02
Feb
Movin On
TIME FOR MOVEON TO MOVE ON?
Attention MoveOn members.
I am real disappointed to report that the organization whose membership TRIPLED because of opposition to the War and the Bush Administration doesn’t have the inclination or energy to help us promote our film screenings of WMD on the media and the war when it opens this Friday in Manhattan, Buffalo and Portland.
When you Google MoveOn, you read that the organization “offers information on the anti-war movement and resources for activists.” When you go to the website, you see information about several causes, but we were told that they won’t help WMD because it doesn’t fit into any of their campaigns. That’s after the Iraq elections and in the week of the State of the Union.
Apparently, only explicitly partisan projects meet their criteria. I don’t get it. Yesterday on Buzzflash, political organizer Carolyn Kay of Makethemaccountable.com asked why MoveOn pumps millions of dollars raised by its members into ads in the mainstream media and puts only a few sheckels, from time to time, into independent and alternative media outlets. She accuses them of reinforcing the mainstream media system, not changing it.
MEET-UPS ANGRY ABOUT MEDIA
I am told that at their latest round of “meet-ups”, members prioritized media issues as their #2 concern after the Supreme Court. As someone who knows and has supported many of their campaigns, I find it difficult to understand why they are so dismissive even condescending on this issue — perhaps they fear they will “alienate” the media if they are too critical beyond the Democrat/GOP divide. Attempts by MediaChannel to reach out to MoveOn often go unanswered.
Sorry, but elections and inside-the-beltway politics is not the only arena for political activism, in a country dominated by corporate power and those that do its bidding.
As I wrote back to their two sentence rejection, I believe as we have shown on MediaChannel that media hostility, journalistic imbalance and deference to power helped sink the Kerry campaign. At least it was a major factor. The Dems had enough money to challenge the GOP but were often thrown on the defensive by a media system that was anything but open to all views and distorted the issues raised.
MoveOn does not seem to have moved on to this understanding. They don’t really seem to be about movement building and citizen activism as much as replacing one set of politicians and power brokers with another.
I would like to hear from MoveOn members. Do you share the expressed view of a key member of their “team” that they “own” the Democratic Party because they “bought it?”
IS MOVEON DEMOCRATIC ITSELF?
Who elected the leadership of MoveOn? How democratic and diverse is it? Is this another case of elites and outsiders who want to be insiders and power brokers?
I don’t know — and I am not against what they do, They have revitalized politics but we live in a mediaocracy — not a functioning democracy — and that requires more media activism and education.
MoveOn needs to rethink how to be more than cheerleaders for pols who in the end will look after their own interests without all that much accountability to the grass roots. I would like to see more internal discussion and candor in assessing its impact. Yes, they are great at raising money and hiring talented pros to do traditional political advertising, but is that enough to help us revive our democracy.
These questions are not just about WMD because many groups have rallied behind the film. We need a MoveOn that is about educating its members and making media matter as more than a simple complaint.
Speaking of which, this just out on Alternet:
THE GOP MEDIA MACHINE CHURNS ON
Robert Parry, Consortium News
Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher are not breaking new ground in accepting money for favorable coverage. The ethical line separating conservative “journalism” from government propaganda has long since been wiped away.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21149/
As for the limits of elections, let’s go back to Iraq. President Bush is certain to blow his trumpet about their success in tonight’s State of the Union address.
Oh! Danny!
Im a sorry because I did not spred out your campaign! What shall I do? I redirect your text to all fy fellows, and they agreed by core whith all of it Can I manage, somewhow, to fulfill yowrs ends? See, I in Brasil, and you can set me up in the entreprise.
A big hugh from your friend, and brother, Milton.
February 2nd, 2005 at 10:20 amHi Danny:
February 2nd, 2005 at 10:26 amI share your puzzlement and concern about MoveOn. I participated in the meet-up and I was vociferous about the fact that losing a fair, courageous and truthful media is about the worst thing that could happen to us. It topped my personal list of things to focus on. I would be very pleased to devote as much time and energy as I did in New Hampshire fighting for John Kerry’s election towards fighting for a media which serves the American people and not this craven administrtion and its powerful lackies. Please continue your efforts; I support them 100% and would be pleased to help out in any way I can.
I used to be a MoveOn supporter. Then it became apparent that they “changed” after Al Gore entered the scene. The leaders of MoveOn must have been in awe that their small (politically unsavvy) group had gone so far so fast. They have been co-opted ever since the appearance of Al Gore (dnc). Actually it was a brilliant move on the part of the dnc - they were able to control the direction of the organization from inside and perhaps stiffle any attempts by MoveOn to actually endorse a candidate that was more progressive than the dnc candidate.
February 2nd, 2005 at 10:29 amI became disenchanted with MoveOn around the same time I became disgusted with the DNC for co-opting the Dean Machine for their own use. I think the MoveOn PTBs (powers that be)have been overwhelmed by their own political egos and morphed into the Terry McAuliffes of the Internet politicos. The MoveOn meetings are usually bitch, gripe, and groans, with nothing substantial accomplished. If MoveOn wishes to truly make a mark on the political landscape, they need to move on from the mouse and into reality.
February 2nd, 2005 at 10:43 amWhile I agree that MOVEON has worked closest and in the American Economic Model that means spending its money working to get “NOTICED” in BIG MEDIA. It seems no stretch to appreciate the “common wisdom” that if your words or ideas are only visible in “counter-culture” media whether web-based or notwould only speak to already committed progressives.
Lets face it an AD placed in Mother Jones, or the Village Voice does address a different audience than an ad placed during the STUPOR BOWL on a rupert wanna-be Network, regardless of the tainted water all around.
Should more attention be paid to alternative media outlets - net based or not - indeed. Whether supporting Dean, or Kerry ultimately was the best tactic is largely irrelevant now.
I have been involved with MoveOn as an organizer and propagandist, my own web publishing is read regionally - but to criticize them for trying to place provacative ideas in the main stream - where they are never seen - has merits - where we go from here - let us as coleagues work together to discover.
solidarity & peace
February 2nd, 2005 at 10:52 amrick spisak
sfla-bordc.org
miamiforpeace.org
I agree with two points: appropriate questions must be raised, and we must always remain grounded in finding ways to work together for the common weal of us all, which means outthinking, outstrategizing, and outmaneuvering the machine so clearly and accurately described in today’s link at alternet.org
I’m one of those folk searching everywhere I can for answers and for hope. People and organizations who get it are never so coherent as organizations who have it (power), but collectively, if they are truth/reality centered, they have a better chance of enduring in the long haul.
I think we are seeing the turning point in the arc of this incredibly arrogant, utterly selfish, completely duplicitous, tragi-comically
absurd right wing, neo-banana republican machine.
Of course, that might be what I have to think I see, just to preserve my sanity.
February 2nd, 2005 at 11:16 amHi Danny,
February 2nd, 2005 at 11:40 amThe results of a poll taken at MoveOn’s post-election Meetup - as I remember - included media reform as one of the top concerns. I am convinced that supporting alternate media is very essential. Though well-meaning, the knee-jerk ads MoveOn aired on mainstream media, in the attempt to confront false reporting, didn’t work well enough.
I ended my subscription to Move On during the presidential campaign and removed my mother as well. Fortunately I didn’t donate any money to them, my mother, however, did. It was bad enough that I donated money to John Kerry and the DNC, I don’t know if I could live with myself if I’d fallen into the pit even further by donating to Move On. Your article made me very glad and assured me that I made the right decision.
Any spare change I have now goes to Media reform action groups/alternative media organizations and to support a third political party that supports my progressive values such as the anti-war and anti-discrimination issues. I can now live with myself, my conscience is clear!
February 2nd, 2005 at 1:19 pmMoveon seemed to disappear after the election. Just before the election I wrote to them suggesting that they set up a monthly subscription option on their donation page to support continuing operations after Nov 2. I never heard from them and no longer seem to get mail. When I visit their URL I don’t see anything current. If they don’t wake up soon, they will sink into history.
February 2nd, 2005 at 1:57 pmI was a big supporter of MoveOn but I firmly disagree with their decision not to promote the WMD film. I also believe that they have balked at getting involved with other progressive work like the Media Education Foundation’s “Hijacking Catastrophe.” What the opposition needs now is unity and it seems like MoveOn is not fully committed to that.
February 2nd, 2005 at 5:29 pmI too lost interest in both MoveOn and Truthout, when it became clear that they were more interested in self agrandisment and less interested in changing the system. I hope they regret the decision to block your film. It is going to prove to be their loss.
February 2nd, 2005 at 6:36 pmFunny you should mention it Danny but I also have been feeling puzzled and disappointed the direction (or lack of) MoveOn seems to have taken. I received a solicitation for funding to support their latest Social Security ad, but after watching the ad opted not to contribute. It just felt to me like more of the same-o same-o political advertising nobody takes seriously anyway. But Rick Spisak who posted earlier has an excellent point - advertising in counter-culture and independent outlets is mainly preaching to the choir. Those are not the folks you need to reach. It would have been nice if MoveOn would have lent their support to get WMD seen by some folks who normally would only watch mainstream media sources.
I was hoping that after the election MoveOn and other progressive organizations would realize that one of the main reasons the conservative right has become so successful is due to their ability to focus and collaborate, even when they have differing agendas. Unfortunately all I have witnessed so far is a lot of finger-pointing, pigeonholing anyone who voted Republican as a redneck idiot, and self pity.
You asked - Do you share the expressed view of a key member of their “team” that they “own” the Democratic Party because they “bought it?”
You have GOT to be kidding!
Cindy
February 2nd, 2005 at 6:45 pmI notice we don’t hear from Move-On and other web sites as often since the election. I wish all of you would stick together so we could get things done one at a time. Lets make taking back the media from the corporations #1. Now, I hope Move On will read this site and give us their side of the story.
February 2nd, 2005 at 8:13 pmWhile criticism of Moveon may be warranted, I find this thread destructive and band-wagonish. It may well be that Moveon has to reevaluate its strategy right now. It may well be that they are in a lull. The wholesale dissing of them just reminds me of the RNC and the centrist liberals who talk about them like they are terrorists. Their original mission was good and they helped raise a huge amount of money for the primaries and the elections. They were team players during that period. The reasons for loss of the election are complex; anyone who says it is due to one thing, like Moveon;s policies, or John Kerry’s personality, is dangerously over-simplifying what happened.
February 2nd, 2005 at 10:35 pmNOW, as of the November election, I stopped watching the mainstream news media. I have committed myself to alternative news media and only turned to TV to see news about the tsunami disaster. It is also my observation that the MSM has a policy of ignoring liberal activists, even if there are hundreds of thousands of us to millions of us. They will not listen to us. So I think Moveon is actually wasting its time putting ads on regular TV. I agree with that. But I find this wholesale dumping on Moveon as irresponsible and immature. For pete’s sake, Chris Sullentrop and Peter Beinart, the two faux Democrats, dump on Moveon. You may have an ax to grind with them, but it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t exist.
When you raised the question in December, I said that at least for the 2004 election, if not altogether from the beginning and still, they were double agents for the administration.
In June 2003, after their relatively brilliant idea for selecting the Democratic candidate for party nomination, they posted the results briefly after the June 24-25 straw vote and immediately began pushing Kerry after removing all record of the actual results. The fact that Kerry came in #3 after Dean and Kucinich was never mentioned again. They had promised to back the candidate with the most votes, provided the tally was 50% or more of the total vote.
The results (top 4 of field of 9 with total of 317,647 votes cast): Dean - 139,360 votes - 43.87% of total. Kucinich - 76,000 - 23.93%. Kerry - 49,973 - 15.76%. Edwards - 10,146 - 3.19%.
I wrote to MoveOn to question why they had done that, in apparent contradiction to their stated goal. No response was forthcoming. After a while, I wrote to Alternet on this same issue and was again ignored. … more recently, I wonder if their vote was not the first chapter in “correcting” the 2004 voting - so hanging chads and other embarrassments wouldn’t become a problem.
February 3rd, 2005 at 12:04 amDanny, as founder of the Grassroots Theatre Network, I have previewed your film, “Weapons of Mass Deception.” WMD is a tremendous film. It was our Board of Directors’ first choice to be included in our Grassroots Theatre Network screenings at commercial theatres across the country. Our screenings start in Bethel, Connecticut and Larkspur, California on February 9, and continue across the country during February and March. Supporters interested in seeng the film can inquire at www.grassrootsforamerica.us to check for additional venues. Your strength of spirit is inspiring, and we join you enthusiastically in your call for truth from the nation’s media. Good luck with your opening in New York!
February 3rd, 2005 at 9:00 amIndependent media is wonderful; it allows US to get the news that otherwise would be unavailable. But it is also preaching to the choir; a free speech zone, if you will. It is cut off from the main population of Americans who need to hear the alternative news. The only way we will get their attention is to publish in the main stream media also.
February 3rd, 2005 at 9:55 amDear Danny, and friends
February 3rd, 2005 at 2:41 pmHaving hosted a couple of MoveOn events at my home, it became clear that the orgaization was a mere appendage to the Democratic Party. I truely believe that they see the salvation of this system in the formation of a left wing version of the current flop. The purpose is to save capitalism, but of course. As we slip into the abyss, people MUST be prepared to step out of the BOX and look at what type of society, we must build.
All we hear about are the mounting job losses. The latest being SBC and ATT. The principal cause of bankruptcy ? Medical.
We need a representative political party for the rest of us. The Labor Party, is such an organization. Healthcare as a human right. Check out the web site.
Michael
I also share in the surprise expressed by some commentators about the function some groups like MoveOn perform in our political landscape. On their Web site, it said they were also supportive of running candidates for political office. I wrote to them after the election about this subject (considering a run myself). I never received a response to my first e-mail, even though on November 3, a mass MoveOn e-mail went out to its members about how encouraged, despite Kerry’s loss, some of that outfit’s leaders were because they had gotten an inquiry from a person who was considering a run for public office (in California, I believe). I followed my first e-mail up several weeks later with a second one to the same effect, only to get a canned message about how they can’t respond to individual e-mails!
A number of approaches to the current political landscape will be critical if progressives will have any chance of affecting the tilt we’re in. Instant runoff voting, election reform, accuracy in media (Air America is a breath of fresh air on the airwaves now)–to name a few–are essential for achieving any constructive change. However, so is a galvanized progressive infrastructure. I think that many progressives do not feel that the Democratic Party fully represents their needs, concerns, values and issues. When comparing party platforms, for example, one can infer that many who voted Democratic in the 2004 election expressed views that were ideologically much closer to the Green Party’s platform. Whether the future DNC chair can recognize this and speak to what would be an enormous, energized, financially committed base, is, to me, not yet clear.
But what seems certain is that without a coordinated strategy for running progressive candidates for public offices, showing films (such as yours), appearing in and on the media that are accessible (on-line, in print, and on radio and TV) with people who can speak about salient issues, maybe even getting clerical councils involved in preaching messages of tolerance and compassion to their devotees, etc., then we might well stay in the current climate for quite some time. For example, what if the presidency goes to another Republican in 2008?
February 3rd, 2005 at 4:15 pmMoveOn - an “anti-Bush” group that supports Bush’s “War on Terror”. The Democrats’ Trojan Horse for limiting debate:
February 3rd, 2005 at 8:48 pmhttp://www.oilempire.us/moveon.html
Cindy (post 12) makes an excellent point:
>>I received a solicitation for funding to support their latest Social Security ad, but after watching the ad opted not to contribute. It just felt to me like more of the same-o same-o political advertising nobody takes seriously anyway.<<
It’s not just that, but who is the target demographic anyway? How many voters under 25 (or under 35, for that matter) know the what/when/how details of the working lunch? Any AD contradicting the Bush SS machine needs to explain, in clear language, WHY THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS WORTH KEEPING!!! Otherwise, the current Bush media onslaught will succeed.
Perhaps MoveON needs to have another 30 seconds contest to get some fresh ideas flowing…
February 3rd, 2005 at 9:08 pmI’ve read Schechter books. I’ve never seen a Schechter film.
February 6th, 2005 at 10:30 pmI trust his political justment thoroughly.
What did MoveOn’s two sentences say?
I favor their usinng mainstream media for advertising.
It seems to me ridiculous that they wouldn’t promote a film that addresses the core issue on war or no war—Administration lies and deceptions.
The continuing flow of those lies make a tsunami seem like a dewdrop. Who is distributing the film in Rockville, MD and Chicago?
BOYCOTT Cable TV saves money to give MoveOn, or to some other Movement, especially if MoveOn or some Movement would lead the BOYCOTT.
What can be done to change MainStreamMedia if not destroy it? It is obvious MSM is not going to reform or wake up or mend its ways or take criticism to heart. And when do nothing and like sitting ducks wait to be annihilated is NOT a good option, then Do what? What can one person do? Well, Molly Ivins’ first rule of holes says, When you find yourself in one, stop digging it deeper. In an echoing cave of mind-poisoning MSM, that says to me: Stop paying for the poison. Cancel all subscription payments to media. It probably would need only about a half-million boycotters to bankrupt the cable TV business plan. Boycott satellite TV too.
Some of us. Only a half-million. And if not that many of us can kick the habit then, yes, we probably face the gloom-and-doom future all addicts face. How do we know how much we can disrupt MSM until we try? We DO know how much we accomplish if we just sit there zombied.. BOYCOTT Cable TV.
(Let’s see TV report on this blog story.)
When MSM is destroyed, then we need a new replacement media. One that carries the news. Start building it, that’s what one person can do. Ending the old media, (or ‘burning the bridge’), and being without any might be the necessity of information starvation that prods invention to begin.
It looks like the pieces laying around to build the new media with are word of mouth among friends, co-workers, internet linkers, emailers, free broadcasting and, in general, community meet-ups. CUT-n-PASTE THIS COMMENT, and pass it on. Now you’re doing it, making media — BE A MEDIA CHANNEL, I’m telling ya’. Personal experience has been the more TV I watched the less news I got. And, since I turned off TV I haven’t missed any news — somebody is always telling me ‘Hey, did you hear?’ BOYCOTT Cable TV. Too bad MoveOn moved on, they could have helped spread the word on this.
May 6th, 2005 at 10:40 pmThose of us, with access to information and the means to pass it along, but create our own journalism.
The corporate media has lost its hypnotic hold on the thinking class. And there is a curious synergy where the continued dumbing down, and freakshow of “coporate media” alienates more and more, both the religious and the ironic clans among us.
While we have the internet, and our printers, we must supportively work together to pass along the data and the news that is quickly being throttled out of the last mass media outlet remaining in the old paradigm… PBS.
But we must remain aware that while the internet remains a powerful distribution model - it may be denied us, at a critical junction. The powers that control the machinery of the state, are not unaware of the INTERNET as a free publishing medium. We must keep our feet unfettered, and keep one foot still on the alternative distribution routes… looking passed the storm and the long shadows…to the coming dawn
solidarity & peace
May 7th, 2005 at 12:51 amrick
miamiforpeace.net