Republicans determined to help the poor and the unemployed? That's so last week.

On Tuesday, two proposals to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed failed to get past key procedural obstacles in the Senate. One proposal would extend benefits until the end of 2014, offsetting the cost by tacking on an extra year of sequestration cuts in 2024. The other proposal would extend benefits for just three months, without offsetting cuts or revenue, but in the hopes that future negotiations would produce another extension that was fully paid for.

Prospects for passage of such a proposal seemed better last week, when Democrats and a half-dozen Republicans voted to begin debate on a benefits extension, providing the 60-vote majority necessary to overcome a filibuster. But on Tuesday, when it came time to end debate and move ahead, Democratic leaders couldn't win over the same handful of Republicans. They had only 52 votes to proceed—a majority, but short of the super-majority it takes to pass most legislation these days.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, complained that his counterpart, Majority Leader Harry Reid, was using parliamentary tricks to deny Republicans a fair chance to modify the measures via amendment. The back-and-forth soaked up a lot of time on Tuesday, enough to insure that coverage plays up procedural conflict and plays down philosophical differences.

But the differences here are big—and important. The proposals would provide much-needed financial assistance to several million people who have been out of work for many months. These sorts of extensions are routine during economic hard times and, in the past, Congress has never let the benefits expire until the long-term unemployment rate was well below 2 percent. Right now it's well above 2 percent.