In what Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill called a “shocking development” last night, liberal U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and his Senate Democrat bosses rashly used what is known as the “nuclear option” to suddenly kill a key Senate rule that protects the democratic rights of the minority party.

Politico reports that the power grab “threatens to further inflame partisan tensions and stymie legislative action,” while the Atlantic notes that it “may fundamentally diminish the powers of the minority party in the Senate,” and that “both liberals and conservatives are troubled by what may come of it.”

Notably – in just the latest example of Casey’s campaign rhetoric not matching his Washington record – in 2005, the Casey campaign attacked then-Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) for wanting to change Senate rules.  As the Allentown Morning Call reported at the time:

“Jay Reiff, campaign manager for state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., who is seeking the Democratic Senate nomination, said Santorum’s eagerness to eliminate the filibuster shows he’s more interested in partisan victories than serving Pennsylvania voters. ‘Bob Casey is on record that the U.S. Senate is one of the last places left in Washington where Republicans and Democrats work together,’ Reiff said. ‘Voters don’t see how more partisanship helps anything.’” (Jeff Miller, “Filibuster fight turns up heat on Specter, Santorum,” Morning Call, 5/21/05)

“Last night’s vote is further proof that Bob Casey is willing to recklessly put his Washington Democrat bosses’ narrow partisan agenda ahead of the best interests of Pennsylvania and the nation,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond.  “It’s bad enough that Casey supports President Obama’s reckless ‘stimulus’ spending and ObamaCare, but his rash move to permanently strip the minority party of fundamental rights is simply outrageous and goes against the interests of our democracy.”

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: 

“Shocking” Power-Grab By Senate Dems “Threatens To Further Inflame Partisan Tensions… Stymie Legislative Action,” “Could Be Replicated In The Future To Overhaul Bedrock Rules.”

“It’s known as the “nuclear option,” but just as with real nukes, the bomb is rarely dropped in battle. Reid did tonight.” (Karoun Demirjian, “Harry Reid changes arcane U.S. Senate rules to make a point,” The Las Vegas Sun, 10/6/11)

“In a shocking development Thursday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) triggered a rarely used procedural option informally called the ‘nuclear option’ to change the Senate rules.” (Alexander Bolton, “Reid’s ‘Nuclear Option’ Changes Rules, Ends Repeat Filibusters,” The Hill, 10/6/11)

“…[T]he process employed by Democrats could be replicated in the future to overhaul bedrock rules like the filibuster. For that reason, both parties have tried to avoid employing such tactics to change the rules over the last several congressional sessions, including in a fierce 2005 battle that nearly limited the use of the filibuster.” (Manu Raju & Scott Wong, “Dems Change Rules; Senate In Chaos, Politico, 10/6/11)

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s move to suddenly overhaul a key Senate rule without warning infuriated Republicans and put an already bitterly divided chamber on edge as senators from both sides of the aisle traded angry accusations over whether the fight would fundamentally limit the rights of the minority party”. (Manu Raju & Scott Wong, “Dems Change Rules; Senate In Chaos, Politico, 10/6/11)

“… [U]nder the new procedure, senators can no longer move to waive the rules once a filibuster is defeated — a battle that threatens to further inflame partisan tensions and stymie legislative action at a time when frustration with Congress is at an all-time high.” (Manu Raju & Scott Wong, “Dems Change Rules; Senate In Chaos, Politico, 10/6/11)

“It was a precedent-setting night in the Senate Thursday evening and both liberals and conservatives are troubled by what may come of it.” (John Hudson, “A Night of Chaos in the Senate Worries Both Left and Right,” The Atlantic, 10/7/11)

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid overhauled a key Senate rule that may fundamentally diminish the powers of the minority party in the Senate.” (John Hudson, “A Night of Chaos in the Senate Worries Both Left and Right,” The Atlantic, 10/7/11)

And on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown this morning…

KELLY O’DONNELL: …And it really is important, because both sides say they revere the rules of the senate. Why is that so important? Because everybody likes to have a predictable set of rules to fight out these political battles. And what happened is, Harry Reid, Democrat in charge of the Senate, pulled a surprise move, got other Democrats to vote against the call of the referee, if you will, known as the Parliamentarian, to shut down Republicans, who did want to take a political vote, wanted to force the Senate to do what the President has asked, vote on his jobs bill. That’s not popular with Democrats. They’re already retooling it, putting in some different ways to pay for it, so they didn’t want to take that vote. That’s the backdrop of this. But the bigger issue going forward is, you just don’t see the Senate up and change its own rules. That’s really rankled people. And so, there were heated moments, in terms of the way the Senate behaves, when they get their kind of fuming moments, pacing on the floor, that really stands out, that’s unusual. So, if you think about this as – you know, you love sports analogies – so you know, you’re allowed to kind of run down the clock if you’re the minority party. You’re allowed to slow things down. People don’t like it, necessarily, but you’re allowed. Harry Reid decided to change those rules and there will be fallout for a lot of time to come.

CHUCK TODD: I was just going to say, the unintended consequence of this action, long term hit on the Senate.

KELLY O’DONNELL: Yes.

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The Bob Casey Campaign In 2005 Attacked Senator Santorum For Wanting To Change The Rules Of The Filibuster. “Jay Reiff, campaign manager for state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., who is seeking the Democratic Senate nomination, said Santorum’s eagerness to eliminate the filibuster shows he’s more interested in partisan victories than serving Pennsylvania voters. ‘Bob Casey is on record that the U.S. Senate is one of the last places left in Washington where Republicans and Democrats work together,’ Reiff said. ‘Voters don’t see how more partisanship helps anything.’” (Jeff Miller, “Filibuster fight turns up heat on Specter, Santorum,” Morning Call, 5/21/05)