• START

    START Treaty Whip Count Says NO Ratification?


    Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

    The latest GOP whip count has the START Treaty failing ratification (needs 2/3 of Senate in the affirmative for ratification).

    Watching the floor debate in the Senate today, Senator McCain looks like a no on New START, and Sen. Corker — who voted the treaty out of committee — appears increasingly sore over Reid’s decision to bring votes on DREAM and DADT alongside New START. The scuttlebutt from Hill staffers is that Senator Graham might be leaning no as well. Isakson, who also voted with the Democrats to pass START out of committe, will prove key. If all four are going to oppose New START, it probably can’t pass.

  • Sarah Palin,  START

    Sarah Palin Urges Senate Republicans to Vote NO on New START Treaty

    Here is her post over at National Review.

    The proposed New START agreement should be evaluated by the only criteria that matters for a treaty: Is it in America’s interest?  I am convinced this treaty is not.  It should not be rammed through in the lame duck session using behind the scenes deal-making reminiscent of the tactics used in the health care debate.

    New START actually requires the U.S. to reduce our nuclear weapons and allows the Russians to increase theirs.  This is one-sided and makes no strategic sense.  New START’s verification regime is weaker than the treaty it replaces, making it harder for us to detect Russian cheating.  Since we now know Russia has not complied with many arms control agreements currently in force, this is a serious matter. 

    Read it all.

    It is probably best to table the treaty and have the next Senate review and/or amend it. There really is NO hurry to rush the debate.

  • START

    U.S. Senate Will Vote to Ratify START Treaty with Russia on Wednesday?

    Looks like it.

    The Obama White House has the votes to ratify the New START nuclear arms treaty with Russia, with the Senate preparing for a vote this week, the Sun-Times has learned. The vote could come as early as Wednesday, after the vote on the tax package Obama negotiated with the Republicans. The Senate on Monday was advancing the tax legislation, with enough votes to end debate.

    The New START vote will proceed because of a loophole in the Nov. 29 letter all 42 Republicans signed not to advance legislation until the tax deal and government funding bills are passed. The Senate is tentatively set to take up the funding measure at the end of the week.

    No Cloture vote will need to be taken on a treaty as per Senate rules -as it goes up directly for a vote. But, the treaty must pass with 67 Senators voting in the affirmative.

    My best bet is that this story is posturing (Obama does not have the votes yet) and that Senator Jim DeMint has some obstruction in mind – he opposes the treaty as negoatiated by President Obama.

    Stay tuned…..

  • Jim DeMint,  START

    Sen. Jim DeMint: Why I May Filibuster New START

    Many of us have been concerned that the START Treaty would weaken our national security, and recent revelations of previously undisclosed talks with Russia on missile defense and movement of Russian tactical nuclear warheads only raise more questions that must be answered. I’ve asked for the full negotiating records, as have been provided to the Senate on previous treaties, but the Obama administration has continually denied that request and promised that missile defense was never part of the negotiations with Russia. But we have now learned that the State Department did in fact meet with Russia to specifically discuss missile defense, after months of denying these discussions ever took place. With the additional news that Russia moved warheads near the borders of our NATO allies this spring — warheads that are conspicuously not covered by START — it’s time to get some straight answers and for the State Department to provide the full negotiating records. The START Treaty could severely weaken America’s ability to defend our people and our allies against missile attacks from nations like Iran, and we need all of the facts on how this treaty was agreed to.

    START needs a more thorough review and active debate in the U.S. Senate. This issue needs to be put over until the next Congress.

    Note: The START treaty requires a 2/3 rds vote for passage.

    tags: Jim_DeMint START

    Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

  • Colin Powell,  START

    Colin Powell Urges Senate Ratification of Obama START Treaty with Russia

    Political cartoon from Michael Ramirez

    Now, I know the U.S. Senate does not wish to rush ratification of the START Treaty during the lame duck session of the Congress.

    Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says a stalled nuclear treaty with Russia gives the U.S. the tools it needs to verify Russian nuclear activities and should be ratified by the Senate as soon as possible.

    Meeting at the White House with President Obama, the retired four-star Army general and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman lent his clout to treaty backers. Powell said Wednesday that senators with doubts about the treaty had raised appropriate concerns, but that Obama had addressed them.

    Obama renewed his call for the Senate to act on the treaty during the current post-election congressional session.

    There are too many new Senators that will take office in January and some Senators have complained that the treaty has not been given a full debate. Colin Powell’s endorsement is really the icing on the cake – remember all of those WMD’s they found in Iraq?

    The U.S. Senate should defer this matter for the next Congress and with a full floor debate.