Sen. Harry Reid Upbraids Tardy Fellow Democrat

The U.S. Senate often seems to be a place where time stands still. Even so, that doesn't mean the clock is irrelevant even there.

Which, apparently, was the message Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada had to deliver to his fellow Democrat, freshman Sen. Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut.

According to the Washington Times Inside Politics blog, Reid took the new senator to task for showing up late Monday, forcing Reid into the unusual situation of having to chair the Senate, a job usually reserved for junior senators of the majority party, and his leader's job.

An excerpt:

Five minutes after the session opened, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the chamber's newest Democrat from Connecticut, arrived and took the chair — drawing a rebuke from Mr. Reid, who as he turned the chair over to Mr. Blumenthal made it clear how things work in the Senate.

"You can't do this," Mr. Reid said in a stern whisper, audible to spectators in the public galleries above the chamber floor. "I need you here."

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