When General David Petraeus appeared before Congress to give his long-awaited report on the state of the war in Iraq, Republicans found a subject that, in their minds, took precedence over the war itself. Rather than focus on the life and death struggles in the Middle East, Republicans repeatedly assailed a newspaper ad by MoveOn.org that asked some provocative questions.
The headline on the ad asked, “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” Republicans immediately pounced on a shallow interpretation that MoveOn was calling Petraeus a traitor. A more profound analysis would show that they were merely warning readers that the General’s testimony might be more aligned with White House spin than with the facts on the ground saying:
“General Petraeus will not admit what everyone knows; Iraq is mired in an unwinnable religious civil war.”
That didn’t stop Senator John Cornyn from introducing legislation to censure MoveOn, an action that impinges on the rights enumerated in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Although, Cornyn’s statement on the ad twice references freedom of speech, in each instance he qualifies and constrains it:
“Every American, including a Washington special interest organization like MoveOn.org, has the right to voice their opinion on the Iraq war. But to suggest that the four-star General leading the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq has ‘betrayed’ his country is abhorrent.”
“There should be a full and honest debate on the war on terror […] But hateful, personal attacks that call our military leaders traitors should be condemned.”
These attacks on MoveOn are nothing but a desperate attempt to shift the public’s attention from an unpopular war to a false and irrelevant controversy that has been manufactured for media consumption. Cornyn, and the rest of the Republican cabal, should cease their efforts to stifle free speech. Likewise, they should consider placing greater emphasis on the core issues that impact our military and our nation than they do on advertisements that express the views of millions of Americans.
