Front page article in today's Washington Post:
Senate Lacks Votes to Pass Stimulus
Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support, they will seek to cut provisions that would not provide an immediate boost to the economy.
Not enough votes? The Dems are in the majority, so how can that be?
The momentum to cut spending became apparent in votes on several amendments. First, the Senate fell two votes shy of the 60-vote threshold needed yesterday to add $25 billion for highway projects and transit programs.
The "requirement" of 60 votes is mentioned as if it were a given. Nowhere does it mention that 60 votes are needed only because the Republicans are threatening to filibuster if they are not happy with the bill. In fact, the word "Filibuster" is not used anywhere in the article.
This passage is immediately followed by:
Then, on a 52 to 45 vote, the chamber stripped $246 million in tax breaks for Hollywood production companies, a measure offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), the Senate's self-appointed watchdog on federal spending. Coburn, who almost always loses his quixotic efforts to cut funding, appeared jubilant -- if somewhat surprised -- by his unexpected victory.
Gee, that was easy for Coburn. Of course, there is no explanation of why the $25B in highway construction that the dems wanted requires 60 votes, while Coburn's amendment passed with just 52 votes. Is it that Democratic senators are unlike to filibuster their own legislation?
Things would look quite a bit different if the facts were reported as follows:
Republicans in the Senate blocked the additional $25 billion in highway projects proposed by Senate Democrats by threatening to filibuster the pending legislation.
Is there a some reason reporters for the Post are hesitant to use the word Filibuster? Or should we just believe that there is a 60 vote threshold for Democratic proposals and a 50 vote threshold for Republican ideas in the Senate?