Have Treaties Gone Out of Style? On Tuesday, the Senate fell six votes short of ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities. Republicans accounted for all 38 votes that prevented the two-thirds approval necessary for treaty ratification. And yet the treaty is based on the Americans With Disabilities Act, enacted 22 years ago with overwhelming Republican support. Two other U.N. treaties - one on arms trade and one on the Law of the Sea - will come up for a vote soon, and face strong opposition in the Senate. Has the idea of treaties itself become more controversial, or are there just concerns about the particular pacts that face ratification? This discussion was suggested by Peter Spiro, a law professor at Temple University.