Dems Don't Want "Gang of 14" When They're In Charge

When the GOP was threatening to end filibusters for judicial nominees 14 Senators from both parties formed the "Gang of 14" to compromise on the issue (and effectively kill several good Bush nominees). The move was widely criticized by conservatives.

At least one of the same players wants to resurrect the "Gang of 14", but now that the Dems are in control the urge for bipartisan cooperation suddenly isn't so strong:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wants to revive the bipartisan Gang of 14 — this time for health care reform, not judicial nominees.

But most of his moderate Democratic colleagues aren’t rushing to R.S.V.P.

Graham said Tuesday that a coalition of Republican and Democratic senators could rescue the Senate from an institutional disaster brought on by the use of the parliamentary maneuver known as reconciliation to finish the health care bill.

“Many Republicans who were ready to pull the trigger on the nuclear option on judges are now glad they didn’t,” Graham said. “This place would have ceased to function as we know it. If they do health care through reconciliation, it will be the same consequence. So if you are a moderate Democrat out there looking for a way to deliver health care reforms and not pull the nuclear trigger, there is a model to look at.”

But some of the moderates who would usually be the first to join such a push scoffed at the idea.

“Who are they going to get?” asked Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), a member of the original Gang of 14. “It is not the same as it was before.”

Of course it isn't. The original Gang of 14 successfully thwarted Bush'a judicial appointments and neutered the GOP majority. The Democrats aren't foolish enough to neuter themselves in the same way.

Remember, in Washington bipartisanship means Republicans agreeing with Democrats, not the other way around.