Obama may use 50-vote tactic on energy, healthcare

[WillowTree]

President Obama’s budget director said the White House would consider using a Senate procedural tactic so that only 50 votes would be rquired to pass major healthcare and energy reforms.

Peter Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the administration would prefer not to use the budget reconciliation process to push through its package.
But he added: "We have to keep everything on the table. We want to get these.... important things done this year." Orszag called healthcare in particular "the key to our fiscal future."

Orszag made the comments on ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."


TheHill.com - Obama may use 50-vote tactic on energy, healthcare

 

[jillian]

As usual, you have it butt backwards... votes in the senate are supposed to be 51 votes... to whatever... the 60 vote requirment was a tactic...

 

[sealybobo]

Since all politicians are bribable, all we have to do is give a little pork to 3 sellout Republicans and we get our way all 4 years.

Those 3 will be stars at home because they will bring home the bacon!!!

And you can't say there won't be 3 in your party, because you admit that all politicians are the same!!!!

 

[sealybobo]

Remember the GOP wanted the Nuclear Option when they were in charge?

Do they want it now?

In U.S. politics, the nuclear option is an attempt by the presiding officer of the United States Senate to end a filibuster by majority vote, as opposed to 60 senators voting to end a filibuster. Although it is not provided for in the formal rules of the Senate, the procedure is the subject of a 1957 parliamentary opinion and has been used on several occasions since. The term was coined by Senator Trent Lott (Republican of Mississippi) in 2005.[1]

The maneuver was brought to prominence in 2005 when then-Majority Leader Bill Frist (Republican of Tennessee) threatened its use to end Democratic-led filibusters of judicial nominees submitted by President George W. Bush. In response to this threat, Democrats threatened to shut down the Senate and prevent consideration of all routine and legislative Senate business. The ultimate confrontation was prevented by the Gang of 14, a group of seven Democratic and seven Republican Senators, all of whom agreed to oppose the nuclear option and oppose filibusters of judicial nominees, except in extraordinary circumstances.

 

[sealybobo]

Notice the GOP doesn't care if the nuclear option is good for democracy, america or the American people. They only care if it is good for them or not. It isn't anymore, so you won't hear them speak of it.