While the Democrats hammer Rush Limbaugh in their retaliatory strike against the offensive that Republicans launched over a MoveOn.org newspaper ad criticizing Gen. David Petraeus, it’s clear that the Republicans are not ready to move on.

The Republican National Committee is circulating an email rallying call to fellow Republicans to call radio stations and write letters to editors about a video clip of former President Bill Clinton dismissing the GOP’s objections to the MoveOn.org ad.

“I think that there was something completely disingenuous about the feigned outrage of the Repbulicans in the White House and in the Congress about this,’’ Clinton said slowly and seriously in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on 360. "This was classic bait and switch.”

The short clip of Clinton voicing those words ncluded in the GOP emailing, courtesy of YouTube, is fodder for a new Republican salvo against Democrats for not denoucing MoveOn.org’s ad calling the commander of U.S. and multinational forces in Iraq “General Betray Us.’’

“Last week, Hillary Clinton voted against a resolution condemning MoveOn.org for its vicious personal attack on General David Petraeus, the highly-respected leader of our Armed Forces in Iraq,’’ Mike Duncan, RNC chairman, writes in the email to party members. “Now, Bill Clinton is joining in, but - typically - he’s taking it even further, angrily attacking those who condemned the ad.

But the Republicans aren’t playing the whole clip here. There is a longer take of what Clinton had to say on YouTube that’s pretty rough on the Republicans:

"Come on, these Republicans that are all upset about Petraeus, this is one newspaper ad,” Clinton said. "These are the people that ran a television ad in Georgia, with Max Cleland, who lost half his body in Vietnam, in the same ad with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. That’s what the Republicans did, and the person that rode to the Senate on that ad was there voting to condemn the Democrats over the Petraeus ad.

"I mean, these are the people that funded the Swift Boat veterans for truth, and the president appointed one of the principal funders of the Swift Boat ads to be an ambassador,” Clinton said with a heavy helping of sarcasm. "They’re really upset about Petraeus, but it was OK to question John Kerry’s patriotism on blatantly dishonest claims by people who didn’t know what they were talking about… It was just bait and switch.’’

“Why are the Clintons so invested in defending MoveOn.org?’’ Duncan asks. “Well, remember what MoveOn.org’s original purpose was? It was founded to attack any Republican who dared stand against the Clinton machine during the former President’s impeachment and trial in the Senate for perjury and obstruction of justice.

“Since then, MoveOn.org has branched out. They opposed military action in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001. After the 2004 elections, the group’s director said "Now it’s our party: we bought it, we own it, and we’re going to take it back."

“To do that, they have funded radical, far-left candidates in races across the country - even against moderate Democrats who understand the stakes in the War on Terror. And, of course, they have attacked the patriotism and loyalty of our men and women in uniform. Not many people, even Democrats, dared to defend MoveOn.org in the wake of its attack on General Petraeus.

“But if Bill and Hillary Clinton understand anything, it’s political payback. MoveOn.org attacks their enemies, so they’re attacking MoveOn.org’s enemies. If it teaches us anything, it’s that the Clintons haven’t changed one bit since the 1990s.

“Is that what we want back in the White House: Bill and Hillary once again using the power of the federal government to defend their friends and attack their enemies?

“We cannot allow that to happen. Please, call your radio station or send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and tell them it’s time for Bill Clinton to move on.’’

Source:  The Baltimore Sun