From the Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi, 5/23/03:
"I'm for the nuclear option, absolutely," Lott has said. "The filibuster of federal district and circuit judges cannot stand. ... It's bad for the institution. It's wrong. It's not supportable under the Constitution. And if they insist on persisting with these filibusters, I'm perfectly prepared to blow the place up. No problem."
Many folks have come up with excellent citations regarding use of the term "nuclear option" by Frist and others. Also some have cited reports that Lott originated the term (in this context). This comment has helpful citations that link early use of the term to Lott. Armando's recent diary has other very helpful citations. Likewise for Bill's.
However, so far on Kos (or other blogs) I've not seen a fairly complete quote showing Lott's very explicit and inflammatory use of the term, so I was happy to discover the quote I cited above.
Here's some terrific irony: according to this diary, Chris Reid of MSNBC recently said "Democrats have promised to quote, blow up the Senate."
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