If a NYTimes headline reads Obama’s Jobs Bill Fails in Senate in First Legislative Test, it would be reasonable to assume that the bill failed to get a majority of votes. Of course, the reality is that this is not how things work in America anymore. It has become routine to use procedural techniques to effectively require a 60 vote majority. Indeed, the byline reads,

The vote of 50 to 49 to open debate on the measure was 10 votes short of the 60 needed to overcome procedural objections…

Doesn’t anybody actually like this supermajority reality? Of course the minority party likes this reality…for the time being…but when they become the majority, do they really still think it’s a good idea? Yes, yes, yes, I understand that government needs to operate with checks-and-balances and therefore the process will be slow, but this kind of crud is ridiculous.