Nuclear Option

Reid Blasts Republicans For Blocking Jobs Bill

The Huffington Post | Luke Johnson | Posted 12.11.2011

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) criticized Republicans for holding up President Barack Obama's jobs legislation and defended his precedent-...

Ryan Grim

Harry Reid Busts Up Senate Precedent

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 12.06.2011

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) led Democrats in a precedent-setting move on Thursday evening, shutting down an effort by Sen...

Harry Reid Makes Bold Move, Triggers 'Nuclear Option'

The Hill | Alexander Bolton | Posted 12.06.2011

In a shock development Thursday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) triggered a rarely-used procedural option informally called the "n...

Nuclear Option For Plugging Oil Well Gains Support, But U.S. Not On Board

New York Times | William J. Broad | Posted 05.25.2011

The chatter began weeks ago as armchair engineers brainstormed for ways to stop the torrent of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico: What about nuking...

Ezra Klein: How To End The Filibuster With 51 Votes

The Washington Post | Ezra Klein | Posted 05.25.2011

If you can't manage the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, you can't manage the 67 votes to change the rules and end the filibuster. At least in theor...

REVEALED: Nixon Considered Nuclear Option Against North Korea

NPR | Posted 05.25.2011

Since March, South Korea and the United States have pondered how to respond to North Korea after the torpedo sinking of a South Korean naval ship that...

Why Americans Won't Give Up the Nuclear Option

Greg Mitchell | Posted 05.25.2011

Greg Mitchell

Over and over, policymakers say, "We must never use nuclear weapons," yet they endorse the two times the weapons have been used in a first strike. To make any exceptions means exceptions can be made in the future.

Colbert's Hammers GOP For Insane Euphemisms (VIDEO)

Posted 05.25.2011

As part his week-long look at health care (and the Republican's fear that Dems are ramming the bill down their throat), last night Stephen Colbert bro...

Were Laws of Gravity Passed Through Reconciliation?

Scott Blakeman | Posted 05.25.2011

Scott Blakeman

Skeptics say that if the earth were flat we would hear stories of people falling off constantly. But it's pretty hard for people who just fell off the earth to tell their story to the media, isn't it?

Hypocrite of the Decade Sen. Orrin Hatch Backed Breaking Senate Rules to Ram Through Judicial Noms

Bill Scher | Posted 05.25.2011

Bill Scher

Sen. Orrin Hatch called using Senate budget rules to pass health care an undemocratic affront to the Constitution. That's funny, because making up new rules on the fly is exactly what Sen. Hatch wanted.

Jason Linkins

Alexander: Budget Reconciliation Will 'End The Senate'

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.25.2011

Anyone who has observed the goings-on in the U.S. Senate for the past couple of decades can tell you that the budget reconciliation process is a commo...

Should the Senate Go Nuclear?

Bill Lucey | Posted 05.25.2011

Bill Lucey

With Congress immobilized and bipartisanship apparently a foreign enemy, is there a way out of this stalemate and climate of inertia? Yes; but it's not easy, it never is in Congress.

Friday Talking Points [111] -- Use It Or Lose It

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Chris Weigant

President Obama this week has successfully put the Republican Party on the defensive. This could be a fleeting thing, or it could be the start of a whole new way for Obama's administration to operate.

Sen. Phil A. Buster Turns Obama Into Mush

Andy Ostroy | Posted 05.25.2011

Andy Ostroy

The day after Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown achieved the unthinkable by winning Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, President Obama has demonstrated...

The Democrats Need to Find Some Spine and Pass This Bill

Bob Cesca | Posted 05.25.2011

Bob Cesca

The Republicans, in the days immediately after being "thumped" in the 1998 midterms, didn't freak out and reevaluate their agenda. They impeached the president. The Democrats must find their spines.

Harry Reid Promises Republicans He'll Never Call Their Bluff

Ari Melber | Posted 05.25.2011

Ari Melber

After watching this absurdity playing out in the stimulus debate, people are calling on Sen. Reid to make the Republicans follow through and actually filibuster legislation and show this spectacle to the public.

Journalists Spin for Republicans on the New "60-Vote" Senate Regime

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 05.25.2011

Joseph A. Palermo

The "60 vote" threshold is an artificial obstructionist creation of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and the Senate Republicans.

Sam Stein

Democratic Congressman Raises Specter Of "Nuclear Option"

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

Three years ago, the United States Senate nearly came to a stand still as the Republican majority, citing Democratic obstructionism over judicial appo...