After yesterday's health care summit—at which the Republicans' big idea for health care reform was to scrap the whole thing and start over—there's increasing talk about the Democrats using the "controversial" reconciliation process to push their reform bill through the Senate now. The maneuver requires only 51 votes and gets around the obstacle of a Republican filibuster (which would require 60 votes to overcome, which the Democrats don't currently have).

It's well worth putting the word "controversial" in quotes above because, while Republicans are whining about the potential use of the reconciliation process now, in the past they've been more than happy to use it themselves to ram through things like tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Here, to remind you just how much Republicans used to like using reconciliation, is Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) speaking in praise of the maneuver—and unyieldingly so!—in 2005:

Via Cynthia Tucker.