The Rules Of The Reconciliation Road

If HCR does go down the reconciliation route, it could be an interesting exercise in civics as Brian Beutler points out:

Let's say the Republicans offer 100 politically charged amendments to the reconciliation bill, none of which are germane. Democrats can move to waive all of them, and, as the Republican aide said, the minority can force a vote on the motion to waive.

But it's important to remember: Reconciliation is intended to be an expedited process. It allows for 20 hours of debate, after which all amendments must be disposed of in a so-called "vote-arama." So all of those amendments (or motions to waive the amendments) must be voted on in rapid succession.

The grey area lies in exactly how Democrats can force an end to the charade once its clear that the Republican tactics are dilatory. That's uncharted territory--but, as one expert points out, the chair in the Senate--a.k.a. Vice President Joe Biden--has almost unlimited power to make rulings so long as 50 members are willing to go along with them. And if Republican tactics were to go over the line, Democrats would theoretically be able to put a stop to them.

As former Senate Parliamentarian Robert Dove has pointed out, both the Republican strategy, and the Democrats' way around it, are far outside the traditional uses of the reconciliation process. But, hey, if both sides are exploring the limits of the rules anyway, who knows what will happen.

So, it's entirely possible that the Republicans could make Dems vote on approving of abortion or Muslims or apple pie or McDonalds or Thursdays. It's also possible the Dems can tell the Republicans to go to hell, but things could get dicey depending on how far the Republicans are willing to go.

Considering Senate Republicans are willing to cut off unemployment benefits to over a million Americans during a recession just to make a political point, "how far they are willing to go" isn't the question, but "What can the Dems do to move things along" when they get there.