Harry Reid (Flip-flopper, Nev.)

Yes, as the title of this post suggests, we have a new designation for our country's beloved Senate Majority Leader. Wait, did I say beloved? I meant reviled. His favorability rating in his home state of Nevada stands at 35/58, which is abysmal. I'm actually surprised Reid didn't follow Chris Dodd out the door with a retirement announcement last month to save whatever face he has left, but oh well. More fun for us this November when we get to watch the Majority Leader go down in flames... Hey, maybe he ought to try out a "Negro dialect" and see if that restores his image in the eyes of Nevadans.

If being a complete bumbling idiot was an Olympic sport, we all know Leader Reid would have accrued countless gold medals by now. And guess what? He earned yet another one today, in a statement to CBS News. (link: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/23/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6235624.shtml)

Here's Reid's eloquent advice to Republicans who are criticizing the Democrats' new commitment to using a procedure known as reconciliation to circumvent the filibuster's 60 vote threshold: "They should stop crying about reconciliation as if it's never been done before."

In other words: "Shut up," Reid explained.

Now, first of all, let's clear one thing up. Yes, reconciliation has been used before...but it is a budgetary procedure. It has been used to enact things like tax cuts, not pass comprehensive legislation that would change our health care system. Reid's being dishonest by acting like ramming through a gigantic and unpopular health reform bill that the American people don't want by circumventing the filibuster rule is just business as usual. It's not. Even Olympia Snowe, the most moderate Republican legislator in the Senate who originally helped move the Democrats' health care legislation forward, has said using reconciliation would be a terrible move.

Another senator offered a particularly useful defense of the filibuster and highlighted the perils of ignoring long-standing institutional rules. I'll quote from that senator's floor speech (via Naked Emperor News):

"Mr. President, the right to extended debate is never more important than when one party controls Congress and the White House. In these cases, the filibuster serves as a check on power and preserves our limited government...

"When legislation is supported by a majority of Americans, it eventually overcomes a filibuster's delay. But when legislation only has the support of the minority, the filibuster slows the legislation, prevents a senator from ramming it through, and gives the American people enough time to join the opposition...

"The filibuster is far from a procedural gimmick, it's part of the fabric of this institution we call the Senate...The roots of the filibuster are found in the Constitution, and in our own rules...

"But no, we are not going to follow the Senate rules. No, because of the arrogance of power of this...administration...

"[The Founders] established a government so that no one person and no single party could have total control...They think they're wiser than our Founding Fathers. I doubt that that's true."

So who's the wise senator who made this floor speech?

These words belong to none other than Harry Reid. He spoke them on the Senate floor on May 18, 2005. They were meant as a criticism of the Republicans in Congress and the Republican in the White House.

And now, fast-forward to 2010, and gone are Reid's concerns about the "check on power" that the filibuster provides. Gone are Reid's hang-ups about "preserv[ing] our limited government." The filibuster used to be indispensable as a mechanism for stopping senators from "ramming through" legislation that is not supported by a majority of Americans, but suddenly Reid has changed his tune. Why? Because the Democrats' health care reform legislation isn't supported by a majority of Americans, as every poll shows.

And you've got to love the part about legislation that's supported by a majority always overcoming a filibuster. Harry, go back and listen to yourself. Or perhaps even you yourself can't bear to listen to your own stupidity.

In the coming days, we'll see if the Democrats are seriously going to try using reconciliation to pass this bill. At this point, it's unclear whether the Democrats have enough votes to pass the bill in the House, of all places. I suspect the use of reconciliation might turn off enough Democrats in the Senate to make it a close vote there too...but apparently Reid has the 50 votes required to do it.

Is this all a bunch of political posturing to save face and blame the health care reform failure on the GOP's obstructionist tactics? Or are the Democrats seriously going to try this?