JOHN Dean on the ''Nuclear Option''

"In the end, though, it's important to keep in mind that, in all likelihood, no court will ever resolve this matter. Instead, any federal court would likely refrain from deciding whether the Senate rule change can be accomplished by a simple majority vote, by citing the "political question" doctrine, and concluding that the Constitution assigns the resolution of such questions to the Senate itself. Thus, the real war will occur not in the courts, but within the Senate. This has become a high stakes political game of chicken. It is still not clear whether any side - or both - will avert the clash. The Democrats do have one final weapon in their arsenal. If Republicans try to remove the filibuster option, then Democrats can try to make the Republicans play by all the Senate's Rules, construed literally. That, in turn, would bring the Senate's business to a halt - save for the barest essentials - and thus, Congress' business as well, for the House cannot pass laws without the Senate. In effect, the Democrats have the option of nuclear winter. If they don't rely on this counter-tactic - with the hope of restoring Republicans to their senses - they might as well pack up and go home. No longer would there be an opposition party in the Senate."-from the article in Findlaw's Writ. If Howard Dean ever runs for president again, maybe he should enlist John as his vice-presidential running mate and run on the "Dean-Dean" ticket.