sen jon kyl Archives - Where Is The Outrage?

Lies on the New Start treaty

Republican lies and distortions are nothing new. I’m just amazed at how constant they are. Now, don’t get me wrong, Democrats are not immune to this. It seems to me that everyone tries to make their point, regardless of the facts. If the soundbite sounds good, go with it. This is the problem in our country.

From MM:

First, it’s highly unlikely that the health care law interfered with the passage of START, seeing as the health care bill was signed into law on March 23, and START was signed by Obama two weeks later on April 8. I know it’s easy for Fox News to blame everything on health care reform, but chronology don’t lie.

Second, regarding Rove’s claim that Obama “could have easily put the START treaty before the Senate earlier in the year” — he did. Obama sent it to the Senate on May 14. The names that weren’t mentioned during this segment were those of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who, more than anyone else, are responsible for the treaty languishing in the Senate.

By ecthompsonmd|2010-12-08T00:23:09-04:00December 8th, 2010|Congress, Foreign Affairs|Comments Off

START needs Congressional action

This week I’m going to have a series of posts on Healthcare and Healthcare Reform. Tell your friends to join the conversion. I should have my first post in this series up early this evening.

Now, START needs Congress to act but the Senate has been stuck.

From TP:

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) has been the leading Senate Republican urging the upper chamber of Congress to ratify the New START arms control treaty with Russia. However, the Republican obstructionism that has become so routine throughout the past two years of President Obama’s tenure is standing in the way. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has been the face of the GOP hamstringing and despite the fact that this non-controversial treaty — one that closely mirrors the one President Reagan signed with the Soviet Union — has been thoroughly debated in the Senate for nearly a year, Kyl told the New York Times, “If they try to jam us [in the lame-duck session], if they try to bring this up the week before Christmas, it’ll be defeated.”

Lugar has been reluctant to criticize his colleagues’ obstruction. When asked last week if they were just playing politics, Lugar said, “I am not ascribing motivations to anybody.” But other Republicans don’t seem to be holding back. Brent Scowcroft served as national security adviser to two Republican presidents and has been pleading with Congress to ratify New START. Profiling Lugar’s awkward position vis-a-vis other Senate Republicans on this issue, Politico reports today that Scrowcroft isn’t being as diplomatic as Lugar on the GOP’s incentive for holding up START:

In an attempt to rally bipartisan support for the treaty, the White House has enlisted the kind of GOP foreign policy wise men that Lugar exemplifies – among them former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and James A. Baker. But they have had no success with members of their own party, and it has left them scratching their heads over the source of the GOP opposition.

“It’s not clear to me what it is,” said Brent Scowcroft, a former national security adviser to President George H.W. Bush who noted that this START treaty is not very different from previous ones negotiated and ratified under Republican presidents. “I’ve got to think that it’s the increasingly partisan nature and the desire for the president not to have a foreign policy victory.”

By ecthompsonmd|2010-11-29T07:00:42-04:00November 29th, 2010|Foreign Affairs, Senate|Comments Off

Ratification of the New START Treaty is Stuck in the Senate

As usual, I don’t understand Republican obstructionism. The new START treaty needs to be ratified. What is their thoughtful objection?

From TP:

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has become the face of GOP obstruction regarding President Obama’s push for the Senate to ratify the New START nuclear arms control treaty with Russia. Without the treaty in place, the U.S. has no legal authority to monitor Russia’s nuclear arsenal. And if New START isn’t ratified, not only will U.S.-Russian relations suffer but so will American credibility on issues such as Iran and nonproliferation. “The world’s nuclear wannabes, starting with Iran, should send a thank you note to Senator Jon Kyl,” the New York Times editorialized this week referring to Kyl’s obstruction. Today on MSNBC, Sen. Rich Lugar (R-IN) urged Republicans such as Kyl to support the treaty and called on Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to hold a vote on it in this lame-duck session of Congress:

LUGAR: Please do your duty for your country. We do not have verification of the Russian nuclear posture right now. We’re not going to have it until we sign the START treaty. We’re not going to be able to get rid of further missiles and warheads aimed at us. I state it candidly to my colleagues, one of those warheads…could demolish my city of Indianapolis — obliterate it! Now Americans may have forgotten that. I’ve not forgotten it and I think that most people who are concentrating on the START treaty want to move ahead to move down the ladder of the number of weapons aimed at us.

More on the New START treaty here, here and here.

By ecthompsonmd|2013-10-27T20:29:19-04:00November 19th, 2010|Foreign Affairs|Comments Off