Dems may take shortcut in passing health overhaul

WASHINGTON – Democrats struggling to enact President Barack Obama's health care overhaul may take a seldom-used Senate shortcut. That prospect has infuriated Republicans who, it turns out, have used the process far more than Democrats. That's just one hint of the pressures, emotions and uncertainty that Democrats' use of the so-called reconciliation process would unleash for both sides. It would put an obscure, appointed Senate staffer — its parliamentarian — in a political crucible for one of the year's most momentous legislative and political showdowns. It would raise questions about how extensive the legislation would be, due to limitations on the process. And in the end, it may boil down to a physical endurance test as GOP senators try stopping the measure with an endless parade of votes. After a year that has seen nothing go easily in his health care drive, Obama began building a case Thursday for using reconciliation, sometimes called the "nuclear option." The process would let Senate Democrats derail a GOP filibuster — delays that take 60 votes to end — and muscle a bill through with a simple majority. Republicans have had 41 Senate seats since their surprise win in last month's Massachusetts special election. "I think most Americans think that a majority vote makes sense," Obama told Republicans Thursday at his daylong health care summit with top lawmakers.