MoveOn -- End This War or Manage This War?

Submitted by John Stauber on

Author Norman Solomon editorializes that "Nancy Pelosi is speaker of the House, and Harry Reid is majority leader of the Senate. But neither speaks for, much less leads, the antiwar movement that we need. When you look at the practicalities of the situation, Pelosi and Reid could be more accurately described as speaker and leader for the war-management movement." Solomon notes that the powerful liberal advocacy group "MoveOn seems to have wrapped itself around the political sensibilities of Reid, Pelosi and others at the top of Capitol Hill leadership. ... Last week, while MoveOn was sending out a mass e-mail to its 3.2 million members offering free bumper stickers urging 'End This War,' the MoveOn leadership was continuing its failure to back the efforts of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for 'a fully funded, and systematic, withdrawal of U.S. soldiers and military contractors from Iraq.' ... It's good to see MoveOn churning out bumper stickers that advocate an end to the Iraq war -- but sad to see its handful of decision-makers failing to support a measure to fund an orderly and prompt withdrawal from the war."

Main Source: 
Common Dreams, Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Topics: 
Activism
Iraq
Politics

Comments

dcltrueleft replied on

Of course, the members of
Democrat Party front group
MoveOn.org are unprincipled
opportunists.

In that, they have much in
common with Norman Solomon.

During the 2004 presidential
campaign, Solomon/MoveOn/the
Nation/Michael Moore, etc
launched vicious attacks
against sincere anti-war
candidate Ralph Nader.

Generally, their support
went to the same Dem/Rep
duopoly that had brought us
the Iraq War to begin with.

To paraphrase: By their
votes shall ye know them...

Mutternich replied on

when he says, "There are rationales for uniting behind practical measures, and sometimes they make sense. But the MoveOn pattern has been unsettling and recurring. Power brokerage is not antiwar leadership."

I've felt a bit leery of MoveOn too, for just this reason. First they ask you to call a congressman, and that's fine. Then they ask you to click on their URL and let them know the result so they can keep track.

That's not necessarily bad either. But what's to prevent the logical next step -- "Senator, we've demonstrated that with just a few mouse clicks we can generate half-a-million phone calls and online petition signatures, and we could probably cooperate to our mutual advantage."

A car needs two sideview mirrors -- one on the right and one on the left, n'est-ce pas?

pizzed replied on

I totally agree with

the logical next step -- "Senator, we've demonstrated that with just a few mouse clicks we can generate half-a-million phone calls and online petition signatures, and we could probably cooperate to our mutual advantage."

But take into consideration the big bucks they collect from donations, too. The base human-nature factor takes over. Greed, self-serving and 'status' requires sucking-up.
Many of us lost ALL trust in MoveOn when they refused to persue the 2000 stolen election. Those people are very good at straddling the fence... Like Pelosi who betrayed the people by taking impeachment off the table even while acknowledging the November mandate.

Thanks to BushCo's CORPORATE Media, making protests invisible, The People's LAST option is PledgeToImpeach.ORG
WE (here) know where to find the protests and demonstrations on the internet - but John & Susie Q at home are NOT EVEN aware of the MILLIONS who want Bush & Cheney impeached.
MoveOn talks about supporting the troops and bringing them home - but they support even MORE those who want to perpetuate wars.

I am perplexed by the naive way so many thousands of Americans believe that petitions, letters and parades STILL have any effect on this government! BushCo's 'homeland security' blocks the people's letters from reaching politicians (eeek! there might be anthrax in one) That enhances the Dictatorship by distancing the
public from the politicians.
Emails are either ignored or answered by an automatic responder. All the tens and tens of thousands of paraders are dismissed by the Corporate media ... divided from the mass and relegated to "local news" THE SAME WAY the returning coffins of KIA's are hidden from view of the masses - and left to be localized. John and Susie Q only hear of the 'rare' funeral of their own hometown hero. Clever way to
localize the horrors of war, isn't it?
Corporate media is an evil and insidious tool for the
"new american century" Corporate Dictatorship of Bush/Cheney.

Just research all the protests nationally (as well as internationally) and you will soon understand the plight of 'We the People' when it comes to attempting to be represented by those elected TO represent us! We need to take back OUR country, OUR Congress, OUR taxes and OUR Constitution! They have manufactured Terrorists by illegally attacking Iraq through lies, then emasculated OUR Constitution and Bill of Rights through the use of FEAR in order to promote the "necessity" of the 'Patriot Acts'...
while we trusted that our government was as it used to be, and as we were taught that it was: working in our best interests. Too bad we were so blind for so long. Too bad we were too engrossed in 'reality' TV and ballgames and spectator-sex movies to become outraged when BushCo revved up the dictatorship.

Protest groups and Activists are to be commended for identiying the problem, and they have made some tremendous efforts
- but why haven't they noticed how invisible all
their heroic efforts have become since BushCo monopolized the Media?

Until all the groups join together, to bring the petitions and letters they have collected, and to send a representative to present them ALL AT ONCE in ONE BODY, none of the many many great efforts they all have made will have any effect.

Impeachment is the only way we'll end the war. BushCo's PNAC's are obsessed with world domination and permanent wars. If we don't stop them NOW we may never be able to, they're stacking
the deck and building an Iron Wall against We, the People.

MoveOn apparently isn't interested. They make better press by talking the talk while pleasing Pelosi and the Corporate PAC's! Always remember that Democrats suck from the same spigot as the
Republicans do. Pelosi is a 100% Corporate-Democrat!

When Anthony St Martin presents the petitions to Stop The War Now and the Memorial for Impeachment to Congress on May 1st, every activist group should be represented.

THEN if Congress continues to refuse the People's demands, OR "tables" it, the pledges will be called in and a nation wide strike will ensue.

Can Corporate-Congress risk that with Corporate-Wall
Street so fragile and Corporate-Mortage Co's and Corporate-Banks in such shakey condition?

All activists and protest groups and Unions can contact: admin@pledgetoimpeach.org to unify and arrange for their representative(s) to meet in DC on May 1st.