Two More Republicans Support Nuclear Treaty
We flipped two more! This morning both Republican Senators from Maine–Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins–issued statements announcing that they intend to vote for ratification of New START! Senator Snowe said:
I am confident that New START will provide predictability in our relationship with Russia and thus enhance global stability, and most importantly, our national security. Therefore, if the Majority moves to consider New START under a framework that allows for sufficient debate and amendments, I intend to support the Resolution of Advice and Consent.
This is exactly the kind of public Republican support we have been working for all year with our phonebanking, action alerts and other grassroots pressure. We are confident that if the Senate votes on the treaty, we have the 67 votes needed to ratify.
In the last 24 hours Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Scott Brown (R-MA) also made comments about New START that help to build the momentum toward a vote. Even though they didn’t say explicitly how they plan to vote, they both said that the Senate should have a vote on the treaty in this session before they adjourn for the year. Politico reported:
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) lent a nudge of support to the stalled START treaty Friday, saying he hopes the Senate will consider it next week before the end of the lame-duck congressional session.
This is due to all of your support, phone calls and emails. So, thank you.
But this doesn’t mean we can rest yet. The tough part will be making time to debate and vote on the treaty in the next 7-10 days! With the fight over tax cuts raging, this will not be easy. Far right groups like the Heritage Foundation are spending millions attacking Republicans supporting the treaty. They launched this campaign against Senator Corker (R-TN) after he voted yes on the treaty in Committee, linking the Senator to President Obama, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just for supporting a moderate reduction in nuclear weapons. This means we must redouble our efforts to show that the majority of the public supports New START and ridding the world of all nuclear weapons.
While things are looking better and better for the New START Treaty to be ratified this year, time is running out. Thank you for all of your support this year. We hope to have some good news soon.
