Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in an effort to mock Republican donors, resorted to senility jokes in an interview published yesterday.

“Because of the Citizens United decision, Karl Rove and the Republicans are looking forward to a breakfast the day after the election,” Reid told The Huffington Post. “They are going to assemble 17 angry old white men for breakfast, some of them will slobber in their food, some will have scrambled eggs, some will have oatmeal, their teeth are gone. But these 17 angry old white men will say, ‘Hey, we just bought America. Wasn’t so bad. We still have a whole lot of money left.’”

Reid and the Democrats’ antagonism for wealthy Republican backers is well established, but using the infirmities of old age to turn public opinion against those donors tends to jar with Reid’s reputation for fighting “age discrimination” perpetrated by insurance companies and standing up for the dignity of senior citizens.