Democrats must be “very, very careful” not to overreach and rubber-stamp Barack Obama’s plans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told The Hill in an interview Tuesday. He added that it would be of crucial importance for Democrats to work with rather than ignore Republicans. 

“Even though we’re one short of 60 [senators in the Democratic Conference], I don’t want to ever have to depend on cloture,” Reid said. “We may have to do that, but it will be with the support of a few Republicans.”

About the role of the Senate during an Obama administration, Reid said: “I don’t believe in the executive power trumping everything… I believe in our Constitution, three separate but equal branches of government. If Obama steps over the bounds, I will tell him. … I do not work for Barack Obama. I work with him.”

Although the talk about bipartisan support for bills reaching the Senate floor may sound good to many, Reid also indicates that reaching out does not necessarily mean he will reach out to all Republican senators. “Remember, we think we only need two Republican votes,” he said. 

Reid is not a generic Democrat. He is pro gun rights and against abortion. When he was first elected into the U.S. House of Representatives he even brought his gun with him to D.C. At the same time, however, he is considered a partisan hack by many who reaches out to Republicans only when he has to not out of any moral or intellectual commitment to bipartisanship and moderation. He is also known as a somewhat impulsive and emotional man, who sometimes says things he later regrets (calling President George W. Bush a “loser,” for instance or saying back in 2005 that the war in Iraq “is lost”). 

As for me, I do not have much confidence in Reid’s willingness to work with Republicans. I do, however, believe that he may indeed make clear to Obama that the Senate will not rubber-stamp his plans; if Reid cares about one thing, it is about his own job and political survival. Since Republicans are expected to target him aggressively in 2010, Reid will have to guard his reputation and votes like a lioness protecting her offspring.