... and I have some friends and relatives down South who won't know better.

Lately among our political warriors, framing the debate-to-come has become a dastardly corrupt and brazenly dishonest intellectual endeavor.

Have they no shame!?! -Kevo

...hoping that the public won't know better.

And they won't know better, because no one in the MSM will tell them that.

You know all of this Steve. We know all of this. More importantly, Republicans are keenly aware of the facts you mentioned.

But nuclear sounds bad and if the GOP can stigmatize reconciliation, the Democrats will likely run for the hills. Or, if they don't, the GOP will see political gains as polls come out showing how the general public believes Democrats are the more partisan of the two parties and not to be trusted.

If the Democratic Party thinks they can just come in here and stage a coup d'ete and take over the White House and the Congress and overrun this country, they better think again...

We won't stand for it.

"The American people" won't stand for it...

I learned this morning something I didn't know. COBRA, the program that allows people to keep their insurance in the event that they lose their jobs is actually named the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.

Jes' sayin'

It was passed in 1985.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_Omnibus_Budget_Reconciliation_Act_of_1985

Why are you letting Republicans frame this issue? Heath-care reform passed the Senate with 60 votes. The House just needs to pass that bill. Reconciliation, if it is used, will be for a separate bill that removes some of the excesses (Ben Nelson's bribe, etc.) and enhances the original bill. But, the bulk of reform has already passed the Senate with 60 votes. Why doesn't anyone mention that?

The befuddled Mr Brown had to do something to get the conversatives off his back for "selling out" on the jobs bill.

The House has passed a Health Care Reform Bill. The Senate has passed a Health Care Reform Bill. There are some differences between the two bills that must be reconciled. We will do so using a process called "reconciliation".

end of story

"the Public" not knowing any better is probably a safe bet

As noted above, someone needs to remind Senator Centerfold about "COBRA". 2/3 of my kids births were paid for by COBRA-extended insurance. And guess which Senator it was, that made that happen, and who might it be that has seat now?

Thanks, again, Ted Kennedy.

There's a Senate Procedural Rule for that...

"Sen. Scott Brown yesterday warned the Obama administration...

Doesn't the Senate have some arcane rules about not making an ass of yourself when you only have 2 weeks of seniority? I mean really, shut your piehole up Senator Sonny-boy, and go drive that pickup truck someplace...

In politics, first man to the microphones wins. And the Reps enjoy unbridled access.

Every time Scott Brown opens his mouth, it takes one's breath away to realize that this is who Massachusetts deemed worthy to assume the mantle of their late, beloved Senator.

Horrible.

This is a Standard Line the Repubs are using

I heard that long tongued liar Senator Jon Kyl said the same thing, almost word for word, on the AZ Public Media yesterday morning.

Today, NPR demolished the whole idea by showing how reconcilations have been used to advance health care and other items many times in the past. I am sure their web page has the full interview.

Why don't we start saying that obstructionism is Republicans using "The Gay Option?" Low-info Republicans are so afraid of gays, and so fucking stupid, that they'll demand their elected officials step down immediately.

Re neill's rants about "stage a coup d'ete" above . . . there was an election . . . your side lost . . . election have consequences, even consequences you might not like.

Get over it . . . wasn't that the mantra we heard 2001 - 2009?

Reconciliation is a tool available. I expect those elected to do a job to use all the tools at their disposal, especially when the other side has NO INTENTION of getting anything done.

No. This is different. Democrats boast this is the most sweeping socio-economic reform in one generation and maybe four generations. If they pass this it's the end of the filibuster in the Senate with perhaps the theoretical possibility it can be used for only Senate votes like judge confirmations, i.e., where reconciliation is not available structurally. Every Senator should resist this as an incredible loss of power, but it is more democratic.

I had liked there to be that added check on the federal government having seen how irresponsible the federal government been since Kennedy was shot [JFK, a neo-conservative whose closest modern comparable president is George W. Bush]. But OK - out with the filibuster. As is written, if the public does not like the health bill, the Republicans can remove it in 2010, 2012 should the landslide arrive.

But I want to check this web-site when the Republicans do all the other things they want in 2010 and 2012 via 51 votes in the Senate once returned to full power. You'll be sorry.

TMD

Re: "No. This is different." BS.

The GOP used reconciliation to throughout the Bush years. It's how they got their tax cuts. It's how they got their lousy prescription bill. It's how they did most everything.

So stop your bellyaching. It's gotten really old, really fast . . . especially when the majority of the whiners don't know what the hell they are talking about. Your taxes haven't been raised - they have been cut. Your women and children have not been imprisoned. The US is not the USSR. But you wouldn't know this listening to likes of some who spout incoherent soundbites designed to make those who don't think froth at the mouth. And it's working - lemmings.

When a majority of the Senate votes in favor of pending legislation, it's not an example of "ramming" a bill through Congress.

Republicans just like to talk about "ramming," for some reason.

hoping that the public won't know better

Hoping? I don't think so. republicans KNOW that the public won't know any better. They KNOW fux nuz will certainly mislead and misinform the public; they know they can count on cnn, nbc, abc, cbs, and the rest of corporate media to also confuse, mislead, and misinform the public; and they KNOW that except for a small number of progressives that the public will not seek out the truth for themselves. This is the way of repug nation.

Most major federal health care reforms in the last 25 years were passed using the reconciliation process. The acronym COBRA even stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 —federal legislation that governs the operation of group-sponsored health plans of businesses with twenty or more employees.

FYI, COBRA Plans offer continuing healthcare coverage individuals and families after someone leaves their job. Many tens of thousands of Democrats and Republicans alike have benefited from COBRA. And imagine that, it was signed into law by Ronaldus Magnus.

From Real Clear Politics: "I have noticed one particularly ridiculous moral argument in favor of reconciliation making the rounds. We are told that it promotes the ideal of a simple majority, which most people believe is normatively appropriate. Indeed, that is the common opinion - but the Senate is not a majoritarian institution! You could have a super-majority of 82 senators whose constituents still don't amount to a majority of the United States population. So, what is the normative value of half-plus-one votes in an institution where votes are not pegged on population?"

"If the Democratic Party thinks they can just come in here and stage a coup d'ete and take over the White House and the Congress and overrun this country, they better think again..."

WTF is a "coup d'ete"? Seriously, if you're just going to make stuff up, relying on the supposition that your readers are ignorant, you risk being taken for a Republican.

It's "coup d'etat".

Mark, a coup d'ete is French for "the sudden, unconstitutional deposition of summer." It happens when, for instance, Washington gets 50 inches of snow that doesn't get plowed until May.

Mr. Benen,

You are a hate-filled, uninformed man.

Realize the fact that the term "nuclear option" does not refer to any one, single scheme. It is a vernacular term to refer to any extreme action which one can take to alleviate a stalled position. Even wikipedia includes "During the 111th congress, opponents of Democratic legislative initiatives began to refer to the budget reconciliation process as the nuclear option."

Please spare the world your drivel, and cease spreading your hate.

"If the Democratic Party thinks they can just come in here and stage a coup d'ete and take over the White House and the Congress and overrun this country, they better think again...

We won't stand for it.

"The American people" won't stand for it...

Posted by: neill on February 24, 2010 at 9:35 AM | PERMALINK"

----

Yeah, if the "coup d'ete" you speak of includes the landslide elections in which the Dems won the WH, and Congress in the last election... Face it, your in the overwhelmingly loud, yet small minority.

The job of Congress is to make a budget and vote on judicial nominees. They MUST do these two. Congress also MAY pass legislation, but they don't HAVE to. This is very basic stuff. It's for this reason, legislation requires 60% vote, budgetary and judicial nominees can be majority because they are required, hence "reconciliation" or "nuclear option" 51% vote. Didn't stop any dems from whining 5yrs ago.

http://vodpod.com/watch/3112899-obama-dems-in-05-51-vote-nuclear-option-is-arrogant-power-grab-against-the-founders-intent

say goodnight to socialized healthcare.