Reid runs cold, then hot on Georgiou

There are a few people responsible for the fiasco that was Byron Georgiou’s short-lived candidacy for the U.S. Senate, which never got off the ground.

First and foremost, there’s Georgiou — an ambitious lawyer and businessman, he longed for high office after a career built on high-profile cases, including lawsuits against the fraudsters at Enron and WorldCom.

That longing only increased after he served on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on the appointment of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

But Georgiou may have mistaken Reid’s backing for an endorsement, and started building a Senate campaign without the one thing any Nevada Democrat really needs before jumping into the political game: Reid’s actual blessing. It may be undemocratic, but it’s the way things are in Nevada.

To be fair, Reid wasn’t exactly decisive when it came to making his Senate pick. He reviewed other potential candidates before finally giving Rep. Shelley Berkley his support.

Asked about Georgiou then, the senator — with all the subtlety of an AC-130 Specter gunship — promptly told reporters Georgiou “had no chance” to win.

That was unfair: In other circumstances, Georgiou would have made a fine candidate. He’s smart, successful, has a good record to run on and — always a plus — is rich and could fund part of his own campaign. At any other time, he’d be the answer to Reid’s prayers, rather than the subject of them.

But once Berkley had Reid’s backing, Georgiou became a threat. Georgiou got more mentions from the National Republican Senatorial Committee than he ever did from Democratic sources.

At this point, Georgiou faced a choice: Drop out and let Berkley have the field, which would have engendered Democratic good will and repaired his strained relationship with Reid, or stay in and risk party wrath.

“I won’t be so presumptuous as to take Nevada voters for granted,” Georgiou said in a statement after choosing to stay in. “This is an election not a coronation, which is why I’m here in Nevada, talking with voters and eagerly looking forward to a robust debate comparing our vision for Nevada and our backgrounds.”

But it was a coronation, and Berkley wore the crown. That’s when things with Reid got nasty.

A Reid spokesman told reporters that the senator “regretted” appointing Georgiou to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, after ethical questions were raised about his service. Georgiou denounced the attacks against him by “my opponents” (Harry Reid, not Republicans) and vowed to remain in the race.

But leaks to reporters about Georgiou began to mount, from tax liens to unpaid investors to lawsuits. Reid claimed to have been “misled” as to Georgiou’s qualifications to serve on the FCIC. Georgiou gave up a seat on a corporate board after the AFL-CIO attacked the company for making products in China.

Meanwhile, Georgiou’s fundraising lagged. His poll numbers were anemic. And he finally decided this week to quit, saying “I have concluded that I can more effectively contribute to resolution of the serious economic issues facing our state and nation through my work in the private sector, in the areas of clean energy, health care information technology, and broadband development.”

And that’s when Reid — who had tried to kill Georgiou’s Senate bid with an intensity he never showed even to some of his opponents — turned nice.

“While Byron and I have had our differences in the past, I’m heartened by his decision today,” Reid said in the political understatement of the year thus far. “His is an important voice and perspective on the causes of the financial crisis.”

Really? His voice — tainted by ethical charges, tax liens, angry investors, all of which misled Reid into appointing him to a board in a decision the senator now regrets — is “important”?

“Byron has had a diverse and distinguished career in business, law and public service,” Reid added. “I have the highest regard for his professional expertise, and am confident that Byron will continue to contribute to Nevada and America in the years to come.”

Really? Reid has the highest regard for Georgiou’s professional expertise, notwithstanding the fact that he regrets appointing him to the FCIC after being misled about his professional expertise and character?

All that’s missing was an addendum: “All my previous statements about Byron Georgiou are no longer operative.”

Sadly, it’s because Reid dissected Georgiou so effectively that the chances of him continuing to contribute to Nevada and America in the years to come are greatly diminished. But what remains is Reid’s reputation for ruthlessness and enforcing party discipline. In Nevada politics, as ever, there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist and author of the blog SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/SteveSebelius or reach him at (702) 387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.