Truth in headlines

I came across the following headline:

Unemployment Extension Fails: Senate Rejects Jobless Benefits 58-38

Actually, though, the Senate voted 58-38 in favor of the bill. But the opponents did a filibuster. Here’s another try:

Congress Fails to Pass an Extension of Jobless Aid

But it’s still not clear that the vote was strongly in favor–not even close, in fact. A better headline, I think, would be:

Senate Vote on Unemployment Extension: 58-38 in Favor, Not Enough to Beat Filibuster

Or maybe someone more journalistic than I can come up with something better?

6 thoughts on “Truth in headlines

  1. Filibuster Blocks Unemployment Extension: 58-38 Senate Majority Fails to Clear Hurdle.

    It's a bit odd to make the subject of the sentence a procedure, but Filibustering Senators is probably a bit long. Maybe we need a term for people that filibuster. Filibusterers gets by my spell check but is ungainly. Filibers? Busters?

  2. Republican hot air gives democracy the finger.

    Filibusters give Unemployed Bill the finger

    (have to capitalise Unemployed or it could be a Clinton reference ;-)

  3. I like:

    2 Senators Block Unemployment Extension

    After all, if two of nay votes had voted yea, it'd have passed (60/100 breaks a filibuster in the U.S. Senate).

    Here are the recent headlines returned by Google News; amazing just how many reports "statistics" of some kind, and how many people have specific targets of blame:

    Unemployment bill fails to beat filibuster, 59-37

    Republican Filibuster Stops Unemployment Benefits Extension Dead In Its Tracks
    Cornyn blames Democrats for failure to extend unemployment benefits
    Republicans starve the jobless, Democrats head for the hills
    Ben Nelson Destroys Chance for Unemployment Extension Before Holiday Break
    As Congress Plays Politics, the Unemployed Suffer
    1.3 million unemployed won't get benefits restored
    Snowe and Collins Only Two Republicans to Vote for Unemployment Extension
    2010 Unemployment Extension Bill Voted Down in Senate for Fourth Time in June
    Republicans Push for a Double-Dip Recession
    17 Senators From States With Double-Digit Jobless Rates Repeatedly Vote To Filibuster Unemployment Benefits

    It's like having Festivus all year round if you're a political wonk.

  4. I've become fairly relaxed with the media treating the Senate as an institution where you need a three fifths vote to pass something. No this is not in the Constitution (in fact arguably it is unconstitutional), but this seems to be something the politicians want, and so fine. We have a new amendment to the unwritten part of the Constitution, you need 60 votes to pass something in the Senate.

    As someone who favors majority rule, I am opposed to the whole concept of the Senate, so if they want to adopt ridiculous procedures that make the entity impossible to function as part of a working government, again fine. The worse the better.

    For a headline, how about "Republicans exploit Senate Rules to stop Jobless Benefit Extension"?

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