Harry Reid made some news at today’s press event touting the Senate health care bill. He said that the first motion to proceed would come on Saturday, with full debate likely to start after the Thanksgiving holiday. He also said that reconciliation is not an option:

Reid also said he would not use a procedural maneuver known as reconciliation to pass the bill – a shift from previous statements when he would say all options are on the table.

“I’m not using reconciliation,” he said flatly.

This is a stark difference from what Brian Beutler reported just a day ago, where he reported that reconciliation is still an option. All the conservative Democrats not yet committed to cloture said that.

In response to a question from TPMDC (Nebraska Dem Senator Ben) Nelson told reporters that, at a meeting this afternoon with Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Reid “talked about process, procedure, discussion about reconciliation and a whole host of issues of that sort.”

“Nobody’s really jumping up and down to push for reconciliation,” Nelson said, “he’s not threatening that, but anybody can conclude that if you don’t move something on to the floor, that is one of the possibilities.”

You could potentially read Reid’s “I’m not using reconciliation” statement as referring only to the current action, but an interesting, predictable dynamic has emerged.

When reconciliation was still on the table, leaders were confident that all members of the Democratic caucus would vote to bring the bill to the floor for debate. Indeed, today, some Senators, like Evan Bayh and Mark Pryor, have signaled their willingness to support the motion to proceed. But with reconciliation off the table, take a look at Ben Nelson’s hesitancy to announce support.

Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), one of three centrists Democrats who have not pledged to support a critical test vote on healthcare reform Saturday, again declined to declare his intentions Thursday.

But Nelson vowed he would not keep Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) waiting until the last minute.

“I’m not looking to delay it. As soon as I’ve gotten through the review, I’ll be ready to do something,” Nelson told reporters. Questioned whether he might make an announcement Thursday, Nelson said: “Could be.”

As I noted previously, Nelson is saying that the abortion compromise language in the bill “isn’t good enough” for him, and explicitly stated that he would feel better if the public option came out of the bill, making a direct connection between the abortion question and the public option.

See what happens when the leverage against conservative Democrats is eased? The power dynamic immediately changes.

Give ‘em hell, Harry.