former Chief Counsel, Democratic National Committee
Former Chief Counsel to the Democratic National Committee, now an attorney in Washington, DC
PROFILE
Joseph Birkenstock
Guest
FROM Joseph Birkenstock
To the Point
MoveOn, the Democrats and Iraq With a vote of 341 to 79, many Democrats joined Republicans today in condemnation of MoveOn.org for its full-page ad calling General David Petraeus "General BetrayUs." Today, MoveOn paid an additional $77,000 to the New York Times, which admits it was mistaken for publishing the group's ad at the discount rate of $65,000. MoveOn.org says the attack was designed to show Congressional Democrats how to get tougher on bringing an end to the war in Iraq. Even Speaker Nancy Pelosi concedes there's a public perception that her party has failed to live to expectations since winning the majority last November. Republicans still call the incident evidence of the Times' "liberal bias." One group calls it a violation of campaign finance law. Democrats say Republicans should denounce Rush Limbaugh for calling Nebraska's decorated Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel "Senator BetrayUs." What does it all have to do with ending the war in Iraq—and the presidential campaign?
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