Memo to Democrats

What a week it has been, watching our Democracy continue to crumble. I will let these fine voices elaborate on my frustration.

Taylor Marsh offers these comments:

Before a single Democrat condemns MoveOn's ad, they should insist that George W. Bush and the Republican Party repudiate the anti-military smears on war heroes that have been the hallmark of Mr. Bush's political career. ... - Paul Begala

A little good old political theater is what was in order today. Senate majority leader Harry Reid should have gathered Democrats together and when the Cornyn amendment came up they all should have walked out. Then on the Capitol steps Reid should have given a short speech on Republicans voting against the Webb amendment, which actually aided the troops, and that while soldiers are dying in battle he would not allow the Senate to be used for a political show. Not on his watch. End tape. [...]

One congressman from California showed more spine than Edwards and Obama
combined.

"I commend MoveOn for their ad and for speaking truth to power," said Stark. "Up is not down, the earth is not flat, and the surge is not working. General Petraeus betrayed his own reputation by standing with George Bush in opposition to the timely withdrawal of all of our brave men and women from Iraq. I thank MoveOn for their patriotic ad and call on Petraeus to help Bush end a war the President should have never started." - Pete Stark

Jane Hamsher at firedoglake adds this:

The only one who got this right was Hillary Clinton. She’s been on the receiving end of mock right wing outrage before, she knows how it works and she didn’t get played by the typical GOP charade that even THEY aren’t sincere about. Every word coming out of their mouths on the floor of the Senate this morning was pure santcimonious hypocrisy, dancing on the head of a pin as they tried to distinguish between this and the outrageous things it was perfectly okay to say about Abizaid or Kerry or Max Clelland. But thanks to the willingness of human Gumby dolls like Bill Richardson, Barack Obama and John Edwards who thought it best to bow down before the right wing when it gets its bluster on, the PR blitz nobody would have otherwise cared about kept gaining momentum until it reached this shocking abrogation of free speech with the help of 25 Democrats.

I should actually qualify that — it wasn’t Edwards who bagged MoveOn, he had his wife do it. I suppose that’s better somehow. Maybe not as good as Barack “I never met a fight I couldn’t duck” Obama who was there to vote on the Boxer Amendment, but couldn’t be bothered to stick around and vote against Cornyn. But close.

More from Marsh:

Hillary Clinton gets it. Even in the middle of a brutal attack launched by Rudy Giuliani, which will only get worse because of her vote today, Clinton stood up, stood proudly and cast a vote against the Cornyn charade. No doubt she remembers well when Democrats wanted to flee from Bill Clinton during the Lewinski witch hunt. No one sanctioned what her husband did, least of all her. But Hillary knew what was at stake and what Republicans were really after, so she didn't flinch, gathered herself and the Democratic party and fought back against the right-wing who was after only one thing, same as they were today.

Power.

Never give in. Never give up. And above all else know who is the real enemy. Clinton knows -- as sure as she saved Bill Clinton's presidency -- that the enemy of Democrats is not MoveOn.org. Today Clinton proved why she's the frontrunner. She left the boys in the dust.

THE COURAGEOUS 25 WHO VOTED NAY

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)

And finally, from The Nation: Democrats Stab MoveOn in the Back

"Memo to Democrats: you control the Congress. That means you can decide what bills come to the floor for votes--and what don't. So why, in a week where Republicans blocked the restoration of habeas corpus, voting rights for DC and adequate rest time for our troops between deployments, did you allow Republicans the opportunity to score a cheap PR stunt by approving a resolution condemning a week-old newspaper ad by Moveon.org--on the same day Republicans once again voted to keep indefinitely continuing the Iraq war?!"

Stay tuned ...