It’s been the mantra of the Republican Party for years now: Support Our Troops! Support Our Troops! Support Our Troops!

So, why is it that 17 Republican members of Congress are coming together to support a law that forbids the troops from getting the things they want for support while fighting over in Iraq?

They’ve sponsored a terrible law that they call the Military Honor and Decency Act, H.R. 5821, but ought to be called the Kick the Soldier When He’s Down Act.

The law would ban sales of Playboy Magazine on military bases overseas.

Wait a minute. This Congress, back in 2002, voted to send American soldiers to go fight and kill and be killed over in Iraq. The soldiers have been there for five years, often with back-to-back deployments, being shot at in the streets, running from mortar fire from who knows where, always worrying about when the next roadside bomb will go off. These soldiers have put their lives under constant danger, and Congressman Paul Broun is worried about them reading Playboy Magazine?!?

They’re living half a world away from their wives and girlfriends. Most of them are teenagers, or in their early 20s. They’re full of hormones, and they’ve been given tremendous responsibilities, and they don’t have any release for their tension.

Looking at a picture of a pretty girl can be a big comfort for soldiers trapped in the deserts of Iraq. Now, Paul Broun and his group of 16 followers in Congress want to take that away from the soldiers too.

Congressman Broun ought to be ashamed of himself, and have some compassion on what American soldiers are going through.

There are a lot more serious problems for America to face than whether soldiers can buy Playboy with their own hard-earned money.

I’ll call this group the KillJoy Coalition, because they’re trying to take away one of the last scraps of joy away from American soldiers. They are:

Paul Broun of Georgia’s 10th district
Todd Akin Missouri’s 2nd district
Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland’s 6th district
Rob Bishop of Utah’s 1st district
Steve Chabot of Ohio’s 1st district
Randy Forbes of Virginia’s 4th district
Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska’s 1st district
Steve King of Iowa’s 5th district
Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado’s 4th district
Mike Pence of Indiana’s 6th district
Joseph Pitts of Pennsylvania’s 16th district
Peter Roskam of Illinois’s 6th district
Bill Sali of Idaho’s 1st district
Christopher Smith of New Jersey’s 4th district
Mark Souder of Indiana’s 3rd district
Rob Wittman of Virginia’s 1st district