An additional note: McCain compared reconciliation to the stand-off on judges. But the two are completely different situations. During that judicial stand-off, Senate Republicans were proposing to eliminate the filibuster. On the other hand, reconciliation is a tried and true practice that both parties have used to pass controversial legislation affecting the budget (whether it's tax cuts, tax increases, or changes to health care).
The Republicans weren't just proposing to eliminate the filibuster through the normal process of setting rules, they were proposing to end the filibuster by...cheating and having the parliamentarian just declare that it was icky and make it go away.