Much ink has been spilled in recent weeks criticizing the
Too bad that on the same day, Republicans were reverting to form in the Senate chamber. There, the late Mr. Kemp's 1996 top-of-ticket running-mate,
Never mind the slight to the 89-year-old Mr. Dole. The former Senate majority leader and decorated
The treaty merely seeks to require countries to recognize the rights of the disabled, as the United States already does. It wouldn't change U.S. law. It would, as Senate Foreign Relations Chairman
But that wasn't enough to satisfy what can only be described as the paranoid wing of the Republican Party, with its history of offering visions of black helicopters and storm troopers whenever the subject of the
Mr. Santorum and other opponents seem to believe the treaty was both too powerful — they imagine it would somehow cause the U.N. to trump U.S. law — and not powerful enough, giving signatories like China, Syria and Iran the means to improve their reputations while not actually compelling them to help the disabled. The truth is that it offers a tool to encourage nations to improve their standards, not a seal of approval for those who don't currently meet the mark and, certainly not a challenge to U.S. sovereignty — or any other nation's, for that matter.
But don't take our word for it. Simply observe that the treaty has already been signed by 155 countries and ratified by 126. This isn't controversial stuff on most of the planet, nor in most of this country. Only in the minds of extremists in one political party, who are loath to ever support the United Nations, let alone anything endorsed by President
Meanwhile, over at
Too bad that Mr. Rubio was one of those who voted against the treaty, although his own father was a victim of
Can the Republican Party ever change? The current lame-duck