Democrats Scramble for Votes to Ratify Arms Pact

[TomCADem]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — The top two Senate Republicans declared Sunday that they would vote against President Obama’s nuclear treaty with Russia as the bipartisan spirit of last week’s tax-cut deal devolved into a sharp battle over national security in the waning days of the session.

With some prominent Republicans angry over passage of legislation ending the ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, the mood in the Senate turned increasingly divisive and Mr. Obama and Democratic lawmakers scrambled to hold together a coalition to approve the treaty.

Senator Harry M. Reid, the Democratic majority leader, moved to hold a vote on Tuesday to close off debate, saying, “You either want to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists or you don’t.” But the fate of the treaty, known as New Start, was complicated by a deadlock over government spending and the political subtext about whether the pact’s approval would rejuvenate a weakened president after his party’s midterm election defeat.

For the second day, Mr. Obama’s supporters defeated a Republican amendment that would have blocked approval of the treaty by the end of the year. But the 60-to-32 vote left them short of the two-thirds majority they will need for final approval, and the White House lost a Republican it had hoped would join them on the decisive vote expected later this week.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/us/politics/20start.html?_r=1&hp

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There you have it. Republicans can openly admit that they jeopardizing national security and voting against the START treaty simply for political payback, and they get a free pass from the corporate media. It is apparently okay to jeopardize efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation to exact payback for repeal DADT.

Sadly, while Democrats would pay heavy political price for similar obstructionism, Americans have been conditioned to believe that it is okay for Republicans to act in this fashion. Indeed, we have been conditioned to admire such blatant partisanship as a sign of strength!

[AC_Mem]

1. How do they sleep at night?

Knowing that their greed and quest for power could get us all killed?

[CBHagman]

2. I'm not astonished at Kyl and McConnell's stances, but...

...Lindsey Graham is a bitter disappointment, and I don't think his claims about a sour mood are a good excuse for voting against something so important.

According to the article, here's the math:

Treaty supporters scrambled to lock down Republican support. To get the required two-thirds majority, the treaty needs nine Republican votes. Four Republicans have said they support it, two others voted for it in committee and seem likely to vote for final approval, and about seven or eight others have said they lean toward it or hope to vote for it if concerns were addressed.

Richard Lugar (R-IN), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and of course a key leader in nonproliferation, appeared with committee Chairman John Kerry and Secretary of State Clinton last month to urge ratification of the new START treaty.

But Kyl and others, including Jim DeMint (R-SC), have foot-dragging on this for months. So don't believe any horse manure about this being a last-minute vote. The Senate already did the work and the GOP has been quite plain about wishing to run out the clock.

If you want to contact Kyl, Graham, or DeMint, here is their contact information. Remember that e-mail forms are usually for in-state constituents.

DeMint:

http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactInformation

Office Locations

Charleston

112 Custom House
200 East Bay St
Charleston, SC 29401
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Office Hours:
8:30am - 5:30pm (M-F)

Columbia

1901 Main St
Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Office Hours:
8:30am - 5:30pm (M-F)

Greenville

105 North Spring St
Suite 109
Greenville, SC 29601
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Office Hours:
8:30am - 5:30pm (M-F)

Washington, D.C.

340 Russell
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Office Hours:
9am - 6pm (M-F)

Graham:

http://lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.OfficeLocations

Washington Office
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Main: [phone]
Map this | Directions To


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upstate Regional Office
130 South Main St.
7th Floor
Greenville, SC 29601
Main: [phone]
Map this | Directions To


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midlands Regional Office
508 Hampton Street
Suite 202
Columbia, SC 29201
Main: [phone]
Map this | Directions To


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pee Dee Regional Office
McMillan Federal Building
401 West Evans Street, Suite 226B
Florence, SC 29501
Main: [phone]
Map this | Directions To


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lowcountry Regional Office
530 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, Suite 202
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
Main: [phone]
Map this | Directions To


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Piedmont Regional Office
140 East Main Street, Suite 110
Rock Hill, SC 29730
Main: [phone]
Map this | Directions To


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Golden Corner Regional Office
124 Exchange Street
Pendleton, SC 29670
Main: [phone]
Map this | Directions To


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------









Upstate Regional Office
130 South Main St.
7th Floor
Greenville
[phone]



Midlands Regional Office
508 Hampton Street
Suite 202
Columbia
[phone]



Pee Dee Regional Office
McMillan Federal Building
401 West Evans Street, Suite 226B
Florence
[phone]





Lowcountry Regional Office
530 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, Suite 202
Mt. Pleasant
[phone]


Kyl:

http://kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm



WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE
730 Hart Senate Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

PHOENIX OFFICE
2200 East Camelback, Suite 120
Phoenix, Arizona 85016-3455
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]


TUCSON OFFICE
6840 North Oracle Road, Suite 150
Tucson, Arizona 85704
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[wisteria]

3. Kyl and DeMint are a waste of time. Graham, I am not so sure about,

but this is the second time in recent memory he has behaved like a baby and pulled his support for something Democrats worked on and he initial supported.

[CBHagman]

7. Immigration was another issue.

I seem to recall that he was involved in an immigration reform effort but that fell apart. Of course on his website now he has something about not supporting the DREAM Act, so that's that.

[wisteria]

4. I am hoping some of this is just hype leading up to the votes. It would be a real shame if this went

down just because some Republicans either wanted to get even or were playing politics with America's security.

[earcandle]

5. Perhaps if the press framed this activity a little differently, we could see the treason.

We need to call a spade a spade and I am not talking about
Obama.  

[AndyTiedye]

6. IF The Press Framed Things Differently, START Would Have Passed Long Ago

The press is an arm of the RNC these days.
They frame everything in whatever way benefits the Repiggies.
That will not change for the foreseeable future.