Dems Pick Up GOP Votes for START
Politico reports:
Senate Democrats appear to have enough votes to overcome a Republican filibuster on the new START arms-control treaty, though it’s unclear if they will have the 67 votes needed for ratification.
At least five Republicans have committed to supporting the U.S.-Russia treaty or are leaning that way, including two who say they will vote for cloture. If Democrats can hold their 58-member caucus together, that would likely put them at or over the 60-vote threshold required to end debate on the treaty and move forward.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed a motion Sunday night that would set up a cloture vote Tuesday and a final vote for ratification Wednesday.
“As we move ahead, I look forward to continuing to debate amendments. But soon this will come down to a simple choice: you either want to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, or you don’t," Reid said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday he believes there are at least nine or 10 Republican votes needed to ratify the treaty, announcing that Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) had pledged his support.
"It's going to be a real slog, house by house combat if you will," Schumer, who controls Democratic messaging in the Senate, told ABC's "Good Morning America." "But I think we'll be there."
That view is shared by Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has been urging START ratification in the lame-duck session. He predicted Sunday there are enough GOP votes for ratification but said getting the treaty to a final vote could be the biggest obstacle.
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