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WaPo portrays bringing health bill to Senate floor as political act

November 22, 2009 3:24 pm ET by Jamison Foser

Yesterday, the United States Senate voted to bring health care reform legislation to the floor for debate.  Now, take a look at how the Washington Post reports that vote in the lead headline on the paper's web site:

Democrats vote.  Now, it's true that all of the Senate's Democrats voted to bring the bill to the floor.  But not only the Democrats: Connecticut for Lieberman party member Joe Lieberman -- who is a Senator today because he ran against the Democratic party's most recent nominee for his seat -- did, too, as did independent Bernie Sanders.

More importantly, "Democrats vote" -- as compared to, say, "Senate votes" or "Senate decides" -- suggests Senate Democrats' vote to bring the bill to the floor was a political act rather than an act of governing.  It suggests that yesterday's vote didn't take place in the full Senate, but in the Democratic cloakroom, or at the DNC -- that it was just Democrats deciding among themselves to move the bill to the floor, without any Republicans (or Connecticut-for-Liebermans) involved in the vote.   And it suggests that the actions of a house of Congress don't really count unless they are "bipartisan."

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    • Author by bdouglasharris3173 (November 22, 2009 3:28 pm ET)
         
      You're right, but at the same time, "Senate votes" might convey the idea that a single Republican voted yes on this.
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    • Author by TavernWench (November 22, 2009 3:31 pm ET)
         
      Something tells me Chuck Todd would love the WaPo's take.
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    • Author by overmars jr. (November 22, 2009 4:42 pm ET)
      4  
      WaPo = joke.
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    • Author by mk3872 (November 22, 2009 5:28 pm ET)
      1 4
      It's not just WaPo. All the press today referred to the bill and the vote as the Dems vote.

      That being said, Jamison, this seems a little ticky-tacky and something one might find from the righties at Newsbusters/MRC.
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    • Author by ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© (November 22, 2009 5:50 pm ET)
      2  
      You speelled WaPooP wrong.

      I find the depths that the WaPooo has sunk to unfathomable.

      Orwell was right (as was President Dwight D. Eisenhower).
      ~
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    • Author by princeofwheels (November 23, 2009 12:03 am ET)
      2  
      This is a bi-partisan bill..Dems and Indies..isn't that two? Could have been tri-partisan but none of the Republicans Senators were allowed to vote for the bill. Mitchy McConnell told them they'd have to kiss Rushs' butt if they did.

      If everyone on the Liberal blogs start calling it a BI-PARTISAN BILL, the Cons will have to explain how Dems + Indies==ONE.

      ConLogic works both ways
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