Republican Senators made the Iraq war their own on Wednesday when they refused to pass a bill simply guaranteeing our troops a reasonable respite between repeated tours in Iraq.

We've been calling it Bush's war, but GOP Senators have made certain that their support of Bush's war will be the main issue in Senate races in 2008.

They are very nervous about that prospect, and with good reason. By huge margins, the voters want that war to end and our troops to come home.

Republicans had a chance Wednesday to show they support the troops, as they always claim. Instead, they supported the President.

Now, looking for cover, they have thrown a smoke grendade in the direction of MoveOn, the liberal group that dared to question whether Gen. David Patraeus was fudging the numbers in his report to the Congress last week.

MoveOn's choice of language in its full page NY Times ad, calling him "General Betray Us," set many teeth on edge. I was one who said I wished the attack had not been personal.  I also said that having stars on your shoulders doesn't make you infallible; it just makes you think you are.

But, as Bush and the Republicans like to remind us, this is war. People are dying every day. If it takes ruffling a general's feathers to get some attention, so be it. Service members are dying to protect our right to freely express ourselves, even in unpopular or distasteful ways.

Or is the First Amendment off the list of things they are defending?

Thursday, the US Senate, supposedly the world's most deliberative body (Ha!) passed an amendment, sponsored by GOP hardliner John Cornyn of Texas, to

strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.

It was clearly aimed at the MoveOn ad.

Earlier in the day, the President himself criticized MoveOn for the ad, saying:

...more Democrats " are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like Moveon.org ... than they are of irritating the United States military. That was a sorry deal."

This afternoon, 21 Democrats, plus old reliable Joe Lieberman, joined Republicans in passing Cornyn's amendment 72-25. My Wisconsin Senators split, with Russ Feingold voting no and Herb Kohl, regrettably, voting yes.  (Kohl was , however, one of only 28 votes for a Feingold amendment to begin bringing troops home soon from Iraq.)

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd voted no. Barack Obama and Joe Biden were absent.

MoveOn fired right back. In an email, Eli Pariser of MoveOn says:

The U.S. Senate just told you to sit down and be quiet when they passed a Republican amendment condemning MoveOn.

Every day, our brave men and women are dying in a bloody civil war this Senate has done nothing to stop. Yesterday, they couldn't even pass a bill to give soldiers adequate leave with their families before redeploying. But they're spending time cracking down on a newspaper ad?

So, we're making clear where America stands. We're releasing a statement from MoveOn members—and anyone else who feels the same way—saying, "We will not be quiet, we will fight back. We will keep speaking out until Congress forces an exit plan for this awful war."

Maybe you liked our General Petraeus ad.  Maybe you thought the language went too far. But make no mistake: this is much bigger than one ad. It's part of a larger campaign by Fox, the right-wing echo chamber, and Republicans like John McCain (who said we should be "thrown out of the country").

They're doing it because they're hurting: Polls show last week's Bush Administration PR blitz increased the number of Americans favoring withdrawal and vulnerable Republicans are sinking lower and lower in the polls (or announcing their retirement).

And it has one purpose: to intimidate all of us. To send a message that anyone who speaks unpleasant truths about this war will pay. To make everyone—especially politicians—think twice before they accuse the administration of lying.

I'm someone who reacts badly to bullying, so I just signed a statement telling Congress I will keep speaking out until this war ends.  I also gave MoveOn a little money to fight back.

If you'd like to join me in signing the statement, go here. MoveOn and dissenters in this country are not the enemy.

Ready for the Iraq Moratorium on Friday?  A new suggested activity: Tell Herb Kohl you are disappointed with his vote for the Cornyn amendment.  MoveOn is not the enemy.