The only "nuclear option" that matters is the one for legislation.
The over-ride of the filibuster for judges is really not that big of a deal anymore. At least since the nomination of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court, Republicans have not been willing to compromise in any way on their nominations. They even refused to find a replacement for the obviously incompetent Thomas.
Usually, they will get several Democrats to go along with their nominations. They get who they want on "their" Court. That is why they refused to put up anyone else when Gorsuch was selected. They were ready to blow up everything to get their Justice on the Court.
If the Democrats had not decided to filibuster, Gorsuch would probably have gotten 75 votes for confirmation. Nothing has really changed with the nomination of judges. The next one may get 90 votes? In the long run, this will be better for Democrats than for Republicans because it was Republicans that tended to obstruct and block judges, generally speaking, just as they did with the 10th Circuit in DC, which brought about Harry Reid's decision to go "nuclear" in 2013.
However, when they make the decision to go "nuclear" on legislation, then it will be a different story. Each Congress would be like a yo-yo. One would pass a new law and the next one would repeal it and pass their own version. There would be little stability in our government, unless one Party were to take control and keep it for several years. That will be the "nuclear option" that really matters.
= new reply since forum marked as read
