Crock the Vote

The GOP killed two birds with one tricky stone last week. First, they were able to ensure that the nation's unemployed received no additional benefits. Second, they were able to blame Kerry for it.

The one-vote defeat of an extension of unemployment benefits last week has sparked fear among Democrats that Republicans have developed a legislative model that will cast Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) repeatedly in a bad light before the election.

The extension needed 60 votes to pass in the Senate, and 12 Republicans made sure the final tally was 59-40, with only one absentee, presidential candidate Kerry.

At least one Republican senator, Elizabeth Dole (N.C.), was prepared to switch to a “no” vote to make sure the measure was defeated even if Kerry returned to cast his vote, a Democrat charged.

Even if Dole had stood firm, observers on both sides believe the GOP leadership would have been able to turn other Republicans to ensure defeat.

But by calculating the vote to a nicety, the GOP managed to make Kerry appear to be responsible for the defeat because he was a no-show.

But surely all reasonable Americans can see that it was actually the 40 Senators who voted against the bill who ensured its defeat, right? Surely the national news will expose this fraud, right?

Right.

Asked whether Republicans manipulated the outcome of the vote, Eric Ueland, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s (R-Tenn.) deputy chief of staff, flashed a smile and replied: “I have no comment — and that’s on the record.”