Hey! Look! Fox News is attacking the troops now! We should condemn them as well!

Of course, this whole “we should condemn (insert person’s or group’s name here) for attacking the troops” movement is nothing but a sham. The only reason there has been a call from the left to condemn Limbaugh or anyone else is not because liberals think that it’s a good idea to condemn anyone for an opinion, but simply to show up the conservatives for their blatantly political grandstanding and hypocrisy.

The thing is, no one should be condemned like that simply for expressing an opinion. Criticize it, disagree with it, proffer an opposing opinion–but to condemn the act of speech in the halls of Congress begins to set limits on freedom of expression. If we start getting timid about criticizing any element of our government, then a severe blow has been dealt to our freedoms, precisely because politicians will then hide behind it–as the Bush administration has so heavily exemplified over the past several years. Bush ran out of legitimacy some time ago, and has been milking the military for all it’s been worth since then.

The Democrats who voted with the Republicans enough to get the MoveOn.org condemnation passed should be ashamed; the excuse that it would cost them politically to do otherwise simply won’t cut it.

Even the movement to condemn Limbaugh in Congress is a bad move. Yes, there is value in demonstrating to Republicans that they can be met, measure for measure, and in showing up their blatant hypocrisy. But it also means stooping to their level and puts us in danger of having a dangerous precedent set.

And let’s not forget how this started: Giuliani and other conservatives tried to stir up cheap publicity by attacking a left-wing whipping boy in defense of a general with political ambitions lying on behalf of the president whose quagmire is leading us to ruin.

Hardly a bedrock foundation upon which to build upon. Let’s get off this heap of dung before our feet sink too deeply into it, and leave the conservatives to wallow knee-deep all by themselves.