Kill These Treaties

Political analyst Dick Morris argues for the importance of the GOP taking the Senate in this year's elections. Although I regard any GOP victory as a holding action at best, given the ideological weakness of that party, a takeover of the Senate could be a significant one due to the way treaties acquire force of law:

Republicans would also be able to stop obnoxious treaties from being ratified. Technically, they can so now, as only 37 votes will do the trick, but [Harry] Reid won't bring the treaties that might be defeated to the floor. As long as they have not had a ratification vote, the treaties remain in force under the Vienna Convention.

Republicans would be able to bring up votes on -- and thereby kill -- the Arms Trade Treaty (backdoor gun control) and the Law of the Sea treaty (giving the United Nations power over the oceans). They would also be able to kill the climate change treaty that Secretary of State John Kerry is negotiating and any possible Internet treaty that undermines Internet freedom. [link removed]

Morris makes other arguments that I would be more enthusiastic about were the GOP much more behind individual rights than it is. That said, I regard the above as perhaps the most important reason to offer highly qualified support to the GOP this fall. Indeed, this may turn out to be more important than Morris thinks it is, given a "nightmare scenario" for the 2016 election that Karl Rove's inability to counter Hillary Clinton makes all the more plausible.

-- CAV