MoveOn.org should query its members on the issue of health care for all.

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, respectfully petition the leaders of MoveOn.Org to abide by its core democratic principles and ask the opinion of its members whether they support reform of the private health insurance system or replacement of private health insurance by universal single payer health care, before MoveOn continues to organizationally and financially support a new coalition which supports the former and excludes the latter.

WHEREAS, MoveOn has had extraordinary success because it has presented itself as democratic organization in which, as its web site proclaims, every member has a voice in choosing the direction.  Read more 

I still get email from MoveOn (which I often respond to with the one-liner, “you should be ashamed of yourselves”), and today’s was a doozy. They are “launching a massive coalition campaign to win health coverage for everyone.” Planned Parenthood and “the unions” are part of the coalition.

The $40 million Health Care for America Now campaign will put 100 organizers on the ground and run major TV and newspaper ads to make sure this election is a mandate for quality, affordable health care for every American.
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UPDATE: Ian proves his brilliance once again. Read the whole, devastating thing, but remember this powerful money quote:

Now the problem here is that MoveOn has been a very effective proxy for a long time, running ads that say things the Democrats can’t.Every time they try and act as a proxy in the future what Republicans will say is “MoveOn are a bunch of extremist who were condemned by a bipartisan motion in the Senate.” Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant to damage a proxy like that. Can you imagine Republicans ever doing that to, say, the NRA.

Democrats who don’t hate you are as follows. Remember this list, in the coming months. These are representatives who don’t hate populism, and probably hold more of the values you do that the rest of them:

Senate Resolution 315 (to condemn MoveOn)

NAYs —-25
Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)  Read more 

No link, but I’m curious about what you all think. Apparently there are bills in the Senate, pushed by Republicans and not really oppossed so strongly by Democrats, to condemn MoveOn for the “Betrayus” ad. Because it “hurt the troops” or some nonsense. The excuses the Democrats are coming up with for why they can’t stop it are pretty lame, and they may even offer their own version as a “compromise.”

If it passes, it’s another step towards creating the environment in which just being progressive is enough to get you on government-backed blacklists. Jobs, loans, various civil rights…these things can go away for some of us, when there are legal frameworks in place that separate us from “decent Americans.”  Read more 

I do love the folks at EFF. Just putting this up as a measure of support. Viacom will lose this one methinks:

MoveOn, Brave New Films Sue Viacom For Illegal Takedown of YouTube Video

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked a federal court today to protect the free speech rights of MoveOn.org Civic Action and Brave New Films after their satirical send-up of “The Colbert Report” was removed from YouTube following a baseless copyright complaint from media giant Viacom.

The video, called “Stop the Falsiness,” was created by MoveOn and Brave New Films as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on Colbert’s portrayal of the right-wing media and parodying MoveOn’s own reputation for earnest political activism. The short film, uploaded to YouTube in August 2006, includes clips from “The Colbert Report” as well as humorous original interviews about show host Stephen Colbert. In March of this year, Viacom — the parent company of Comedy Central — demanded that YouTube take “Stop the Falsiness” down, claiming the video infringed its copyrights.

“Our clients’ video is an act of free speech and a fair use of ’Colbert Report’ clips,” said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. “Viacom knows this — it’s the same kind of fair use that ’The Colbert Report’ and ’The Daily Show’ rely upon every night as they parody other channels’ news coverage.”  Read more 

The Center for Media and Democracy has some Tuff Kweshuns for MoveOn. I am a member of several organizations mentioned in the post (read the comments too) and I hate to say it, but I have to take the CMD’s side in this. If it’s a question of which losing bill to back for the sake of looking strong, the Lee amendment is the better choice:

This week marks the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. To commemorate the occasion, the online advocacy group MoveOn.org is organizing more than 1,000 candlelight vigils throughout the United States. “We’ll solemnly honor the sacrifice made by more than 3,000 servicemen and women, and we’ll contemplate the path ahead of us,” states MoveOn’s website. “We cannot send tens of thousands of exhausted, under-equipped, and unprepared troops into the middle of an Iraqi civil war. … Honor the sacrifice. Stop the escalation. Bring the troops home.”

MoveOn’s 3.2 million members strongly oppose any continuation of the war, and the language above seems to suggest that MoveOn’s leadership agrees. But MoveOn’s organizing around Iraq has become notably ambiguous lately. Although it talks in general terms about bringing the troops home, specific timetables or meaningful steps in that direction are nowhere discussed. Most strikingly, MoveOn has adamantly refused to support the Iraq amendment from Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey and Maxine Waters, which calls for “a fully funded, and systematic, withdrawal of U.S. soldiers and military contractors from Iraq” by the end of 2007.  Read more 

The radical in me really likes this idea. Let’s face it: we’re poor when compared to corporations, we don’t get invited to the quail shooting outings and Beltway cocktail parties where policy is truly made, we’re ignored when we march in the millions. So why the hell shouldn’t we jam some phones? It’s not like the fuckers aren’t paid enough to deal with suchlike:

In a scrap that pits lefty grass-roots activists against corporate Democratic suits, MoveOn.org is marshaling its Web-happy masses against the elite, all-Democratic consultants at the Glover Park Group.

The tussle, which has been relatively polite so far, is over the Glover gang’s work on behalf of telecommunications giant Verizon. MoveOn is upset that the firm is helping Verizon block legislation on “net neutrality,” which Web-based companies and advocates criticize as something that could lead to a two-tiered Internet.  Read more