Dick Cheney issued a threat to the Dems. today on the nuclear option, according to the Associated Press:
"Let me emphasize, the decision about how to proceed will be made by the Republican leadership in the Senate," Cheney said. "But if the Senate majority decides to move forward and if the issue is presented to me in my elected office as president of the Senate and presiding officer, I will support bringing those nominations to the floor for an up or down vote."He's so tough. And, if I am doing the math correctly, if it gets to the point where Cheney has to vote, they've already lost five Republican Senators.
UPDATE: Harry Reid blasted Bush and Cheney today. Basically, Reid said Bush lied about how the White House would handle the filibuster debate. Once again, Raw Story (who we thank profusely for the always great work) has the details. Here are a couple key paragraphs:
“In the span of three minutes, the vice president managed to reinvent 200 years of Senate history and ignore the fact that Congress has already approved 205 of this administration’s nominees. Apparently, a 95 percent confirmation rate is not enough for this president. He wants it all, even if it means shattering the checks and balances in our government in order to put radical judges on the bench.Okay, by now, the GOP should begin to understand, you can't screw with Harry Reid. They are so used to rolling Dems. and having no one fight back. Reid has changed the rules.
“Last week, I met with the president and was encouraged when he told me he would not become involved in Republican efforts to break the Senate rules. Now, it appears he was not being honest, and that the White House is encouraging this raw abuse of power.
