Senate GOP kills disabilities treaty (Shame on the GOP AGAIN)

I applaud Bob Dole for leaving his hospital bed to support this treaty.  Both he and his wife Elizabeth have so often exemplified the very best of what the GOP CAN be, but is not - an indictment of their embrace of extremism and ignorance.  Even old and frail, Dole shows tremendous courage and patriotism:

Former Senate Republican Leader and presidential nominee Bob Dole has been hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Reid, D-Nev., told colleagues on the floor of the U.S. Senate Tuesday evening that Dole, 89 years old, called him a few days ago to tell him that he is at Walter Reed and that it is “not for a checkup.”

“He is infirm, he is sick,” Reid said of Dole, who has been hospitalized many times over the years. “We should do this to recognize what a great leader Bob Dole is,” Reid said.

Sen. John McCain said that Dole also reached out to all senators with an email sent from the hospital Monday to specifically ask for them to support on the Convention of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) legislation. The legislation, which addresses disability rights, is making its way through the Senate.

“I hope my colleagues would, before deciding to vote, at least listen to the letter that was addressed to all of us by Senator Bob Dole,” McCain said reading parts of the Dole letter, “As you may know, tomorrow the senate will vote on CRPD. Unfortunately, I am currently at Walter Reed and so cannot call you personally but wanted to connect with you via e-mail and ask for your help. I hope you will support this important treaty.”

Dole was the 1996 Republican presidential nominee and 1976 GOP vice-presidential nominee.

Also in the hospital recently, was the originator of this treaty, for which I also have the greatest respect for his action in producing this treaty - former President George H.W. Bush.  I haven't seen any efforts from the senior Bush to encourage a bi-partisan vote on this measure instead of the continuing obstructionism that the GOP has selected as their failed strategy, one of the most significant reasons for their higher disapproval ratings than Democrats in Congress --- and rightly so!  It is impossible to know if this is simply due to the senior Bush being so severely ill, or if he has fallen into the tragic lockstep mentality that too often characterizes the GOP even when they are horribly wrong, an apparent lack of ethics and morality.

Senate GOP kills disabilities treaty
Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) made a rare Senate appearance this morning, sitting in a wheelchair just off the floor so that members would have to see him as they entered the chamber. Why? Because they were poised to vote on ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and Dole hoped to send a message.
It didn't work. The Senate killed the treaty this afternoon, with a final vote of 61 to 38, which seems like a lopsided majority, but which fell short of the two-thirds necessary for ratification. Eight Republicans broke ranks and joined Democrats in support of the treaty, but the clear majority of the Senate GOP voted to block it.
The U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, for those who've forgotten, is a human rights treaty negotiated by the George H.W. Bush administration, which has been ratified by 126 nations, including China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
But most Senate Republicans saw it as a threat to American "sovereignty," even though the treaty wouldn't have required the United States to change its laws. When the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the treaty with bipartisan support in July, Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) explained the proposal simply "raises the [international] standard to our level without requiring us to go further."
The treaty was endorsed by Dole, John McCain, and Dick Lugar, among other prominent Republican figures, but it didn't matter. The GOP's right-wing base, led in part by Rick Santorum, raised hysterical fears about the treaty, and most Senate Republicans took their cues from the party's activists, not the party's elder statesmen.
Update: Here's the roll call on the vote. All 38 opponents were Republicans.

The inaccurate and insulting portrayals of women and minorities, the anti-women and minorities legislation, the fear mongering, the epic failure of the right wing economic and taxation policies, the attempts at voter suppression, the offensive extremist views behind the right wing culture wars, ALL of those contributed to their losses at all levels this year.

But another large part of that loss was anger in America at the obstructionist tactics of the GOP and the Tea Party.  If they do not change, more of them will be kicked out of Congress by voters, and they will be replaced by serious, less ignorant, less ideologically deluded candidates.

In contrast, President Obama has an approval rating of 52%, up slightly post-election, and his disapproval rating is declining in recent Gallop polls.

Republicans need to change, but can they? Or are they in the process of fossilizing while still breathing, a bunch of old, mostly male, mostly white, wrinkled dinosaurs, head stuck in the sand?

Arguably the most deeply buried part is likely to turn to stone first.......



It's not only the left who sees that the right is wrong - although sadly Rand Paul was one of those who ignorantly voted down the ratification of this treaty. He said just a week ago ""I think my party, the Republican Party, is shrinking. We're in danger of becoming a dinosaur," he said on CNN's "Newsroom."

Not future tense Rand, you're are in the process of dying and fossilizing like dinosaurs NOW.

Hey Rand - try being the kind of Republican that supported this treaty, like Bob Dole or former President G.H.W. Bush; that would be a good start, and ditch duds like your dad, or Rick Santorum, the Nut Gingrich, Dumb-bunny Bachmann, or jerks like Romney and Ryan.  You are massively on the wrong track for America. Try heading back into the 21st century instead of back into the 19th, or 13th or 6th.......whatever dark ages destination you and your colleagues have in mind (mind being a reference I use loosely).

Sovereignty? Sheesh.  Look out for that knee jerk reaction, GOP, and try being fact based for a change.  The world isn't that scary; you can pull your head out of wherever you've crammed it; let's be nice and say sand.  Turn back the clock but only as far back as to Republicans like Eisenhower and Dole.