Sally Kohn Makes False Claim About Nuclear Option

CNN contributor and liberal pundit Sally Kohn on Thursday tweeted out a flawed take on the Senate Republicans' use of the so-called "nuclear option."

"Are we really surprised that after Democrats DIDN'T use [the nuclear option], Republicans DID?" she tweeted on Friday. "Perpetual high-road/low-road distinction."

Are we really surprised that after Democrats DIDN'T use #NuclearOption, Republicans DID?

Perpetual high-road/low-road distinction.

— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) April 6, 2017

But Democrats did use the nuclear option when they controlled the Senate in 2013, changing the rules to kill the filibuster of any executive appointments and non-Supreme Court federal judges. Republicans on Thursday then applied the nuclear option to Supreme Court nominations.

When Kohn wrote an op-ed for CNN in 2013 she praised Democrats for going nuclear.

"‘Nuclear option' makes GOP do its job," she wrote. "If Democrats didn't flip the nuclear switch now to allow appointments to go through, Republicans will surely flip it later. At least if Democrats do it first, they get to finally vote on some critical nominees and move the governance and sanctity of our nation forward."

"‘Nuclear option' is a loaded term," she insisted. "Proponents of the measure call it the ‘constitutional option' in so far as it is constitutional and it would finally hold Senate Republicans' feet to the fire to perform their constitutional duty."

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