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Just as defenders of American sovereignty thought they could relax the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) could be revisited by the Senate. Don't take my word for it but consider a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D. (R-TN) by establishment leaders, such as David Rockefeller, Jr., former Secretaries of State Colin Powell, Madeleine K. Albright, James A. Baker III, and Leon E. Panetta, Chairman, Pew Oceans Commission. The letter could be a warning to millions of Americans who do not want our country's affairs at sea micromanaged by a world body.

The letter urged the Senate to "expeditiously provide advice and consent for United States accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea." It emphasized that "rapid Senate approval is needed." One could expect that the Senate leadership increasingly would be pressured by the establishment to ratify LOST so that President Bush could sign it.

A lesson conservatives learned from the fight over the Panama Canal Treaty nearly thirty years past is do not ignore the U.S. House of Representatives. It is good advice to keep in mind for this fight, too.

Grassroots conservatives recognize that the Senate is charged by the Constitution with the role of ratifying treaties. Senator Frist and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a strong proponent of LOST, could decide whether the full Senate would consider ratification.

Grassroots conservatives live outside the Beltway and many leaders in Washington discount their views but listen to many influential lobbyists. LOST could become the multinational corporations' delight but often those companies have appeared to be more concerned with agreements that promise short-term profits over the long-term interest of our country. NAFTA is one example.

Grassroots conservatives contribute to political parties, volunteer in political campaigns and communicate with elected officials. Fewer issues have concerned conservatives than the issue of our country's ceding power to international regulatory bodies. Our country was founded upon the freedom and liberties for which the colonists fought the Revolutionary War. Many Americans, particularly conservatives, still honor our heritage and willingly would not let the United States join an autonomous international organization such as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) without a fight.

When Senator Lugar held a hearing in early 2004 on LOST he did not permit any expert critical of LOST to testify. Dr. Peter Leitner, author of Reforming the Law of the Sea Treaty: Opportunities Missed, Precedents Set and U. S. Sovereignty Threatened (Rowman & Littlefield, 1996), volunteered to do so, only to be rejected by aides to the majority on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Fortunately, conservative groups were galvanized in the defense of our sovereignty. Senator James M. Inhofe (R-OK), Chairman, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, held a hearing on the implications of LOST at which both sides could testify. The Senate Armed Services Committee and other congressional committees with jurisdiction over LOST also held hearings.

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