If Schumer won't be Minority Leader, who do you think it should be?

[StevieM]

48. The filibuster will go the next time the GOP control the White House and the Congress.

The Republicans made such a big deal about Harry Reid going nuclear, calling it "dictatorial." But they had effectively ended the filibuster under George Bush, at least for judges, by threatening to go nuclear. And under Obama filibuster's had reached an insane level, never before seen--or approached--in history, before they finally changed the rules.

The GOP won't miss a chance to get rid of Obamacare, or at least parts of it, if they are ever in control. They will go nuclear.

I suppose it's possible that a creative use of budget reconciliation might take the place of the nuclear option. I have always believed the the threat of this option is what got Joe Lieberman to grudgingly vote for the ACA, along with a belief that he would have a second chance to block it after it came back from conference. But then there was no conference, of course, and the House took the Senate bill word for word.

But at a certain point--like allowing drilling in ANWR--using budget reconciliation, where there is no real application, is really no different then going nuclear on the filibuster.