ConfirmThem

By AndrewHyman Posted in Fillibuster — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

In a stunning, astounding, mind-boggling, and fictional display of journalistic integrity, Newsweek magazine has issued a formal apology for its bogus poll on filibusters. In a make-believe press conference called by Newsweek's top brass, the popular news magazine frankly admitted that its poll was rigged in order to help Senate Democrats get away with their completely unprecedented filibusters of Appeals Court nominees. The news magazine acknowledged that the following preamble to its poll question was complete hogwash:

In the past, this tactic has been used by both Democrats and Republicans to prevent certain judicial nominees from being confirmed. .... Would you approve or disapprove of changing Senate rules to take away the filibuster and allow all of George W. Bush's judicial nominees to get voted on by the Senate?

More specifically, the news magazine today acknowledged at its press conference that never in the entire history of the United States has there been a filibuster of an Appeals Court nomination, and even the Fortas nomination did not have clear majority support. The Newsweek honchos also acknowledged that the poll question was intentionally written to make it seem like any rule change would not apply equally, to both the incumbent president as well as future Democratic presidents. And, the magazine acknowledged that the poll question misled people into believing that filibusters on judicial nominations would be completely eliminated, when in fact the GOP would be delighted to allow such filibusters as long as there is eventually a final vote (after a year, for example). Moreover, Newsweek promised that it would preface its next poll question on filibusters by clarifying that the Democrats' endless filibusters of judicial nominations may well violate the Constitution and/or existing Senate rules.

Immediately following the fictional Newsweek press conference, all people in attendance were so traumatized by the miraculous display of honesty, that they had heart attacks and died. Which is why you haven't heard about all of this until now.

For more accurate poll results (which isn't saying much), see here.