The troops are that much safer now that we have “condemned personal attacks” on Gen. Petraeus and U.S. troops. We can rest assured that today in Iraq no soldier fighting this war will die of an IED or cowardly sniper fire. We can lay our heads tonight knowing that the United States Senate, the most august of bodies, will not rest, will not waiver in it’s fight against personal attacks. The Democrats and Republicans promised to make us safer and now we can see that they intend to deliver on that promise.
Personally I hang my head in disgust at all 100 members of the Senate. To take even 2 minutes to vote on this nonsense is a testament to the often worthlessness of our elected officials. Maybe the ad was right, maybe the ad was wrong but by God men and women are DYING. The Republicans filibuster any attempt to address troop needs and troop strain; they will not vote on issues. What a sad day for us all when the thoughtfulness or thoughtlessness of a political ad is enough motivation to bring every single member of the Senate down to the floor and proceed with a full vote when even the safety and lives of American soldiers cannot provide the same motivation.
after 9/11 when Congress took to the steps of the Capital building to sing “God Bless America” to show how united and patriotic they were, rather than, I don’t know, doing actual work in a time of national crisis?
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This reminds me of that. First rule of legislative politics: Symbolism is easier than substance.
…. fails to acknowledge the fact that in spite of lessoned learned in the Vietnam anti war protests ( where even more men were dying daily to support an unjust cause) that attacking the military is the quickest way for an anti war movement to shoot itself in the foot and delay its goal. It was said that if we do not study history we are condemned to repeat its mistakes. In a congress that was starting to gain bipartisan support for real reform in the direction of this war, MoveOn has only itself (and it’s failure to understand history) to blame for handing the opposition all the ammo it needs to keep the members in line.
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As someone who marched in the Vietnam days and also in Washington, New York and Boston before this war got started and who participates in every anti war vigil to acknowledge the milestones of death and years this has dragged on this debacle is beyond frustrating.
isn’t about the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of Moveon’s ad. I don’t even care about the ad. I care about the fact that our representatives took time to debate an interest group’s ad but just two days earlier wouldn’t take time to debate the Webb Amendment regarding tours of duty for troops. I care about the fact that basically nothing gets done because we can’t get to that magic number of 60 votes but for some reason we can manage to take a vote on A NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT.
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My premise is that that the United States Senate wasted a lot of peoples’ time on this vote and ultimately it continues as a distraction to the real issues. My premise is that this is a pretty glaring and disgusting example of how honest debate has permanently left Washington in its place is petty political pandering.
… that both sides constantly look for ways to distract the genuine work that should be going on hence my frustration when a group that had galvanized support for important issues allows itself to be fodder for those who they previously and successfully held up for public scrutiny. For a number of months MoveOn’s tone has become shriller and the firestorm this set off has left them sadly diminished. Just look at the 72 to 28 votes against the reforms on War Policy that were making their way through the Senate (finally) as an eerie mirror to the 74 to 25 vote on MoveOn to see the affect this has had. Not that I expected the war policy to change but I did have an expectation it would not lose so badly.
“both sides”
Don't give me that “both sides” BS.
If you want to make the arguement that “You clean your house and we'll clean ours”, fine. I'll accept that much. But what I keep hearing is the “both sides” meme being used as a “They do it too!” excuse for unacceptable behavior. That might work in 5th grade kickball game, but C'Mon now people!
that if this were a bill in and of itself rather than an amemdment, that the Dems would not have allowed that useless crap to get to the floor.
But the Dem majority is showing much more honor and integrity as far as restoring decorum to House rules. Note the lack of arm-twisting, leaving votes open for 12 hour periods, restricting debate on bills, disallowing amendments to bills, etc.
We are back to the way things used to run as far as parliamentary procedure and while it has it's drawbacks, like the crybaby conservatives wasting the peoples time responding to newspaper ads, it is a necessary restoration of the framework that makes congress run in a democratic (small d) fashion.
Suggests as much in this morning’s NPR piece.
Seems like more of a photo op deal than anything. It will become or try to be made a campaign isue. Hillary voted against, Obama had the sense to slip out withoun voting and surprise, surprise: Kennedy (D-MA), Nay Kerry (D-MA), Nay.
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Interesting link at any rate.
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http://www.senate.go…
BriVT, from Sen. Kery’s office wrote this on DailyKos yesterday in answer to a similar question:
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The amendment that condemned the MoveOn ad was brought to the floor by Senate Republicans in order to hit hot emotional buttons. The Republicans wanted to give their base a rallying point by pretending that the MoveOn ad was some sort of a partisan attack on the American military and they wanted to divide the Democratic base by pitting factions against each other.
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Who wins when the discussion is about non-issues like this? I agree with your premise that this was a waste of time. Sen. Kerry said as much on the floor of the Senate yesterday. But it did accomplish it’s goal, it detoured the debate around the life and death issues that should be discussed in relation to the war in Iraq. That was the goal.
Move On did, who raised a cool half mil from people who thought this was the stupidest vote EVER. (Note: not the most damaging, or the worst vote, just the stupidest. Also in the running for the most hypocritical.)
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Who lost? The stupid spineless Democrats who lost even more support with the people who sent them there to DO SOMETHING USEFUL.
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All the Republicans got was red meat for their base (someone to hate more) and a media cycle soon forgotten. Oh, and to test that they still hold the media by the testicles.
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I think I know how to solve this whole thing. I think we should declare a War on Congress.
But who is it a win over really? I saw Sen. McCain on the TV yesterday yelling at a protester at the National Rifle Association convention. The protester was shouting about the recent votes, the war and the failure of Sen. McCain to do anything to force a change in policy. Sen. McCain shouted back, “We beat you yesterday, we beat you today and we will beat you tomorrow.”
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Who did he really beat? Maybe it was this Mass. mother from Military Families Speak Out who wrote these words in a letter to Sen. Kerry back in March of 2006 to tell him about what it’s like to have a son serving in harm’s way:
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Is this who was “beaten” in those votes this week? This mother had been through hell, and was worried that her son would be recalled to Iraq again. One of the “victories” that Sen. McCain was crowing about would take her son back to an active combat zone after only ten months at home, despite his having served in Afghanistan and Iraq already. I wonder if that was the victory he meant and the victory that Republicans are celebrating this week.
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Maybe the victory was over VoteVets, an organization of Afghanistan and Iraqi war vets who want to force the Administration to change direction in this war and who want fair treatment for active duty personnel currently serving. I saw Jon Soltz at Take Back America this past summer. He was talking about coming back from the war and back from the horror that is Iraq. Mr. Soltz spoke of his confusion at trying to reintegrate into life at home after his service. Soltz spoke at TBA about his going to the Vet Centers to get some answers and help in dealing with what had happened to him. He told the Vet Center personnel, “Help me. I’m not who I used to be.” VoteVets lobbies to give veterans a voice in the debate over the war and to make sure that those who fought and who know what is happening are heard in the halls of Congress.
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I wonder if Sen. McCain was so happy because he had a “victory” over people like Jon Soltz. Is that whow he was addressing when he was crowing about beating back protest? Is that what it’s come down to, Senators like McCain and others who are ever so happy because they have victories over worried families and returning veterans? What price then victory Senator? What price?
No, John McCain wasn’t “crowing” about “beating back” (btw – your words, not his) a soldiers mom.
Nor would any reasonable person think he was.
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If it had been almost anyone but McCain, maybe you could’ve stretched credulity that thin.
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Clearly, Sen. McCain was addressing most of his colleagues from across the aisle who, like the heckler, are long on complaint, short on solution.
that prevent active duty troops from having a year off at home between deployments, prolong the current failed strategies in Iraq and refuse to force this Administration to try diplomatic and political ends to achieve what the US military has said it cannot in this war.
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Any reasonable person can see that one of those votes was about the troops, about the policy that prevents our soldiers from getting an adequate amount of time between deployments to rest and retrain.
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The specific amendment and policy that Sen. McCain and other Republicans have been so happy about affects real live human beings and their families. That may not be something that the Republicans want to highlight, but it is true. The incredible amount of hardship that this unfair and unprecedented policy brings to our military families is nothing to yell about in terms of victory or ‘winning.’ And any reasonable person can see that.
Mostly they’re just too busy raking in the lobbyist’s dough to do any real work. The President has pretty much entered the power vacuum left by the Congress and Senate. Ain’t much left to do but enter into the little buffoonery antics. Really, they are at much at fault for the present situation as the guy in the Whitehouse.
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Oh, and in all my years in the military, the only general I knew that wasn’t a politician first was General Swartzkopf. After all, it’s Congress that gives them the stars.
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