By Henry McRandall
WRISEUP.COM
United States President Barack Obama this week practically begged the Senate to pass the START treaty aimed at reducing the total number of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons.
Between them they have more than 90 percent of the world’s nukes and more than enough to obliterate mankind several times.
But Obama’s hope for approval of the treaty before year’s end has the distinct timber of whistling in the wind.
If he hasn’t learned yet, the American president will soon learn that on any issue – but especially on so-called “defence” issues – the obstructionist Republicans will absolutely not play ball.
And why should they? Obama cannot even get the Blue Dog Democrats to support much of his extremely moderate legislation.
The Republicans made it clear two years ago that they would do anything possible to destroy the regime of Amerikkka’s first African-American (read Oreo-American) president.
And now that the hyper-racist Tea Party is pulling the Republicans’ strings, there can be little hope of any kind of compromise with the Democrats.
What reason could there possibly to hold out hope? In two years, the Republicans have not gone along with a single piece of Democratic legislation – even after they had attached so many amendments as to render the legislation meaningless.
The lame-duck senate will probably not even bring the issue to a vote.
The Republicans have repeatedly proven themselves to be diehard enemies of the masses – the poor, the working class and the middle class — and diehard enemies of peace.
I don’t think a single Republican has ever stumbled upon – from afar, of course – a war he or she didn’t like.
Already, the Republicans have broken the spine of the president and the Democrats on everything ranging from bailouts to stimulus to the wars to health care to the economy and everything in between.
And there are no issues more likely to make the Democrats cower and cringe than issues of so-called “national defence.”
That the very survival of all of humanity could ultimately be at stake is a moot point when the Republicans get a whiff of an opportunity to score political points with the unwashed and the uneducated.
You can better your bottom dollar Obama’s START Christmas wish is just more pie in the sky.
Somehow, sometime, somewhere, the world’s nuclear club is going to have to dismantle its combined arsenal or mankind is doomed.
But don’t expect the Republicans to do the right and honourable thing.
They never do!