Reclaiming Democracy: MoveOn revolutionizes political participation

[Guest guest]

http://www.boiseweekly.com/more.php?id=2959_0_1_0_M

 

NEWS Aug 04, 04

 

RECLAIMING DEMOCRACY

 

MoveOn revolutionizes political participation

by Colleen Cronin

 

 

It’s been a long while since progressive politics have

been so simple, effective, necessary and fun—thanks in

part to the brilliant orchestrations of an online

organization and its mere handful of employees yet

force of millions—MoveOn.org.

 

MoveOn was unwittingly born in 1998 by two Silicon

Valley entrepreneurs, Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, out of

their frustration with the partisan warfare in

Washington, D.C., surrounding the proposed impeachment

of President Clinton. Though neither had much

political experience, their strong feelings about the

need to “move on” past Monica-gate to more critical

issues, spawned an online petition entitled “Censure

President Clinton and Move On to Pressing Issues

Facing the Nation.” Blades and Boyd quickly discovered

they were not alone—within days, the petition had

hundreds of signatures.

 

MoveOn’s humble beginnings set the perfect example of

how ordinary citizens can become quickly and

effectively involved in politics using the most

economical and efficient vehicle around—the Internet.

That first petition led to a grand mission for the

fledgling organization: to reinstate a true democracy

where every person has a political voice.

 

Since 1998, MoveOn has impacted hordes of frustrated,

formerly apathetic, and overly-busy citizens through

unparalleled creative methods. At present, MoveOn

boasts a network of more than 2,000,000 online

activists who work on both local and national levels

to revitalize politics. MoveOn chooses its battles

strategically, focusing on issues where public opinion

and legislation don’t match up—campaign finance,

environmental issues, media consolidation and the Iraq

war. MoveOn builds electronic advocacy groups and

provides essential tools to members so they can have

an impact.

 

MoveOn’s methods include sending out succinct,

engaging and technologically advanced e-mails about

contacting legislators to voice your opinion. But

where other organizations might merely ask you to

“contact your legislators,” MoveOn does critical

homework for you, making the task of picking up the

phone too easy to forego. Within the body of an e-mail

they recently circulated to help defeat the Defense of

Marriage Act,

 

MoveOn inserted the name and number of Senator Mike

Simpson, who was a potential swing vote.

When MoveOn needs to raise money for the bold

television or print ads they’ve expertly produced, the

e-mails they transmit contain links to view the ads,

which download quickly. MoveOn’s media and tech savvy

became evident when they went to buy airtime during

the last Super Bowl for their ad “Child’s Pay” (about

who is going to pay off Bush’s $1 trillion dollar

debt). When CBS refused to air the ad (on the basis of

it being an “advocacy ad”) MoveOn created another

media campaign—about CBS’s censorship being a “tragedy

of free speech.” The end result: the ad zipped all

over the Internet, CBS received thousands of angry

calls, and MoveOn supporters boycotted the Super Bowl

halftime broadcast.

 

MoveOn is proud to rely heavily on small contributions

from many. Since last October, over 160,000 MoveOn

members have donated more than $10,000,000 to develop

and run ads telling the truth about the Bush

administration in key battleground states (i.e. Ohio,

Florida, Missouri, Nevada and West Virginia). These

ads reveal how Bush has allocated a preposterous $87

billion for Iraq while many Americans cannot earn a

living wage and show how his environmental policies

(or lack thereof) affect asthmatic African American

children. One ad is characterized by two stark

checkboxes, one for Bush: The Corporation’s Choice,

the other Kerry: The People’s Choice. MoveOn

calculated that viewer tests of this ad yielded an

amazing six percent shift toward Kerry.

 

MoveOn has aligned itself with several recent

political film projects; they co-produced Robert

Greenwald’s film Uncovered: The Whole Truth About The

Iraq War, which was completed in November 2003 and

reveals an unquestioned and unchecked road to war.

MoveOn helped organize house parties around Michael

Moore’s Fahrenheit 911, asking members to see the film

the opening weekend then attend local house parties

the following week to discuss the film and to dial

into a conference call interview with Moore. As more

than 50 Boiseans gathered and dialed in, Boise lit up

on an online map, then Phoenix, then Portland—visually

connecting more than 55,000 people at 4,600 parties

nationwide. Such parties diminish the isolation

progressives feel living in conservative states.

 

In mid-July, MoveOn members assembled at four Treasure

Valley homes with cell phones in tow to register

voters in critical states like Florida. House party

hosts were provided with impeccably detailed,

downloadable instructions that included a motivating

scripted introduction: “We don’t expect overwhelming

results here today, just hopefully a registered voter

or two per caller. But added up, with thousands of us

calling across the nation and with the election as

close as it is predicted to be, it can have dramatic

results. Only a few hundred voters made the difference

in the last presidential election, and the voters we

register today could make the difference this year.”

 

One of MoveOn’s current campaigns is focused on

exposing Fox television network’s Republican bias and

their inability to present “fair and balanced” news

coverage. They have helped underwrite another stirring

Robert Greenwald documentary, Outfoxed: Rupert

Murdoch’s War on Journalism. Currently, MoveOn’s Web

site has a quick and dirty form you can fill out to

ask the FTC to demand Fox News stop misleading

consumers. Visitors to the MoveOn site will also find

a link to the Daily Mislead, a daily chronicle of Bush

administration distortion, plus a slew of other ways

to become informed and involved—like donating frequent

flier miles to bring troops home.

 

Self-defined moderate Boisean Patricia Rich says,

“MoveOn is so organized and quick to draw attention to

the injustices occurring under the present

administration. What is most impressive is the degree

of honesty and accuracy I have seen. While right-wing

media and talk shows exaggerate and mislead, I have

never seen anything I felt was overstated or ‘spun.’”

On the Web site, you can read about how MoveOn linked

arms with the John Kerry campaign to organize house

parties to watch Kerry’s July 29 speech at the

Democratic National Convention. The event raised money

for the Kerry campaign and members tuned into a

conference call with John Edwards. Signing up to

attend such parties is unbelievably easy—once you fill

out a few fields and are a MoveOn member, you receive

e-mail invitations with direct links to a party near

you. Apprehensive types can read quotes about previous

house parties and view photos, revealing how fun and

accessible politics can be.

 

MoveOn may just have the mojo to help bring our

political system back into balance. Boise resident

Shauna Sahlein, who has both hosted and attended local

MoveOn events, believes, “We as a country have not

done a very good job of education and inclusion when

it comes to governance. The idea of being able to

disseminate information to many in a very short amount

of time so that more can be aware and involved is a

very progressive idea. In terms of lighting a fire

under the Democrats, MoveOn has already been a

blessing. As to whether or not we can expand that

circle of light I can only hope for the best and work

toward it.”

 

To learn more about MoveOn, visit

http://www.MoveOn.org