As the White House and fellow Democrats look for routes to get healthcare reform passed, there’s been a lot of static about the process of reconciliation in the U.S. Senate. The GOP would have you believe that the Dems just pulled this little-known procedure out of the attic to ram through healthcare. Here’s the deal: reconciliation = majority vote. Period. 51 out of 100 votes. That’s it. Nothing mysterious nor crazy.

And in fact, the Republicans are experts at reconciliation and tend to use it more often than Democrats. Here’s more info on the heated hypocrisy and what reconciliation really is all about. Honestly the nerve of these people! Don’t be bamboozled y’all by the noise…

SCRIPT:

SEN. TOM COBURN: “I’d make a couple of points on reconciliation.” [Face The Nation, 2/28/2010]
CNN: “It’s been used 22 times, often on non budget issues by every President since Jimmy Carter.” [2/28/2010]
DANA MILIBANK: “Well I think it’s been pointed out repeatedly that it’s not any particularly radical step” [Reliable Sources, 2/28/2010]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN: “Republicans have used it more when they’ve been in the majority – 16 times. Compare that to the number of times used under Democratic majority, just six times.” [3/1/2010]
CHRIS WALLACE: “So the argument ‘well, it should be used for, you know, small budgetary matters…’ The fact is it’s been used 22 times and two-thirds of the time, by Republicans not Democrats.” [Fox News Sunday, 2/28/2010]
CNN: “Recent examples include Medicare overhaul for physician payments, back in 1989.” [2/28/2010]
COBURN: “Welfare reform happened with reconciliation.” [Face The Nation, 2/28/2010]
ACOSTA: “Reconciliation has been used for the children’s health initiative, the CHIP program and COBRA, that’s that program that allows you to take your health insurance with you if you lose your job. [3/1/2010]
COBURN: “The Bush tax cuts happened with reconciliation.” [Face The Nation, 2/28/2010]
GORDON PETERSON: “You can’t get 60 votes because the party on the other side of the aisle refuses to do anything constructive in this area. Is that Democrat Harry Reid in 2010? No, that’s Judd Gregg in twenty – 2005.” [Inside Washington, 2/28/2010]
DAVID GREGORY: “You have voted for bills through reconciliation nine times since 1989.” [Meet the Press, 2/28/2010]
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: “Yes, I have voted for them.” [Meet the Press, 2/28/2010]
MSNBC: “Reconciliation, that simple majority.” [MSNBC, 3/1/2010]
FOX AND FRIENDS: “Now reconciliation is changing to simple majority, doesn’t that sound much easier to swallow?” [Fox and Friends, 3/1/2010]
CHYRON: Rec-on-cil-i-a-tion a majority vote
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