A very bad year for Harry Reid

Like disco and the Soviet Red Army, Harry Reid reached his apogee in 1979, when, as head of the Nevada Gaming Commission, he had Chicago Outfit enforcer Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro — who would later be portrayed by Joe Pesci in the Scorsese epic Casino – blacklisted and barred from entering any gambling facility in the state. This put a major dent in the Outfit’s reign of extortion and murder in Vegas. Around that time, Reid also tried to choke lawyer Jack Gordon, who had offered him a bribe, and had to be restrained by FBI agents with whom Reid was cooperating on a sting.

To my mind, Reid’s been crashing plummeting back to Earth ever since. But even if you’re inclined to think he did anything worthwhile between 1980 and 2012, you’ll have to agree that 2013 is not shaping up to be a good year for the Senate majority leader. Here are five reasons why.