U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is threating the “nuclear option” as it regards the Senate’s voting rules.

Go for it, Mr. Leader.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/190780-reid-threatens-to-go-nuclear

Republican senators are blocking three judicial nominees to the federal court system. President Obama nominated highly qualified jurists to the D.C. Court of Appeals. The GOP has filibustered the nominees, however, requiring a 60-vote majority to break the filibuster and moving the nominations forward. They offer a silly rationale for the filibuster, saying that the D.C. court has too many seats and that it can function with just eight judges. The 11-member court has three vacancies at the moment.

Reid has had his fill of this kind of tactic. He is threatening once again to invoke a rule that would enable the Democrats who control the Senate to change the rules to require a simple majority — 51 votes — to unclog the nomination process.

Why not do it?

Republicans contend the measure could backfire on Democrats if the GOP takes control of the Senate after next year’s election. That would mean Republicans could stop any Democratic effort at filibustering legislation proposed by a theoretical GOP majority.

Reid insists that the Founding Fathers did not intend for the Senate to be hamstrung by procedural maneuvering, which is the result of the 60-vote rule.

The nation operates on a simple majority rule, yes? We elect our public officials who manage to gain a majority of 50 percent plus a single vote. Heck, we even elect presidents who don’t even get a majority of the votes cast, but manage to win a majority of votes awarded by the Electoral College (see George W. Bush, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and John Quincy Adams).

The 60-vote rule can be abused, as has been the case with this constant blocking of judicial appointments by the president of the United States.

Go nuclear, Sen. Reid.