When the Republicans were in the majority they complained quite a bit that the Democrats were obstructionists. This is usually true whether they are in the minority or not when there is a Republican president as evidenced by their opposition to judicial nominees whereas Republicans give an up or down recommendation to Democratic presidents. Clinton had no trouble getting his nominees approved. In any event, the requirement in the Senate for 60 votes hurt republicans because they did not have that many. When the Democrats put up barriers for everything imaginable, the Republicans threatened to exercise what was known as the nuclear option. This would have required only a simple majority to get anything passed. Their failure to act will hurt them because they lacked the courage to go through with it thus allowing the Democrats the opportunity to do it and take credit for ending gridlock in DC.
The Democrats were vehemently opposed to this because they knew they would not be able to obstruct and they had not thoughts they would ever be in the majority again because of their self destructive nature and ideals that are out of touch with many Americans. Eventually a compromise was reached when the so-called gang of 14 (seven from each side) agreed on procedures to keep the Republicans from exercising the nuclear option. The Democrats immediately broke their promise and the republicans did not exercise the option, for some unknown reason.
Now that the Democrats are in charge and have excluded Republicans form anything that deals with legislation the republicans have become the obstructionists. I think the difference is, the Democrats in the Senate will push for a nuclear option so that a simple majority will get things done. Nancy Pelosi mentioned the problem of needing 60 votes in the Senate as a barrier to enacting their cut and run strategy. She is not in the Senate but she certainly understands that the Senate is where things get really bogged down.
“The American people long ago rejected the President’s plan to stay in Iraq, which is why they voted for a New Direction in 2006. Yet, with his veto pen and the 60-vote hurdle in the Senate, the President is preventing the redeployment of our troops, the rebuilding of our military, and the refocusing of our nation’s efforts on fighting terrorism.” Yahoo News
I believe that this was the first shot fired in a battle that will see Democrats push for their nuclear option and they will not entertain a gang of any size and they will not work for compromise. They are wrongly convinced that their win in 2006 was a mandate for them to lose the war. The American want something successful done in the war, not cut and run. The troops and a majority of Americans do not want to leave in defeat and this is something the Democrats do not understand. They are so convinced that they are right that they have been battering a General Officer who has a lot of experience, more than any of them, in battle and in leading. They are telling him he is wrong and that they are right because they, I guess, can see everything from their Capitol offices.
The Democrats will work to get the 60 vote requirement done away with so they need only 51 votes to accomplish anything. I bet they wish they had let the Republicans exercise the nuclear option so that it would be in place and they could rub their noses in the fact that their tool was used against them. Perhaps not, they will probably enjoy saying they ended gridlock much more than the nose rubbing. Since that did not happen they will now work to rid themselves of the very thing they fought hard to keep. I warned the Republicans before to never, ever, trust a Democrat but they never listen.
Well, at least we have a president who seems to have found his veto pen.