Harry Reid: “One of my favorite stories is a story about David Selznik, the great movie producer. He is the man who produced the…”

“One of my favorite stories is a story about David Selznik, the great movie producer. He is the man who produced the movie ``Gone With The Wind.'' As he had made the movie, at that time they had in Hollywood something called the Hays Commission. It was in effect a committee of censorship. They looked at the movie and made a determination that he would have to strike from the movie the words, ``Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.'' But Selznik thought that was an important part of his movie and he would not back down. So they were at loggerheads. Would the movie be able to go forward? Because without the Hays Commission stamp of approval, the movie could not go forward. So they made a compromise. They said: We will compromise this. You can go ahead, you can keep those words, ``Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn,'' but if you keep that in the movie you are going to be assessed a fine of $15,000, and $15,000 was a lot of money then, even as it is now. But Selznik agreed to pay that. And that, of course, is one of the most memorable lines in the history of Hollywood. The reason I mention that is Selznik and the Hays Commission realized that in life there is a time to fight and a time to compromise. The compromise worked out well in this instance. Compromise, in our business, being legislators, should not be a dirty word. Legislation is the art of compromise, the art of building consensus.”