http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01 … alth-care/A top Senate Democrat for the first time Tuesday acknowledged that the party is prepared to deal with health care reform by using a controversial legislative tactic known as the "nuclear option."
With Republican Scott Brown seizing victory in the Massachusetts special election for U.S. Senate, Democrats are under pressure to quickly pass health care reform before he arrives -- since Brown will break the party's 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority.
Even before polls closed, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said "there are options to still pursue health care."
Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, outlined a combination of tactics to get what his party wants out of health care reform.
First, he said the House could simply approve the Senate bill, sending it straight to President Obama's desk.
Then, Durbin said, the Senate could make changes to the bill by using the nuclear option, known formally as "reconciliation," a tactic that would allow Democrats to adjust parts of health care reform with just a 51-vote majority.
Weren't the Democrat having a fit about the Nuclear option back when Bush was President?