DeMint: ‘Sacreligious’ to vote on START before Christmas

This is a new one: Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) called Democrats’ push to force through an arms control treaty and an omnibus spending bill right before Christmas "sacrilegious," and warned he’d draw the process out to wage his objections.  "You can’t jam a major arms control treaty right before Christmas," he told POLITICO. "What’s going ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Win McNamee/Getty Images

This is a new one:

This is a new one:

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) called Democrats’ push to force through an arms control treaty and an omnibus spending bill right before Christmas "sacrilegious," and warned he’d draw the process out to wage his objections. 

"You can’t jam a major arms control treaty right before Christmas," he told POLITICO. "What’s going on here is just wrong. This is the most sacred holiday for Christians. They did the same thing last year – they kept everybody here until (Christmas Eve) to force something down everybody’s throat. I think Americans are sick of this."

Not quite sure by what definition Dec. 15 qualifies as " right before Christmas." As Steve Benen points out, "Americans nationwide are working this week and next, as are U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan."

And if DeMint is really so concerned about getting his holiday shopping done, he might want to reconsider taking up the rest of today by having the entire treaty — which was signed in April — read aloud

Joshua Keating is a former associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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