Arms treaty all but certain, peace advocates heave sigh of relief

The Senate voted 67 to 28 Tuesday to advance a new arms control treaty that would pare back American and Russian nuclear arsenals, reaching the two-thirds margin needed for approval despite a concerted Republican effort to block ratification.

With the vote, it appears clear the treaty will be ratified and peace and anti-nuke advocates throughout the world can, for the moment, breath easier. Sanity is found a super majority in the U.S. Senate.

Eleven Republicans joined every Democrat present to support the treaty, known as New Start, which now heads to a seemingly certain final vote on Wednesday, as the Senate wraps up business before heading out of town. Voting against the treaty were 28 Republicans who argued that it could hurt national security.