While the entire nation - including his colleagues on Capitol Hill - scoff at Sen. Russ Feingold's "Censuring the President" proposal, one group is hailing him as a hero.
And that group is about as nutty as Feingold himself.
The liberal MoveOn.org has pulled another petty campaign out of its sleeve, pretending to support the underdog when really, it just wants to take another swing at President Bush.
Don't believe me? Check out these excerpts from MoveOn's most recent e-mail campaign:
"Yesterday, Senator Russ Feingold introduced a resolution to censure President Bush for breaking the law by illegally wiretapping American citizens.
"Censuring a sitting president is serious business. But when the president misleads the public and Congress while willfully and repeatedly breaking the law, there must be consequences—that's how the law works for everybody else.
"While most politicians sat back and weighed the political pros and cons of holding the president accountable, Senator Feingold stuck his neck out and did it. Now it's up to us to show broad public support. Can you sign our petition asking Congress to join the call for censure?"
Sorry, I refuse to insert the petition. I know you were all ready to sign it, too.
The craziness continues as MoveOn lays out its plan to gather 250,000 signatures since "it's unclear how many of Senator Feingold's colleagues will stand with him in this important fight."
Um, actually it is clear. Recent news reports confirm that not even some of Congress' most outspoken Democrats want anything to do the proposal. As Rob pointed out in a previous post, the whole escapade has become quite the embarrassment for Feingold and gang.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D.-Conn.) both said they have no interest in reading, let alone promoting Feingold's proposal.
Even Rep. Nancy Pelosi won't take a strong swing at the president this time, something totally out of character for House minority leader.
But no worries. Even though Feingold's proposal is a complete failure MoveOn has announced its decision "send a copy of the complete petition (with all six signatures - Eli, Nita, Tom, Adam, Joan of MoveOn.org's political action team and that of Feingold's press secretary) to Senator Feingold to show our support for his courage."
MoveOn closes its e-mail with - what did I tell you? - a direct attack on the president, which is posted below for your enjoyment:
"President Bush already had the authority to wiretap suspected terrorists—he could even wiretap first and get warrants 3 days later. But he chose to get no warrants at all, clearly violating the law set up to protect innocent Americans and then he misled the Congress and the public about his program.
"Censuring the president means Congress officially acknowledges that the president broke the law and condemns him for doing it. Given the scale of the president's problem, it's a very reasonable first step to holding him accountable. This is a key moment for Congress to show that they're serious about checks and balances.
"Our country was founded on the idea that everyone—even the president— has to follow the law. Supporting censure is the best opportunity we've got to keep that ideal alive. Can you sign our petition today?"
The MoveOn team never ceases to amaze, I mean, amuse me. I have to admit, receiving word of the group's latest e-mail campaign brought some unexpected laughter to my Tuesday afternoon.
