Politico profile: Harry Reid has no apologies

By MANU RAJU and BURGESS EVERETT | 3/6/14 5:01 AM EST Updated: 3/6/14 11:13 PM EST

Republicans think Harry Reid is running the Senate like a dictator: His no-compromise style is almost like Vladimir Putin’s, and his inflammatory rhetoric is reminiscent of the Joe McCarthy era.

But Reid doesn’t seem to care.

“Get a brain, OK?” the Senate majority leader snapped at a reporter, when asked why he doesn’t permit far more votes on GOP amendments. “You’re a smart guy.”

In an interview this week in his Senate office, a feisty Reid pushed back aggressively against Republican complaints over his leadership, pinning the blame entirely on the GOP for the gridlock and polarization that define the historically unproductive 113th Congress.

The Nevada Democrat accused Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of breaking his promise to make the Senate more workable, effectively forcing Democrats to change filibuster rules. The unapologetic majority leader offered no regrets for his jaw-dropping rhetoric on the Senate floor where he’s repeatedly lambasted his political enemies and incited GOP charges of McCarthyism for calling the billionaire Koch brothers “un-American.”

Senate Republicans, he said, are no longer led by pragmatic leaders like Bob Dole, Trent Lott or even Bill Frist. Now, McConnell’s GOP conference is essentially leaderless and “obviously” run by the “crazies,” he said. As he’s tried to circumvent McConnell and reach out directly to rank-and-file Republicans to move legislation, Reid says, he’s been stymied by GOP senators who are “so afraid” to negotiate with him for fear of tea party backlash from the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/harry-reid-senate-104323.html