Please Excuse My French . . .

. . . but it is about fucking time:

Exasperated with the refusal of Senate Republicans to confirm many of President Obama’s nominees, Mr. Reid has been speaking individually with members of his caucus to gauge whether there is enough support to change filibuster rules.

Given how much deference senators have traditionally shown to the rules and procedures of the institution — many of them in place since the 18th century — any modifications are a serious undertaking.

But among Democrats there is a strong consensus that Republicans have gone too far in their latest attempt to block White House appointments, by denying Mr. Obama any more judges for what is considered the most important appeals court in the country despite three vacancies.

What I don't want to see is the Dems walking right up to the line on this and then pulling back because the Republicans offered some minor concession. With regard to the three vacancies now existing in the DC Circuit, I have no doubt that the GOP -- in an attempt to thwart the nuclear option -- will agree to not filibuster one of Obama's nominees, but the Democrats should refuse to compromise on this. They should simply deploy the nuclear option and get all three nominees confirmed.

Elections have consequences. But what the Republicans are basically trying to do is nullify the fact that Obama has handily won two presidential elections by not letting him fill VACANT judicial seats.  I have no doubt that the GOP -- and perhaps even some Democrats -- will respond to the deployment of the nuclear option by saying that things are only going to get worse in Congress because of it.  My response:  It can't get any worse than it is now.

These GOP efforts must be put into context: Republicans know that they are demographically screwed in the long run, and their efforts to prevent President Blackenstein from filling open seats go hand-in-hand with other things that are designed to extend the life of their dying party, such as the Citizens United case and the voter suppression tactics being employed nationwide by Republican lawmakers.The Democrats must aggressively oppose all such tactics regardless of the context in which they occur.

There is some talk out there about how Senate traditions should be preserved.  Indeed, a lot of Democrats cited "tradition" as a big reason they have opposed the nuclear option in the past.  But one thing that is abundantly clear is the GOP doesn't give a shit about traditions in government.  As the recent GOP government shutdown indicates, Republicans have no respect for government at all. They certainly have no great love for this country, given that the GOP also recently tried to intentionally bring down America's economy. All the GOP seems to care about these days is finding ways to nullify the fact that America has elected -- and then reelected -- a Black president.

The time has come for the Democrats to stop playing defense.  They need to go nuclear.