# Is Harry Reid a pederast? It seems the burden of proof is on him. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 3, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331 "2012-08-03T18:25:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/41 "2012-08-04T16:20:22Z")
I will take the fact that McCain, who has seen Romney’s tax returns, is NOT defending him on the grounds suggested as highly significant. It’d take him five seconds to clarify. Yet he hasn’t said a word. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/42 "2012-08-04T16:21:30Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > But he wants us to trust him with that responsibility, right? > > So, his attitude toward the tax code, and what he would want to do with it, is certainly directly relevant to our decision. It’s puzzling why you don’t see that. So, if he followed the law and took the deductions he was entitled to, that would be a bad thing in your book, huh? Sigh. At least you’re back on your usual track. And the world is back on its axis. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/43 "2012-08-04T16:23:05Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > See subject. > [@Oldeb](#): > > Yes, but at least he didn’t murder them afterwards like Glenn Beck. > [@elucidator](#): > > He murdered Glenn Beck!? Well, we have to give that man another look, he may well be just the decisive, direct sort of leader we need! I happened to be listening to Glenn Beck’s program yesterday, where the OP got the idea for this. He even brought up the fact how the left tried to discredit and sully his name with the " Glenn Beck raped and murdered a girl in '91". He goes on a whole long diatribe about it, completely oblivious to the point of why people used that meme against him in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/44 "2012-08-04T16:27:55Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > So, if he followed the law and took the deductions he was entitled to, that would be a bad thing in your book, huh? Sigh. Not as a _taxpayer_, of course not. As an applicant for the job of \*administering \*said tax code, certainly. > [@](#): > > At least you’re back on your usual track. And the world is back on its axis. Have you ever been diagnosed with a cognitive deficit? Or even evaluated for one? It might be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/45 "2012-08-04T16:29:27Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > To your point, it may very well have happened off the floor, in private. Why not publicly? It’s a public political matter. Unless perhaps McCain wants Romney to _lose_, which may be possible. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/46 "2012-08-04T16:51:03Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Why not publicly? It’s a public political matter. Unless perhaps McCain wants Romney to _lose_, which may be possible. Don’t know. Maybe McCain is laughing to himself knowing that he can make the announcement at any time. “Should I do it today? Nah, I’ll let the idiot Reid champion this for another couple of months and make him look like an even bigger fool. The bigger he makes the issue, the better, as it utilizes their energy. I’ll wait till closer till the election, when the bitch-slap I give Reid will have the greatest effect.” ---
**Author:** ![Oldeb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ea666f/32.png) [@Oldeb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oldeb)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/47 "2012-08-04T16:52:21Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > So, you wouldn’t take McCains word if he said that? I gotta admit, I find this immensely amusing considering your defense of Bachmann’s letter about Abedin. The exact scenario you are proposing to clear Romney’s name actually occurred with McCain standing up on the floor to defend Abedin. And yet you can still defend Bachmann’s actions. I don’t know why you would expect others to take McCain seriously when you clearly don’t. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/48 "2012-08-04T16:53:40Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Not as a _taxpayer_, of course not. As an applicant for the job of \*administering \*said tax code, certainly. > > Have you ever been diagnosed with a cognitive deficit? Or even evaluated for one? It might be a good idea. But, if he gets evaluated for it, and it turns out he has it, how will the information benefit him? Do they give him the information with extra intensity, to overcome the deficit? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/49 "2012-08-04T17:03:58Z")
So, now I am confused. Is it Harry Reid or Mitt Romney that is a pederast? And how does Glenn Beck factor into the equation? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/50 "2012-08-04T17:05:27Z")
> [@Oldeb](#): > > I gotta admit, I find this immensely amusing considering your defense of Bachmann’s letter about Abedin. The exact scenario you are proposing to clear Romney’s name actually occurred with McCain standing up on the floor to defend Abedin. And yet you can still defend Bachmann’s actions. I don’t know why you would expect others to take McCain seriously when you clearly don’t. McCain wasn’t personally vouching for her. He was claiming that she had already been cleared. Which is factually correct (I assume). Where he is wrong is to say that it is not Bachman’s place to point out concerns she and her committee members might have. Especially with the balance of of power shifting in Egypt and the MB having more than they’ve had. Now, what I find amusing, is that while some (you?) point to McCain’s comments on the Abedin issue and embrace his words, there seems to be a reluctance to do that should he do what I fantasized about. And there’s more amusement. People jump on Bachman for accusing Abedin of this or that, when she never accused her of a single thing. Really, read the letter. But then we have Reid making direct and repeated accusations that Romney “paid no taxes for 10 years”, based on…“well, some guy mentioned it to me, but I’m not going to say who.” So the Republican makes no accusations and gets attacked for making them, while the Democrat makes direct and repeated unsubstantiated accusations and from the left side we see…what? Well, it ranges from mere silence to outright Happy-Happy, Joy-Joy glee. Now, _that_ is amusing. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/51 "2012-08-04T17:11:40Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > there seems to be a reluctance to do that should he do what I fantasized about. You’re complaining about what you fantasize others’ reactions would be if your own fantasy were to somehow come true? 😛 > [@](#): > > Now, _that_ is amusing. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/52 "2012-08-04T18:32:49Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Not as a _taxpayer_, of course not. As an applicant for the job of \*administering \*said tax code, certainly. So you want the less capable man for the job? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/53 "2012-08-04T18:41:52Z")
I want the one whose interests are with the country, not himself. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/54 "2012-08-04T19:53:38Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I want the one whose interests are with the country, not himself. How much income tax above what you were required to by law did you pay last year? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/55 "2012-08-04T20:04:48Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > But he wants us to trust him with that responsibility, right? > > So, his attitude toward the tax code, and what he would want to do with it, is certainly directly relevant to our decision. It’s puzzling why you don’t see that. What’s puzzling is that you would want someone to not take a deduction he was legally able to. Perhaps you eschew certain deductions, but I think it’s fair to say that most Americans don’t. What’s also puzzling\* is that you didn’t understand that I was responding to someone who claimed he would rather Romney illegally evade taxes to pay zero than legally take enough deductions to pay zero. Care to comment on the actual issue at hand? \*Not really, since you do this sort of thing all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/56 "2012-08-04T20:08:26Z")
Do you really think Harry Reid is dumb enough to make an accusation against Mitt Romney that he knows to be untrue and that can easily be disproved? He made it because he knows that Romney is never, ever gonna release those returns. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/57 "2012-08-04T20:17:01Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What’s puzzling is that you would want someone to not take a deduction he was legally able to. No, what’s puzzling is how you could think that’s what I said. :rolleyes: Does your inability to recognize a higher good for society that can be in conflict with some individual goods really extend that far? Is your problem with comprehension of how a society functions actually deeper than a simple disinclination to engage in it, the “sort of thing you do all the time”? Maybe so. Maybe you really are that sociopathic, disguising it under the name of libertarianism. Can you really not comprehend that responsibility for setting the rules might not best be entrusted to someone whose personal interests are antithetical to societal interests? Or can you really not comprehend that there are such things as societal interests at all? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/58 "2012-08-04T20:38:05Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Does your inability to recognize a higher good for society that can be in conflict with some individual goods really extend that far? I’ll ask again: How much income tax above what you were required to by law did you pay last year? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/59 "2012-08-04T20:39:14Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No, what’s puzzling is how you could think that’s what I said. :rolleyes: > > Does your inability to recognize a higher good for society that can be in conflict with some individual goods really extend that far? Is your problem with comprehension of how a society functions actually deeper than a simple disinclination to engage in it, the “sort of thing you do all the time”? Maybe so. Maybe you really are that sociopathic, disguising it under the name of libertarianism. > > Can you really not comprehend that responsibility for setting the rules might not best be entrusted to someone whose personal interests are antithetical to societal interests? Or can you really not comprehend that there are such things as societal interests at all? I’m not sure what’s funnier, your weird characterization of how pretty much everyone approaches their taxes or your misunderstanding of which branch of government determines the tax code. But then again, I do you remember you having the same concerns about Kerry in '04, whose wife has even more money than Romney does. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331/60 "2012-08-04T20:46:22Z")
If you do remember that, you’re in even worse psychological shape than I thought. 'Cause it didn’t happen. Thanks to both you and \*\*maggie \*\*for demonstrating what is, at the most charitable, a middle-school-student’s solipsism. At your ages, however, it is unlikely that either of you will ever be able to recognize anything more important than yourselves, much less recognize that individual and social interests are not necessarily congruent. **mags** , at least your act is faintly amusing at times, such as in your last couple of posts where you demonstrate your own inability to grasp the question. \*\*John’\*\*s act is just sad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-reid-a-pederast-it-seems-the-burden-of-proof-is-on-him/630331.md?page=4)