Reid had a theory of politics that was different from other Dem leaders. A big part of it was that he gave absolutely zero fucks about what the Beltway crowd thought about him, or whether his actions met their approval. There’s only one other leader in DC of whom that is true.
https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1409264462381604867
On the worst days, Reid would get absolutely flayed. I would come in feeling like I’d failed. And he would just laugh. Not like, a laughing-on-the-outside-while-crying-on-the-inside kinda thing. Like: hearing about his bad press at the end of the bad day would *improve* his mood.
Reid grew up in a house made of railroad ties, in the middle of the desert. He learned to swim in a brothel pool (his mom did its laundry). He was self-aware about what he had attained. He kept his family close and cared very little about what anyone else thought.
He shunned the DC scene. In his four decades in Congress I think he went to the WH correspondents’ dinner once, as a favor to his son who was trying to impress a date. He lived in the Ritz - never apologized for it, he earned it - but wouldn’t even go to events held there.
Once when I asked him why he was so committed to the ACA, he told me about how when his brother broke his leg, his family’s only option was to let him lay on the bed in their house in the desert, in agonizing pain, until it healed.
I was like oh, okay. That’s, uh, a good reason.
I was like oh, okay. That’s, uh, a good reason.
In the press office, we dutifully compiled massive clips documents every day but he wouldn’t read them. We joked that the “Reid surround sound” option was to get stories in NPR & the PBS NewsHour, because that was the news he consumed, and the only way we could be sure he saw it.
I’m not here to argue that Reid possessed every great quality. Leaders can have other, important qualities. But in a leader, an innate dispassion for what the Beltway crowd thinks of you is a superpower. Caring about their reflexive verdict on you clouds your strategic vision.
The other leader is McConnell. Kudos to @katia04 who got it first. McConnell has always embraced his “grim reaper” image - in the 90s, he was labeled Darth Vader & embraced it then too. As I said upthread, other leaders have other qualities. But giving zero fucks is a superpower.
https://twitter.com/katia04/status/1409304564122013697
Your words, not mine. Here it is for reference. He delivered a speech along these lines from the Senate floor a few days later. usnews.com/news/politics/…
https://twitter.com/abovoadmala/status/1409339366561009669?s=21
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