Thanks for your explanation also.
So that everyone knows the additional subtleties, Reid threatened Ben Nelson and other moderates that he would use reconciliation (only requiring 51 votes to pass the final bill) if they didn’t vote YES tonight.
So, in effect, Nelson may have saved us from Reid using a nuclear option to avoid the next cloture vote.
If that was the price to let the matter proceed, it was worth it.
That said, when things bog down in December, Reid will be under new pressure from BO to break his word. So, when you engage ANY RAT over the next 4 weeks, make sure you tell them you are watching very carefully and that all Hell will break loose if they try to get around cloture by using reconciliation.