Barack Obama pledges to push nuclear New Start treaty through Congress

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

President says legislation on cutting US-Russian nuclear arsenals will be pushed through lame duck session

Julian Borger and Ewen MacAskill Washington -
Sunday November 14 2010 17.46 GMT

Barack Obama today promised to push the New Start treaty on cutting US-Russian nuclear arsenals through the lame duck session of Congress, which begins this week.

Obama, speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, on the sidelines of an Asian economic summit in Seoul, said: "I reiterated my commitment to get the Start treaty done during the lame duck session, and I've communicated to Congress that it is a top priority."

But it is likely to be a cliffhanger, with the fate of the treaty dependent on only a handful of Republican senators and with less than four weeks of the congressional session left.

=snip=

The critical figure in deciding whether New Start lives or dies will be Senator Jon Kyl, the Republican whip, who has threatened to block the treaty until the administration spends more on modernising the existing arsenal. The White House is trying to buy him off, offering him $4bn (£2.4bn) more late last week on top of billions already pledged for modernisation.

But Kyl, like other Republicans, is torn between doing a deal and all-out opposition to Obama.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/14/barack-obama-nuclear-treaty-congress

[ibegurpard]

1. thought the president couldn't push things through congress

Or so i'm told repeatedly on this board...

[jonnyblitz]

3. "He's not a dictator!!11" nt

[de novo]

4. Clearly, you haven't mastered doublethink.

[Poll_Blind]

7. +1

PB

[truedelphi]

9. He himself has said he can't.

"It's up to Congress to determine what bills are discussed and to sort out the language of the bills."

Or maybe he just means that this "Hands Off" approach is what happens when he and Rahm were pledged to help the Big Insurers and not the Average American.

And that otherwise, it's perfectly fine to be part of the legislative process.

[lob1]

2. He should do himself and us a favor and push through

a jobs bill. Where'd he find this new power to push things through congress?

[Fruittree]

5. So again, if he does something however good -

it's not good enough because he should've done something else..

[lob1]

8. It's not good enough because it's not what this country

needs most at the moment. When someone's drowning, it's very nice to fix their car for them. It would've been better to throw the poor bastard a life line.

[Posteritatis]

11. The world as a whole *always* needs fewer nuclear weapons. (nt)

[Fruittree]

12. Actually the country and the world need more than one thing at

once and the trick to governing is to try to address several issues at the same time. Now that I think about it, that's the trick to life in general..

[tularetom]

6. Why didn't he push a real health reform package through congress

When his party had a lot more power there than they will next year when he plans to push this treaty through.

[Turborama]

16. Apparently, he plans push it through the lame duck session of Congress, which starts this week

According to the article.

[lib2DaBone]

10. Mr. Obama. focus.... jobs.. THE ECONOMY.. end the wars.....

[AlinPA]

13. It won't go through the Senate. It will never get 60 votes now, with the republicans

saying no to anything and everything. They will not allow any agenda items to pass.

[obxhead]

14. Damn it's getting difficult to follow this game.

Obama can't force congress to do anything!!11!

Obama is not a dictator!1!11!

Obama can only work with what Congress brings him!!1!

Except......

Sorry, it's not a game. I'm tired of the double standard out this administration though.

[ProudDad]

15. Kyl is the worst kind of piece of shit liar...

He's a most disgusting article...

And that horrible fucker is "my Senator" along with mcshame... :puke:

For those who don't know, when kyl was working at a corporate law firm in Phoenix he was also pres. of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce...

Who wudda' thunk it? Kyl a corporate tool...

[The Northerner]

17. Good!