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Obama's job bill blocked by GOP in procedural move

That's what Fallows says the headline should be:

Here is the headline in the online home page of the NYT, about Obama's "pass this jobs bill, pass it now" proposal. Note the word "fails":

Obama's Jobs Bill Fails in Senate in First Legislative Test

The subhead and the rest of the article make clear that more Senators voted for the bill than against it -- 50 to 49. It would have been 51-48 except for a parliamentary ruse by Majority Leader Harry Reid, who switched to a "No" vote so that he would later be able to call it up for reconsideration.

We have gone so far in recent years toward routinizing the once-rare requirement for a 60-vote Senate "supermajority" into an obstacle for every nomination and every bill that our leading newspaper can say that a measure "fails" when it gets more Yes than No votes.

The headline Fallows suggests in its place (heading this post) "would help offset the mounting mis-impression that the Constitution dictates a 60-vote margin for getting anything done." Remember, the GOP want people to think government can't get anything done. It's important to remind people that this is a political strategy to consolidate power, not a feature of our government.

Note: As of this writing, the headline has changed to "President’s Jobs Measure Is Turned Back in Key Senate Test," which doesn't really change Fallows' point.

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