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

Comments

[bach]

Finally, someone is saying, in so many words, that there is a concerted effort on the part of the media to mislead the public. The best that Arianna has come up with so far simply portrays the media, at best, as stupid...and she's still wondering why.

[kgrdem]

And where were the indignant media blowhards when David Brooks put Osama Bin Ladin in league with left-wing bloggers? What the hell is more insulting?

I have a question. Did or did not Colin Powell betray us when he went to the UN with bogus information? And what did the right-wing spinmeisters call anyone who dared to question his presentation? Traitors, America-haters and on and on. We were right then and we are right now. Don't apologize if what you are saying is true.

[JustinMind1969]

Oh, yes...poor moveon.org...they only have the support of CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, BBC, NYT, and all all of hollywood.
The left has a far louder voice in this country than the right. The right are the underdogs and yet still MoveOn.org is supposed to feel put upon?
Democrat's won't debate on Fox News but republican's should go on the above list of networks?
I fully understand about wire-tapping programs etc, but celebrity hollywood wants us to believe WE are the ones being tapped...Last I checked I don't make frequent calls to known terrorists in Yeman, and if I do, THEY SHOULD BE TAPPING MY PHONE!! That is not illicit "domestic" wiretapping...it's just common sense.
GWB (as much of an idiot as he is) isn't the biggest fear monger. Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, and an endless list of other actors are the fear mongers trying to prop the democratic party as the moral compass of "compassionate" America.
They preach about the hypocracy of the Republican party while giving Al Gore Carbon offsets. They say Bush screwed up Katrina while giving the mayor and governor (both democrats) a pass.
Both parties have hypocrits...but one gets the lion share of the publicity when they screw up, the other gets a pass from most of the media.

[1will]

Well at least FOXNEWS is around to air the truth. It drives the lefties nuts that FOX is so popular the left wing media (ABC,CBS,NBC, MSNBC,CNN,ETC.) must put a few Conservatives on air to get ratings for their network.

[Producer1]

The only thing wrong about this ad was that it did not appear in any other papers. This ad should have also appeared in every major daily in the country. The only way we are going to defeat the right wing noisemakers is to beat them at their own game. As long as we have the facts with us there is nothing to fear from these cowards, and that's what they are.

[rwe]

Probaly unlike the dncNYT the other papers wouldn't give it away and maybe in hindsight they are breathing a sigh of relief

[AlButerol]

If MoveOn is pissing off Republicans and "cautious" Democrats alike then they must be doing something right. This article convinced me. I'm going to the MoveOn site now and make a donation.

Besides, I agree with admiral Fallon that Betraeous is an ass-kissing chicken-shit. Its sickening to see all the unwarranted admiration this man is getting from all sides. I wonder what the ass of an ass-kisser tastes like?

[Rb07]

Excellent commentary! Any reservations that I originally had about the ad was quickly dispelled by seeing how political the General was. How is our nation going to be any safer by temporarily squelching a sectarian civil war, at the cost of our soldier's lives and the breakdown of our military capabilities? Especially when the real enemy is growing stronger than ever in Pakistan, and the real war in Afghanistan is in danger of being lost? General Betray Us is only looking out for his own ambitions, just as General Powell was. And he will end up in the same place as the disgraced Powell; despised by many for being an "ass-licking chicken shit".

[CandideinNC]

Absolutely right on! In World War II there were generals and Admirals who had the reputation of standing up for their men in the face of political pressure, and there were others like Patton who treated the grunts like cannon fodder--all for self-aggrandizement. I think Petraeus falls in the second group.

The idea that the uniform makes a man beyond the reach of criticism is folly. Petraeus is "step-and-fetchit" for W. The prezidunt kept firing all the generals who disagreed with him, and he finally ended up with the brown-noser. Move-on got their goat by not cowering in the face of a man who wears a cabbage patch on his chest.

[flatus]

Jane,

The word "betray" is one of the strongest in our Christian, post-Judas culture. Certainly, a very harsh word for someone that has spent most of his life in our service.

This, coupled with the fact that the rhyme is so easily obvious, may be partly to blame for the MoveOn backlash.

[Newfycrat]

I am in total agreement with Markos. This is a one day ad that means nothing to me. I am far more offended by what is going on in Iraq then in an accurate ad beneath the headline. I did watch the clip from the Matthews show, and while he was up in arms for Moveon calling Patraeus a "traitor" (as the right was framing it), Matthews did slip up and call him General Betrayus, which totally cracked me up! So as much as people are squealing about this, the association has been made at a certain level. Since what they put in the ad were serious issues about how they are counting deaths (which is truly offensive) and not *just* name calling, I think this was an effective ad.
It is exactly how the right has moved the country - whether we like it or not. They put thoughts out there and the left defends them, which is the wrong way to go about things because the human brain does not work that way. The human brain remembers the claim, not the defense and the defense many times only makes the brain remember the original claim even more. We have to put the thoughts into the ethers. We have to set the agenda. We have to assert. And whether we like it or not, jingles work. That is why they use them in advertising and that is why the right uses them. It is part of how the human brain works, and has been proven in studies.
No one would have cared about the rest of the ad (and hardly anyone has still) if it did not have the headline.

[cadawa]

This Democratic Party needs a few more arrows in its back. They are no different then the neocons.
I have primary information that they indeed support the war.
They are shielding a criminal president and his henchmen by refusing to impeach or demand their subpoenas be honored.
No thinking person could possibly support this Party in its present form.
It's positively unAmerican to even consider it.

[Sally]

Kudos to Move On. I'm proud to have contributed to the ad. It was worth it just to see Cornyn redder in the face holding up the Times in the Senate before he once again blessed the death and destruction in Iraq.

I understand Move On intends to do more of the same. I also want Move On to bash the Democrats who bashed the Betray Us ad. Kerry hasn't learned a thing. He should have roughed up the Swift Boaters which might have kept the king off the White House throne.

Go for the jugular, Move On. You have a lot of support in the heretofore mostly silent majority.

[meandmagoo]

What MoveOn has accomplished is to bring the Right together.What Ms.Hamsher and the asshats at MoveOn don't apparently understand is that contards have been instructed repeatedly,by Billo and Rush and Company,that MoveOn is the true voice of the left,no matter what Pelosi or Reid or Clinton say.

Everything MoveOn says or does is instantly equated with Democratic politicians.

So when MoveOn says Betray Us,all Democrats say it in the minds of the right.

[Boadicea]

You're right, that's exactly what has happened.

[wyne11]

If his name was David Maloney - AKA General Baloney - would we even be having this discussion? It's not MoveOn's fault that God made a freudian slip.

[laocoon]

And is the right being even more disrespectful of General Petraeus than the ad itself? i get the impression they feel this grown up 4 star general has the fragility of a teenage girl. think he has never heard that play on his name before or that he is going to need to go to hospital about this. this is whining of the highest order.

[rwe]

None of you are grasping the issue. Obviously the obscene hatred for President Bush since his election victories(I know stolen and rigged but we still could not have done it without yours, Als and Kerry's help)will not diminish. But what was truly despicable about this ad is 1) the presumption that the general would lie before the report was even presented and 2) Biden.Clinton,Pelosi,Reid Obama et al would pontificate and call this 4 star general a liar to his face and in the media . You have 165,000 soldiers in Iraq , Hundreds of thousands more around the globe and milliions of veterans and family members and Moveon just called their leader a 4 star general a LIAR.This man is the face of the military. Remember when Dick Durbin equated the Gitmo soldiers to Nazis ?

[mommadona]

The minute Shinseki was shown the door
I knew the "golf buddies" knew "what for"
Tommy Franks in his Rollin' Thunder garb
Disrespecting the flag by wearing it..ARRRRGH!

They gave up their "respect"
They gave up their "honor"
By allowing Bubble Boy
to hold on to his "Boner".

[fitz]

It was a truly despicable display by the democrats, especially when you compare it to the praise and glowing reviews they heaped on Petraeus when he was nominated just 8 months ago.

But the democrats are so invested in failure and defeat any news of progress or optimism is unacceptable. Reid has already declared the war is lost and surrendered from the senate floor. And as he has also declared this "Bush's War" neither he nor the democrats can share in any success.

Thus, for them there has to be failure and anyone who threatens that result has to be destroyed, including Petraeus and our soldiers in Iraq.

Did I say despicable already?

[xenofile]

If you get nothing else from this thread, it should be that MoveOn IS NOT the same as the Democrats.

So, are you saying the Democrats are despicable for condemning MoveOn? I don't think so, although that's what most commenters seem to be saying. I suspect that you think MoveOn is despicable, but none of the Democrats' rejection of their tactic makes any impression on you. I think that speaks volumes about the (lack of) value of playing nice.

[cindyw]

Questioning the integrity of General Petraeus does not reflect badly on those who serve under him. Petraeus is no more the face of the military than any one of those 165,000 soldiers in Iraq.

[mommadona]

Precisely.

I hear CENTCOM's Admiral Fallon is completely against Petraeus's little "surge and purge".

Fallon needs to be testifying.

[rwe]

first they did not question his integrity (and why sould they anyway?) they called him a liar before the report was even issued. 2)as the general he is the leader and the face of the troops representing the 100s of thousands serving

[mommadona]

"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.

THANK YOU.
I WAS A KERRY HAWK ONCE - GOT KICKED FROM THE FORUM FOR DARING TO MENTION THEY BETTER GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER WHEN THE SWIFTBOATERS STARTED KICKIN' BUTT...

WELL, WE KNOW HOW THAT 'SHRUMMED' MOMENT WENT ONLINE, DON'T WE?

[TruthSlayer]

Are you kidding, the Democrats control almost all major TV networks and Newspapers in the country and they have for the last 30 years. The only outlet Conservatives have is the Radio and Fox news. Lets keep it real. 85 percent of Newpaper journalist and TV news reporters identify thenmselves as Democrats and thus the reporting has always reflected a Democrat BIASED view. The reporters just don't like it when you call them BIASED and they really hate it when you catch them contributing to the Democrat party...