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MoveOn

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MoveOn
Formation1998
Membership
3.3 million members[1]
Websitewww.MoveOn.org

MoveOn is a non-profit liberal public policy advocacy group[2], which has raised millions of dollars for Democratic Party candidates in the United States.[3] It was formed in response to the impeachment of President Clinton.[4], and is by some accounts, cited as a factor which helped propel the Democratic Party to power in the 2006 election.[5]

MoveOn comprises two legal entities, each organized under a different section of U.S. tax and election laws:

MoveOn.org Civic Action, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, formerly known as MoveOn.org, primarily focuses on education and advocacy on national issues.

MoveOn.org Political Action, a federal political action committee, formerly known as MoveOn PAC, gives contributions to candidates across the country to advance causes in Congress and help elect selected political candidates.

History

Main article: History of MoveOn.org

MoveOn started in 1998 as an email group, MoveOn.org, created by computer entrepreneurs Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, the married cofounders of Berkeley Systems. They started by passing around a petition asking Congress to "censure President Clinton and move on", as opposed to impeaching him. The petition, passed around by word of mouth, was extremely successful; ultimately, they had half a million signatures.[citation needed] Buoyed by their success, the couple went on to start similar campaigns, including: calling for more arms inspections rather than an invasion of Iraq (see Popular opposition to war on Iraq); the reinstatement of lower limits on arsenic and mercury pollution, and campaign finance reform. Since then, it has raised millions of dollars for many Democratic candidates.[3] In November 2007, a drive spearheaded by MoveOn caused Facebook to change its controversial new "Beacon" program, which notified Facebook users about purchases by people on their friends list.[6]

Organizing methodology

MoveOn uses e-mail as its main conduit for communicating with members, sending action alerts at least once a week. It communicates primarily through a variation on a chain letter:

The MoveOn website also uses multi-media, including videos, audio downloads and images. In addition to communicating via the Internet, MoveOn advertises using traditional print and broadcast media as well as billboards, bus signs and bumper stickers, digital versions of which are downloadable from its website. It also contains an area called the "Action Forum", which functions much like a traditional electronic discussion group. The Action Forums act as a grassroots organization allowing members to propose priorites and strategies."[7]

Through this grassroots methodology, MoveOn collaborates with groups like Meetup.com in organizing street demonstrations, bake sales, house parties and other opportunities for people to meet personally and act collectively in their own communities.[8]

Some of the core principles of MoveOn are:

  • Moveon is not dependent on foundation money.
  • The ability to use have 'hard money' – as opposed to grants and tax-deductible contributions – enables them to be partisan, contribute to political campaigns and exercise clout in the political process.

Changes in federal election laws have also impacted groups like MoveOn. The McCain/Feingold election finance reform legislation, which went into effect in 2002, allowed political parties to raise larger amounts of "hard money" contributions, but were forbidden from raising "soft money" — As a result, individuals who sought to influence the 2004 election gave money to non-party organizations like MoveOn, which are still able to engage in political advertising using soft money under section 527 of U.S. tax code.

Call for Change

MoveOn created a new system for reaching out to potential voters in the 2006 midterm elections named Call for Change (C4C). It provides MoveOn members with the technology to call individual voters in key districts and talk to them about the issues. As part of the Call for Change effort, MoveOn has organized thousands of C4C house parties and local MoveOn C4C offices to facilitate over 7 million phone calls in preparation for the midterm elections.[citation needed] At these events, members bring their cell phones to the party and call registered voters using a list provided to the host.

Personnel

  • Joan Blades, Co-Chair, Board of Directors
  • Wes Boyd, Chair, Board of Directors
  • Carrie Olson, Chief Operating Officer, Board of Directors (PAC)
  • Eli Pariser, Executive Director
    • Adam Ruben, Political Director, responsible for MoveOn Political Action's electoral strategy
    • Justin Ruben, Organizing Director, oversees "Operation Democracy," MoveOn's in-depth volunteer driven field network
    • Tom Matzzie, Washington Director, maintains relationships on Capitol Hill and runs campaigns
    • Adam Green, Civic Communications Director, handles communications for MoveOn's c4 and leads campaigns on media reform issues like Net Neutrality, public airwaves for the public good, and taking on Fox
    • Nita Chaudhary, Advocate, runs campaigns on civil liberties, Censure, and other issues
    • Jennifer Lindenauer, PAC Communications Director
    • Laura Dawn, Cultural Director, co-creator of Bush in 30 Seconds, develops and runs cultural engagement campaigns like the celebrity directed "10 Weeks" ads and the Vote for Change tour.
  • Patrick Michael Kane Web designer, designing, building and managing MoveOn's web and mailing infrastructure.

Controversy and criticism

File:Giuliani ad.jpg
Giuliani's New York Times advertisement denouncing Hillary Clinton and a previous MoveOn.org ad.

MoveOn was criticized by several Jewish advocacy groups, among others, when a member-submitted TV ad which drew parallels between President George W. Bush and Adolf Hitler briefly appeared on an affiliated website. The ad was part of a MoveOn-sponsored contest "Bush in 30 Seconds" during the 2004 presidential election in which members were invited to create and submit political TV ads challenging President Bush and his administration.[9][10] The advertisement was quickly removed.[9]

Fox News criticized the organization after it successfully encouraged the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidates not to attend two debates sponsored by the network. Fox News advisor David Rhodes and the network's commentators Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly have also stated that MoveOn.org "owns" the Democratic Party.[11][12] This stems from a 2004 e-mail composed by Eli Pariser, among others, stating that, in regards to the Democratic Party; "grassroots contributors like us ... bought it, we own it, and we're going to take it back."[13]

MoveOn was criticized for running a print ad in The New York Times that questioned the personal integrity of General David Petraeus, saying "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" and "Cooking the Books for the White House."[14] On September 20, the Senate passed an amendment by Republican John Cornyn III of Texas designed to "strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus." All forty-nine Republican Senators, as well as twenty-two Democratic Senators, voted in support. The House passed a similar resolution by a 341-79 vote on September 26.[15] The Washington Post stated on September 20 that "Democrats blamed the group [Moveon.org] for giving moderate Republicans a ready excuse for staying with Bush and for giving Bush and his supporters a way to divert attention away from the war."[16][17][18] The New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt later stated in an editorial that MoveOn was mistakenly charged $77,000 less for the ad than it should have been under Times policies,[19] and MoveOn announced that it would pay The New York Times the difference in prices.[20] MoveOn.org is running more ads using a 'betrayal' theme, with TV spots targeting President Bush and Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani specifically.[21][22] Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani ran his own full-page ad in The New York Times on September 14.[23][24][25] Giuliani asked for and received a similar reduced fee as Moveon.org, paying $65,000.[26][27]

Relationships with other organizations

MoveOn is co-founder of AVAAZ.org a civic organization that promotes progressive political action on issues such as the climate change and religious conflicts.

MoveOn is not connected with MoveOnForAmerica (now known as Move America Forward), a conservative organization that was set up by Stephen Marks, a Republican political consultant.

Candidates supported

Since the 2000 election cycle, the MoveOn PAC has endorsed and supported the campaigns of dozens of candidates.

2000 election

2002 election

2006 election

  • Ned Lamont, who defeated three-term Democratic incumbent Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut Democratic primary, but lost in the general election against Lieberman, who ran as an independent. [Lost]
  • Patrick Murphy, Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District. [Won]
  • Westport first selectwoman Diane Farrell, Democratic nominee for Connecticut's 4th Congressional District. [Lost]
  • Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), running for re-election to his tenth term in the U.S. Senate [Won]
  • Pennsylvania State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. [Won]
  • Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), running for his second term. [Won]
  • Montana State Senate President Jon Tester (D-MT), running to unseat Conrad Burns (R-MT) [Won]
  • Former Congressman Nick Lampson, Democratic candidate for Texas's 22nd Congressional District. [Won]
  • Congressman Chet Edwards, Democratic incumbent for Texas' 17th Congressional District. [Won]
  • Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. [Won]
  • Cardiff School District Board Trustee Francine Busby, Democratic candidate for California's 50th Congressional District. [Lost]
  • Former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez, Democratic candidate for Texas' 23rd Congressional District, pending redistricting decisions.[Won]
  • Bob Shamansky, Democratic candidate for 12th congressional district of Ohio. [Lost]
  • Gabrielle Giffords, Democratic candidate for Arizona's 8th congressional district. [Won]
  • Jason Altmire, Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district [Won]
  • John Yarmuth, Democratic candidate for 3rd congressional district of Kentucky. [Won]
  • Tim Mahoney, Democratic candidate for 16th congressional district of Florida, running against Mark Foley's replacement. [Won]
  • Ron Klein, Democratic candidate for Florida's 22nd congressional district, running against 12-term Republican incumbent Clay Shaw. [Won]
  • Bruce Braley, Iowa. [Won]
  • Martin O'Malley, Democratic candidate for governor of Maryland. [Won]
  • Doug Gansler, Democratic candidate for Attorney General of Maryland. [Won]
  • James T. Smith, Jr., Democratic incumbent for Baltimore County (Maryland) Executive. [Won]

[List incomplete]

Financial contributors

  • MoveOn's spending as an advocacy group is listed at Open Secrets: Advocacy Group Spending ("data is based on records released by the Internal Revenue Service on Monday, October 23, 2006").
  • According to the March 10, 2004, Washington Post, "The Democratic 527 organizations have drawn support from some wealthy liberals determined to defeat Bush. They include financier George Soros who gave $1.46 million to MoveOn.org Voter Fund (in the form of matching funds to recruit additional small donors); Peter B. Lewis, chief executive of the Progressive Corp., who gave $500,000 to MoveOn.org Voter Fund; and Linda Pritzker, of the Hyatt hotel family, and her Sustainable World Corp., who gave $4 million to the joint fundraising committee."[28]

Books

  • MoveOn's 50 Ways to Love Your Country. Maui, Hawaii: Inner Ocean Pub. 2004. ISBN 1-930722-29-X.
  • Laura Dawn (ed.), ed. (2006). It Takes a Nation: How Strangers Became Family in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina. foreword by Barack Obama, photographs by C.B. Smith. Earth Aware. ISBN 1-932771-86-7. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)

See also

References

  1. ^ Bach, Stephen (2007-01-26). "Political Ticker AM". CNN. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ The New York Times.Senate Approves Resolution Denouncing MoveOn.org Ad. Published September 21, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Bacon, Perry Jr. (2007-09-21). "MoveOn Unfazed By Furor Over Ad". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  4. ^ "About the MoveOn Family of Organizations". Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  5. ^ Garrett, Major (2007-09-18). "MoveOn Gravy Train Makes and Breaks Political Fortunes". Fox News. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Liedtke, Michael. "Facebook revamps new advertising system," Associated Press, Nov. 30, 2007
  7. ^ "MoveOn.org becomes anti-Bush powerhouse". CNN. 2004-01-13. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  8. ^ Hazen, Don (2003-02-11). "Moving On: A New Kind of Peace Activism". AlterNet. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  9. ^ a b "FOX News hosts revived lie about MoveOn and Hitler ad". Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  10. ^ "PR Newswire: Public Interest Services". Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  11. ^ Hennessey, Kathleen (March 09, 2007), "Nevada Democrats cancel candidate debate co-hosted by Fox News", Las Vegas Sun, retrieved 2007-09-30 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. ^ "Dems cancel debate over Fox chief's Obama joke". CNN. 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Johnson, Ben (2004-12-10). "MoveOn: "We Bought" the Democratic Party". FrontPage Magazine. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ "GOP calls on top Senate Dem to condemn anti-Petraeus ad". CNN. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5icjoZfw9cxthDHzemr2CBJn0hSQg
  16. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/20/AR2007092001005.html?nav=hcmodule
  17. ^ Flaherty, Anne (2007-09-20). "Senate Condemns "General Betray Us" Ad". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  18. ^ Marre, Klaus (2007-09-26). "House overwhelmingly condemns MoveOn ad". The Hill. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  19. ^ Betraying Its Own Best Interests, Mark Hoyt, The New York Times. Retrieved 9-23-2007.
  20. ^ Vekshin, Alison (2007-09-23). "MoveOn.org Says It Will Pay Times More for Controversial Ad". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  21. ^ "Anger over 'Betray Us' Ad Simmers on Hill" in NPR
  22. ^ "Putting the moves on MoveOn.org" in The Toronto Star
  23. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/13/AR2007091302379.html
  24. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/us/politics/14paper.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin
  25. ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/17/politics/main3268035.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3268035
  26. ^ http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/14/giuliani_slams_times_over_anti_petraeus_ad/
  27. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/09/15/2007-09-15_general_petraeus_ad_nets_giuliani_big_bu.html
  28. ^ "Democrats Forming Parallel Campaign". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-09-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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