With President Palin and the Republican Congress stubbornly insisting on invading Iran, it has been the proud and seemingly quixotic task of the 44 Democratic senators to prevent cloture on the war resolution. But now Majority Leader McConnell is threatening to use the reconciliation process to pass the bill over the objections of not only Democrats but of the majority of the American public.

This abuse of reconciliation is unprecedented, and is an abuse of not only the rules of the Senate but of minority rights as well. It’s an abuse that could only be contemplated by a party as sinister and Machiavellian as the GOP. It’s an abuse that cannot stand.

Reconciliation was adapted in 1974 by the Congressional Budget Act — for the specific purpose of allowing the Senate to reconcile spending, revenues, and the debt-limit with a budget resolution, on a strictly majority vote — without the threat of a filibuster. But this process was only intended for deficit reduction, not to pass major changes in public policy. Such has been confirmed by none other than that grand historian of the Senate, 100-year-old Robert Byrd.

That the Republicans would attempt to call their war resolution a reconciliation matter simply because expenditures for this operation affect the federal budget is outrageous. You would never see the Democrats attempt to make such a dubious link just to pass sweeping legislation that’s without bipartisan support.

No, the Democrats have always understood the importance of properly adhering to rules and procedures. And they’ve also always understood the importance of minority rights. They know full well that it was the filibuster (and the threat thereof) that prevented President George W. Bush from appointing far-right-wing judges, and prevented him from implementing his dark plan of Social Security reform.

And who knows? Perhaps this is what President Palin and her acolytes in Congress have in store for us next.

We are a democracy. And the American public, by measure of every publicly available poll, is steadfastly against invading Iran. But are the Republicans listening?

No.

They say that it’s the right thing to do. They call Democrats obstructionists, and say that they are the party of No.

And they say that they are willing to accept the political consequences of their actions. But are we? By the time the next elections occur, it will be too late. The die will be cast. And as former President Obama learned all too well, it’s much easier to start a war than to end one.

The Democrats must stop this so-called “reconciliation” measure. By any means — including by offering unlimited amendments to it, which is their right.

And responsibility.

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