Easy words for him to speak.
When Reid changes the Senate filibuster rules, there won’t be anything he can do about it.
He’s exactly where the GOP-e are the most comfortable; able to protest what the Democrats do without being able to do anything to stop it.
He imagines he can move quickly on some risky scheme if he gets the filibuster rules out of the way now.
BTW, the Republicans will vote unanimously for the appointment of any Democrat senator to the cabinet ~ just to get 'em out of the senate.
That's the whole point - which seems to be lost on some of the hurtazz Freepers in this thread: Mitch is promising scorched earth, and under the new Senate rules where the GOP can't filibuster rule changes & amendments, Harry will have to Own It when it comes to tax hikes.
Mitch is already laying the playing field for 2014.
Reid can change the rules, and it won’t matter much. The feckless GOP has ceased to use the rules unless its “leadership” finds a way to expand government too. The only hope would be for McC and Boehner to be replaced, and that can’t happen, and it probably wouldn ‘t matter either.