I Guess I Should Just Sit Down and Shut Up

This just came into my mailbox from moveon.org

(I just checked - the links in the email don't work here but I'm sure you can read the entire thing at moveon.org. If not and you need them, let me know. I'll forward a copy of the actual email.)

The U.S. Senate just told you to sit down and be quiet when they passed a Republican amendment condemning MoveOn.1

Every day, our brave men and women are dying in a bloody civil war this Senate has done nothing to stop. Yesterday, they couldn't even pass a bill to give soldiers adequate leave with their families before redeploying.2 But they're spending time cracking down on a newspaper ad?

So, we're making clear where America stands. We're releasing a statement from MoveOn members—and anyone else who feels the same way—saying, "We will not be quiet, we will fight back. We will keep speaking out until Congress forces an exit plan for this awful war."

Clicking here will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/fightback/o.pl?id=11268-5297998-29PVdP&t=3

Maybe you liked our General Petraeus ad.3 Maybe you thought the language went too far. But make no mistake: this is much bigger than one ad.

It's part of a larger campaign by Fox, the right-wing echo chamber, and Republicans like John McCain (who said we should be "thrown out of the country").4

They're doing it because they're hurting: Polls show last week's Bush Administration PR blitz increased the number of Americans favoring withdrawal5 and vulnerable Republicans are sinking lower and lower in the polls (or announcing their retirement).

And it has one purpose: to intimidate all of us. To send a message that anyone who speaks unpleasant truths about this war will pay. To make everyone—especially politicians—think twice before they accuse the administration of lying.

If it looks like we're on the run, people will think twice before they speak out. Will you send a message today to Dick Cheney, Fox, Bill O'Reilly, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Karl Rove—and the Democrats without the guts to vote against this—that it's not working?

We've changed our home page to just run the names of people who sign on. We'll report the totals to the media all day. And if we can find an electronic billboard in Washington, D.C., we'll run the names there, too.

And after you add your name, you can go one step further. We've put together a fair but hard-hitting ad that highlights how, yesterday, Republicans blocked a bill to give our troops adequate family leave before going back to Iraq. If we can raise enough money, we'll air this ad across the country and take the fight back to the real issues—this terrible war and its impact on our troops and the Iraqi people.

Clicking here will add your name to our statement:

http://pol.moveon.org/fightback/o.pl?id=11268-5297998-29PVdP&t=4

This morning, the Senate didn't pass an exit strategy for Iraq. They didn't pass a bill to cover millions of uninsured Americans or combat the climate crisis. Nope—they condemned 3.4 million Americans for speaking out against the war.

Let them know them it's not going to work.

Thank you for all you do, every day, to get the truth out.

–Eli, Aaron, Adam G., Adam R., Anna, Carrie, Daniel, Erik, Ilyse, Jennifer, Joan, Justin, Karin, Laura, Marika, Matt, Natalie, Nita, Noah, Tanya, Tom & Wes
MoveOn.org Political Action
Thursday, September 20th, 2007

Sources:

1. You can see the resolution text here and the roll call of who voted for it here. Absurdly, it claims that MoveOn "impugns the honor and integrity of ... all the members of the United States Armed Force"—despite the fact that MoveOn includes hundreds of thousands of veterans and military family members, who've led our campaign to bring our troops home.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2988&id=11268-5297998-29PVdP&t=7

2. "Effort to Shift Course in Iraq Fails in Senate," New York Times , September 19, 2007.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/20/washington/20cong.html?hp

3. You can read the ad text and why we ran it here:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2987&id=11268-5297998-29PVdP&t=8

4. "McCain To MoveOn: Get Out," CBS News, September 14, 2007.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2973&id=11268-5297998-29PVdP&t=9

5. "Poll: Most Say Bush Iraq Plan Falls Short," CBS News, September 17, 2007.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2974&id=11268-5297998-29PVdP&t=10

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee

=====================

Here are the NO votes. Of the candidates, Biden (is he still in?)and Obama weren't voting.

Clinton and Dodd voted no.

My California Senators split which wasn't too surprising. My senior senator leans further to the right each year and each year I become more disappointed.

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)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

I've been a member of moveon.org since 2005. I don't agree with everything they do. I don't have to. They do have a right to speak out against the current Administration and the lies we've been fed by them and their lackeys in the MSM.

The Administration has lied to us since long before the Iraq was began. Some of us knew it then; almost the entire country knows it know. Why should we suddenly believe everything they tell us?

COMMENTS:

ThomasLB said...
Are they going to pass judgement on every political advertisement from here on out?It sounds very much like they want to return to the days of McCarthyism and the House Unamerican Activities Committee.
Thursday, September 20, 2007 5:55:00 PM
fjb said...
I think it's time for rebellion you guys. To someone on the outside looking in, your government representatives are getting scarier by the minute. You used to pride yourselves on living in a free and democratic society, but I'm not seeing a whole hell of a lot of democracy or freedom down there. What's next, Gulags? Are you really going to let them continue do this sort of thing to you?!?! No joking folks, you might want to start reminding these bastards whose country it is. Yours. This makes me feel sick.
Thursday, September 20, 2007 7:47:00 PM
The Future Was Yesterday said...
I guess that means I'm in trouble then, because I don't know how to sit down and shut up!
Thursday, September 20, 2007 11:55:00 PM
Daniel said...
Keep up the great work, Granny! We can't let the bastards grind us down, can't let 1984 become a nightmarish reality.We, the people, have to move against the small minority who would enslave us.
Friday, September 21, 2007 8:38:00 PM