Gillibrand won’t return moveon.org money.

September 11, 2007 – 1:31 pm

Dear Congresswoman Gillibrand:

I was disturbed to read today that you still have not meaningfully criticized MoveOn.org, an organization with which you enjoy close ties, for its disparagement of America’s top general in Iraq.

What MoveOn.org did on Monday was not okay. Its advertisement in The New York Times was clearly out of bounds; it effectively called one of our nation’s leading military officers a traitor, and it insulted the men and women of our armed forces whom he was representing before Congress.

You have had a close and fruitful relationship with MoveOn. That puts you in a unique position to send a powerful message that the organization’s increasingly radicalized behavior has pushed it out of the mainstream of American politics.

The time has come to stand up against radical groups that infuse vitriol into the public debate. This is particularly important when it concerns the well being of our men and women in uniform and the security of our nation.  I already have called for restraint on my side of the aisle, and I am asking that you please do the same.  The stakes are too high for you to remain silent.  Simply saying that you disagree with MoveOn is not enough. It is frankly a free pass that gives the group license to continue in its divisiveness. 

I again urge you—in the strongest possible terms—to reject MoveOn’s vitriolic tactics by returning the money it has given to you.     

Should you take this brave step, no one will applaud you more than I.
Sincerely,
 
Richard C. Wager