Senate condemns MoveOn ad — but not all attacks on the troops

September 20, 2007

Senate Republicans decided this week that they would not allow votes on substantive bills relating to Bush’s Iraq policy, but they will push a resolution condemning MoveOn.org for questioning the credibility of a general executing Bush’s Iraq policy. As of a few minutes ago, the gambit worked.

For procedural reasons, the Senate GOP was able to force its MoveOn resolution onto the floor this afternoon, but Senate Dems made it a little tougher for members by offering an alternative resolution. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) sponsored a measure that condemned all political attacks on U.S. troops. That included the “Betray Us” ad, but it also included smearing John Kerry in 2004 and attacks on Max Cleland in 2002.

It was a compelling pitch. If Republicans are outraged by criticism of those who serve in the Armed Forces, is their disgust equal-opportunity, or are they only bothered by criticism of those they perceive as being on their “side”? Are they concerned about one newspaper ad, or about the broader issue of besmirching others who wear the uniform?

Alas, Republicans are more narrowly focused, and were unwilling to criticize attacks levied by their own.

When Boxer’s amendment came to the floor, it needed 60 votes to pass. Republicans, regrettably, voted against the measure.

Shortly thereafter, Sen. Cornyn’s more narrow, anti-MoveOn measure received a vote, and passed easily, thanks to 25 Dems breaking ranks. The final tally was 72-25. It’s disappointing, but not surprising.

Maybe now lawmakers can get back to work, and move away from their obsession with a newspaper ad?

It’s really quite breathtaking: The Republicans actually are more skilled now at running the Senate than they were when they held the majority.

  • What a stupid bunch of horse-shit. [Expletive] Betray-Us!

    Let’s see where Obama and Clinton voted on this.

  • WHY WAS EITHER RESOLUTION ALLOWED TO COME TO THE FLOOR????

    Sorry for yelling, but where is the leadership that should have said that this is the kind of nonsense that has the Congress saddled with abysmal approval ratings, and it was not going to allow either resolution to come to the floor.

    The Democratic “leadership” HAD TO KNOW that this is how it was going to turn out – and if they didn’t, there is something wrong with them that cannot be fixed.

  • Amendment I

    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

  • I’m with Anne.

    For procedural reasons, the Senate GOP was able to force its MoveOn resolution onto the floor this afternoon…

    Why is it that the MINORITY party can bring anything they want to the floor, and the MAJORITY party can’t pass go on anything? What the f*** is wrong with the Democratic leadership in Congress?!?

  • Revised revised Amendment I:

    “your speech is free when it agrees with me”

    [always look at the preview!]

  • Explain to me again why it took an unreachable 60 votes for the even-handed version offered by the majority to reach the floor, but somehow the one-sided, Democrat-attacking minority drafted version not only got an up-or-down vote, it passed?

    Are there only 25 Democrats elected to the Senate?

    Can this party — top to bottom — shoot itself in the foot any worse or any more often? The R’s have got to be laughing their asses off over this one. This is the biggest ass-whipping a majority has taken by a minority in a government in a long, long time. Now, in a total waste of resources, MoveOn will probably target the 25 Dems who broke ranks (and who could blame them?), splitting the party, splitting the resources, and giving 2008 back to the Rethugs who should be facing the worst election season ever.

    How freakin depressing.

    Is the roll call posted yet? (Or did the spineless Dems intentionally not roll call this one?)

  • Seriously, how much more of this incompetence from the Dems can’t we take?
    Play hardball or go home.

  • ok, it turns out I was just too angry to stop there.

    so 25 alleged Dems voted to condemn their own allies while simultaneously giving a pass to Rethugs who attack good Dems. who the hell are these losers? how stupid does one have to be to do such a thing?

    can anyone imagine any circumstance in which the Senate R’s vote to chastise National Right to Life? I have long contended that part of why progressives and Dems lose elections is that they insist on some pointless indepdence while the right-wing groups and the Republican party are fully integrated. Normally when I say that, I am complaining about the groupls, like Sierra Club, who always eem compelled to endorse a certain number of Rethugs. But this time it is the party that is the problem. MoveOn spends a ton of money to elect Democrats, and you do this to them? WTF???

    ok, i think i’m ranted out for real this time.

  • I agree with Haik. It’s a clear violation of the First Amendment through intimidation.

    The Democrats are hopeless, spineless cowards, allowing themselves to be bowled over again and again by this jingoistic madness that is destroying us from within.

  • Pathetic.

    That sums up the Democratic Senate. Will is right, the Republicans run the Senate better as the minority party. This is completely screwed up.

  • ‘WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW, RESISTANCE BECOMES DUTY’
    Adam Kokesh

    To hell with the Dumbocrats and the criminal Repugs…UNITE THE PEOPLE and take back the country…otherwise line up for the Halliburton camps. That is the REALITY. What Congress person will you talk to when your the last one the jackboots round up in your neighborhood and take you away! Think it can’t happen here? Ask someone from Mississippi!

  • …thanks to 25 Dems breaking ranks.

    Until now I have not bashed Harry Reid but this is too much. He lost 25 of 49 Democratic Senators on what is essentially a vote against free speech. Reid failed to make a compelling case against this resolution and he lacked sufficient influence over members of his own party to keep it from passing. At every turn he has been outmaneuvered and outsmarted by a party whose sole motivation is the support of a President with 29% approval ratings. He should step down as Majority Leader now.

    The Dems are in dire need of a Majority Leader like Lyndon Johnson: a strategist and an ass kicker. Reid is demonstrably neither.

  • Those losers care only about enriching themselves at tax payers expence . Give the complicit bastards minimum wage , strip their health insurance and lifetime medical care and maybe we will get people who actually care about the republic .
    none of them deserve my money .

  • When will the press start accurately reporting the results of the senate votes. They keep repeating “the vote was 4 short of passing”…WRONG! The bill passed with a majority voting for it but due to a threatened filibuster by Senator Lindsay “fuck the troops, yea Bush” Graham, the republicans have blocked the successful legislation from going to the president. More republican obstructionism once again preventing a bill which had passed with bi-partisan support by filibuster which requires a 60 vote majority to go to the president…so much for majority rules.

    Headlines should read: Republican Obstructionism Over Rules Majority Vote…Again.
    Senate majority passes bill but republican threat to filibuster blocks it from going forward.
    The press always makes it sound like “a majority” didn’t pass it…like the vote is 4 votes short of a majority…Horribly mis leading.

  • Ok, the roll call is posted.

    First, I certainly hope this stunning screw up makes the list of votes watched on the BushDog project.

    Second. . . Leahy and Mikulski? Say it isn’t so. (I’m hoping Leahy was the one voting crosswise just to preserve a motion to reconsider, like Feingold was on the Boxer version).

    Third, Webb?

    Fourth, I know HRC doesn’t get a lot of love on this Board, but she voted correctly when a lot of other Dems bailed. And Obama was not voting.

  • From your 9/10 Post, CB: “It’s as if MoveOn had set a trap for Republicans to fall into.”

    Now who exactly stepped into the trap???

  • BJobotts, the sad and pathetic part is that the Republicans aren’t even filibustering.
    Dems are AGREEING to a 60 vote minimum, unanimously.

    Reid: “We’ve got them right where they want us!”

  • What’s the point in voting again? At least, like Zeitgeist pointed out, Hillary was on the right side. I don’t have a huge problem with Obama not voting since this is waste of time bullshit that should never see the senate floor anyway. Priorities, anyone? Leadership? Hello?

    I believe JRS Jr said it best, though:

    Now who exactly stepped into the trap???

    The Democrats are so completely cowardly and inept they’d pull the switch if they were sitting in the electric chair.

    I know Steve often questions the spontaneous creation of third parties because their platforms are so similar oftentimes to the Democrat’s, but seriously, these Democrats are nothing but pansies and corporate shills.

  • Here’s why they voted the way they did – this is the text of the resolution (which is an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act):

    To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces

    What the Dems who voted “yea” will say is that “MoveOn” does not appear anywhere in the resolution, and who would not vote to condemn personal attacks? Sure, we all know that “personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus” is a reference to the MoveOn ad, but it doesn’t actually say that.

    Semantics. This is what the Senate is wasting its time on – good to know.

    I’m sure that sense of the Senate resolution is making all those GIs feel extra safe and secure, and is helping them cope with the stress of 15-month deployments.

    It is my sense that these people left their own senses behind a long time ago.

  • Zeitgeist, @21

    Webb is a Dem on matters of Iraq primarily, maybe even *only*; it’s as if the army has superceded everything else in his mind and it’s now “my army, right or wrong”, . He probably would have preferred to vote on the Boxer “sense of Senate” (don’t attack *any* military) version but will defend anyone in the army no matter what. Everywhere else, he’s a good Repub — he voted for the FISA “fix” in July, too. Which, I think Mikulski did also (can’t set my hands on my “traitor list” from that vote to make sure. Him, I remember because he’s a senator from my state and I spent a lot of energy and money getting him elected, so that vote heightened my sense of betrayal ).

  • “Semantics. This is what the Senate is wasting its time on – good to know.”

    I’m not sure you could make stuff like this up! Perhaps this is why Congress is now breaking into all time low approval ratings.

  • JKap, there is a larger and larger group of Dems I’m leaning toward referring to as “Bulimicrats,” because they make me want to vomit.

    [no intent to make light of a serious eating disorder]

  • Barely, JKap. Because now they – including half of the Dems – have vouched for Four-Star Politician Petraeus’s integrity. In other words, they cannot now turn around and point out that he was less than forthcoming in his “report.” He deserved the full support? Even for his views that we just can’t be bothered to track weapons given to Iraqis? Should we also give General Pace our “full” support? Since they disagree, which gets slightly less than our “full” support?

    Sorry, but among the Dems only a idiot would vote yes, even without MoveOn mentioned specifically. They’ve now immunized the entire Bush-Petraeus report, ensuring that they have to vote to give Bush exactly what he wants.

    I’ll bet good money today that some R will, when the Dems try to argue over Bush’s next bill, point to this vote and argue that opposing the Bush War Bill is a failure to give Petraeus our “full” support.

    You know that sad excuse for a TV game show about whether you are smarter than a 5th grader? If they had a special episode on political strategy, I’d take the 5th graders over the DC Dems every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

  • Libra #29 – agreed, I know to expect Webb to be a Repub on most issues. But I consider this vote part of the Dems’ “Iraq strategy” (I now realize we dont have one), and as good as Webb as been on that, and has tough as he has been on Rethugs on that issue, I rather hoped he’d do the right thing today.

    As for Babs M, looks like Maryland went 0-for-2, even with nothing but Dems in their Senate delegation. Sad.

  • Interesting when you look at the text (below). Pretty sweeping, not a lot of wiggle room for those wingnuts laying into Abizaid right now. Glad my WV Sentators didn’t have their heads up their asses on this one. And good for Hillary and Dodd not falling for this. But Reid simply blew this. He doesn’t have what it takes to do the job. This is the only thing to pass in two days, and it is utter horseshit.

    The Purpose: “To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.”

    The most relevant sections:
    (8) A recent attack through a full-page advertisement in the New York Times by the liberal activist group, Moveon.org, impugns the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all the members of the United States Armed Forces.

    (b) Sense of Senate.–It is the sense of the Senate–

    (1) to reaffirm its support for all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, including General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq;

    (2) to strongly condemn any effort to attack the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all the members of the United States Armed Forces; and

    (3) to specifically repudiate the unwarranted personal attack on General Petraeus by the liberal activist group Moveon.org.

  • Sen. Dodd on the vote: “”It is a sad day in the Senate when we spend hours debating an ad while our young people are dying in Iraq. Now that the Senate has twice voted on this ad, it is time to move on and vote to end the war.”

    Yet again, Dodd is on the right side of the issues. Dodd is the real deal. We have to take his candicay seriously. We fail to do so at our peril.

  • You have to seriously wonder how Dems are going to do in the next election with so many of us dropping away from them. The only comfort is that Republicans are in worse shape, much worse. I say that having spent half the day among my neighbors this very Republican district — and they all have their eyebrows up to about their hairlines, and a permanent ohmigod expression on their faces.

    Of course, one aspect of this is the effort supporters are making to separate Petraeus from the label “politician.” And yet there hasn’t been a commanding general in recent history who has been (perhaps forced to be) more political. He even exceeds Powell in rate of decline. He’s a stand-in for a failed president, the sorriest situation possible for anyone of his ambitions and capabilities. Now let’s see if at some future date, having slept with the whores, he doesn’t run for the job of managing the whorehouse.

  • wvng – thanks for posting the full text of the resolution – I didn’t find it when I first looked, and clearly, there is no way to wiggle out of what these people voted for.

    Really, it’s come to the point where, if the Dems cannot be trusted to vote in a way that makes sense, and reflects some measure of power, the legislation should not even be reaching the floor. Someone in the leadership should have had a preliminary vote count and known, before it ever reached the floor, what was going to happen, and Reid should have refused to put it out there for a vote.

    I truly do not understand their thinking – or even if they’re thinking, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t hearing the full measure of our frustration and anger.

    It may be at the point where we will all be able to recognize our fellow Dems/liberals by the bruises we’ve gotten on our foreheads from banging our heads on the nearest falt surface.

  • “Clearly, there are still too many Republicans in Congress…”

    Clearly you can’t take resposibility of the “flaws” in your own party!

  • Oh, we have flaws, all right, that would become exacerbated by bringing in more Republicans. And it won’t do much good for their flaws either.

    I go by Atrios’ refrain: More and better Democrats. Not because they deserve it, but because their are last, best hope.

  • Nice picking and choosing JRS Jr. I think it safe to say that most of the posts in this thread are gnashing of teeth and rending of garments about the behaviour of our own. We are more than well enough aware of the flaws of oh, about 22 or so of the D’s.

  • Nice. And those 25 Dems that voted against the measure–who are they? My guess is this will hurt them bad in 2008, assuming they are up for re-election. Actually, my guess is that the ones up for a vote in ’08 supported the measure, hence the easy passage. Shows you where middle-of-the-road, or even moderately liberal, Americans stand. Move-on is a radical group that does not represent the real will of Americans, just the hard core (and dare I say) fundamentalist leftists.

  • Maybe now lawmakers can get back to work, and move away from their obsession with a newspaper ad?

    Keep hoping. And keep complaining about that sunrise and sunset thing too.

    Steve, I’m sick of Bush and Iraq, and the national GOP needs a time-out.

    Unfortunately, if you and the rest of the Dem. base behave the way you have on this matter, you’re gonna give the 2008 election to the GOP.

    Here’s the deal. When Moveon’s ad came out, all you and Hillary and the rest had to say was “Impugning the patriotism of those who disagree with them has been a staple of GOP politics since long before the Iraq War. There is plenty to disagree with in Petraeus’ overly-optimistic performance. Nonetheless, calling people that we disagree with, especially those who wear our country’s uniform, traitors, is a smear tactic we Democrats roundly condemn.”

    See how easy? But no. You guys are all “Nothing to see here. A newspaper ad? Move on.”

    Of course the GOP is gonna try to hang you on it! What planet are you from? BTW, Dems would do the same. It’s called “politics.” Not “beanbag.” If you hand this election to the GOP because you can’t remove your blinders, I’m gonna be pissed. At you, not them.

  • This doesn’t hurt those Democrats. They held out to protect ALL veterans, not just Bush’s stooge with the medals big enough for the Boy King to hide behind. That’s an honorable position to take. EVERY soldier ought not have their patriotism savaged by cozy, soiree circuit politicians. I look forward to that debate — if those Democrats with the confidence to do the right thing have the confidence to stand by it.

  • Gee, it’s good to see half the Dumboctrats have at least some integrity and are not afraid of Micheal Moron.

  • Voted for the Cornyn resolution:
    Baucus (D-MT)
    Bayh (D-IN)
    Cardin (D-MD)
    Carper (D-DE)
    Casey (D-PA)
    Conrad (D-ND)
    Dorgan (D-ND)
    Feinstein (D-CA)
    Johnson (D-SD)
    Klobuchar (D-MN)
    Kohl (D-WI)
    Landrieu (D-LA)
    Leahy (D-VT)
    Lincoln (D-AR)
    McCaskill (D-MO)
    Mikulski (D-MD)
    Nelson (D-FL)
    Nelson (D-NE)
    Pryor (D-AR)
    Salazar (D-CO)
    Tester (D-MT)
    Webb (D-VA)

    Didn’t vote:
    Biden (D-DE)
    Cantwell (D-WA)
    Obama (D-IL)

    Voted against the resolution:
    Akaka (D-HI)
    Bingaman (D-NM)
    Boxer (D-CA)
    Brown (D-OH)
    Byrd (D-WV)
    Clinton (D-NY)
    Dodd (D-CT)
    Durbin (D-IL)
    Feingold (D-WI)
    Harkin (D-IA)
    Inouye (D-HI)
    Kennedy (D-MA)
    Kerry (D-MA)
    Lautenberg (D-NJ)
    Levin (D-MI)
    Menendez (D-NJ)
    Murray (D-WA)
    Reed (D-RI)
    Reid (D-NV)
    Rockefeller (D-WV)
    Schumer (D-NY)
    Stabenow (D-MI)
    Whitehouse (D-RI)
    Wyden (D-OR)

  • So, Proud Republican, I’m curious – what do you find objectionable about the broader show of support for troops in the Boxer amendment? Or would you have voted for it? Or voted against it solely because of the letter after the sponsor’s name? Or maybe you think that only those at the top of the totem pole (who should be best able to protect themselves) deserve protection from the First Amendment, while those who merely fight on the front lines do not?

    What is your stance, exactly, on the two amendments that were offered?

  • So, Proud Republican, I’m curious – what do you find objectionable about the broader show of support for troops in the Boxer amendment? -Zeitgeist

    Forget the Boxer amendment, how aobut telling us why a 1:1 ratio of rest to duty isn’t a priority, Proud Republican?

    Scum like you give lip service to supporting the troops while stiffling free speech. You’re an embarassment to the country.

    http://www.goarmy.com

    If you’re so proud, get your ass enlisted.

  • discussing this meaningless resolution has equal consequence to discussing whether OJ did it again, or if Britney is getting fat. congress has an 11% approval rating. dare we discuss what that means for a representative democracy?

    democrats who vote on any resolution that opines against a rich lobbyist group like moveon.org, essentially would be voting to cut themselves from their deserved payola. when you have an 11% approval rating, you have not much further to fall – why not grab for the money? wouldn’t you?

  • “Maybe now lawmakers can get back to work, and move away from their obsession with a newspaper ad?”

    I wouldn’t count on it. Republicans would sure as hell rather talk about this than Iraq. I expect they’re going to keep whining about it as long as there’s a microphone to be found. I’ll bet $100 bucks that ad is mentioned at least once in a stump speech and/or a Sunday morning political talk show in September of next year.

  • Groups like moveon and ANSWER need to exposed for what they are, namely, Islamofascist-sympathizers and Stalinists!

    You ignorant Leftists should do some research into the groups you support!

  • I’ll tell you really gets my goat, those damn Hindu-Maoists!

    And the Zoroastrianist-anarchists, oh how I loathe them!!

  • On September 20th, 2007 at 9:04 pm, CalD said:
    Now you’re just being silly.

    56. On September 20th, 2007 at 11:54 pm, 2Manchu said:
    I’ll tell you really gets my goat, those damn Hindu-Maoists!

    And the Zoroastrianist-anarchists, oh how I loathe them!!
    =====================

    Idiots,

    ANSWER is a well know Islamo-Stalinist organization!

    http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=22&x_article=1090

    http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/jonsson033106.htm

    Educate yourselves, leftards, before you support Stalinist regimes!!!

  • Islamo-Stalinist?

    How can an atheist (Stalinist) be also an Islamist?

    Aren’t you just slapping Islamism with whatever political ideology you just happen to think up at the time?

  • Please explain the “procedural reasons” that allowed this amendment to be forced into a vote. I don’t understand why Reid couldn’t stop it.

  • It seems like the Republicans (and cowardly Democrats) who approved the Senate resolution targetting MoveOn may have backfired. This is the start of a letter I received today from MoveOn:

    Yesterday, an amazing thing happened. After the Senate’s shameful vote, and after President Bush called MoveOn “disgusting,” our email started to fill up with messages like this one:

    I’m currently in Iraq. I do not agree with this war, and if I did support this war, it would not matter. You have the RIGHT to speak the truth. We KNOW that you support us. Thank you for speaking out for being our voice. We do not have a voice. We are overshooted by those who say that we soldiers do not support organizations like MoveOn. WE DO.

    YOU ARE OUR voice.

    And then came the donations. By midnight, over 12,000 people had donated $500,000—more than we’ve raised any day this year—for our new ad calling out the Republicans who blocked adequate rest for troops headed back to Iraq.

  • I’m so outraged over the situation, that I wrote the following letter to my senator, a Democrat, who voted for the resolution. I’m including it here, because I think it speaks to the true and dangerous problems that underlie our corrupt political system.

    Dear Senator,
    I’m writing, because I’d honestly like to know how you can justify your support for a bill that condemns MoveOn.org and was not meant to do anything else but thumb its nose at Progressives who are actually working to make our government — this administration — account for its disastrous actions over the last 6-7 years. We are at WAR, Senator, and many of us gave our hard-earned money and spent weeks and months of our time, to elect a new House and Senate that would actually end this madness. We have been lied to, unlawfully spied upon, and robbed of our tax dollars for corporate giveaways and bombing campaigns. New Orleans is still tremendously insecure, and vast parts of it are languishing — the only progress that has been made has overwhelmingly been accomplished through PRIVATE initiative. Our schools are in a crisis, and the entire human race stands at the brink of a man-made disaster as global warming looms, and the only resolution this Senate has been able to actually pass in the last few months has to do w/ essentially condemning Americans who have sought to remedy and address the situation that is tearing our country and this planet apart?

    I’m disgusted with your actions, Senator. I’m really trying to figure out why you feel this was a politically astute move to make. Just as your party stands w/ 11% approval ratings, how have you deemed it expedient to go ahead and trash the very people who have put you into office?

    Your logic confounds me. Apparently it’s true that the Republicans and the Democrats are alike. You’re all more concerned about your own fat paychecks and government kickbacks than you are in truly serving the people who’ve put you into power.

    Power corrupts, absolutely.

    I beg of you to prove me wrong.

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