The "nuclear" option, as you describe it, sounds less nuclear and more like common sense to me.
Exactly, I loath the use of the word "nuclear" to describe this option which to me is entirely "constitutional" in nature. Providing the President's judicial nominees with an up or down vote is a constitutional obligation of the U.S. Senate. The Senate does not have any authority to stipulate what type of judges the President may be allowed to appoint to the bench.
The word "nuclear" implies an attack and suggests that the Republicans are doing something wrong in insisting that the President's nominees receive a vote on the Senate floor.