House Republicans closed out the week by canceling votes on two party-line funding bills in the span of 48 hours, a setback for new Speaker Mike Johnson and a sign of persisting dysfunction in the chamber ahead of a key funding deadline.
They pulled a transportation-housing bill late Tuesday as some coastal Republicans opposed cuts to Amtrak. And they yanked a financial services and general government measure on Thursday morning that included divisive anti-abortion language.
It’s a step backward for Johnson, R-La., who had hoped to show progress on appropriations bills championed by his party’s conservative wing in order to secure their votes to pass a short-term bill that would keep the government open beyond the Nov. 17 deadline.
The passive voice is used everywhere to blur responsibility.
“Mistakes were made.” (As pointed out already. This is the go-to) “Problems are hitting us.” “Errors are being worked on.” “Trucks of the GENERIC line are experiencing issues.” “The cake was eaten.”
None of these have an actor. Only an action. No one to take responsibility for the blame.
Passive voice follows a pattern that you can learn to recognize. Its not always meant to be shady. People use the passive voice in natural speech all the time to communicate perfectly clearly.
It follows: [thing] [‘to be’] [action+ing].
Notice these statements in suspicious information to get a feel if they are hiding themselves.
(I know I replied to myself, if that bothers anyone)