Filibuster Bluster

You'd think now that the Democrats finally had the spine to stand up and make the Republicans go on the record with their opposition to doing anything to stop this stinkin' war, somebody in the media might offer the Dems a tiny bit of credit. You'd be wrong. As Talking Points Memo and others document, most of the reporting on last night's congressional slumber party blamed the Democrats for the event and then painted the results as their failure:

• St. Louis Post Dispatch: "Filibuster Fails to Force Iraq Vote"
• NY Times: "Democrats Fail to Force Vote on Iraq Pullout"
• FOX News: "Democrat Proposal Fails 52-47"
• Even C-SPAN got it wrong: "Senate Blocks Iraq Withdrawal Timeline 52-47"

Props in this case actually go to the Los Angeles Times, which reported events thusly:

WASHINGTON — For the seventh time this year, Senate Republicans today
blocked a measure to change U.S. policy in Iraq, beating back the latest
Democratic proposal to set a timeline for withdrawing troops.


Democrats fell eight votes short of the 60 votes demanded by Republican
leaders for an amendment to the defense authorization bill being debated in the
Senate.


Four Republican lawmakers joined Democrats, ending a round-the-clock
session orchestrated by Democratic leaders Tuesday night to highlight what they
alleged was Republican obstructionism.


The 52-47 vote to cut off debate on the proposal prompted more angry
accusations from Senate Democrats, who said their Republican colleagues were
resisting the will of American people who wanted to bring the troops home.


"End this filibuster," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) urged his
Republican colleagues. "Stop blocking a vote on this crucial war-ending
amendment.... We can make this the first day of ending the war."

When the Republicans were in the majority, observe how they wailed when Democrats used the same procedural trick to block votes on their legislation:

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS): "[Filibustering] is wrong. It’s not supportable
under the Constitution. And if they insist on persisting with these filibusters,
I’m perfectly prepared to blow the place up."


Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spokesman: "Senator McConnell always has and
continues to fully support the use of what has become known as the ‘[nuclear]’
option in order to restore the norms and traditions of the Senate."

Here's McConnell yesterday:

"It’s a shame that we find ourselves in the position that we’re in," McConnell
said. "It produces a level of animosity and unity on the minority side that
makes it more difficult for the majority to pass important legislation."

Wanker.