Last week, furious with the Senate's decision to waste time "condemning" the Moveon ad, I e-mailed one of my Senators, Amy Klobuchar expressing my disappointment that she was suckered into the trap and voted for the Cornyn Amendment. Today, I received her response:
Thank you for contacting me about the recent advertisement concerning U.S. General David Petraeus. I appreciate hearing your thoughts.
While I strongly disagree with the direction the Administration is taking in Iraq, I have great respect for our men and women in uniform and the sacrifices they make in service to our country. Their service deserves to be respected and honored, regardless of our opinions on the war in Iraq. As such, I do not feel that this particular advertisement was appropriate.
I opposed this war from the beginning. I continue to believe it is time for a new direction in Iraq. We must begin bringing our troops home. That's why, just last week, I was one of 28 Senators who voted for the Feingold Amendment, which requires the president to begin withdrawing troops within 90 days, and effectively limits funding for deployments in Iraq by June 30, 2008. I also supported amendments offered by Senators Levin and Reed, requiring that a troop drawdown begin in 90 days; and the Webb Amendment, giving active duty troops time home equal to the length of their deployment. I will continue to advocate strenuously for an immediate change in course in Iraq.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to do so again on issues of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator
With respect to Sen. Klobuchar, she misses the point, and again demonstrates how clueless even progressive Democrats can be. Implying that (again, all together now) an ad, in a newspaper shows disrespect to our soldiers is foolish. If anything, calling attention to the craven politicization of senior military officials helps our troops, as politics are the only reason they remain.