Biden in 2005: ‘Nuclear Option Is Ultimately an Example of the Arrogance of Power’

EXCERPT:

BIDEN: "Mr. President, my friends and colleagues, I have not been here as long as Senator Byrd, and no one fully understands the Senate as well as Senator Byrd, but I have been here for over three decades. I think this is the single most significant vote any one of us will cast in my 32 years in the Senate. And I suspect the Senator would agree with that. We should make no mistake. This nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power. It is a fundamental power grab by the majority party, propelled by its extreme right and designed to change the reading of the Constitution, particularly as it relates to individual rights and property rights. It's nothing more or nothing less, and let me take a few moments to explain that. Folks who want to see this change want to eliminate one of the procedural mechanisms designed for the express purpose of guaranteeing individual rights, and they also as a consequence would undermine the protections of a minority point of view in the heat of majority excess.”