We’ve all heard of “banana republic” tinhorn dictators and totalitarian despots. Who would’ve predicted that the U.S. Senate majority leader would join such an unsavory list? But that’s what big-government spokesman Harry Reid is all about.

How could the Democratic Party allow the ascendancy of a man like Reid? Make a list of the worst attributes a politician can possess, and you’ve got a composite of the man known as “Lawless Harry.” There might be bigger liars in the political firmament, but it would take some head-scratching to recall one.

Consider these examples of Reid’s most unattractive qualities:

His lack of respect for the truth is surpassed only by his lack of concern for what people think of him — unless it’s their money or vote he seeks.

The Nevada state gaming commissioner before he rose up the political ranks, Reid endeared himself to Democratic colleagues by becoming a vocal champion for liberal positions on unions, government bailouts, taxes, health care and immigration. He’s fond of calling opponents “evil-mongers.” And he regularly says things that would end the political careers of conservatives who say the same, thanks to the guillotines of the leftist media. The media also let him get away with race-baiting comments like, “I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican.” Or, during the 2012 presidential campaign, when he called Obama “light-skinned,” saying he speaks “with no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one.”

Conservapedia reports that in 2006, Reid “came under fire” for failing to report to Congress his $700,000 ownership in a land deal. He has accepted hundreds of dollars in free tickets for boxing matches from Nevada’s Athletic Commission. Eight years ago, Judicial Watch ranked him “the 10^th most corrupt person in Washington.” According to The Los Angeles Times, one of his outright lies came during the 2012 presidential campaign, when he said from the floor of the Senate: “He [Romney] hasn’t paid any taxes for 10 years.” The Washington Post gave Reid “Four Pinocchios” for that nose-stretcher, while saying Reid “refused to release his own tax returns.”

Then Reid lies about his lies. Witness his denial last month that he ever referred to Obamacare “horror stories” as lies, even though a C-SPAN video clip clearly shows he did. And let’s note Reid’s dangerous lie earlier this month that the protesters supporting Nevada cattle rancher  Cliven Bundy are wannabe “domestic violent terrorists” — this from the guy who called Bengazi a “spontaneous protest” over a video.

Reid’s crusade to increase gun control prompted another lie, when he told reporters recently that the Fort Hood shooter had somehow used a loophole to buy a gun illegally. The truth is that the gun used was legally purchased, according to reporter Sean Brown.

Reid told his Senate Democratic caucus in 2013 that House Republican Pete Sessions told Obama during a meeting, “I cannot even stand to look at you.” But the White House press secretary flatly denied the incident ever happened. Reid did not apologize to Sessions.

“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,” Wikipedia says. Reid denied it. Violating federal law a year later, he used campaign donations to buy $3,300 in gifts for his condominium staff, according to USA Today. In late 2013, Reid gave a $16,787 “holiday gift” to his granddaughter by using a misleading name, again using misappropriated campaign funds, Newsmax reported.

Shirking an annual duty required by law, Reid allowed the Senate in 2012 to fail to adopt a budget for a fourth consecutive year, earning Reid the nickname “Lawless Harry” for his scorched-earth tactics.

So let’s make no mistake that Reid perpetually avoids the truth and the law. He epitomizes government gone nasty. Even worse, in an indication of what’s wrong in Washington, Reid shows no sense of shame when he lies and gets caught. But maybe we should give him some slack — perhaps he took one too many punches to the head when he was a boxer.

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John R. Smith

John R. Smith is chairman of BIZPAC, the Business Political Action Committee of Palm Beach County, and owner of a financial services company. He is a frequent columnist for BizPac Review.

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