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Sea Treaty all but dead, 34 GOP senators oppose
SFGate.com ^ | 7/16/12 | Donna Cassata - ap

Posted on 07/16/2012 1:14:46 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

WASHINGTON (AP) — A treaty governing the high seas is all but dead in the Senate as two Republican senators announced their opposition Monday, giving conservative foes the necessary votes to scuttle the pact.

Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire — both mentioned as possible running mates for likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney — said they had serious concerns about the breadth and ambiguity of the Law of the Sea treaty and would oppose it if called up for a vote. The Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate — 67 votes — to ratify a treaty; Portman and Ayotte bring the number of opponents to 34 along with Sens. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

The development was a blow to the Obama administration, military leaders and the business community led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who had argued that the treaty would improve national security and enhance U.S. standing in the world. They had pressed for ratification of the treaty, which was concluded in 1982 and has been in force since 1994. The United States is the only major nation that has refused to sign the pact.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and other conservatives have led the campaign against the treaty, contending that it would undermine U.S. sovereignty. DeMint heralded the latest development on Twitter, saying, "34 Senators now oppose LOST, sinking the misguided treaty."

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: 112th; bho44; bhoun; dead; demint; lawofthesea; lawoftheseatreaty; lost; losttreaty; maritime; obama; oppose; seatreaty; senators
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To: NormsRevenge

Wow! Great news!


21 posted on 07/16/2012 1:41:43 PM PDT by fortheDeclaration (Pr 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation:but sin is a reproach to any people)
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To: NormsRevenge

I hope that 34 figure is meant as 34+. I expect the dems to slavishly follow their dear reader, but I don’t like the idea 13 GOP Senators were willing to sign away our sovereignty.


22 posted on 07/16/2012 1:43:21 PM PDT by ScottinVA (Buying Drain-O requires photo I.D... yet voting doesn't???)
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To: NormsRevenge
WTH! Are those 34 against it only bacause they are up for re-election 2012 ?
I want to know if those who support are up for re-election this year.
23 posted on 07/16/2012 1:44:24 PM PDT by MaxMax
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To: MeganC

> So what happens if/when Obama signs this treaty and then
> enforces it without Senate approval?

Nothing.

The president has admiralty, treaty or no.

Difference is, the next president can choose to ignore it, UNLESS it is a treaty.

I don’t like it being one-vote close, either.


24 posted on 07/16/2012 1:47:48 PM PDT by Westbrook (Children do not divide your love, they multiply it.)
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To: SoFloFreeper
Only 34? Or are there more? I don’t like it being that close.

Could be planned that way. If I'm a senator who opposes LOST, and I know we already have enough to kill it, but for various reasons, I may not bother to voice an opinion one way or the other. Politicians are tricky like that.

25 posted on 07/16/2012 1:48:35 PM PDT by PGR88
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To: MaxMax

I believe 11 GOP senators are up for re-election this year.

Is there a single dem senator who opposed this awful so-called treaty? I don’t think so.


26 posted on 07/16/2012 1:51:06 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (January 20, 2013.....The End of an Error)
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To: NormsRevenge

I sent Johnny Isakson a no chit email Thursday and got a bunch of other people to do it on the same day. The guy is a total RINO. You cannot trust him to ever vote the right way. I’m glad to see he finally put his finger in the wind.


27 posted on 07/16/2012 1:51:41 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Sooooooo, 66 Senators are more than willing to give away our SOVERNITY!!!


28 posted on 07/16/2012 1:57:14 PM PDT by Ann Archy ( ABORTION...the HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: ScottinVA
. . . but I don’t like the idea 13 GOP Senators were willing to sign away our sovereignty.

Totally right. We need to take names and kick a##es. I'm sure one of them is Richard Lugar who won't be back for the next congress.

29 posted on 07/16/2012 2:07:07 PM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: NormsRevenge

Assuming a quorum of 51, treaty ratification only requires 34 Senators present.


30 posted on 07/16/2012 2:07:48 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The Slave Party Switcheroo: Economic crisis! Zero's eligibility Trumped!! Hillary 2012!!!)
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To: NormsRevenge
The Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate — 67 votes — to ratify a treaty; Portman and Ayotte bring the number of opponents to 34 along with Sens. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

BTW, this is a flat out lie, disinformation at its finest.

31 posted on 07/16/2012 2:10:09 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The Slave Party Switcheroo: Economic crisis! Zero's eligibility Trumped!! Hillary 2012!!!)
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To: Westbrook
So what happens if/when Obama signs this treaty and then enforces it without Senate approval?

Nothing.

False. The President can begin to enforce the treaty ratification or no, pursuant to a treaty that was never ratified but by which the USA has abided for forty years: The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. That is why Bush rescinded the signature on the International Criminal Court treaty.

32 posted on 07/16/2012 2:14:24 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The Slave Party Switcheroo: Economic crisis! Zero's eligibility Trumped!! Hillary 2012!!!)
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To: Nervous Tick; Joe Brower

Dick Morris is on Hannity now an stated Hillary will sign it on the 27th of this month. It will then be.signed by bho .... If the senate just sits on it an doesn’t bring it to a ratification vote then it will be valid till voted down.

I will go find the.link ...

Anyone else listen to Sean H’s show today an.hear this ?


33 posted on 07/16/2012 2:22:38 PM PDT by Squantos
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To: SoFloFreeper

There may be more—you’d hope—but 34 is what we need and we got it.


34 posted on 07/16/2012 2:29:24 PM PDT by newzjunkey (It'll be Romney or Obama. There's no 'do over' for the gop primary.)
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To: Squantos

http://www.dickmorris.com/d-day-for-gun-control/#more-9231

Bad news .....


35 posted on 07/16/2012 2:30:11 PM PDT by Squantos
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To: Gene Eric

Too busy playing multi-national bingo and other regulatory forms of looting the trough! These people are ‘empty suits’ that are only held accountable by a simple majority of voters every six years. Don’t rock the barge Baby!


36 posted on 07/16/2012 2:31:42 PM PDT by STD ([You must help] people in theÂ…feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless)
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To: Squantos

>> If the senate just sits on it an doesn’t bring it to a ratification vote then it will be valid till voted down.

I did a little research on it (I’m certainly no expert).

I don’t think a true treaty works that way, i.e. takes effect unless voted down.

There *are* some other forms of international agreement that can be/have been signed by the executive branch alone, and take effect without Senate ratification. So maybe it depends on just what sort of animal LOST is.

Here’s a link full of lawyerspeak that may or may not be useful to you. Please let me know if you can figure out the answer from it, ‘cause I can’t with certainty.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/article02/12.html


37 posted on 07/16/2012 2:32:43 PM PDT by Nervous Tick (Trust in God, but row away from the rocks!)
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To: Carry_Okie

OK, so what IF 0bama enforces this “treaty” without ratification?

Are they going to impeach him?

Not hardly.


38 posted on 07/16/2012 2:40:09 PM PDT by Westbrook (Children do not divide your love, they multiply it.)
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To: Squantos

He was talking about the ATT (small arms treaty)


39 posted on 07/16/2012 2:42:25 PM PDT by Foolsgold (L I B Lacking in Brains)
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To: Westbrook

They might him impeached in the House, but like Clinton, the Senate (controlled by Reid) will save him and with the sympathy of the nation he’ll coast to re-election. Use your brain.


40 posted on 07/16/2012 2:48:31 PM PDT by Deb (Beat him, strip him and bring him to my tent!)
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