Sauce Goose Gander ?

The New York Times continues its policy of declaring the Senate to have rejected a bill when a majority of Senators vote yes

the provision got only 58 votes, two short of the 6o votes needed for passage under Senate rules.

Hmm does this have anything to do with cloture or filibusters ? Lefty bloggers such as myself have been complaining for over 2 years and 6 months over the MSMs tendency to treat a filibuster as normal and assert, in effect, that a majority less than 60 is a minority.

I understand that to increase the deficit one must first modify the rule of the senate that says that all bills and amendments which would increase the deficit are out of order. Thus, filibuster or no filibuster, the stimulus bill required 60 votes on a change in the rules before it could pass.

What's going on here ? Hmm let me try to check.

Seems that the latest vote was not a vote on a cloture motion. The amendment is listed as rejected. It appears that, exactly as claimed by BERNIE BECKER and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN of the New York Times, under Senate rules

Required For Majority: 3/5

So with only 58 votes the amendment was rejected, not filibustered to death, rejected.



In any case, I am delighted that a pro-gun amendment didn't pass in large part due to the surprising opposition of Senator Lugar.