Site Meter

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

WaPo Headline Person Part N

Craig Becker, nominated for NLRB, rejected by Senate
Updated 7:01 p.m. ET
The nomination of Craig Becker, whom President Obama chose to serve on the National Labor Relations Board, died Tuesday after it failed a cloture vote in the Senate.

Senators voted 52 to 33 for end debate on Becker's nomination, but that was not enough to move to a vote.


Confirmation is blocked by a filibuster and the Washington Post says it is rejected. The Senate voted no 33 to 52.

Notice that only 26% of Americans know that 60 Senators are needed to defeat a filibuster. I'm sure a larger fraction of Washington Post readers know that. Indeed if you read the story, you will notice that a confirmation was "defeated" in spite of 52 yes votes.

What justification is there for leaving the word Filibuster out of the headline ?

Which is a more important fact, that Becker's nomination, like all nominations which must be approved by Congress, was considered by the Senate, or that unlike almost all nominations in US history, it was filibustered ?

The headline was written for people who understand that 60 votes are now needed for anything in the Senate (26% of the population) but have to be reminded that, if congress must confirm a nominee, it's up to the Senate as clearly written in the constitution ?

US voters just do not know enough to do our jobs. The press is not helping.
Was it necessary to say that

No comments: