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September 11, 2007 at 13:56:16

MoveOn.org Made A Mistake

by SDrobny Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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The recent NY Times ad by MoveOn.org was done in poor taste. Instead of evoking the desired result, it put into question the judgment of those who crafted the ad with the corny play on words, General Betray-Us. The ad cost them a reported $70,000 and such an ad does not represent the kind of communication and message that would have been meaningful. The wording of the ad could only play to the already convinced loyal base. The point of advocacy advertising is to convince the independent undecided citizen to accept one's point of view. Ridiculing a 4 Star General is not the way to reach the hearts and minds of the average U.S. citizen.

As much as I think that the Democrats have not shown much courage in the debate about the war, this ad gives the right wing lots of ammunition to attack the left wing of the Democratic Party. The smarter use of advocacy advertising would have been the way Ari Fleischer has used Freedom's Watch to place $15M in ads to advocate for continuing the war. These ads are well done, albeit false and exploitive of the disabled veterans that are in them. The ad money allocated by Moveon.org should be done in a way that does not expose them to attacks. The $70,000 paid for this NY Times ad could have purchased many minutes of local radio time with a clear attack on the policy and not the person. Ad homonym attack ads may be useful in a head on political campaign, but they miss the mark when it comes to advocacy ads.

MoveOn.org is a credible and valuable organization that should more carefully allocate its resources to credible advocacy as opposed to personal attack ads that make the opposition look like the victims. When it comes to head on confrontation, I am all for taking off the gloves. However, given that we on the left know that General Petraeus is a straw man for the White house, we should not attack the messenger. He is not the problem and we should not let Bush off the hook by putting some misplaced anger on him.

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8 comments

Tim was banned from the site for posting private email from the publisher to him on his blog, and then attacking the publisher and the site in emails and articles. OEN has no responsibility to publish articles from people who attack the site.

Tim's accusations that he was banned for his political positions are untrue. Check his articles. He repetitively wrote about and had published exactly the things he claimed he was banned for doing.

Former Chairman of the Liberal ...

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Timothy V. GattoTim was banned from the site for posting private email from the publisher to him on his blog, and then attacking the publisher and the site in emails and articles. OEN has no responsibility to publish articles from people who attack the site.

Tim's accusations that he was banned for his political positions are untrue. Check his articles. He repetitively wrote about and had published exactly the things he claimed he was banned for doing.

Former Chairman of the Liberal ...

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I beg to differ.

He has shown himself to be part of the problem by spewing nonsensicle garbage and trying to pawn it off as a "report". He has betrayed us. Stop apoligising for standing up to this administration and all of its synchopants. Move-on called it right. Excuse us for being absolutly correct.

by Timothy V. Gatto (348 articles, 177 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 574 comments) on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 2:29:50 PM

Sheldon Drobny was the co-founder of Nova M radio and Air America Radio. He has supported many philanthropic causes and is currently involved in purchasing radio stations for liberal talk radio with his new company, Nova M Radio, Inc. Mr. Drobny specializes in business and tax matters and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court as a non-attorney. Less than 200 non-attorneys have been admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court since its inception in 1942. Mr. Drobny received a ...

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SDrobnySheldon Drobny was the co-founder of Nova M radio and Air America Radio. He has supported many philanthropic causes and is currently involved in purchasing radio stations for liberal talk radio with his new company, Nova M Radio, Inc. Mr. Drobny specializes in business and tax matters and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court as a non-attorney. Less than 200 non-attorneys have been admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court since its inception in 1942. Mr. Drobny received a ...

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Your Comment

Ofcourse we're right. The key word is effective.

by SDrobny (83 articles, 3 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 14 comments) on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 2:39:12 PM

Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. She is a regular contributor for a variety of Internet sites.
Sheila SamplesSheila Samples is an Oklahoma writer and a former civilian US Army Public Information Officer. She is a regular contributor for a variety of Internet sites.

Stop and Think About It...

Shelly, you said...

MoveOn.org is a credible and valuable organization that should more carefully allocate its resources to credible advocacy as opposed to personal attack ads that make the opposition look like the victims. When it comes to head on confrontation, I am all for taking off the gloves. However, given that we on the left know that General Petraeus is a straw man for the White house, we should not attack the messenger. He is not the problem and we should not let Bush off the hook by putting some misplaced anger on him.

Let's think about this. The Move On ad is nothing if not effective. Look at all the attention it is getting.

Petraeus, in his White House written speech and White House vetted responses to Congress, was guilty of the same crime as was Colin Powell in his presentation to the UN to vault us into a treasonous war -- carrying the water for his masters -- selling his soul for that 4th star and its attending benefits.

Petraeus has never been in combat, and that's not a bad thing. His current Green Zone assignment is as close as he will ever get, and it's deadly. However, I spent 30 years working with the Army (first six with the Air Force), and I can assure you that a commander's first duty -- his only duty -- in or out of war, is the training and welfare of his troops.

By obeying the order of his commander-in-chief to spin and distort the reality of the increasingly bloody chaos in Iraq when he knows for a fact that his soldiers and marines are exhausted, neither adequately trained nor armed, and unsure of who the enemy is -- and more important, that thousands more of them will die needlessly, Petraeus is guilty of betrayal as charged.

Petraeus did not betray us. He is guilty of betraying those who serve under him and who must trust him to protect them to the best of his four-star ability. When he began his performance Monday, 3,762 of our young men and women had been blown to bits. When he concluded his farce on Tuesday and dashed off to FOX and Brit Hume, the number of those he is getting paid to protect, or at least not to betray, had risen to 3,774.

Petraeus is not a straw man for the White House. He is a "hit man" for the White House, and those DLC Democrats who recoil at the truth and apologize yet again for offending the opposition can go eat dirt as far as I'm concerned. Or, perhaps they would like to grab some of those 190,000 weapons that disappeared under Petraeus' watch and go fight under his fine leadership...

Love ya, Shelly. Now give me Seder or I'll consider taking the gloves off.

by Sheila Samples (51 articles, 3798 quicklinks, 42 diaries, 400 comments) on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 2:17:21 PM

I am David 'Shadow' VelasquezI'm an american expat living in Belgium.I have three kids and a dog. I sculpt in copper, bronze, paper maché. I have a serious fire fetish as I enjoy spinning fire poi and staff. I play guitar, bass, keyboards(although not so great on the ivories) -and singI've been writing songs and poetry for as long as I can remember.I've played in a number of bands since 1977. As the former lead singer of 80's band Necropolis Of Love I've rec...

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chariotdrvr14I am David 'Shadow' VelasquezI'm an american expat living in Belgium.I have three kids and a dog. I sculpt in copper, bronze, paper maché. I have a serious fire fetish as I enjoy spinning fire poi and staff. I play guitar, bass, keyboards(although not so great on the ivories) -and singI've been writing songs and poetry for as long as I can remember.I've played in a number of bands since 1977. As the former lead singer of 80's band Necropolis Of Love I've rec...

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Speak for yourself, Sheldon

I made the same pun.

A bit predictable and pedestrian.... don't forget Gen. Westmoreland with whom Petraeus has been compared was often parodied as 'Gen. Wastemoreland' ....no doubt in reference to the use of napalm and defoliants liberally used in Southeast Asia.

Gen. Petraeus has indeed spent his adult life serving his country but at this point in time he is only serving the White House, the GOP and a failed military strategy and in doing so puts more lives at risk than we do in criticizing it.

As for what the rightwing wags at FOX and some of the more corrupt and 'knee-Jerk' o- con' blogs have to say at this point is merely desparate grasping at anything they can. Their ratings are low, their candidates are looking ridiculous, too many scandals and the lamest duck in history sitting in the White House. They'd feast on their own dead at this point.

But is this any point to mince words... is that what the american electorate are going to look for..... no, ....those that want to 'play it safe' and not tread on toes aren't going to impress the rest of the US. Petraeus' misrepresentations need to be pointed out in the most graphic means possible and as loudly as possible.

A cheap shot?

We've been taking those for a long time already from the likes of Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter, Limbaugh ...etc. Gen. 'Betray us' will live just as the whole of the left has. I'm sure he's got thicker skin than that and if he doesn't .... then he's in the wrong profession.

by chariotdrvr14 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 125 comments) on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 3:19:21 PM

Mail carrier who drives the rest of my colleagues nuts with my politics.
ScottMail carrier who drives the rest of my colleagues nuts with my politics.

Moveon is not right

People want to disagree with Petraus' assessment of Iraq? Fine. When you then attack him personally, you lose the argument and people rightfully dismiss you.

by Scott (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 481 comments) on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 11:28:50 PM

It's Petraeus's lies that will get more people killed

That he plays such a willing stooge to the Bush regime by selling lies and half truths earns him the public drubbing he gets. Since when does a public figure have a right to avoid personal attack? (by that I mean that he's place himself in that position for being the face for the Bush administration's military policy)

Naw, dude.... once you're a spokesman for something especially as odious as this war policy then people have a right to call you on your nonsense.

by chariotdrvr14 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 125 comments) on Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 7:31:14 PM

Kathlyn Stone is a Minnesota-based writer covering science and medicine, health care and related policies. She publishes www.fleshandstone.net, a health and science news site.
Kathlyn StoneKathlyn Stone is a Minnesota-based writer covering science and medicine, health care and related policies. She publishes www.fleshandstone.net, a health and science news site.

I thought the ad made a point that will be remembered

and captured the gist of the general's purpose. He was selected by Bush to carry lies to the American people. Bush knows he no longer has any credibility so he is dependent on others to beg for continued support of a failed policy.

What's worse: embarrassing a general in an ad or allowing a war based on lies to continue with no accountability?

Speaking of political ads, the recent ACLU LeaderSheep ad ROCKED. Some may think the ad "picks" on two leaders and may embarrass them. That is the price of failing to live up to promises.

by Kathlyn Stone (42 articles, 217 quicklinks, 26 diaries, 633 comments) on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 7:22:31 AM

Mr. Smith resides in south Jersey.
Ray SmithMr. Smith resides in south Jersey.

MoveOn should use professionals for ads

MoveOn's problem is that their ads are decided on by people who are not PR professionals, and who choose ads which appeal to themselves, rather than to their target audience. The members of MoveOn probably love these ads, but they're not the ones who need convincing! It's necessary to step into the shoes of the target audience - people who disagree with MoveOn - in order to develop effective advertising. Talking to the choir is a waste of resources. (I have a background in marketing research.)

by Ray Smith (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 16 comments) on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:03:58 AM