The alleged men of the modern Republican party:
The wheelchair-bound, 89-year-old former Senate majority leader, GOP presidential nominee and World War II veteran was escorted onto the floor Tuesday by his wife, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., to rally support for the United Nations disabilities treaty.
Last week, he was being treated at the Walter Reed National Medical Military Center. This week, he was trying to buttonhole colleagues to support an initiative to extend the rights granted to Americans under the Americans with Disabilities Act to citizens of the world.
Dole was gravely injured during World War II when his right arm was shattered in battle, and he has been a longtime advocate for the rights of the disabled, particularly veterans.
One by one, Senators of both parties approached the frail national leader, with former colleagues gently resting their hands on his shoulder or reaching out to his left hand, briefly clasping the man who once presided over the chamber with a mix of wit, tactical guile and ruthlessness.
Then, one by one, after Dole was wheeled off the floor, most Republicans voted against the measure.
Fucking douchebags. Why vote against it?What would it do?
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities essentially makes the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act a non-binding international standard. It requires no change to U.S. law.
Why, because their leading intellectual lights started screaming about World Government and the Obamachrist or something, according to Roll Call:
Several conservative groups, Glenn Beck and former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., opposed the treaty because they said it would allow the U.N. to overreach and impose on the rights of member countries.
And there should be a coward clause allowing people immunity to throw rotten eggs at Thad Cochran whenever he appears in public just for this:
Sen.Thad Cochran, R-Miss., changed his vote from a “yes” to a “no” after it was obvious the treaty would fall short of ratification. Cochran is up for re-election in 2014 and could face a primary challenge from his right.
Bob Dole did more good before breakfast today than Cochran has done in his entire life, and this is me saying this about a Republican senator and former presidential nominee of that party. Way to show us all what it looks like to have absolutely no balls at all, Cochran. Way to fucking be.
In a statement released by his office after the vote, Kerry called the vote one of the saddest in his 28 years in the Senate, “a wakeup call about a broken institution that’s letting down the American people.”
“Today the dysfunction hurt veterans and the disabled, and that’s unacceptable. This treaty was supported by every veterans group in America and Bob Dole made an inspiring and courageous personal journey back to the Senate to fight for it,” Kerry said.
But what is that compared to a primary threat from teawads?
A.