Harry Reid today broke 225 years of precedent in the U.S. Senate, and had his Democrat majority change Senate rules for confirmation of judges and most executive branch officials. From now on, only a simple majority will suffice, not the 60 votes formerly required. Supreme Court nominations will still be subject to filibuster, however. Paul Kane of the Washington Post reports: The vote to change the rule passed 52 to 48. Three Democrats - Sens. Carl Levin (Mich.), Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) and Mark Pryor (Ark.) - joined 45 Republicans in opposing the measure. Levin is a longtime senator who remembers well the years when Democratic filibusters blocked nominees of Republican presidents; Manchin and Pryor come from Republican-leaning states. Infuriated by what he sees as a pattern of obstruction and delay over President Obama's nominees, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) triggered the so-called "nuclear option" by proposing a motion to reconsider the nomination of...(Read Full Post)