Voinovich Supports, Brown Opposes Senate Resolution Condemning MoveOn.org

This is absurd and outrageous. In an act of ideological posturing, the GOP has engineered a Senate resolution condemning MoveOn.org for an act of pure political speech, i.e., its newspaper ad criticizing Gen. David Petraeus on the eve of his Congressional testimony in support of staying the course in Iraq. Sen. George Voinovich (R) voted in favor of the resolution, of course. Twenty-two Democrats joined the GOP, but to his great credit Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) voted against.

Among Democratic presidential contenders, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) did not vote and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) voted against. On the GOP side, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) voted in favor.

It is a dark day when our government condemns political speech. Whether tasteful or outrageous, expression of political opinion is fundamental to democracy and is at the core of our most cherished freedoms. This brouhaha over MoveOn.org is not just a despicable diversionary tactic to deflect attention from popular opposition to the war, it is an affront to our basic civil liberties.