WHEN THE TAIL END WAGS THE DOG:

MOVEON, MOVIN' ON UP (BYRON YORK, 4/27/05, NY Post)

Last month, [a] MoveOn rally in support of filibusters, held at a hotel near the Capitol, featured an appearance by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, along with Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles Schumer, Robert Byrd, Edward Kennedy and others. The 87-year-old Byrd worked the crowd into an almost evangelical fervor, waving his copy of the Constitution and yelling, "Praise God!" and "Hallelujah!" as he denounced Republicans.

The turnout of top Democrats, the enthusiasm and the lineup of rallies today are all indicators of MoveOn's growing profile in national politics. That growth is likely to continue. For one thing MoveOn boasts nearly 3 million highly-motivated members who are generous with their contributions to its causes. For another, it has mastered the art of attention-getting political theater. Together, that equals political power.

It's no wonder that MoveOn's leaders have come to see themselves as Democratic leaders. "Now it's our party," Eli Pariser, head of MoveOn's political operations, wrote last December. "We bought it, we own it and we're going to take it back."

The prospect horrifies some centrist Democrats who have urged the party to steer clear of MoveOn. "You've got to reject [filmmaker] Michael Moore and the MoveOn crowd," Al From, head of the Democratic Leadership Council, said recently, calling MoveOn's members "elites, people who sit in their basements all the time and play on their computers."

The problem for Democrats is that both Pariser and From might be right. MoveOn has become quite powerful while at the same time representing a fairly narrow slice of the Democratic electorate.

The Left deserves and is going to have a political party. If it's not the Democrats it will be a third party. Either outcome means a permanent Republican majority.

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 27, 2005 6:59 AM