The Game Changer

Political journalist Jon Ralston gives us the first full biography of Harry Reid, the five-time senator whose game-changing leadership carved the path to the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and other groundbreaking legislation that changed the course of history.

Born in Searchlight, Nevada, Harry Reid rose from a hardscrabble childhood to become one of the more powerful Capitol Hill leaders in US history as the Democratic Senate Majority Leader, and the most consequential elected figure in Nevada. He was, in his own words, willing to do what no one else would do in his Machiavellian pursuit of what he thought was best for his country and his party. In The Game Changer, veteran Nevada journalist Jon Ralston gives us a compelling portrait of a politician who inspired loyalty and derision, admiration and disdain, a testament to his relentless drive.

Reid’s character was partly forged through his dynamic and sweeping career. From 1977 to 1981, he was made chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, where he was charged with exterminating mob influence. In 1982, he won a seat in Congress and a US Senate seat in 1986. In the Senate, Reid changed the course of history several times, including persuading a Republican senator to switch parties and thus partisan control; by partnering with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass Obamacare; and by changing the Senate filibuster rules to save President Obama’s lower court nominees, unknowingly opening the door for Republicans to later mimic his maneuver to cement three Supreme Court justices. Reid also became a formidable force at home, where he built a Nevada political machine that turned a red state blue and left a legacy on infrastructure and the environment—including squelching a planned nuclear waste dump—that is unmatched.

The duality of Harry Reid is reflected in the polarizing emotions he elicited and still does. His legacy of accomplishments, though, cannot be denied, nor can his role in the enduring dysfunction of what was once called the world’s greatest deliberative body.