Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' House to vote on resolution affirming peaceful transition of power Republican lawyers brush off Trump's election comments MORE (R-Ky.) is pushing back against the emerging push to abolish the filibuster, saying that Democrats should consider retooling their "half-baked proposals" if they're frustrated by long-standing Senate tradition.

"A Democratic assault on the legislative filibuster would make the nomination fights look like child’s play," McConnell wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday about the rule that requires 60 votes for the Senate to end debate on a bill.

"That’s because systematically filibustering nominees was not an old tradition but a modern phenomenon, pioneered in 2003 by Democrats who opposed President George W. Bush. When Republicans followed suit and held up a handful of Obama nominees the same way, Democrats could not stomach their own medicine and began a 'nuclear' exchange that Republicans had to end," he added.

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The op-ed comes as Democrats, including some 2020 presidential candidates, express an openness to eliminating the filibuster if they gain a majority in the Senate. Many have asserted that the rule has thwarted the party from voting on legislation addressing America's most pressing issues, such as climate change and gun control.

McConnell dismissed those arguments, saying in a lengthy critique that the filibuster is part of a tradition in the upper chamber that values deliberation over efficiency.

"The legislative filibuster is directly downstream from our founding tradition," he wrote, before arguing that "my Republican colleagues and I have not and will not vandalize this core tradition for short-term gain."

McConnell opened his op-ed by noting that he warned former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Harry Mason ReidThe Supreme Court vacancy — yet another congressional food fight Trump seeks to turn around campaign with Supreme Court fight On The Trail: Battle over Ginsburg replacement threatens to break Senate MORE (D-Nev.) against eliminating the filibuster for most presidential appointees in 2013.

"When appeals to principle fell on deaf ears, I tried a practical argument. The political winds shift often, I reminded my Democratic friends. And I doubted they’d like their new rules when the shoe was on the other foot," McConnell said.

He added that Republicans retook the majority in the Senate just a year later, with President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE entering the White House in 2017. Republicans that year eliminated the filibuster for all Supreme Court nominees, which McConnell called the Reid precedent's "logical conclusion."

The senator argues that the legacy of Reid's move is the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael KavanaughTrump plans to pick Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg on court Collins trails challenger by 4 points in Maine Senate race: poll SCOTUS confirmation in the last month of a close election? Ugly MORE and Neil Gorsuch Neil GorsuchTrump plans to pick Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg on court Abortion stirs GOP tensions in Supreme Court fight Poll: 59 percent think president elected in November should name next Supreme Court justice MORE, as well as 43 new lifetime circuit judges.

McConnell concludes his op-ed by denouncing Democrats for embracing an idea that "was recently fringe nonsense," saying that Americans "must never let this radical movement gain enough power to vandalize the Senate."

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Cruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish MORE (D-N.Y.) in July signaled an openness to ending the filibuster if Democrats retook the upper chamber, saying that "nothing" would be off the table.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenOvernight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds On The Money: Half of states deplete funds for Trump's 0 unemployment expansion | EU appealing ruling in Apple tax case | House Democrats include more aid for airlines in coronavirus package Warren, Khanna request IG investigation into Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds MORE (D-Mass.) in April became the first presidential candidate to back eliminating the rule. Reid wrote in an op-ed in the Times earlier this month that the rule has turned the Senate into an "unworkable legislative graveyard."