Crossposted from Flopping Aces

In Thursday’s press conference, President Bush had this to say about the Moveon.org advertisement in the New York Times which slimed General Petraeus: 

Q What is your reaction to the MoveOn.org ad that mocked General Petraeus as General "Betrayus," and said that he cooked the books on Iraq? And secondly, would you like to see Democrats, including presidential candidates, repudiate that ad?

THE PRESIDENT: I thought the ad was disgusting. I felt like the ad was an attack not only on General Petraeus, but on the U.S. military. And I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democrat Party spoke out strongly against that kind of ad. And that leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org — or more afraid of irritating them than they are of irritating the United States military. That was a sorry deal. It’s one thing to attack me; it’s another thing to attack somebody like General Petraeus.

Update: The Twin Cities Conservative noted that yesterday the Senate voted on Sen. Cornyn (symbolic) Amendment to express support for General Petraeus in light of the MoveOn.org full-page ad “General Petraeus or General Betray Us? Cooking the books for the White House.” in the New York Times accusing the General of betrayal in Iraq at the same time he was testifying to Congress on the current status of the war in Iraq.

Here is the ‘statement of purpose’ for the amendment:

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.

Seems pretty straight forward doesn’t it? It passed 72-25, while 3 Senators did not vote.

This vote should have been an easy vote for everyone in the Senate. Do you support the current Commanding General in Iraq? Surprisingly 28 Senators could not vote ‘YES’ on that simple question. Why couldn’t these Senators vote YEA? President Bush suggests that some Democrats have pledged their allegiance to a left-wing political group instead of the United States Military.

In a news conference, President Bush denounced the ad as “disgusting” and criticized Democrats for not immediately condemning it. “And that leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org, or more afraid of irritating them, then they are of irritating the United States military,” Bush said Thursday. (source)

What a telling vote this turned out to be, especially for the current crop of 2008 presidential hopefuls. Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Christopher Dodd pledged their support for MoveOn.org instead of the U.S. troops they want to command. Another presidential candidate did not bother to vote at all:

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, another contender for the Democratic nomination, did not vote, although he voted minutes earlier for an alternative resolution by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. (source)

Senator Barack Obama could not even cast his vote saying “I support General Petraeus” and worse yet he was THERE to vote on another amendment mere minutes before. What a coward!!! He could not even make his position made known. Senator Joe Biden who is also running for President managed to miss this vote as well.

MoveOn.org reacted to the vote with another petition:

The U.S. Senate just told you to sit down and be quiet. They passed a resolution condemning MoveOn.org, to intimidate all of us who care about responsibly ending this war. We will not be quiet, we will fight back, and we will keep speaking out until Congress forces an exit plan for this awful war.

blah, blah, blah.. Daily KOS was NOT happy with those Senators who voted for this Amdendment either:

The Democrats just passed a Republican resolution condemning the MoveOn ad that called General Petraeus a biased figurehead 72-25.

Do the Democrats even know who votes for them anymore? Don’t they understand that if they continue to piss off the die-hard Democrats, the MoveOn Democrats, they are going to continue to lose elections?

The Republicans have won for 20 years by rallying and paying off their base. The Democrats absolutely refuse to do the same. Small wonder they haven’t won big in a while.

I’m a MoveOn Democrat. I approved that message. And it’s becoming clear that the Democrats in Congress don’t speak for me. Let the primary challenges roll.

Hmm, I sincerly doubt any of these ‘MoveOn Democrats’ will be pulling the lever next to a Republican’s name in retaliation for this vote.

For your convenience I have listed the25 Senators who voted NO.

25 – NAYs
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)

Not Voting – 3
Biden (D-DE)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL)