RUSSERT: What would happen, do you think, in the country if Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court?
REID: Oh, I think it would be a little -- it would be pretty difficult for everybody. So, I think -- and that's why the Supreme Court has wrestled with it.
RUSSERT: You are a Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had a statement on marriage: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints favors a constitutional amendment preserving marriage as the lawful union of a man and a women."
Do you accept that message, the statement from your church?
REID: Tim, we have in America today many, many states, I don't know the exact number, I think 11 or 13 in this last election cycle, said, "In our state, you have to have marriage between a man and a woman." That's a law in the state of Nevada. And within a couple years, even Massachusetts, that will be the law.
And we in Congress recognized there would be some controversy over this, so we passed the Defense of Marriage Act that says you do not have to recognize the marriage laws of another state. That's the law of the land.
And I think that we have to be very, very careful about how we tamper with the Constitution. I have agreed reluctantly on several occasions to agree to constitutional amendments. But frankly, in the history of this country, there have been 11,500 attempts to amend the Constitution, and I want to approach those amendments very, very cautiously.
I do not think it's necessary at this time to have a constitutional amendment in that regard.
RUSSERT: Will that upset your church leaders?
REID: You'll have to ask them.
RUSSERT: Let me turn to judicial nominations.
Again, Harry Reid on National Public Radio, November 19: "If they" -- the Bush White House -- "for example, gave us Clarence Thomas as chief justice, I personally feel that would be wrong. If they gave us Antonin Scalia, that's a little different question. I may not agree with some of his decisions, but I agree with the brilliance of his mind."
Could you support Antonin Scalia to be chief justice of the Supreme Court?
REID: If he can overcome the ethics problems that have arisen since he was selected as a justice of the Supreme Court. And those ethics problems, you've talked about them, every reporter has talked about them in town, where he took trips that were probably not in keeping with the code of judicial ethics. So we have to get over this.
I cannot dispute the fact, as I have said, that this is one smart guy. And I disagree with many of the results that he arrives at, but his reason for arriving at those results are very hard to dispute.
RUSSERT: Why couldn't you accept Clarence Thomas?
REID: I think that he has been an embarrassment to the Supreme Court. I think that his opinions are poorly written. I just don't think that he's done a good job as a Supreme Court justice.
RUSSERT: The Republicans have said that the Democrats have been obstructionist in terms of judicial nominations. And one of the things that's being considered is the so-called "nuclear option," where Vice President Cheney would preside over the Senate and there would be a motion to say that a Democratic filibuster against a judicial nominee violates the constitutional duty of senators to advise and consent on the issue of nominations. And a majority, 51 senators, could uphold the ruling of the chair, in effect do away with the filibuster when it comes to judicial nominations.
What will you do if the Republicans exercise that option?
REID: George Will wrote in last week's Newsweek magazine that he had originally thought it was a good idea, he thinks it's a bad idea. I agree with George Will.
We have a situation where, during the four years that President Bush has been president, we have approved 207 federal judges and turned down 10. We have an obligation under the Constitution to give advice and consent to the nominations of the president of the United States.
If you look at Orrin Hatch's autobiography, in that he talks about what President Clinton did. He says that President Clinton came to him and said, "Give me some suggestions as to who you think could be approved." And he suggested, Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he suggested Breyer and Ginsburg. And sure enough, they were submitted by President Clinton, and with no problem they were approved.
That's the same model that President Bush should follow, if in fact we have Supreme Court nominees come before us. In the meantime, the president should be happy with what he's gotten, 207-10. That's a pretty good record for him.
RUSSERT: You have written President Bush and asked him to consult with you about Supreme Court nominees before he nominates individuals?
REID: Just like Clinton did with Orrin Hatch. I wrote the letter Friday. I'm not sure the president has it yet. I hope he has. But I think that's the model he should follow.
That would solve so many problems for us. We don't need a knockdown, dragout fight on who should be on the Supreme Court. It should be approved as easy as Breyer and Ginsburg.
RUSSERT: What if the president says, "Harry, I'm sorry, I'm the president, I was re-elected by this country, I get to nominate Supreme Court justices, and you don't have a right of veto"?
REID: Well, of course, if you read the Constitution, that's absolutely wrong. We do have a right of advice and consent.
And I say to the president, he should follow what President Clinton did. President Clinton didn't have Orrin Hatch approve who he wanted. I mean, he gave him some suggestions, and the suggestions were good. Orrin Hatch should be commended for that.
RUSSERT: Are you going to be able to work with Senator Bill Frist, the Republican, and actually achieve anything?
REID: I think Bill Frist is one of the finest persons I've met. Here's a man who gave up a career in medicine, he was a transplant surgeon, to come here and spend some time in public service.
He is doing his very best. His caucus is so much more difficult to deal with than mine.
(LAUGHTER)
I'm going to have a much easier time with my Democrats than he is with his Republicans.
But I look forward to working with him. We have a good relationship now, and I think it'll get better during the next couple of years.
RUSSERT: But you're down to only 45. That's very few Democrats.
REID: Well, we have three less than we had last time. I think we have a pretty strong group of people. And we're going to do what we're entitled to do under the Constitution, because we represent the American people.
RUSSERT: Harry Reid, the senator from Nevada, the new minority leader of the Democrats in the Senate, we thank you for sharing your views.
REID: Tim, thanks for allowing me to be on your show. It was such a breeze.
(LAUGHTER)
END
