McCain + Graham withdraw support for START as revenge for DADT vote
by Lefty Coaster
Mon Dec 20, 2010
Ryan Grim reports at HuffPo that top Senate Republicans are now flipping their votes on the S.T.A.R.T Treaty in revenge for the Obama White House having the effrontery to go ahead with the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Opponents Taking Revenge On Russian Arms Treaty
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had promised the White House early last week that they would deliver the votes necessary to ratify the START treaty if the administration would pull the repeal of the military's DADT policy off the lame-duck agenda, according to Democratic aides familiar with the pair's offer.
Of course as we know Obama turned them down and the repeal of D.A.D.T. went ahead and was passed in the Senate by a wide margin. Now the pair of angry bigots are trying to make good their threats to torpedo the S.T.A.R.T. Treaty.
* Lefty Coaster's diary ::
Now that DADT has been repealed, Graham is signaling he'll no longer vote for the treaty. "If you really want to have a chance of passing START, you better start over and do it in the next Congress because this lame duck has been poisoned," Graham said on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
McCain, on the Senate floor last week, sought to beat back the notion that he would necessarily oppose the treaty if the DADT repeal went forward. "There continues to swirl allegations that there is going to be a vote for or against [START] because of another piece of legislation," McCain said. "I think the senator from South Carolina and you and I and every member of this body is very aware of the absolute importance of this treaty and for us to make the decision strictly based on the merits or demerits of the treaty," McCain said, referring to Graham and Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who was also on the floor.
The cynicism needed to to block a treaty and damage America's National Security in the process to demonstrate their dis-satisfaction with a Senate vote that didn't go their way is astounding. Its a symptom of levels of irresponsibility the Republican party descended into putting scorched earth partisan tactics like this ahead of their duty to do what's best for the country.
Bolton falsely suggests New START lacks GOP support
In fact, numerous Republicans have urged ratification of New START
National security experts, including numerous Republicans, support START. The Partnership for a Secure America, founded by former Sen. Warren Rudman (R-NH) and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN), issued a statement supporting New START's ratification signed by 30 former public officials and former high-ranking national security and foreign policy experts, including George H.W. Bush White House chief of Staff Kenneth M. Duberstein, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former Reagan Secretary of State George Schultz. Below is the full list of the statement's signers:
Madeleine Albright Secretary of State 1997-2001
Howard Baker US Senator (R-TN) 1967-85
Samuel Berger National Security Advisor 1997-2001
Linton Brooks Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration 2002-07
Harold Brown Secretary of Defense 1977-81
Frank Carlucci Secretary of Defense 1987-89
Warren Christopher Secretary of State 1993-97
William Cohen Secretary of Defense 1997-2001
John C. Danforth US Senator (R-MO) 1977-95
Kenneth M. Duberstein White House Chief of Staff 1988-89
Chuck Hagel US Senator (R-NE) 1997-2009
Lee Hamilton US Congressman (D-IN) 1965-99; Co-Chair, PSA Advisory Board
Gary Hart US Senator (D-CO) 1975-87
Rita E. Hauser Chair, International Peace Institute
Carla Hills US Trade Representative 1989-93
Nancy Kassebaum-Baker US Senator (R-KS) 1978-97
Thomas Kean Governor (R-NJ) 1982-90; 9/11 Commission Chair
Richard Leone President, The Century Foundation
Donald McHenry US Ambassador to the UN 1979-81
Sam Nunn US Senator (D-GA) 1972-96
William Perry Secretary of Defense 1994-97
Thomas Pickering Under Secretary of State 1997-2000
Colin L. Powell Secretary of State 2001-05
Warren Rudman US Senator (R-NH) 1980-92; Co-Chair, PSA Advisory Board
Alan Simpson US Senator (R-WY) 1979-97
George Shultz Secretary of State 1982-89
Theodore Sorensen White House Special Counsel 1961-63
John Whitehead Deputy Secretary of State 1985-88
Timothy E. Wirth US Senator (D-CO) 1987-93
Frank Wisner Under Secretary of State 1992-93
Nuke treaty deserves support
Andrew Sullivan summed the Republicans cynical behavior very nicely a couple of weeks ago on the Chris Mathews show.
The Chris Matthews Show
Mr. ANDREW SULLIVAN (The Atlantic Senior Editor): Can I just point out the fantastic irony that we've just gone through an election in which the Republicans campaigned day in and day out about the debt.
MATTHEWS: Right.
Mr. SULLIVAN: And now we find after the election that they're the least willing to tackle it?
MATTHEWS: Explain.
Mr. SULLIVAN: Pure utter cynicism. The—all they're doing is trying to keep this economy bad and keep nailing the debt and Obama, by the way who's not responsible for most of it, and so that they can get back to power. They have no interest...
MATTHEWS: OK, let me try to rebalance...
Mr. SULLIVAN: ...in solving this country's debt problem or fiscal problems.
MATTHEWS: OK.
Mr. SULLIVAN: They're the most irresponsible political party I've seen in forever.
Cynical Republicans like John McCain Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, and John Kyl are all working hard to obstruct a needed treaty that is endorsed by the last two Republican Presidents and all past Republican Secretaries of State.
This sort of vindictive behavior passes without drawing any comment or criticism inside the Republican Party. Their Party's bad behavior is rewarded by the voters is how Republicans interpret the 2010 election result.
These Republicans are working to make American diplomacy fail.
The cloture vote is set for tomorrow.
