Whoever it was on the Republican side who coined the term “nuclear option,” you should forever be banned from coining clever phrases. This has always struck me as an idiotic phrase on every level. First, it concedes that changing the rules would be radical and dangerous, which plays perfectly into the Democrats’ hands. Second, it’s factually untrue. Changing the rules wouldn’t have blown up the Senate. The Democrats promised reaction to the rule change was the explosive part. If China announces they will launch a nuclear strike against the United States unless we ban usage of the phrase “Peking duck” in favor of “Beijing duck” we wouldn’t be exercising the “nuclear option” by using the phrase “Peking duck.” The Chinese would be when/if they retaliated unreasonably. But, no, the Republicans had to create a phrase which by its very definition made them sound unreasonable.

And lastly, the phrase simply smacks of that typical, annoying, testosterone drenched attitude of Hill Republicans. Noooo…we can’t use a phrase like “restore comity” or “reform debate” for we are Klingons! We must talk the manly talk. We must show off our big swinging nuclear options.