Metzler Pulls A Fast One

Check this out, from Rebekah Metzler:

Collins was the only Republican committee member to support repealing ["don't ask don't tell"] when it was first considered by the committee.

[...]

Maine's Republican senators have been targeted by groups pushing for repeal. Maine veterans and the Maine Civil Liberties Union staged a press conference Thursday in Portland to press them to support repeal; pop star Lady Gaga also made a trip to Maine in September before a scheduled Senate vote on the issue.

That vote failed, but another vote on the policy--which is included as an amendment in the defense budget authorization legislation--could come during Congress' lame-duck session.

Notice anything fishy?

Let's see. First, we learn that Collins voted to repeal the policy in committee. And later on, we're told that the "vote failed" before the full Senate.

Seems straightforward enough, I guess. And yet, I feel like something's missing. Hmm...

Oh, right: It's that Collins actually voted against repeal when the bill was before the full senate.

Not exactly a minor detail.

And yet Metzler's passive voice construction seems like it's being used, specifically, to conceal the fact. It feels like the product of a deliberate effort to supply readers with a false impression: That Collins has been a supporter of repeal--full stop.

Otherwise, why the peculiar "vote failed" construction? It's vague and it's strained.

So there you have it: A reporter misleading her readers and running interference for a politician.

This is journalism?