Treaty to expand disability rights overseas is threatened in Senate, frustrating Senator John Kerry [View all]

[Mass]

How to deflect criticism from the GOP on their blocking of the CRPD

Easy, and McCain certainly succeeded doing that this morning.

The CRPD ("Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities&quot is on the way of being blocked by some RW (Santorum wings of the Republican Party).

The Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee, a certain John Kerry, gives a press conference along with the Republican manager of the bill, a certain John McCain.

Oh, McCain is going to complain about his fellow Republicans who block a treaty that should normally be ratified easily? Really? He must be a maverick.

But not so fast. Introduced by Kerry, McCain addresses him as Mr Secretary, and to be sure, our very smart media will not remember anything else than the current Rice scandal (not sure why they still speak about that, but they do), and the reason of the press conference is totally missed to our media corp (OMG, McCain called Kerry Mr Secretary. What else matters).

At least, the Boston Globe spoke about it somewhat, which is how we know about this

http://www.boston.com/politicalintelligence/2012/12/03/treaty-expand-disability-rights-overseas-stalls-senate-frustrating-senator-john-kerry-and-advocates/WB3LBv2IIuFYiXHz5GGuKO/story.html

Treaty to expand disability rights overseas is threatened in Senate, frustrating Senator John Kerry and advocates

Despite the overwhelming wish among Americans for an end to partisan standoffs in Washington, the fate of a treaty to promote international rights for people who are blind, crippled by disease or war, and otherwise disabled indicates that the Senate continues on a divided path.

The treaty’s troubled fortunes provide a twist on the usual tale of congressional gridlock, however, because Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and other supporters of the pact enjoy considerable bipartisan support as well as broad backing from the business community and veterans groups.

Two prominent Republicans, Arizona Senator John McCain and former attorney general Richard Thornburgh, joined Kerry at the Capitol on Monday to demand passage. It is backed by former Kansas senator Bob Dole, the GOP presidential nominee in 1996, and former president George H.W. Bush.

Yet Republican senators threaten to kill the pact Tuesday based on what proponents call groundless allegations that it would encourage abortions overseas, threaten home-schooling programs domestically and elsewhere, and potentially separate children from their parents. The conservative Heritage Foundation is among opponents who also have suggested that giving an international entity advocacy powers for the disabled would erode US sovereignty and pose threats to the profits of American multinational corporations. Some in the GOP oppose the measure on procedural grounds, saying a lame-duck session of Congress should not entertain a treaty vote.

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