Fox News continues to attempt to redefine "nuclear option"
In its latest attempt to redefine the meaning of the term "nuclear option," Fox News has seized on a Breitbart-promoted video to falsely accuse Democrats of hypocrisy for considering using the reconciliation process to pass health care reform, when they had previously opposed the "nuclear option." But, in fact, the nuclear option referred to a Republican proposal to change Senate filibuster rules on judicial nominees and was not related to reconciliation.
Fox News uses Breitbart-hyped video to accuse Dems of hypocrisy on reconciliation
Fox & Friends: "Irony" that Dems are now considering reconciliation. On Fox & Friends, host Brian Kilmeade said: "The problem with reconciliation is the Republicans say it's an outrage. It's bypassing the Constitution. It was never intended for that reason. Is that what the Republicans are saying, or is that what the Democrats have already said when the Republicans had the majority? Let's look at this tape, first put together by a website called nakedemperor.com." After playing the video, co-host Steve Doocy said: "Harry Reid has said it's still on the table, and that's why we are showing the irony that the Democrats were saying, you can't do reconciliation. It's just wrong. It's not the spirit of the Congress." [Fox & Friends, 2/25/10]
Sean Hannity: "What do you make of the hypocrisy?" On his February 24 Fox News show, Sean Hannity aired clips of Democratic leaders and asked Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich, "What do you make of the hypocrisy?" Gingrich replied: "Well, I think that what you're seeing is a Chicago-machine politics approach that basically says, if we can run over you and mug you then we're going to get away with it. And I think what they don't understand is this is not Chicago. The United States is not going to tolerate a group of people trying to apply kind of a Hugo Chavez majoritarian rule in the Senate." [Hannity, 2/24/10]
Bret Baier: Reconciliation was "once called the nuclear option." On Fox News' Special Report, Bret Baier said that the Senate process of reconciliation "was once called the nuclear option" and then aired clips of what he claimed were Democrats criticizing the "nuclear option" "when Republicans were using it." After he aired the clips, Fox News contributor Kirsten Powers said, "Thank you for establishing beyond all doubt that politicians are hypocrites." [Special Report, 02/24/10]
Fox Nation: "Video Flashback: Dems Howl with Rage Over Nuclear Option." The Fox Nation embedded the Naked Emperor News video under the headline, "Video Flashback: Dems Howl with Rage Over Nuclear Option." From the Fox Nation:
Van Susteren: "[Y]ears ago when it came to Republicans using reconciliation, Democrats were singing a different tune." On her February 24 Fox News show, Greta Van Susteren noted that Democrats want to use reconciliation to pass health care and said, "But years ago when it came to Republicans using reconciliation, many Democrats were singing a different tune." After playing the clips, Van Susteren told former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum that there "may be some hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle." Santorum later said, "It is, in my mind, Democratic hypocrisy, not Republican hypocrisy." [On the Record, 02/14/10]
Beck: "[T]hey all stood up and said this was such a bad idea." On his radio show, Fox News host Glenn Beck played clips from the Breitbart.tv video and said of the possibility that Democrats might use reconciliation: "Why are they threatening this so much? Especially when they all stood up and said it was such a bad idea." [Premiere Radio Network's The Glenn Beck Program, 2/24/10]
"Nuclear option" was coined by GOP in 2005 to describe a process to change Senate filibuster rules
Lott described proposal to change filibuster rules as "nuclear option." The term "nuclear option" was coined by former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), one of the leading advocates of the proposal to change the Senate rules on filibusters for judicial nominations. After Republican strategists deemed the term a political liability, Republican senators began to attribute it to Democrats. As Media Matters for America noted, at the time, many in the news media followed suit, repeating the Republicans' false attribution of the term to the Democrats.
Democratic senators in video weren't discussing reconciliation. The clips of Democratic senators aired were first compiled in a video created by the conservative website Naked Emperor News and promoted on Breitbart.tv -- where "NEN videos premiere." As Media Matters noted, the senators were expressing opposition to the proposal to change Senate rules to eliminate use of the filibuster for judicial nominations -- i.e. the "nuclear option" -- not the use of reconciliation.
Reconciliation is already part of Senate procedure, and Republicans have used it repeatedly
Reconciliation process is part of congressional budget process. The budget reconciliation process is defined by the U.S. House Committee on Rules as "part of the congressional budget process ... utilized when Congress issues directives to legislate policy changes in mandatory spending (entitlements) or revenue programs (tax laws) to achieve the goals in spending and revenue contemplated by the budget resolution."
Republicans repeatedly used reconciliation to pass President Bush's agenda. Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to pass Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts as well as the 2005 "Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act." The Senate also used the procedure to pass a bill containing a provision that would permit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (The final version of that bill that Bush signed did not contain the provision on drilling.)
Reconciliation has been used to pass major changes to health care laws
Reconciliation has repeatedly been used to reform health care. On February 24, NPR noted that many "major changes to health care laws" have passed via reconciliation. These measures include COBRA, which allows laid-off workers to keep their insurance coverage, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Fox News has a history of conflating reconciliation and the "nuclear option"
Fox News repeatedly falsely labels reconciliation as "nuclear option." Fox News hosts and guests have repeatedly pushed the falsehood that the "nuclear option" refers to the budget reconciliation process. The Fox Nation and Fox News personalities like Hannity, Van Susteren, Dick Morris, Bret Baier, and Bill Sammon have all falsely compared reconciliation to the "nuclear option," and the Fox Nation has previously coupled its headlines with images of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb:
http://www.breitbart.tv/obama-dems-in-2005-51-vote-nuclear-option-is-arrogant-power-grab-against-the-founders-intent/
Pretty amusing actually. I'm sorry who's redefining what again?
Only if you include crayons
What you have here, folks, is Republican defenders not being able to see that they are engaging in the blatant logical fallacy called 'equivocation,' which is giving one thing the same name as something else, and then trying to condemn it by using everything bad that is attached to the other object.
Why do they do this? It's because they are dumb.
"What do you make of the hypocrisy?"
Gingrich replied: "I resent the implication that we are being hipocritical. The GOP will do whatever it takes to regain power in America. Uh, what was that? Oh, you meant the Dems being hipocritical. Uh, never mind."
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33510.html
Well, I'm so glad the democrats were open to Republican ideas.
Exclusion of republican input from the beginning would probably have produced a stronger bill than we're now likely to get. Regardless, the best approach now is to move forward with what we have and disregard the mock outrage of those who never negotiated in good faith from the beginning.
You got to ask yourself who ever "negotiates in good faith", I don't know many politicians from either side that do that, and I don't see anybody doing it today. May Gaia strike me down, but the only guy ever to really "cross the aisle" was McCain, and both sides hated him for it.
From that reading and a reading, also in Widipedia, about the nuclear option, when reconciliation is used for purposes other than the stated one in the statute, IT IS, IN REALITY, THE NUCLEAR OPTION.
When Dolly doesn't understand something she just copies and pastes a previous post, punctuated with an insult for good measure.
This is above her pay grade.
The nuclear option involves a change in Senate rules to alter the terms of a filibuster. Reconciliation is application of an established Senate rule. They are two different things and it does no good to try to pretend that reconciliation has a different meaning now than it has had in the past.
Circumventing the filibuster is NOT the same as eliminating the filibuster, you Weasel.
So it's grossly dishonest to claim that they were talking about using the reconcilation process-- for whatever purpose-- and then brand them as hypocrites. It's apples and oranges time.
It is: By God, don't make a new rule that I don't like (nuclear option on appointments), but for sure don't make me play by an established rule that I don't like (reconciliation mis-applied to policy legislation)"
For Dems to rail violently for filibuster on appointments (i.e. against nuclear option) - an unclear use - and then scream to not use it (i.e. for reconciliation) - a clear misuse - is not just hypocritical, it is hyper-hypocritical (once again, I am forced to create new words to describe Liberal posturing).
Your text to link here...
It is inevitable that we will have to do what Mexico did in the mid 1990s where 1000 pesos became one peso.
I would say that in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter what legislation is passed because it will all be renegotiated in the next couple of years.
Although I appreciate where you are coming from, way off topic.
The discussion is about how the GOP is "redefining the phrase 'The Nuclear Option'".
Good try, though. Nice tie in with your home state of Mexico, even though there is no indication of hyper inflation at this time.
Faced with this reality, they had no choice to find themselves some Democratic hypocrisy of their own. Now, since they could not find any easily exploitable hypocrisy regarding the stimulus to throw back at their more moderate to liberal brethren, the Republicans decided to create some.
They renamed reconciliation the "nuclear option," a term they themselves had previously coined to refer to changing existing Senate rules to circumvent the filibuster in order to approve right-wing judges appointed by President Bush to now apply to using existing Senate rules to pass budget-related portions of the health care bill.
By doing this, it allowed them to use the H-word so they could compete in the media battle they suddenly found themselves losing. And it's all in a long line of con games they endlessly try to pull on the public at large, but especially those that watch FOX. These are the same people who bought, in no particular order: Sadam was in part responsible for 9/11, torture works and has saved American lives, we only wiretap bad guys, the health care bill proposed by the Democrats would require doctors to euthanize their elderly patients, that Republicans are the protectors or Medicare & Social Security, ACORN stole the election for Obama, etc.
Unfortunately, you've probably won the battle for FOX viewers hearts. They are with you (sadly uninformed and, possibly, deluded, but with you). But you guys really are going to have to come up with better, verifiable arguments if you want to persuade people who aren't blinded by your far right-wing Republican philosophy.