Don't they understand that it takes a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution and that a near-majority (the Ludlow amendment was defeated 209-188 in January 1938) is therefore *not* "almost passing"?
(An example of a constitutional amendment that really *did* "almost pass"--the Flag Desecration Amendment in the 109th Congress, when it only failed by one vote to get a two-thirds majority in the Senate. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/27/AR2006062701056.html)
To show I am not attacking straw men (or women), a few examples:
"In January 1938 the House of Representatives almost passed the Ludlow Amendment, which would have required a national plebiscite to authorize a declaration of war." Jeffrey Record, *The Specter of Munich: Reconsidering the Lessons of Appeasing Hitler*, https://books.google.com/books?id=aV0B4_cBkc0C&pg=PA138
"The president's political instincts were on target. Despite his having made no foreign policy proposals, legislators were so nervous about the possibility of the United States being drawn into war that the special-session Congress *almost passed the Ludlow Amendment.* [my emphasis--DT] Representative Louis Ludlow, an Indiana Democrat, had been sponsoring a constitutional amendment that would require a national referendum before Congress could declare war. Senator Gerald Nye introduced a companion measure in the Senate. The Ludlow Amendment was defeated by a slim margin of 209 to 188, illustrating the strength of isolationist forces in Congress and giving a clear sign that the nation was not yet ready for a more active foreign policy." http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/gelderman-presidents.html (Of course she had a valid point that a near-majority in favor of the amendment indicated that the isolationists had considerable strength. But one thing it did not indicate is that they had any chance of enacting the amendment, or that it "almost passed.")
"Isolationist sentiment ran so high that the House of Representatives almost passed the Ludlow Amendment..." Marie L. Aquila, *Movies as History: Scenes of America, 1930-1970*, https://books.google.com/books?id=pq5iAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA70
"... a new constitutional amendment curtailing the president's power in foreign affairs almost passed in Congress." Susan Dunn, *1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler-the Election Amid the Storm*, https://books.google.com/books?id=nluuyZI68YIC&pg=PA26
(An example of a constitutional amendment that really *did* "almost pass"--the Flag Desecration Amendment in the 109th Congress, when it only failed by one vote to get a two-thirds majority in the Senate. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/27/AR2006062701056.html)
To show I am not attacking straw men (or women), a few examples:
"In January 1938 the House of Representatives almost passed the Ludlow Amendment, which would have required a national plebiscite to authorize a declaration of war." Jeffrey Record, *The Specter of Munich: Reconsidering the Lessons of Appeasing Hitler*, https://books.google.com/books?id=aV0B4_cBkc0C&pg=PA138
"The president's political instincts were on target. Despite his having made no foreign policy proposals, legislators were so nervous about the possibility of the United States being drawn into war that the special-session Congress *almost passed the Ludlow Amendment.* [my emphasis--DT] Representative Louis Ludlow, an Indiana Democrat, had been sponsoring a constitutional amendment that would require a national referendum before Congress could declare war. Senator Gerald Nye introduced a companion measure in the Senate. The Ludlow Amendment was defeated by a slim margin of 209 to 188, illustrating the strength of isolationist forces in Congress and giving a clear sign that the nation was not yet ready for a more active foreign policy." http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/gelderman-presidents.html (Of course she had a valid point that a near-majority in favor of the amendment indicated that the isolationists had considerable strength. But one thing it did not indicate is that they had any chance of enacting the amendment, or that it "almost passed.")
"Isolationist sentiment ran so high that the House of Representatives almost passed the Ludlow Amendment..." Marie L. Aquila, *Movies as History: Scenes of America, 1930-1970*, https://books.google.com/books?id=pq5iAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA70
"... a new constitutional amendment curtailing the president's power in foreign affairs almost passed in Congress." Susan Dunn, *1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler-the Election Amid the Storm*, https://books.google.com/books?id=nluuyZI68YIC&pg=PA26