Acting upon a heads-up message from CODEPINK ("IRAQ: Why Won't MoveOn Move Forward?") about MoveOn.org's support for the Democrat's plan to conditionally support the Bush Regime's Supplemental War Budget, I sent the letter below to MoveOn.org
I don't know who at MoveOn will read it or what they will do with it, but I think it is time once again for ALL progressives to reflect on how to work together and what strategies are necessary to confront the Beast that is upon us.
YES, we should demonstrate our opposition to this war, and, yes, we can use the media muscle of MoveOn to help with that, BUT...
Encouraging further ENABLING of this inhuman regime should be intolerable among Progressives.
Time to turn the screws on these folks in Congress, make them heed the call to danger, and ACT accordingly.
What America needs is the Spirit of 1776, not the Spin of 2008.
The call for Impeachment should become unified and loud as well. It's not about expediency, it's about preserving our Constitution, our laws. It's about doing the proper legal and moral thing and punishing criminals who loot our Treasury and kill people. For elected Congressmembers, NOT impeaching means being a willing accessory to crime—nothing less! (see "Impeachment NOW -- as a Defensive Tactic" on CosmeticDemocracy.com)
Time to tell MoveOn, to stop shilling for weak, appeasing Democrats and get serious about organizing a Resistance to BushCO and his war ON America.
My letter follows:
To MoveOn organizers,
I may participate in one or more of the MoveOn vigils, but I am angry and appalled by your position about the Democrat plan to authorizeze supplemental funding for the war.
It is More Murder and Mayhem. There is NO excuse for a party that asked for and GOT the support of the American people (who is already FED UP with a dictatorial regime that is off the charts with lies, abuse and death), to act in that feeble way!!
THIS IS NO LONGER AN INTERNET GAME we are playing, MoveON!!!!!
Because of the nature of the internet and some of your early stands, you have become quite a political/cultural phenomenon. But you have received much more leverage and power than your limited political reasoning warrants.
Running campaigns is interesting but you should NOT be in the business of setting political agendas. YOU ARE THE WRONG PEOPLE. The agenda is not worthy.
You maybe good at internet information dissemination and organizing skills, but your lack of political sophistication, makes you use this marvelous tool you have created to basically shill for the Democratic Party which has undercut progressives and dissappointed America for decades!!!
SO...Your position on this bill for more war funding is simply appallingly awful.
You say 80% "voted" for this. Do not try to call this a "vote", it is much more like a Loaded Question. You have in essence used your newfound influence to PUSH for a very bad political position which brings further shame and damage to this country and to the world, and -- YES -- further ENABLES the rightwing neo-con agenda by showing that we will not stand up to their murderous ways!
Shame on MoveON!! Get out of the OPINION and POLICY business!! Stick to connecting progressives.
Editor's comment:
Moveon.org does some good works, but occassionally, perhaps too often, moveon moves a bit too far to the right. So OpEdNews is publishing a series of criticisms, hoping that we'll get their attention and clean up their act. No organization that sticks its neck out will avoid mistakes. Hopefully moveon has the inner strength to take criticism so they can move on to a path that confronts the problems we are facing without settling for less than is acceptable.
You're darn tootin'. Does everyone here remember the famous
remark of the US commander in Vietnam who said, "In order to save the village, it was necessary to destroy it"? The Democrats are saying today that the way to end the war is to continue funding it.
The Democratic Party is a pack of corrupt Bush enablers. They are not "the lesser evil;" they are merely a sub-division of the same evil. By getting too close to these duplicitous traitors, MoveOn has made itself ridiculous.
by
Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 922 comments)
on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 11:59:31 AM
I was fairly active there when MO first appeared, but I quickly became rather disenchanted with that site. I believe Joan and Eli to be sincere and honest in their intent but I also believe them to be political neophytes and rather enjoying their acceptance by movers and shakers, being internet zillionares can be so very boring one understands......
Not unlike Democraticunderground, MO is wedded to a solution to this nations ills that include supporting the Democratic Party, though, unlike DU, the folks at MoveOn have had some really good ideas and initiated some great actions.
Supporting the democrats ridiculous plan for Iraq is not possible for me, I wish it werent for MoveOn as well.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2386 comments)
on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 12:05:15 PM
It makes the case that if today there were a large move of Dems (and others) to the Green Party -- say, 50-100,000 or more -- in the near future, the Congress would cut the war budget next week and put Impeachment back on the table probably in the following week.
Dems EAT their own, they don't listen to them. They count on the "lesser of 2 evils" to keep them going. They would sure listen fast enough when the people they always take for granted suddenly "disappeared"— or, better, RE-appeared in a party that publicly opposes the war and asks for impeachment! Hello!?
The Switch2Green.org site points out that OUTSIDE pressure is likely to have an effect, whereas inside pressure, has virtually none.
Makes sense to me.
Green registration could be a remarkably useful political tool, and we sure could use some of those. Y'know registration (and the statement that it makes) does not stop anyone from voting as they wish in the privacy of the "booth"). It wouldn't necessarily prevent anyone from participating in primaries, either (for whatever they are worth), if they wanted to; voters could always switch back for a month or two.
Besides, an added benefit would be to help grow a small party who says what a lot of progressives really think and feel. Wouldn't it be nice to see and hear candidates and other spokespeople in interviews where they say out loud they want an end to pre-emptive war, that we should move towards nuclear non-proliferation, that womens' rights (ERA) should be back on the table, that we should have universal healthcare, that corporate welfare and corporate globalization are bad things, etc.?
If it could be as useful as it sounds, I think we shouldn't let differences of opionions on what to do with the presidential elections (once every 4 years) stop us from taking advantage of the benefits. In fact, such a massive shift to Green would likely produce a more progressive Dem as candidate—a hell of a lot easier than trying to do it by pleading (and bleeding) from the "inside".
It wouldn't hurt for our society to grow such a voice, which, who knows, might actually get to be heard above the commercial/rightwing din. It would really help the progressive agenda in general, 'cause all those words and ideas we really would like to hear put forward are not likely to show up in the Democrat's platform or talking points anytime in the foreseeable future.
I think it would tend to push all politics in a progressive direction, not only by being heard, but also by showing a growing number of people who identify with those values, thus giving meaning and cover to all progressive authors, thinkers, etc.
A Democratic or Independent affiliation says nothing about what it is you'd like to see happen, and besides, you can't count how many progressives are among them.
Properly done and understood, I think this could be a win-win proposition.
by
alan k (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 21 comments)
on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 1:41:05 PM
Move On has become that which they have criticized in the past - a highly partisan "us vs. them" game player which always "takes sides", rather than fight for thr Truth. They have such a large base now, that they fear alienating any part of it. Sound Familiar? Pure political Bull shit.
by
Bill Cain (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 222 comments)
on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 10:32:30 PM
Concessions like the continuing funding for this criminal and illegal war assumes that the congress can be reasoned with. The congress is in possesion of all the information that move on has been attempting to make public and still they refuse to act on impeachment. Doesn't this tell you something? Not only do they ignore move on, they are ignoring the voice of the people that should have been heard last November. To provide legitimacy to this cabal of criminals is inexcusible if not treasonous.
by
Halo (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments)
on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at 4:16:57 PM
