Harry Reid Quotations

People in Nevada know me from the street to the ring to the Senate chambers. I've never had to prove my manhood to anyone.

The American people do not like privatization. They are afraid of the debt the president's willing to do. And they don't like benefit cuts. And everyone here should understand all 45 Senate Democrats are united. We are not going to let this happen.

It has been my honor to support and work with President Barack Obama, a man who has brought courage and character to the presidency. President Obama's strength of character leads him to do the right thing, even when it isn't the easy thing.

Some said he shouldn't save Detroit. But President Obama made the tough and right call to save more than a million American jobs in an important, iconic industry.

This nation has been through hard times. But those hard times have hardened our resolve. Im ready to do the difficult work ahead. But I want to do that work with Barack Obama, and not a Tea Party ideologue. We can move America forward, but we can only do it together.

We must stop the Tea Party before the United States Senate falls into the hands of extremists and ideologues who leave no room for reason or compromise, who dont recognize common ground even when theyre standing on it.

So the next thing I assume I'll be hearing from Republicans, they want to change rules some way, as they do on the House when you get a problem with ethics, they just change the rules.

This 21st century economy holds great promise for our people. But unless we give all Americans the skills they need to succeed, countries like India and China will take good-paying jobs that should be ours.

It's time that America's government lived by the same values as America's families. It's time we invested in America's future and made sure our people have the skills to compete and thrive in a 21st century economy. That's what Democrats believe.

I was born and raised in the high desert of Nevada in a tiny town called Searchlight. My dad was a hard rock miner. My mom took in wash. I grew up around people of strong values - even if they rarely talked about them.

So people have been hurting and I understand that. And it doesn't give them comfort or solace for me to tell them, you know, but for me, we would be in a worldwide depression.

We found ourselves in a hole that I didn't dig, but I have dug, dug and dug to try to get out of that hole.

I think it would take a real stretch to think that I caused the problems with the economy.

Now that our troops are mired in a dangerous effort to defeat the insurgency and are also trying to help rebuild the country, Americans of all political persuasions simply want the United States to succeed and our troops to be as safe as possible.

My Republican friends are lamenting reconciliation. But I would recommend for them to go back and look at history.

I am convinced that I do not want to give up more power to the White House, whether it's George Bush or Barack Obama. And I'm going to fight as hard as I can against President Obama on these earmarks and my Republican colleagues who hate to vote for them, but love to get them.

We can move America forward with a strong middle class. We can move America forward with a strong Democratic majority in the Senate. And together we can move America forward with Barack Obama in the White House.

Some said he couldn't take on the insurance companies that were ripping us off. But President Obama made the tough and right call to save lives, save Medicare and ensure no one goes broke just because they get sick.

There's a lot we can do to improve American's retirement security, but it's wrong to replace the guaranteed benefit that Americans have earned with a guaranteed benefit cut of forty percent or more.

must in a clear and complete way lay out what military, political and economic progress will be necessary in order to begin to bring our troops home.

Only the president can put this matter to rest. He must tell the American people whether the Bush Oval Office is the place where the buck stops, or the leaks start.

I was stunned when, at his confirmation hearing, he could not bring himself to express regret for using that term,

I wouldn't have any problem giving it back if it was given for the wrong cause.

We can no longer simply pledge to stay the course; we must change the course,

Let's be clear about what Katrina was: a failure of leadership.

Like all compromises, it includes provisions that are not supported by everyone in this body,

No one disputes his academic prowess, his mental power. He's a very smart man, ... But through all this I came to the realization that I'm not too sure his heart is as big as his head.

No one suggests that John Roberts was motivated by bigotry or animosity toward minorities or women, ... But these memos lead one to question whether he truly appreciated the history of the civil rights struggle. He wrote about discrimination as an abstract concept, not as a flesh and blood reality for countless of his fellow citizens.

political attacks won't get the job done on Iraq or bring our troops home.

Never has the need for an independent and thorough investigation into the government failures surrounding Hurricane Katrina been more plainly demonstrated than today. Two Republican investigations into Katrina have been completed. Two reports have been issued. It is now apparent that both have only scratched the surface. This administration has a lot to answer for, and America must learn the truth.

Obviously, Sen. Reid would like to see a Democrat get in the race, ... He thinks Jack would make a good candidate. If he decides to run, he'll have (Reid's) support.

Now that the president has said he will nominate Judge Roberts as chief justice, the stakes are higher, ... The Senate must be vigilant in considering this nomination.

If we can spend $2 billion every week to protect the Iraqi people, we can do more to protect our people at home.

If this merger frenzy continues, we could end up with three, two, maybe only one airlines, and I think that we have a tremendous obligation to the American public to make travel more pleasant.

I don't know whether Bolton's going to make it or not. But people shouldn't be up in arms now. This is a process we need to have,

Leaking classified information to discredit White House critics, the vice president is behind that,

Let's find out if he's qualified, both from a perspective of his experience, which appears to be the case, but I don't know about his temperament.

led the federal judiciary with great dignity and clarity ... Through it all, he displayed honor and conviction, a love of the law and a love for his country.

When this administration took over, we had a surplus of--it's debatable how much it was, but some say over $6 trillion over 10 years, ... Now, we are in the red so far you can't see the end of the red ink.

Let's put good people on the independent commission and take politics out. Let's give it real power, and let's go to work,

Moving to the estate tax would be a travesty on top of a tragedy,

She overcame difficult family circumstances to become the managing partner of a successful 400-lawyer Dallas law firm.

Let's have a real investigation and a vote here in the Senate. What the president has agreed to is no review.

Sept. 11 proved that there needs to be a mechanism in place to allow the economy to rebound more quickly and to protect American jobs in the unfortunate event of another terrorist attack.

Sen. Bennett succinctly and clearly outlined the reasons to oppose both the proposed Yucca Mountain and PFS facilities, ... The momentum is shifting and the timing is right to address our nuclear waste challenges in a way that offers real, long-term solutions. The safest, most reasonable and effective solution is to store nuclear waste where it is already being produced.

Second, the Bush administration must advise the Iraqi people that United States military forces will not stay indefinitely in Iraq and that it is their responsibility to achieve the broad-based and sustainable political environment essential for defeating the insurgency.

I was kind of upset. He's blaming all this on Congress, and then he has the audacity to say what limited money he's helped us get, put it all on Louisiana. That's not fair. I'm very, very disappointed.

I can't imagine they would do that to the American people,

get the truth about why the White House cherry-picked and leaked intelligence to sell the war in Iraq.

For those of us who fly a lot and are stuck at gates, we feel after an hour, you should be able to say, 'OK, I've had enough. I want off here,'

I feel totally at ease that I haven't done anything that is even close to being wrong.

But there is nothing disrespectful about an open and fair-minded review of a nominee's approach to the Constitution and his commitment to core American values like equality, privacy and fairness,

I look forward to joining forces with Sen. Bennett as we work to protect our states, the West and the nation.

We must find ways to get them the resources they need and bring them to safety,

He was blackballed because he couldn't live up to the standards of the right wing, ... I'm sure his dad (former President Bush) gave him a pat on the back, but it's a back pat he's going to regret.

He has all the talents I don't have, ... Dick Durbin is the best debater in the Senate. He's unquestionably the best. On the most difficult issues, you send Durbin to the floor. He's the first person I turn to for advice.

He hasn't had a press conference in about three and a half years. It's time to have one. It's not just the hunting accident. You folks have a lot of questions to ask him.

His views on a wide range of vital issues are far outside the mainstream of legal thought.

If I played baseball, and I used to, and somebody game me someone who could hit home runs, could hit singles, steal bases, and was a great defensive player, I'd say bring 'em on. That's how I feel about Hillary.

we can get to issues that are certainly more in the form of a crisis than a program that has enough money to have it in the form it's in for the next 50 years.

He might as well join the crowd. There's no frontrunner at this point, I know he lost a lot of weight. Maybe he can be on the skinny ticket.

I welcome that debate. One would have to search long and hard to find a bill, in my opinion, as bad as this.

I said, 'Mr. President, you have your vice president here as a result of a search that he made,'

Staying the course is not an option, ... President Bush has failed to provide either a strategy for success or a convincing record of political and military progress.

President Bush has dropped the equivalent of 100,000 dirty bombs on America, ... All Americans should be concerned, not just because he lied to me or the people of Nevada and indeed all Americans, but because the president's decision threatens American lives.

President Bush must fully disclose his participation in the selective leaking of classified information. The American people must know the truth.

President Bush needs to quit stonewalling about his White House's connection to corruption and finally tell us how he's going to reform Washington.

President Bush should forget about privatizing Social Security,

Reid snapped, answering a reporter's question. The failure to move ahead with the Iraq investigation, he said, is ''a slap in the face to the American people.

Our military is being held hostage by this issue, Arctic drilling.

I want you to know that when we believe the president is on the right track, we won't let partisan interests get in the way of what's good for our country. But when he gets off track, we will be there to hold him accountable,

Last year, Congress overwhelmingly called on President Bush to make 2006 a year of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty. The domestic public relations campaign waged by the White House and the new round of presidential speeches does not advance that goal.

Just as the president and his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill are trying to slash Medicaid, today's report demonstrates that fewer Americans can rely on employer-based health care coverage and Medicaid is growing in importance for millions. ... We should be working to address the rising cost of health care, not cutting the bottom out from under our families,

I think the reason it took the Vice President a day to talk about this is part of the secretive nature of this administration. The American people are not entitled to know what is going in their mindset. They keep things pretty close to the chest.

Justice O'Connor has been the deciding vote in key cases protecting individual rights and freedoms on a narrowly divided court. The stakes in selecting her replacement are high,

I think they're as disappointed as I am .... almost dejected.

It is especially important to identify a consensus candidate to succeed Justice O'Connor, who has been a voice of reason and moderation.

Justice O'Connor has been a voice of moderation and reason on the court and should be replaced by someone who, like her, embodies the fundamental American values of fairness, liberty and equality,

I think Karl Rove should step down. Here is a man who the president said if he was involved, if anyone in the administration was involved, out they would go.

I think Karl Rove should step down, ... This Week.

I think it will be a very close vote. This is going to be a hard day.

I thought it'd all work out, and we'd have a pleasant hearing and conservatives would give each other high fives,

I think the American people can see through this so clearly. The president should come forward with some middle-of-the-road person, somebody that is going to be a good Supreme Court justice, not somebody that's going to be writing the law from the bench, ... This Week.

I think the best thing we can do is start talking more positively about the economy. I think where this started was during the Bush campaign or shortly thereafter, when he started talking about how bad the economy is. It was pretty good until he started talking.

It is his runaway budget and trade deficits, billions spent on tax giveaways, backwards-looking energy plan designed by and for special interests, and inaction during this country's health care crisis that have created a myriad of problems for our children's generation.

It is no better than even money either way.

I think we're looking like we may be able to dance this afternoon.

Over the last five years, Democrats have watched with the American people as President Bush and Republicans have moved America in the wrong direction. We've seen their dangerous incompetence.

Out of respect for the memory of Chief Justice Rehnquist and in fairness to those whose lives continue to be devastated by Katrina, the Senate should not commence a Supreme Court confirmation hearing this Tuesday. A brief postponement will not disadvantage anyone,

Our troops and the American people need the president to pay more than just lip service to a strategy for the war in Iraq, they need him to lay out what that strategy is with clear markers by which success can be measured,

Our unified response sends a powerful signal to victims of this tragedy, looking for signs that their government sees their plight and stands with them during this dark time,

Our response to the tragedy of September 2005 must be every bit as bipartisan and direct as the tragedy of September 2001,

Our support for the Patriot Act does not mean a blank check for the president. What we tried to do on a bipartisan basis is have a better bill. It has been improved.

I think he's one of the biggest political hacks we have in Washington.

Katrina makes it clear this government has failed, ... We must find out why immediately to make sure the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina never happens again.

It is not enough to remove Mr. Brown from the disaster scene,

It is not enough to remove Mr. Brown from the disaster scene. Mr. Brown simply doesn't have the ability or the experience to oversee a coordinated federal response of this magnitude.

It is a decision that will bring hope to millions of Americans. I know there's still a long ways to go with the legislation, but a large step has been taken by the majority leader today ... and I admire the majority leader for doing it.

I think it's right and proper for the Moderator to speak out on matters of great public interest. Too often in the recent past Moderators have failed to do so.

I think it's very unlikely that we'll be able to do hearings by the end of December. We're not going to be rushed into anything,