I got myself into a little trouble yesterday with some comments on Senator Harry Reid’s redefining of the cloture rule so that a mere majority of the Senators present is needed to limit and debate and move on, the so-called “nuclear option.”

I hate that he did it, and I think my Democratic friends will rue the day they did it, when they return to the minority shortly.

For me it was a case of the Democrats not being able to win, so they changed the rules. Straight up Kobayashi Maru! (warning: that was nerd talk, look it up!)



However, none of that got me in trouble. Later in the evening, I was thinking about it and wrote on facebook:

If I am truly being honest, I hate what Harry Reid did with the nuclear option, but I kinda respect that he found his cojones. I hope the GOP finds theirs. Reid is straight up gangster politics. #respect

Yes, it was a flippant comment, but I was completely unprepared for the backlash from my conservative friends. There were expressions of strong dislike for Senator Reid, accusations were thrown out, but I was completely unprepared for one comment.

One went so far as to say that me and people ‘who think like u r causing the downfall of our country.”

Really, the downfall of our country? Come on, you give me way too much credit.

However, instead of writing “You, Sir, are feeble minded person located smack dab in the middle of the bell-curve when rating intelligence!”, I thought I would explain myself more.

Why Harry Reid gets an ounce of Respect

Again, let’s start with it was the wrong move. I want to make that clear before I get blamed for the Kennedy assassination today.

We must also separate the man from the political move.

When we do both of those things: We must congratulate the Democrats on their raw, Machiavellian political calculation. Remember, one of the biggest sins you can commit in politics is to under-estimate your opponents.

Here is the calculation:

BOTH sides at one time or another have flipped flopped and threaten to use the nuclear option; therefore, the Republicans can’t do jack squat about it without hurting ourselves or looking like big babies.

Yes, Republicans could STILL use the Senate rules to slow the Senate to a crawl – make them read each bill and that kind of crap. Problem? Republicans would only look spiteful.

However, here is the REAL danger and Machiavellian calculation: the move that both parties have discussed, but the Democrats actually had the cajones to do – could “work”.

When I say “work”, I mean the Senate starts confirming people. We may hate the nominees’ values, etc, but they will get confirmed. The American people see this movement and re-act favorably to the movement. After all, people are tired of a gridlocked nation, and deep down most reasonable people will admit a President should have his choice of people unless they are disqualified due to scandal, etc.

This leads to the biggest danger for the GOP – when things start moving, obstructionists will realize they can’t just obstruct, leading to the biggest horror of them all:

The US Senate moves to a reasonable, sound, common sense, bipartisan Chamber that it was designed to be.

Conclusion on the politics of the Nuclear Option

So, when you are honest and you look at just the politics as Niccolo would, one must reluctantly tip their hat to Senator Reid.