How do you make a political scientist mad? Screw up the basics of the legislative process.
Julie Rovner's NPR report on some governors' opposition to a Bush administration ruling that would restrict eligibility for the State Children's Health Insurance Program concluded with this infuriatingly obvious misstatement:
Congressional Democrats are sympathetic to the governor's pleas, but to overcome a certain veto [of an SCHIP expansion], they'll need to convince a majority of Republicans -- something they've been so far unable to do.
But as Rovner should know, it takes a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a veto. Given that the Democrats have majorities in the House and Senate, they don't need a majority of Republicans in either chamber. And, in fact, a proposed SCHIP expansion passed the Senate by a veto-proof 67-29 vote but a veto override attempt in the House failed by only 13 votes (273-156) despite Republicans voting 154-44 against it.
Yeah, she should have just said, "a significant number of Republicans".
Posted by: Howard | February 27, 2008 at 04:31 PM