I chose this false statement as the title of my post because, while the usage of the Filibuster in Congress has reached historic levels never seen before, the reporting of its usage by the media has dramatically dwindled. To give you an example from today, James Fallows at the Atlantic explains how even “leading” political publications have come to regard Republican obstructionism as if it’s a given. He points to the following article in the Washington Post:

Through most of American history, the filibuster was a once-in-a-blue-moon rarity. Now, in a shift so profound as to constitute a de facto amendment to the Constitution, it has become a routine obstructionist tool. And our leading journals have so internalized this process that in a story like today’s they:
  – report a 51-49 vote as a failure;
  – suggest a vague, caused-by-no-one “where bills go to die” systemic dysfunction; and
  – do not even use the word “filibuster.”

This is an excellent example of how sloppy and uncritical journalism gives deviant acts the ability to become unquestioned norms. See: the financial crisis of 2008 or the lead-up to the Iraq War.

Update: Fallows follows up on his post.