Clyburn: Pushing Public Option Through Reconciliation Is Not Nuclear Option

House Majority Whip James Clyburn appeared on Fox News today and defended using reconciliation to push a public option through the Senate as part of health care reform.

"This is not a nuclear option, this it totally different," Clyburn said. He pointed to past GOP uses of reconciliation, and argued that it was a "regular" procedure.

"Reconciliation is what George W. Bush did to get his tax cuts passed," he said, adding that "this is exactly what Republicans did to pass much of their so-called Contract With America, they used reconciliation."

Clyburn said the House supports Obama's health care proposal, despite it using the Senate bill as a framework. "We can modify it, we can add to it, we can subtract from it. All of this notion of the president trying to ram something down people's throats -- that's not it."