Biting the Hand that Feeds on You

By Rick Moran

It appears that Democratic hypocrisy knows no bounds.

According to Politico, 44 Democratic House members who voted to condemn Moveon.Org's ad smearing General Petreaus took cash from the liberal group:

Forty-four congressional Democrats who voted to condemn MoveOn.org for its ad branding Army Gen. David Petraeus "General Betray Us" have accepted more than $3.9 million in contributions from the influential anti-war group and its members.

Among those who opposed resolutions specifically repudiating the full-page ad in The New York Times, only 17 Democrats and one independent took cash from the group and its members — contributions totaling almost $1.4 million.

The resolutions approved by the House, calling the ad an “unwarranted personal attack,” were only symbolic. But the split of MoveOn beneficiaries on the votes highlights something of a rift between Democrats and the anti-war activists who largely fuel MoveOn.

A Politico analysis of MoveOn’s campaign finance records, upon which this story is based, goes back to 2002 and includes only contributions given directly by the group and those it funnels from its members to candidates, not the millions it spends on television ads and other so-called independent expenditures to help favored candidates.

One wonders how sincere those Congressmen were when they cast their vote condemning an organization with which they will be approaching with outstretched palm come re-election time.

I'm sure everything will work out. With Media Matters for America orchestrating a campaign in Congress against Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly, I'm sure members will have a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the Moveon crowd by voting to condemn the conservative talk radio show hosts for their "transgressions."

Hat Tip: Ed Lasky