A new CNN Poll finds that 73 percent of American favor the START Treaty — once again undescoring how those GOPers who have been trying to stop the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Start and the START treaty are truly out of America’s mainstream:
As the Senate nears a crucial vote over a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, according to a new national poll nearly three-quarters of all Americans say senators should approve the accord.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday also indicates that a majority says that Moscow would live up to its obligations if the START treaty is approved.
Seventy-three percent of people questioned in the poll say the Senate should approve the nuclear treaty, with 24 percent saying senators should reject the accord.
The numbers are in-line with an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released last week.According to the CNN survey, 86 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independent voters say that lawmakers should approve the START treaty. Fifty percent of Republicans say the accord should be approved, with 45 percent saying senators should reject the treaty.
Senate debate on a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia intensified Monday, with Democratic supporters touting the backing of military leaders for the pact while Republican opponents used to Cold War terminology to portray it as a threat to national security.
The Senate could vote Tuesday to invoke cloture, a necessary procedural step to end debate and set up a vote, with a possible final vote on the accord Wednesday.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as New START, resumes inspections of each country’s nuclear arsenals while limiting each nation to 1,550 warheads and 700 launchers.The poll indicates that 56 percent of the public says Russia will live up to its share of the agreement, if the accord is approved, with four in ten saying Moscow will not live up to its obligations.
More than ever it’s likely the treaty will pass. With so many ex-Presidents and respected members of past Republican administrations strongly urging it’s passage its likely there will be enough votes in the GOP to overcome those seeking to stall or stop it for political reasons.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.