and future performers, writers, and producers of note including Nick Bakay, Todd Baker, Mark Brazill (That '70s Show), Eddie Feldmann, David Kohan & Max Mutchnick (creators of Will & Grace), Norm Macdonald, Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show), John Riggi, Kevin Rooney, Herbert Sargent (Saturday Night Live), Drake Sather, and Dave Thomas (Second City TV).

[edit] Dennis Miller Live

Beginning in 1994, Miller hosted Dennis Miller Live, a half-hour talk show on HBO. The show's theme song was the iconic Tears for Fears hit Everybody Wants to Rule the World, and also utilized a snippet of the song Civilized by the Rollins Band. The show was taped at CBS Television City on the same stage that The Price Is Right is taped. It utilized a small set and sparse lighting, and there was no band. It comprised mainly Miller, speaking to the largely unseen studio audience, on a darkened stage. He hosted one guest per show, with whom he would discuss the topic of the day. Early on, they were all interviewed live via satellite, but soon most guests were live in the studio. There was also a call-in segment. The number was originally given as 1-800-LACTOSE. Later, he referred to it only by its numeric equivalent (1-800-522-8673). Within the time available, Miller typically could accommodate only two or three calls. He gradually eliminated call-ins entirely in the last few seasons of the show. Miller and his writing staff won five Emmy Awards during the show's run, which aired 215 episodes over nine years. HBO cancelled the show in 2002.

[edit] Monday Night Football

In 2000, Miller beat out Rush Limbaugh and Tony Kornheiser (among others) for a job as color commentator on ABC's Monday Night Football.^[20] His commentary was sprinkled with esoteric references.^[21] A common Miller-ism was after a Hail Mary pass fell incomplete, he would say "Hail Mary is denied – separation of church and state." After two seasons, Miller and former San Diego Chargers' quarterback Dan Fouts (who worked alongside play-by-play man Al Michaels) were replaced by the veteran football commentator John Madden. In 2010, TV Guide Network listed Miller's stint at #12 on their list of 25 Biggest TV Blunders.^[22]

CNBC show[link]

Dennis Miller
Format	Talk show
Starring	Dennis Miller
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	220
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CNBC
Original run	January 26, 2004 – May 13, 2005

In 2003, Miller provided short-lived regular commentary for the Fox News show Hannity & Colmes before moving on to do a prime-time political show on CNBC in early 2004 called, simply, Dennis Miller. The hour-long show contained a daily news segment called "The Daily Rorschach", which was reminiscent of his Weekend Update segments. He also had a chimpanzee, as a nod to the early days of the Today show and their mascot J. Fred Muggs. The show also featured a panel discussion dubbed "The Varsity", which offered a wide variety of political viewpoints on current topics. Frequent "Varsity" panelists included Ed Schultz, Gloria Allred, Willie Brown, David Horowitz, Mickey Kaus, Steven Katz, Lawrence O'Donnell, Phil Hendrie, and Harry Shearer. CNBC cancelled the show in May 2005 due to declining viewership.^[23]

Guest appearances and commercials[link]

Miller has appeared as a guest or guest star on various shows, including Boston Public, The Daily Show, Hannity & Colmes, NewsRadio, The O'Reilly Factor, The Norm Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, SportsCenter, and late-night talk shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.^[24]

Miller hosted the MTV Video Music Awards in 1995 and 1996. He was also the host of HBO's 1996 series of election specials, Not Necessarily the Election.

He has appeared in various television commercials, serving as a spokesman for M&M's candies, 10-10-220 long distance service, and the Internet service provider NetZero. About these activities he has remarked: "Everybody has to sell out at some point to make a living. I'm a family man. I sold out to make an M&M commercial. They offer incredible amounts of money, and I say, ‘What can I do to sell one more piece of candy for you? Do you want me to hug the M&M?’ "^[25] Dennis also did a short B2B commercial for Blockbuster/IBM partnership company, New Leaf Entertainment.^[26] On Monday February 27th 2012 Miller guest starred on Hawaii 5-0 on the episode Lekio along with another guest star James Caan.

Return to Fox News Channel[link]

On September 21, 2006, Miller returned to Fox News Channel with a two-and-a-half-minute commentary on illegal immigration during his "Real Free Speech" segment on Hannity & Colmes.^[27] He appeared on 13 of the 17 aired episodes of the comedy show The Half Hour News Hour. Currently, he has a weekly segment called "Miller Time" on The O'Reilly Factor. Miller has also appeared on Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld under the pseudonym "Mansquito", a name Miller has pledged to use on future appearances on the network.

Game shows[link]

Miller co-hosted the game show Grand Slam, which aired on GSN in 2007.^[28]

For one month, Miller hosted Amne$ia for NBC. The show was a replacement program commissioned during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike and was canceled once the strike was resolved and scripted programming returned to the network.

[edit] Sports Unfiltered on Versus

Miller's days as a sports commentator did not end when he left Monday Night Football. In 2007, Versus, the cable network best known for its coverage of the National Hockey League, tapped Miller to host Sports Unfiltered.^[29]

Radio career[link]

[edit] The Dennis Miller Show

In January 2007, Miller signed a deal with Westwood One to launch a weekday three-hour talk radio program.^[30] The program debuted on March 26, 2007.^[31] The show's website^[32] provides a live stream of the broadcast. The site also makes archives of all shows available in MP3 format. The live feed is free, but a subscription to the Dennis Miller Zone (DMZ) is required in order to access archived broadcasts. The show airs on 250+ stations, many of which (especially in the major markets) are owned by Salem Communications,^[33] airing on tape delay on some of those stations between 6–9 pm ET and 9 pm-12 am ET. Salem stations also air a "best of" Miller show on Saturdays. His former on-air sidekick "Salman" (David S. Weiss) also wrote for Dennis Miller Live. His producer "Christian" previously appeared on-camera as dozens of different characters during the "Daily Rorschach" segment on his CNBC television show.

Miller's program includes serious discussions about American culture, current events, politics, and their place in the global context. The show is infused with Miller's sarcasm, which is often characterized by obscure pop culture references. For example, each hour of the show opens up with an arcane reference. The first hour's opening phrase is a combination of dialogue from the film Thank You for Smoking and a U.S. space program slogan coined by Alan Shepard:^[34] "What's up, Hiroshi? Let's light this candle!" Miller's other opening phrases for his second and third hours respectively are "Come to me my babies, let me quell your pain", (Powers Boothe as Jim Jones in Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones^[35]) and "ABC – Always be closing if you want the knife set" (from Glengarry Glen Ross).

Most shows feature three guests (one per hour), mostly from the world of politics and entertainment, as well as calls from listeners. Guests include fellow comedians and SNL alumni (such as Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz), pundits and authors such as Ann Coulter, Aaron Klein and Mark Steyn (while the show's guest list leans right of center, there are several liberals who have appeared on the show, such as Dennis Kucinich and Alan Dershowitz), Presidential candidates, several sports commentators, and some "regulars", Howard Fineman of Newsweek, singer Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, Nikki Finke, and Representative David Dreier, a Republican congressman from California,^[36] among many others. Dennis Miller generally takes calls every hour, and in addition to comments about culture and politics, Miller encourages humorous callers and often comments on their comedic delivery. A segment on Fridays is set aside for "Dennis Ex Machina", his term for a segment without a guest, where he allows phone calls on any topic.

According to Talkers Magazine, as of spring 2011, Miller's show has an estimated 2,250,000 weekly listeners.^[37] Miller and Dial Global signed an agreement in early 2012 to continue his show for an undisclosed number of years.^[38]

Other endeavors[link]

Miller periodically performs stand-up at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. In recent appearances, he has done a mix of his old and new material, with some political jokes as well.

He has authored four books based on his stand-up comedy and television monologues: The Rants (1996), Ranting Again (1999), I Rant, Therefore I Am (2000), and The Rant Zone (2001).

Miller has appeared in several films, in both comedic and non-comedic roles. His movie credits include Madhouse, Disclosure, The Net, Never Talk to Strangers, Bordello of Blood, What Happens in Vegas and Murder at 1600. He plays the Howard Stern-like talk-radio host Zander Kelly in Joe Dirt (2001) and appears as himself in Thank You for Smoking (2006).

Miller guest hosted the Slammy Awards episode of WWE Raw on December 14, 2009.

Comedic style[link]

Miller is known for his laid-back style (for example, calling people "babe" or referring to them as "cats") and acerbic, brooding sense of humor. His specialty is the rant—a stream-of-consciousness diatribe monologue in which he rails against whatever happens to be bothering him at the moment. Such rants typically begin with "Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but..." and end with "...of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong." (During the first two seasons of Dennis Miller Live, his rants ended with "Aw, fuck it. Who wants pie?")

Miller's monologues and standup routines often feature elaborate similes and metaphors involving allusions to obscure people, places, and things. Miller has alluded to his own reputation for obscurity by titling one of his television specials Citizen Arcane. On his passion for language, he has remarked: "I've always loved the flirtatious tango of consonants and vowels, the sturdy dependability of nouns and capricious whimsy of verbs, the strutting pageantry of the adjective and the flitting evanescence of the adverb, all kept safe and orderly by those reliable little policemen, punctuation marks. Wow! Think I got my ass kicked in high school?"^[39]

He was voted number 21 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.^[40]

Personal life[link]

Miller married Carolyn "Ali" Espley,^[41] a former model from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on April 10, 1988. Espley is best known as the girl in Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" music video. The couple live in Santa Barbara, California, with their two sons, Holden (born 1990) and Marlon (born 1993). His younger brother Jimmy Miller has been a manager for comedians such as Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Political views[link]

During the late 1980s and continuing through the 1990s, Miller was generally perceived as a cynic on the left, ever eager to bash conservative Republicans. This perception did not change much even when Miller told USA Today in 1995: "I might be profane and opinionated, but underneath all that are some pretty conservative feelings. On most issues, between Clinton and Newt Gingrich, I'd choose Newt in a second, even though he is a bit too exclusionary."^[42] Miller also declared himself a "conservative libertarian" in a 1996 Playboy interview.^[42]

Miller's ideology changed significantly in the years following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when he became one of the Hollywood celebrities backing George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Miller has said that one of the defining moments, in addition to 9/11, for his move from the Democratic to the Republican Party was watching a 2004 primary debate between the nine Democrats then contending for their party's nomination. "I haven't seen a starting nine like that since the '62 Mets", he remarked.^[42]

Slate.com commentator Dennis Cass describes Miller as having changed from a "left-leaning, Dada-ist wisenheimer" to a "tell-it-like-it-is, right-wing blowhard."^[43] The perceived change did not surprise former Saturday Night Live colleague and Democratic Party Senator Al Franken, however: "People have said to me, ‘What happened to Dennis?’ Nothing happened to Dennis. He's the same Dennis. He's always had a conservative streak on certain issues."^[44]

While not at all shy about expressing his conservative opinions on topics such as taxes and foreign policy, Miller is quick to point out that he is still quite liberal on many social issues, including abortion and gay marriage.^[44] During a recent interview, Miller said "I'm basically a libertarian. I'm pro-gay marriage and pro-choice, but nobody wants to hear all that.... They determine who you are based on the war." During an interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he said that he did not believe in global warming, and that even if it was happening, he would not mind it because he does not like to be cold.^[45]

In a radio interview with Penn Jillette on September 22, 2006, Miller explained his libertarianism, saying, "...[a libertarian is] what I am, I'll be honest with you. I'm for gay marriage. I don't believe in abortion but I'm pro-choice 'cause it's none of my business. Pretty much anything goes with me if you're not infringing yourself on other people but, I'll tell ya, 9/11 changed me.... You gotta go around and explain it to people and they think you're a turncoat."

On February 21, 2007, while appearing as a guest on The O'Reilly Factor, and again on May 25, 2007, while appearing as a guest on The Tonight Show, Miller stated that he initially supported Rudy Giuliani for president in 2008. After Giuliani's departure from the race he redirected his support to John McCain.

Miller endorsed Herman Cain in the 2012 presidential election, but later dropped his support, saying of Cain, “he can’t win!”^[46]

Media[link]

Film[link]

• Madhouse (1990) - Wes
• Disclosure (1994) - Mark Lewyn
• The Net (1995) - Dr. Alan Champion
• Never Talk to Strangers (1995) - Cliff Raddison
• Bordello of Blood (1996) - Rafe Guttman (Miller often refers to this film as his "magnum opus.")
• Murder at 1600 (1997) - Detective Stengel
• Joe Dirt (2001) - Zander Kelly
• "(Thank You For Smoking)" (2005)- Himself
• What Happens in Vegas (2008) - Judge Whopper

HBO specials[link]

• Mr. Miller Goes to Washington (1988)
• The 13th Annual Young Comedians Special (1989) (host)
• Black and White (1990)
• Live from Washington, D.C.: They Shoot HBO Specials, Don't They? (1993)
• State of the Union Undressed (1995)
• Citizen Arcane (1996)
• The Millennium Special: 1,000 Years, 100 Laughs, 10 Really Good Ones (1999)
• The Raw Feed (2003)
• Dennis Miller: All In (2006)
• The Big Speech (2010)

Audio[link]

• The Off-White Album (Warner Bros. Records, 1988)
• The Rants (Random House Audio, 1996)
• Ranting Again (Random House Audio, 1998)
• Rants Redux (Random House Audio, 1999)
• I Rant, Therefore I Am (Random House Audio, 2000)
• The Rant Zone: An All-Out Blitz Against Soul-Sucking Jobs, Twisted Child Stars, Holistic Loons, and People Who Eat Their Dogs! (HarperAudio, 2001)
• Still Ranting After All These Years (HarperAudio, 2004)

Print[link]

• The Rants (Doubleday, 1996) ISBN 0-385-47804-6
• Ranting Again (Doubleday, 1999) ISBN 0-385-48852-1
• I Rant, Therefore I Am (Doubleday, 2000) ISBN 0-385-49535-8
• The Rant Zone: An All-Out Blitz Against Soul-Sucking Jobs, Twisted Child Stars, Holistic Loons, and People Who Eat Their Dogs! (HarperCollins, 2001) ISBN 0-06-621066-6

References[link]

• "Dennis Miller: '9–11 changed me'". CNN.com. Associated Press. 26 January 2004. Archived from the original on February 8, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060208220107/http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/26/tv.dennismiller.ap/. Retrieved February 27, 2006. 
• Currie, Duncan (27 June 2003). "Dennis the Right-Wing Menace?". National Review Online. http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment062703.asp. Retrieved February 27, 2006. 
• Wood, Peter (2–3 February 2002). "Miller Time: A comic provides pungent satire aimed at our real weaknesses". National Review Online. http://www.nationalreview.com/weekend/people/people-wood020202.shtml. Retrieved March 1, 2006. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dennis Miller

• Official website for Dennis Miller and his radio show
• Dennis Miller at the Internet Movie Database
• Dennis Miller FAQ version 3.9
• Annotated Dennis Miller Archive (Detailed explanations of some of Miller's Monday Night Football quips)
• Real Detroit Weekly Interview
• Dennis Miller (TV Series 2004–2005) at the Internet Movie Database
• Dennis Miller at TV.com

Harry Reid
United States Senator from Nevada
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1987 Serving with Dean Heller
Preceded by	Paul Laxalt
Senate Majority Leader
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Deputy	Dick Durbin
Preceded by	Bill Frist
Senate Minority Leader
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Deputy	Dick Durbin
Preceded by	Tom Daschle
Succeeded by	Mitch McConnell
Senate Minority Whip
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Leader	Tom Daschle
Preceded by	Don Nickles
Succeeded by	Dick Durbin
In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
Leader	Tom Daschle
Preceded by	Don Nickles
Succeeded by	Don Nickles
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001
Leader	Tom Daschle
Preceded by	Wendell Ford
Succeeded by	Don Nickles
Senate Majority Whip
In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Leader	Tom Daschle
Preceded by	Don Nickles
Succeeded by	Mitch McConnell
In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001
Leader	Tom Daschle
Preceded by	Don Nickles
Succeeded by	Don Nickles
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nevada's 1st district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	James David Santini (At-large)
Succeeded by	James Bilbray
25th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
In office January 1971 – January 1975
Governor	Mike O'Callaghan
Preceded by	Edward Fike
Succeeded by	Robert Rose
Personal details
Born	Harry Mason Reid (1939-12-02) December 2, 1939 (age 72) Searchlight, Nevada, U.S.
Nationality	United States
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Landra Gould
Children	Lana Reid Rory Reid Leif Reid Josh Reid Key Reid
Residence	Searchlight, Nevada, U.S.
Alma mater	Southern Utah University Utah State University George Washington University
Profession	Attorney
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)
Signature
Website	reid.senate.gov

Harry Mason Reid (born December 2, 1939) is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.

Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Nevada's 1st congressional district, and served in Nevada local and state government as city attorney of Henderson, a state legislator, the 25th Lieutenant Governor, and chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

As Senate Majority Leader and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Harry Reid has achieved a more senior elected position in the United States government than any Mormon in history.

Early life, education, and early career[link]

Reid was born in Searchlight, Nevada, the third of the four sons of Inez Orena (née Jaynes), a laundress, and Harry Vincent Reid, a miner.^[1] His paternal grandmother was an English immigrant from Darlston, Staffordshire. Reid's boyhood home had no indoor toilet, hot water or telephone.^[1] Searchlight had no high school, so Reid boarded with relatives 40 miles away in Henderson, Nevada to attend Basic High School^[1] where he played football, and was an amateur boxer.^[2] While at Basic High he met future Nevada governor Mike O'Callaghan, who was a teacher there. Reid attended Southern Utah University and graduated from Utah State University where he double majored in political science and history.^[3] Reid also minored in economics from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.^[4] He then went to George Washington University Law School earning a J.D. while working for the United States Capitol Police.

Early political career[link]

State politics[link]

He returned to Nevada after law school and served as Henderson city attorney before being elected to the Nevada Assembly in 1968. In 1970, at age 30, Reid was chosen by O'Callaghan as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. Reid and his mentor O'Callaghan won the race and Reid served as lieutenant governor from 1971 until 1974, when he ran for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Alan Bible. He lost by fewer than 600 votes to former Governor Paul Laxalt. In 1975, Reid ran for mayor of Las Vegas and lost to Bill Briare.^[5]

Reid served as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981. When Jack Gordon, LaToya Jackson's future agent and husband, offered Reid a $12,000 bribe to approve new games for casinos, Reid brought in the FBI to tape Gordon's bribery attempt and arrest him. After FBI agents interrupted the transaction as prearranged, Reid lost his temper and began choking Gordon, saying "You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me!" Gordon was convicted in 1979 and sentenced to six months in prison.^[1] In 1981, Reid's wife found a bomb attached to the family station wagon; Reid suspected it was placed by Gordon.^[1]

U.S. Representative[link]

Prior to the 1980 Census, Nevada had only a single at-large member in the United States House of Representatives, but population growth in the 1970s resulted in the state picking up a second district. Reid won the Democratic nomination for the 1st district, based in Las Vegas, in 1982, and easily won the general election. He served two terms in the House, from 1983 to 1987.

U.S. Senate[link]

Elections[link]

In 1986, Reid won the Democratic nomination for the seat of retiring two-term incumbent Republican Senator Paul Laxalt. He defeated former at-large Congressman Jim Santini, a Democrat who had turned Republican, in the November election. He coasted to reelection in 1992. However, he barely defeated 1st District Congressman John Ensign in 1998 in the midst of a statewide Republican sweep.

In 2004, Reid won reelection with 61 percent of the vote, gaining the endorsement of several Republicans.

Ensign was elected to Nevada's other Senate seat in 2000. He and Reid have a very good relationship, despite their bruising contest in 1998. The two frequently worked together on Nevada issues until Ensign was forced to resign his Senate seat.^[6]

While Reid won the Democratic nomination with 75% of the vote in the June 8 primary, he faced a competitive general election for the 2010 Senate race in Nevada. Reid engaged in a $1 million media campaign to "reintroduce himself" to Nevada's voters.^[7] He defeated Republican challenger Sharron Angle in the general election.

Leadership[link]

From 1999 to 2005, Reid served as Senate Democratic Whip, as minority whip from 1999 to 2001 and again from 2003 to 2005, then as majority whip from 2001 to 2003 (except for a brief period from January–May 2001). From 2001 to 2003, he served as chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.

Reid succeeded Tom Daschle as minority leader in 2005 and became majority leader after the 2006 elections. He was re-elected majority leader without opposition by the Democratic caucus on November 18, 2008, winning all 57 votes.^[8]

Committee assignments[link]

• Select Committee on Intelligence (Ex officio)

Political positions[link]

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Reid after signing the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 on March 30, 2009.

Reid speaking at the State Children's Health Insurance Program Art Exhibit press conference

Reid has scored a lifetime conservative rating of 19% from the American Conservative Union (ACU),^[9] and a 2008 liberal rating of 70% from the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA).^[10] Other independent ratings include a 29% rating in 2003 from NARAL, the abortion pro-choice group,^[11] and a 57% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2006.^[12]

Reid has spearheaded several initiatives while in Congress. In 2006, Reid co-sponsored the "Prevention First Amendment" with Hillary Clinton, which would fund abortion prevention efforts, such as giving women broader access to contraception; however the bill faced Republican opposition and failed.^[13] In January 2007, Reid brought a Senate ethics reform bill to a vote to bar congressional members from accepting gifts, meals, and trips from lobbyists and organizations employing them, as well as barring Senators from borrowing corporate jets for travel and compelling them to disclose the names of sponsors, or authors, of bills and specific projects. The bill passed 96–2.^[14] In the 111th Congress, Reid shepherded the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act through the Senate.

Regarding specific issues, Reid believes that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned and in 1999, he voted against an amendment that explicitly expressed support for Roe v. Wade.^[15] He has stated that he believes in a restricted right to abortion, stating that "abortions should be legal only when the pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered."^[16] He has also voted several times to ban the "intact dilation and evacuation" or "partial-birth abortion" procedure.^[17] Reid has supported embryonic stem cell research.^[18]

Regarding same-sex marriage, Reid has stated he believes "...marriage should be between a man and a woman." He voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act but against the Federal Marriage Amendment.^[19]

In regard to local issues, Reid has firmly opposed the proposed Yucca Mountain federal nuclear waste repository in Nevada.^[20] Reid has opposed the legalization of online poker in the past, but has more recently changed his position, a move that some have argued was influenced by "the hundreds of thousands of dollars Las Vegas casinos contributed to his re-election campaign".^[21]

Reid called immigration reform one of his top priorities for the 110th Congress. He supports the DREAM Act the (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), which would allow certain U.S. high school grads who had arrived in the U.S. illegally as children, conditional legal status so they could attend college or enlist in the military. They could then obtain permanent legal residency after completing two years of military service or two years of college.^[22] In June 2009, Reid announced his intention to enact a new guest worker program as part of a comprehensive immigration reform bill.^[23]

Reid has supported the use of force in the Middle East but in September 2007 he called for a drastic change in strategy.^{[citation needed]} In January 1991 he voted to authorize the first Gulf War.^[24] quoting John F. Kennedy's 1963 State of the Union speech on the Senate floor, saying "the mere absence of war is not Peace."^[25][26] He also voted in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.^[27][28] In March 2007 he voted in favor of "redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq by March 2008",^[28] and later that year, he said, "As long as we follow [President Bush's] path in Iraq, the war is lost."^[29]

Reid has also advocated the outlawing of prostitution in Nevada, an unpopular position within the state.^[30]

Criticism[link]

Over the years Reid has been criticized at times by both sides of the political aisle. Liberal critics have argued that Reid was not doing enough to end the American military presence in Iraq,^[31] and that he allowed Senate Republicans to create a 60-vote bar for passage of bills without a Democratic fillibuster.^[32][33][34]

Reid has also been criticized for several potentially self-enriching tactics. In 2005, Reid earmarked a spending bill to provide for building a bridge between Nevada and Arizona that would make land he owned more valuable. Reid called funding for construction of a bridge over the Colorado River, among other projects, "incredibly good news for Nevada" in a news release after passage of the 2005 transportation bill. He owned 160 acres (65 ha) of land several miles from the proposed bridge site in Arizona. The bridge could add value to his real estate investment.^[35] A year later it was reported that Reid had used campaign donations to pay for $3,300 in Christmas gifts to the staff at the condominium where he resides;^[36] federal election law prohibits candidates from using political donations for personal use. Reid's staff stated that his attorneys had approved use of the funds in this manner, but that he nonetheless would personally reimburse his campaign for the expenses. Those reports notwithstanding, the conservative group Citizens United announced it had filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission to investigate the matter.^[37]

A series of investigative reports in the Los Angeles Times^{[38][39][40][41]} suggested that Reid had introduced legislation and imposed pressure on regulatory agencies to advance the business interests of his close friend Harvey Whittemore, a Nevada attorney-lobbyist who contributed heavily to Reid's campaigns and leadership fund and who employed Reid's son Leif as his personal attorney. With Reid's help, Whittemore was able to proceed with construction of a $30 billion planned golf course development, Coyote Springs, a project heavily criticized by environmental groups for reasons including its projected effects on several endangered species.^[42][43]

In 2006, the National Republican Senatorial Committee attempted to associate Reid with the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal by pointing out he had "received more than $50,000 from four tribes with gaming interests between 2001 and 2004 after they hired Abramoff". Reid denied any wrongdoing, and media reported that the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research group, had produced an analysis showing a general increase in the amount and number of contributions by Indian tribes since the late 1990s.^[44][45]

Reid apologized on January 9, 2010, for racially tinged comments he had made when Obama was campaigning for president. In private conversations, Reid had remarked that Obama could win the Presidency because the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama—to whom he referred as being "light-skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one". These comments had been recently revealed by journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann in Game Change, their book about the 2008 election. In addition to his public apology, Reid called Obama to apologize; Obama accepted his apology, stating that as far as he was concerned, the book was closed on the incident.^[46][47][48] RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Senators John Cornyn and Jon Kyl called on Reid to resign his leadership position in the Senate, citing Majority Leader Trent Lott resigning because of a statement relating to race. However, multiple experts said there was virtually no chance of such a thing happening. DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Jack Reed expressed support for Reid and confidence he would retain his leadership position, and another senior Democrat indicated Reid has "produced supportive statements from key African American leaders in the Congress and civil rights community".^[49]

In August 2010, Harry Reid spoke in front of National Council of La Raza: "I don't know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican, OK. Do I need to say more?"^[50] The following day, Dr. Manny Alvarez and Republican Senator Marco Rubio, both of Hispanic descent, spoke out against Reid's remarks.^[51]

Cultural and political image[link]

Reid speaks during the third night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Part of Harry Reid's confrontation with Frank Rosenthal while chair of the Nevada Gaming Commission is reenacted in the 1995 movie Casino.^[52][53] Reid had a role in the movie Traffic (2000), in which he played himself.^[54] He appeared along with Senator Sam Brownback and then Senator Barack Obama in the 2007 documentary film Sand and Sorrow, which details the genocide in Sudan.^[55]

Reid was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 2001.^[56]

An October 2007 Las Vegas Review-Journal favorability poll indicated 51% of Nevadans viewed Reid unfavorably, with 32% indicating favorability, although in May 2007 Reid had a 46% favorable rating versus a 42% unfavorable one.^[57] A December 2007 Las Vegas Review-Journal job approval poll showed 42% of Nevadans rating Reid "poor", 41% "excellent or good", and 16% "only fair".^[58]

Personal life[link]

In 1959, Reid married his high school sweetheart, Landra Gould. They have five children, a daughter and four sons. Their eldest son, Rory Reid, was an elected Commissioner for Clark County, Nevada of which he became Chairman of, and 2010 Democratic nominee in the election for Governor of Nevada. Another son recently ran for municipal office in Cottonwood Heights, Utah.^[59]

Reid (who was raised agnostic) and his wife (who was born to Jewish immigrant parents and grew up in Henderson), converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon or LDS Church) while he was a college student.^[1] In a 2001 interview he said, "I think it is much easier to be a good member of the Church and a Democrat than a good member of the Church and a Republican." He went on to say that the Democrats' emphasis on helping others, as opposed to what he considers Republican dogma to the contrary, is the reason he's a Democrat.^[60] He delivered a speech at Brigham Young University to about 20,000 students on October 9, 2007, in which he expressed his opinion that Democratic values mirror Mormon values.^[61][62] Several Republican Mormons in Utah have contested his faith because of his politics, such as his statements that the church's backing of California's Proposition 8 wasted resources.^[63]

In September 2011, Reid's wife was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She is currently undergoing treatment.^[64]

References[link]