Harry Mason Reid is an unlikely leader for the Democratic Party in this country. A convert to Mormonism and proud alumnus of Southern Utah State, one might think Harry Reid's awkward position as the Senate's lone Mormon Democrat would make him a relic of a bygone era.
However, Reid has a tremendous knowledge of the Senate's rules and procedures, and found himself comfortable with a role behind the scenes. A nice fit in the role of Democratic Whip, Reid's expertise and dispassionately judicious approach to legislation allowed him to strike a rare balance between enforcing party discipline and maintaining the respect of his colleagues.
One of the most noteworthy casualties of the 2004 election was the Senate's loss of Democratic leader Tom Daschle. This threw Democrats into chaos, and Reid stepped forward as one of the few senators who felt qualified to fill the void Daschle left behind.
Many expressed their doubts about this; Reid was a pro-life, anti-gay marriage Mormon Westerner in a party dominated by pro-choice, secular Easterners.
The liberal base, who had just invested so much in the failed efforts of the 2004 election, felt that the selection of Reid added insult to injury. Unlike House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi or Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, Reid was a character who liberal activists ironically found themselves unable to identify with, due to his violation of establishment orthodoxy.
However, the base of the Democratic Party found itself unable to muster the strength to do much of anything to stop the ascension of Reid. And they would soon call this the best mistake they never made.
Reid, a former amateur boxer whose tenacity had always been masked by his statesman's reserve, found his true calling in leading the Senate's minority. Reid has pulled no punches (no pun intended) in vigorously defending core Democratic principles in a way that has resonated beyond any specific quarrels he might have with the majority of Democrats on this or that issue.
As the accidental field marshal of the American progressive movement, Reid demonstrated true political insight this week as he invoked the little-known Rule 21. This rule forced a closed session of the Senate in order to demand an investigation into the Valerie Plame affair, and the reasons the Bush administration used as the pretext for the latest Iraq war.
Rather than politely swallowing the majority's excuses for inaction in investigating a true national scandal (the lead-up to the war in Iraq), Reid acted on principle, aggressively demanding nothing less than the truth.
Panicky Republicans were quick to label Reid's demonstration of true leadership as political grandstanding. Rather than worrying about offending his colleagues, Reid unapologetically stood by his actions, preferring to show courageous adherence to conscience.
The true test of our political leaders should not be rigid adherence to a particular dogma (whether Democratic or Republican), but the guiding principles and morals used to pursue the good of the whole. Reid is an example of this.
Once the punching bag of the left, Reid has earned the fury of the right as he leads his troops in the battle for unobstructed truth. He has shown a generation lost in a sea of anger that the only true litmus test for a leader should be strength of character: the vigor used to defend values and the passion to yearn for the truth.
Joaquin Rios is a political science sophomore. He may be reached at joaquin.rios@asu.edu.
