Orrin Hatch Declares War on Reconciliation: Permanent Damage to Parties

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) says there will be an "all-out political war" if Democrats turn to reconciliation to pass their health care reform. That's not all. Hatch believes if reconciliation is employed, it will cause "permanent" harm to any hope of bipartisanship.

Senator Hatch is expecting that war; he expects Democrats to "go to reconciliation," and "promised a new high in partisan tensions," if they do.

The day after the President's State of the Union, with Obama admonishing Republicans for their tone, and asking for bipartisanship, Hatch said he didn't believe Democrats will participate in bipartisanship [my interpretation of his remarks]:

"They haven't acted in good faith on this, nor do I expect that they will," he said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune . "I expect them to go to reconciliation."...

Hatch said Thursday that using reconciliation would be "one of the worst grabs for power in the history of the country" that would permanently impact relations between the two parties.

"It is going to be outright war and it should be, because it would be such an abuse of the reconciliation rules," Hatch said. "If they abuse those rules it is going to lead to even more heated animosities between not just the two parties, but even between individual senators." 

Reconciliation allows one party to bypass a filibuster and pass legislation with a simple majority - 51 votes, rather than 60 votes needed to avoid filibuster.

Hat Tip to Hot Air - read their commentary, and Senatus

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