Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama rallied 52 Democrats and independents to vote to weaken 224 years of protection of minority rights in the Senate by eliminating the filibuster. Now only 51 votes, rather than 60, are required for Senate approval of executive and judicial branch nominees. Complaining that Republican intransigence drove him to use the "Nuclear Option", Reid argued, "There are currently 75 executive branch nominations ready to be confirmed by the Senate," he said, "waiting an average of 140 days." But Republican Senator Susan Collins responded, "I think the minority will rue the day that they broke the rules to change the rules." Democrats were not always so willing to lecture America on how "Majority Rule" would be good for us. After Democrats won control of the Senate in 2006, Reid promised: "As majority leader, I intend to run the Senate with respect for the rules and for the minority rights the rules protect. The Senate was not established to be...(Read Full Post)