To all Senators that voted for censure,
I stand and accuse you of treason against the ideals and Constitutional foundations of our nation. Today, you voted to, as Sen. John Cornyn so eloquently put it, “Let’s take sides. General Petraeus or MoveOn.org”.
I ask you to take sides again, do you or do you not believe in the Constitution? Because our first amendment protects the freedom of speech, and our right to speak dissent without fear of reprimand. Senators, what have you done today to protect that shining ideal?
Nothing. Not a damn thing. Senate now thinks it’s their place and business to censure acts of political free speech and dissent simply because they disagree with the view. Today every senator that voted for this censure violated their oath to uphold the values of our constitution.
This is not a nation where unpopular or controversial statements garnish the attention of the United States Senate. This is not a nation where one should risk reprimand for articulating a challenge against the status quo.
It is a terrible and cowardly act to put forward an amendment to a bill that demands senators have an opinion on political speech. If this is a precedent that we want to put forward, and I argue that no American voter would willingly vote against the first amendment, why haven’t every and all voices of potential offense been censured? Where is the censure for Steven Colbert or John Stewart? Where are the censures for the 9/11 Truth Movement? I ask, where are the censures for Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter?
Simply put, there are no censures because Senate has no business doling them out. This isn’t about Move On, this isn’t about a liberalized agenda. This has nothing to do with General Petraeus. But this has everything to do with how Americans live their lives, and each and every one of you seventy five senators voted against America.
I say your actions today were an act of Treason against the American people, their constitution, and way of life. Shame on you all. The timber of our political discourse has now changed, and not for the better. Americans are watching, and you will all be up for re-election. Perhaps when someone more in touch with America is in office we can put our country back on track. Because it is obvious that none of you current Senators are capable of being public servants or stewards of the people.
~Charles
Well said, honorable citizen. I respond with reluctance as the eloquence of my words pale in comparison to yours, every one of which I agree. Any persons who do not agree have a right to their opinion. The same constitutional right that these senators have threatened to eliminate with this precedent.
The existence of an opinion shared by a number of persons does not necessitate a legislative action. Persons from every walk of life hold limitless variety of opinions, many of which are mutually exclusive. The congressional system is not a vehicle for self-satisfaction. Belief of something being true does not mean one must propose legislation so that their opinion be written in the constitution. That would, in fact, be disastrous. Common beliefs are often later proven to be wrong. Fallibility is human nature.
Congress would never accomplish anything of merit should the voting docket be filled with frivolous ventures proposed by, for example, religious fanatics attempting, one after another, to make theirs the national religion. This is the very reason we have separation of church and state; people are entitled to their opinions and the government should be left to deal with matters of governance. Frivolous amendments convert our bureaucracy into a traffic jam and the absence of the freedom of speech converts our democratic republic to fascist state.