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NYT: Dems may circumvent Senate health care filibuster

When Bill Frist suggested an arcane procedural maneuver to override a Democratic filibuster of President Bush's judicial nominees liberals far and wide decried his actions. They even coined a term, "The Nuclear Option", to frame exactly how destructive to the Senate's perogatives such a rule change would be.

What a difference a change in the ruling party makes. Today's New York Times reports that Senate Democrats are quietly talking "about exploiting a procedural loophole to skirt Republican filibusters against a health care overhaul." But only as a "last resort". (h/t Memeorandum)

That "procedural loophole"? It's The Nuclear Option, by another, more benign name. In their reporting the Times bends over backwards to portray Democrats as being forced into a corner, with no other choice but to circumvent ordinary Senate procedures to ensure their health care reform legislation passes. Suddenly they have discovered that the tactic is "officially known as reconciliation". Reconciliation, such a nice word, implying that the Democrats are bringing diverse factions together to calmly iron out their differences. "Reconciliation", the official Catholic Church term for going to confession, where the sinner sets things right with God.

But of course this is objective reporting; any allusion to warm fuzzy feelings percolating up into the reader's brain is purely intentional coincidental.

Even then "reconciliation" is subject to yet another obscure Senate rule — the Byrd Rule. It can be used by any Senator like a line-item veto to strip individual provisions from a spending bill.

Not to worry though, the Democrats have a way around that too. The Times calls it "advanced legislative acrobatics" using "an unusual two-track approach". "Unusual" because it's never been done before. "Acrobatic", implying deftness and skill will be used to achieve normally insurmountable goals.

It's still The Nuclear Option although the Times dares not to say so.

Because with liberals and their enablers in the media, the ends justify the means.

Posted at 12:16 by Chris Wysocki   [/rants]   Comments | Archived | Perm Link |
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