Nice Bluff, Now Let's See Your Cards

White House Budget Director Peter Orszag isn't backing down on the threat to use a process called reconciliation in the Senate to get the President's agenda through, which would allow the Senate to pass bills with a simple majority of 51 votes instead of having to defeat filibusters with 60 votes.

Peter Orszag, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the Obama administration would prefer not to use the budget "reconciliation" process that allows measures to pass the Senate on simple majority votes.

Orszag said he wouldn't rule it out, however. The legislative tactic is being considered to push through Obama's global warming and health care programs, and perhaps his proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy.

"We'd like to avoid it if possible," Orszag told reporters at a luncheon in Washington. "But we're not taking it off the table."

Members of Congress are bracing for a political donnybrook should the Democrats use the reconciliation process to sidestep the Republicans and their power of the filibuster in the Senate. Under normal Senate rules, it requires 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to shut off debate and force a final vote. Democrats currently have 58 Senate votes. Under reconciliation, 51 votes can force anything through.

How HORRIBLE! Orszag is throttling the Senate! it's unconstitutional! Why, this reconciliation thing never happens! Republicans would never do that if they were in charge!

Oh wait, not only would they, they did on several occasions.

There is plenty of historical precedent of using it by both parties, including Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, who used it force through big tax cuts.

"Pretty much every major piece of budget legislation going back to April 1981, April '82, April 1990, April 1993, the 1990 act, the 2001 tax legislation, they were all done through reconciliation. Yet somehow this is being presented as an unusual thing," Orszag said.

"The historical norm as opposed to the exception is for a major piece of budget legislation to move through reconciliation."

Yep, Saint Ronnie, Poppy Bush and Dubya all used them to jam through tax cuts, as did the Big Dog for his budget in '93 (and that was before Newtie and the Contract With America when, like today, Dems were running the whole show.) Obama will be no different on this, looks like.

Clearly the administration is calling out the Senators' bluff from Friday. Good for them. BooMan has argued several times that the GOP will fall in line and stop obstructing Obama once they understand that Obama will resort to reconciliation to give them zero voice at the table when crafting legislation, just like House Republicans have no real voice right now. Obama has plenty of precedent for it, and the GOP knows it. Ergo, the GOP has to play ball and not only has to stop obstructing the President on principle, but they also have to vote for the legislation they helped to craft if they want any say in where the money goes in the future.

If the GOP were logical, BooMan would be correct. The GOP we're actually stuck with however is counting on a 1994 style revolt in the populace, giving Republicans control of both chambers of Congress in 2010. The only way they can engineer that of course is to completely obstruct the President on everything, force him to take measures like reconciliation, proclaim the economy is now 100% Obama's fault, and then pray the financial system fails badly enough and that enough Americans then lose their jobs in the next 18 months to give the GOP a massive landslide next year. They are executing The Plan. Destroy Obama, Destroy The Country. This, they believe, will convince you to vote Republican in 2010.

We'll see who is right.

[UPDATE] Sensible Centrist Senate Democrats are in fact calling out Orszag on this, saying they have enough votes (8) to kill Obama's agenda even with the 51 vote threshhold of reconciliation. This is getting serious.