The House of Representatives's Vote on the Moveon.Org Advertisement on General Petraeus

SPEECH OF
HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
OF MARYLAND
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007

* Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, like many of my colleagues, I believe the MoveOn.org advertisement in the New York Times about GEN David Petraeus was both wrong and counterproductive. I also agree with all of the findings in H.J. Res. 52 that praise General Petraeus's exemplary military career, for which he has received numerous awards for his service to our country. However, I decided to vote against this resolution as a matter of principle and because it is a diversionary tactic by the Bush administration and the congressional Republicans. As a legislative body determining important issues affecting our citizens, the Congress should not be in the business of passing resolutions supporting or opposing political ads. Adopting such a practice would consume all our time and divert our attention from important issues like the war in Iraq.

* The MoveOn.org advertisement was wrong to question the integrity of General Petraeus. It was also counterproductive in that it took the focus off of President Bush's failed Iraq policies and made General Petraeus the political face of the war. That is exactly what the Bush administration wanted. Moreover, by shifting the focus from President Bush to a political attack on General Petraeus, the Republicans have cleverly attempted to divert attention from the President's responsibility and the real security issues we are facing in the world, like the re-emergence of al-Qaeda along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. I would have supported the resolution that was put forward by Senate Democrats which reaffirms our strong support for the men and women of our Armed Forces, and which condemns all attacks on those who are serving or who have served in the Armed Forces.

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