In Defense of MoveOn -- No More Arrows in the Back
There is a huge problem of "risk aversion" in progressive culture, and nothing exemplefies that more clearly than what happened to MoveOn in the wake of their Petraeus/Betray Us ad in the New York Times. Matt Stoller points to one particularly infuriatingly yet typical email from The Truman Project, in which they encourage their progressive veterans to denounce MoveOn:
Those of you who saw the NYTimes today saw that MoveOn took out a full page ad equating Petraeus with "Betray Us" and accusing him of politicizing the military.
In one fell swoop, they have undone massive work by countless progressives trying to bridge the gap with the military and reconnect.
What's this "we," kemosabe? MoveOn is always out there, fighting the good fight, they've done more to move the anti-war dialog in this country than just about any organization I know. They will, as a result, inevitably be a target of the right. I do think it's possible to have differences of opinion in good faith about the ad, but when people start to claim the progress made by "progressives" as their own, and MoveOn is somehow suddenly outside of that, it's just arrogant, spurious nonsense.
I'm sorry, John Kerry, but you don't help the right wing out. Ever. Now they've got Diaper Dave Vitter out there leading the battle cry, trying to reclaim himself by introducing resolutions to denounce MoveOn. Does Kerry really not know how it works at this point? Paul Krugman does, and he lays it out extremely well in a review of Jon Chiat's new book:
Jon talks at some length about the media, and in particular about the Republican ability to get journalists to harp endlessly on supposed character flaws of Democrats, while their own candidates get a free pass. He emphasizes the right-wing echo chamber, but there's more to it than that. It's also - as I can report from my own experience - a result of asymmetrical intimidation. Quite simply, if you point out character flaws in a conservative, there will be an all-out effort, involving major media as well as blogs and talk radio, to discredit and ruin you, personally. This just doesn't happen on the other side.
So journalists feel that it's safe to ridicule Democrats, even if the supposed character-defining episode never happened; they choke up and shy away when it comes to Republicans. That's why even the most grotesque stuff, like Giuliani's claim that he's a rescue worker too, or Romney's remark that his sons are serving the country by helping him become president, doesn't get picked up.
One of the most frustrating things about getting involved in the political process as part of the Blue America PAC is that we have to confront on a daily basis how little our representatives know about how the media works, how thoroughly it has been gamed by conservatives and how easily they get played. They're so anxious to please, to seem "reasonable," that their reflex is to repeat canards about "those crazy blogs" (or MoveOn or anybody else trying to build progressive infrastructure) without any awareness that they are planting a knife squarely in the back of the only message machine that exists to combat a rabid right wing that doesn't just want to see them disempowered, it wants them destroyed. Permanently.
I realize many Democrats are just as frightened of the progressive movement as they are of the Republicans and were probably quite gleeful about getting to take MoveOn down a peg, but this only goes to underscore how woefully out of touch they are with what is going on in this country and how distant the perspective of the voting public is from the wisdom of the beltway brahmins. Markos Moulitsas fielded the question of the MoveOn ad beautifully on Hardball:
To me, you know, way out in California, it's almost amusing to see how in Washington DC, everybody is all up in arms over an ad. You know, we're in the middle of this bloody war, almost 4,000 dead, half a trillion dollars spent, and people are going to talk about how inappropriate an ad is? I think it's patently ridiculous. And most people, outside of this sort of Beltway environment really don't care about an ad. They want to see our men and women coming home, safe and sound to their families.
The MoveOn ad said what Democrats could not and survive politically -- Petraeus is acting as a politician, doing a politician's job of spinning and his actions are not above criticism just because he's got a bunch of ribbons on his chest that George Bush would like to hide behind. And it traveled. To join with the right and start firing arrows into their backs is both destructive from a movement perspective and displays tremendous naiveté about what it's going to take to end this war.
So unless there is some mysterious wisdom in taking one's messaging cues from Diaper Dave, people who want to be part of the solution and not a part of the problem should find another way to engage in this conversation. One that doesn't leave progressive fighters fearful that their own side will turn on them when the GOP attack dogs decide to lunge.
Jane Hamsher blogs at firedoglake.com.
Follow Jane Hamsher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/janehamsher
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Any Republicant who did not denounce the Swift Boat ads should shut their pie hole about the Petraeus / Betray Us ads.
Amen, Amen, Amen...
As a veteran of the Vietnam era, I've been concerned with our military since this fiasco began. Not the troops, they have been and remain remarkable in their dedication and devotion. The troops know and do their jobs with skill and courage.
But what is it with the military command structure? The generals who designed this war and those who have executed this war seem to have the same level of competence this administration has exhibited in everything else they've done leading to and following Katrina. The generals can't even devise a strategy to secure the road from Baghdad to the airport after 6 years?
If they can't secure the 20 miles of road to the airport, how can we believe them when they say they have a winning strategy for the entire nation of Iraq?
Unlike Vietnam, when the troops were blamed for the war, MoveOn was exactly right to point out the general's faults and obfuscations because it is the generals who have failed. They failed to provide their troops with competent leadership. They failed to deliver a winning strategy. They failed their troops. They failed their nation.
Many here are doing the same damn thing "our Dem Representatives" do, accepting (war)"heros"at public-ised face values.
Time after time, I have to repeat: do just a little research! Stop accepting the word of those who have done nothing but LIE to us all!
Powell is the ass-kissing whore who was lead in trying to cover up the Mia Lia attrocity, going on to greater glories in the Highway of Death, stupidly promoting WMDs and poison gas generators.
Petraeous has a disasterour military record of failures in Iraq leading up to the present. His immeadiate boss publicly calls him an ass kisser.
Once in the habit of checking out the garbage the establishment shovels out, look into ACTUAL US policies...THEN decide "Why they hate us..." Then you may understand how WE created terrorism.
I was walking my dog, a black English Cocker Spaniel who had been sheared for the summer for his comfort (14 1/2 yrs old), when a couple of kids in the area shouted, " You sure have an ugly dog!" I smiled. They shouted again, "That dog sure is ugly!" (There are lots of things that first came to mind:
"Who was it, your Mom or your Dad who gave you that ugly attitude?" OR
"My dog's haircut is different but his hair will grow out and your attitude will still be ugly!"
BUT WHAT I DECIDE TO SAY:
" Please tell me why you think your opinion matters to me in the least?"
IT GOT REAL QUIET and passing there a few more times with my dog I never heard another word....
REPUBLICANS MAY THINK 'MOVEON.ORG is our 'ugly dog' but our dog's hair will grow out and their attitude will not grow up!
What Democrats need to say:
Did you read the ad, really? ONLY the facts were stated of what Petraeus had said. If his own superior, General Fallon, called him an "ass kisser" and worse shopuldn't you be listening to his superior rank if the armed services commands mean that much to you?
Want to know who the 30% is that still think Bush is doing a good job? Read about the Authoritarians from Prof. Bob Altemeyer. A friend sent me the link and it's a fascinating read you can download in PDF format. It will explain why these people will believe anything that people in authority will tell them despite having facts to the contrary. It will explain why some people still believe that Saddamm Hussein was responsible for 9/11, why they still believe we found weapons of mass destruction, etc. Go to this link or Google "Authoritarians". http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
Framing problem here:
MoveOn's use of "betray" is synonymous with "deceive", as in "Petraeus betrayed our trust in him"
Media attacks have been based on an incorrect synonym: "Petraeus betrayed our country", which makes MoveOn's ad seem like a vicious, personal attack.
I think that everytime we mention this ad, we should state or write explicitly that "Petraeus betrayed our trust in him" to make it clear how we are using the word "betray". Otherwise, the conservative press will continue to mislead the casual viewer (or reader) into misunderstanding the meaning of the ad.
Again, framing is very important here, and so far the conservative media are winning the game with their attacks on this NYT ad by framing the ad in terms of the wrong synonym for betray.
Jane is spot on. Hopefully, groups like MoveOn will keep pushing relentlessly against the right wing BS. My cortisol levels were so high in '04, because I was beside myself with rage over the fact that John Kerry allowed GWB to negatively define him. If I were Sen. Kerry, and someone attempted to undermine my military service and redefine me with lies, I would have been relentless in my push back. I would have said the word "chickenhawk" so many times it wouldn't have been funny. But, instead, Sen. Kerry and his campaign did nothing (at least nothing palpable). Think about it: a decorated war hero who was willing to fight for this country lost to a lazy alcoholic chickenhawk. Why? Because Sen. Kerry and the Dems. allowed it to happen. Hopefully the Dems. NEVER let that happen again. It is completely unacceptable. That is why I refuse to go negative on any of the Dem. candidates (yes, even Sen. Clinton for all you Clinton haters), because I will NEVER give aid to a Repug. in their quest for world domination. As a Dem., I feel it is my responsibility to get the Dems. elected to all offices. That is the only way for what is important to be legislated. Wherefore, I refuse to give quarter to the enemy.
The one candidate who will not let the reichwingnuts get away with even a second of swiftboating is Hillary. Watch her and her capaign. They won't let a nanosecond get between a reichwing attack and a fast and hard response. These are women who know how to fight back.
The MoveOn.Org add was a self defeating, immature, if emotionally satisfying act. The Republicans were going to have trouble finding the bright spots in the Petreaus report. The MoveOn.Org add gave them a hook to hang their hat on.
Mature, thoughtful arguments are required to find our way out of this mess.
Couldn't agree more. Childish cartoons and immature quips will not cause change. They may whip the easily led sheep into a frenzy, but in the end, serious men and women will have to offer more thoughtful ideas.
Excellent piece but I would take it even further. There is no reason for anyone to fawn over a General wearing a bunch of medals either. Instead these career military people should be treated like any other paid employee who does his job for money and career advancement. These generals are well taken care of and well rewarded for life even after they retire so let's not for one minute think they are deserving of anymore admiration than a factory worker who goes to work everyday in less than desirable conditions to put food on his family's table. These Generals are not public servants. They are well paid government employees.
As for Petraeus in particular, he didn't have to shill for Bush and a war he knows can't be won militarily. He could have passed on this or quit the military in protest. So not only is Petraeus not worthy of anyone's admiration and respect, he is no better than Colin Powell who also did as he was told and who helped sell this war with a pack of lies.
RJ Crane, editor
topplebush.com
GO "MOVEON" GO........KEEP UP THE GOOD FIGHT AND DAMN THOSE REPUKE HYPOCRITES IN DC.... SOMEONE HAS TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT AS IT SURE ISN'T THE ASSKISSING PRESS OF SOME AREAS....
What a lot of republicans don't seem to understand is that World Opinion is entirely against them. The whole wide world aches for change in the USA. I cannot make my wife even understand that there are only two nations where you could stand in the main square on the capital city and shout "I am an American" "I am a republican" "I love and support George Bush" You would get booed out of hand and given a hard time for sure. The two bought and paid for nations are Poland where rendition is OK by us folks? And Albania who know no better? Change, change and change folks and look forward to a better standing in the world. King George was an oppressor and so is Emperor George today. US were insurgents just like Iraqi ones? British occupiers? USA occupiers? What is the difference?
The Publican party would love the public to think that MoveOn is a fringe outfit. Not true. MoveOn has 3.3 million dues paying members. That's--oh I don't know--400,000 more members than the American Legion. Ergo, MoveOn is more mainstream than the old guys in the fast food hats. In fact, more of us are willing to pay for MoveOn views than those of the old folks who show up at the legion hall for cheap beer and after a couple (followed by a run to the bathroom) justifiably complain about their veteran hospital health care between parroting slogans like "stay the course" and now "return on success."
(“despite the bloodiest summer ever in Iraq”)
Jane,
I don't even know where to begin -
I read your post on Huffington and you just don't get it - this man was wounded 3x's in service to our nation and to even hint that such an individual, or any combat vet, would betray his country, smears all the military -
As a journalist, I trust you are aware of the total mortality rates in Iraq from 1990, 1999, and post Saddam – I don’t recall the exact statistics, but the last time I looked at them they were 100+, 50, and 20, respectively -
If you do the simple math based on a low estimate population of 20 million, rather than viewing George Bush as causing 12,000 civilian deaths a year, I’ll grant you the 12,000 per year, but you then need to subtract them from the 2 million children 5 years and younger that are alive today that would otherwise have starved to death or died of disease had we not invaded in March 2003 and I remind you I am giving you mortality rate stats from the UN, not the GOP -
It's the same sad story of human nature and what you and your colleagues, both on the right and left write about; example: we have 3,000 people killed in this country on 9/11/2001 and we are still talking about that day as representing a tragic loss of life, which no doubt it was, but Jane, 8,333 Americans die every month in hospitals as a result of being given the wrong medicine - My point is the anti-war left is mesmerized by spectacular sectarian killings at over 1,000 per month and does not take into account the millions of mothers that are not burying their children THANKS to our Military and GWs decision to go in – ”
Exactly right Jane!
The problem was not the message in MoveOn's ad: It was with the timing. MoveOn could have avoided all of the controversy about its message -- which turned out to be dead-eye accurate -- if it had run the ad on Sept. 12, after Petreaus had spun his "report" to Congress, not before.
Had MoveOn and its ad agency waited one day, the discussion would have been about the message, not the messenger.
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