Did you know that Republicans filibustered to obstruct raising the debt ceiling Saturday? The bill to raise the debt ceiling received 53 votes in favor and 45 against, with every Republican senator voting to filibuster. Yes, 53-45 is a majority vote to raise the debt ceiling, and this illustrates what is going on here. A minority is obstructing everything to the point of threatening the world economy. But almost no news outlets even reported this to the public.
Again, Republicans filibustered the effort to raise the debt ceiling and keep the country from defaulting on its obligations. But almost no news outlets reported this.
TPM is the only outlet I can find that reported what happened, in GOP Filibusters Debt Limit Hike As Anxieties Flare Over Default,
Senate Republicans blocked a debt ceiling extension from advancing on Saturday, bringing the country one step closer to a catastrophic debt default.
The motion to proceed to the Democrats' bill received 53 votes in favor and 45 against, falling short of the 60 needed to begin debate. Every Republican senator voted to filibuster it. The bill would have raised the debt limit until the end of 2014 with no policy add-ons.
Daily Kos reported the vote but without the word "filibuster," in Senate Republicans block bill raising debt limit through 2014,
The Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed under the current, broken Senate rules to advance a bill raising the debt limit through 2014 early Saturday afternoon, with not one Republican joining Democrats to keep the United States from defaulting.
How did others report this?
AP reported that the debt-limit measure didn't get "the 60 votes necessary to advance" without using the word "filibuster." Here is AP at FOX News (and good Lord read the comments): Senate GOP Rejects Harry Reid’s Latest Debt Ceiling Plan To Extend Limit Through 2014 Elections,
Senate Republicans on Saturday blocked a bid by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to extend the nation’s debt limit until after the 2014 midterm elections.
In an 53-45 vote, the Senate failed to win the 60 votes necessary to advance the debt-limit measure to a floor debate. The bill would increase the federal debt by an estimated $1.1 trillion.
The Hill used the word "blocking" in White House slams Senate Republicans,
The White House criticized Republicans in the Senate for blocking a bill that would have increased the federal debt ceiling by $1.1 trillion until after the 2014 elections.
The debt hike, put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), failed to win the 60 votes that were necessary to advance the measure to a floor debate in the upper chamber.
In Politico (2-paragraph story) "the Senate" blocked it: W.H. hits Senate on debt-limit vote,
The White House criticized the Senate for voting Saturday to block a Democratic bill that would raise the debt ceiling through 2014 without any spending cuts or changes to Obamacare.
That's It
Pretty much no other outlets even reported this vote, with or without the word "filibuster." Click here to see for yourself.
Here's the thing. Democracy depends on citizens being informed so they know what is going on and who to hold accountable for things they do not like. Our major "news" outlets are letting democracy down.
