Mormon Hero

Allow me to make a prediction: by 2030, if not much sooner, Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada will be regularly mentioned in a highly positive way by the Public Communications department of the church when the question comes up about Mormon involvement in civic affairs. As perhaps the crucial player in making it likely that the United States government will introduce general egalitarian reforms in how health care is delivered and paid for around the country, his accomplishments will not be ignored by a church intent on making it clear to the curious that our Christian principles were not in any way officially limited by the particular political culture of the Intermountain West.

Which is really just a long-winded way of saying that we Mormons are eventually going to be hearing Reid’s name a fair amount, and so we might as well get ahead of the curve right now.

Let’s be clear: I’m not a big fan of the health care bill that, early this morning, Reid and his people started moving towards all but inevitable passage. (“All but inevitable”: Senator Lieberman could change his mind, again; Senator McConnell could go insane and open fire upon his colleagues with that concealed handgun he no doubt carries with himself everywhere; a meteor could strike the Senate building, expressing God’s disapproval; etc.) I like it, but I don’t love it, for reasons which can be considered and debated, if you so choose, over here. For purposes of this post, I’m making a simpler claim: that Senator Reid has managed to pull off something quite remarkable, and that by managing it, he has likely made himself, a Mormon, one of the indisputable heroes of the quest to create a broader social welfare net in the United States. A little surprising, that.