One of the number one questions I hear from Arkansans is “Why can’t Washington work together?” We can and should work together. Yet time after time, bills are caught up in the gridlock of a hyper-partisan Washington.

One of the biggest obstacles here in the Senate is the partisan maneuvering by the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  From blocking our ability to offer amendments to bypassing the committee process, the tactics employed by the Majority Leader are all designed to thwart the minority’s ability to change legislation. 

It has left us with one option to stop bills we are not allowed to have input on: the cloture vote.  Now, Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to take that right away from us.

The Majority Leader is proposing a rule change in the upper chamber that erases years of Senate precedence and the rights of the minority party. This power grab—the so-called “nuclear option”—would allow Majority Leader Reid to stop debate or compromise surrounding controversial legislation.

One of the great things about the Senate is that it is an ongoing, living body.  Unlike House members who are up for reelection every two years, Senate rules carry over into the new session of Congress.  That is, of course, unless the Majority Leader has his way.

Everybody in the Senate, including the non-partisan Parliamentarian, agrees that it takes 67 votes to change the rules. The Senate Majority is in a situation where members are going to have to break the rules to change the rules.  Any way you look at that, the ends doesn’t justify the means.

To let the public know why this is such a bad idea, the Senate Republican Caucus has rolled out a new website site, Stop the Nuclear Option, which features videos, news stories, social media tools, and other resources regarding Reid’s proposed rules change – including sections highlighting longstanding and continued opposition from members of Reid’s own party and his own past objections to this type of procedural maneuvering when the Democrats were in the minority.

You can watch the video I contributed to the website below.