December 20, 2004
STAYPUT.CON:
Feel-Good Politics: The therapeutic activism of MoveOn.org. (Chris Suellentrop, Dec. 8, 2004, Slate)
"I feel good about being here," a member of the liberal online group MoveOn.org told the San Francisco Chronicle last month, during one of the more than 1,600 house parties organized by MoveOn to determine what its members wanted to focus on after John Kerry's defeat in the presidential election. The 27-year-old woman might as well have been speaking for all of the 18,000 MoveOn members who participated across the country. The ideas that emerged, at least from the San Francisco meeting, weren't very practical—"including a boycott of all ATM machines from companies that produced the electronic voting machines, a national strike and changing the economic paradigm of the country from consumption and production by just 'not buying anything,' " the Chronicle reported—but that's because MoveOn, despite all appearances, has never been about practical politics. Rather, it's an exercise in group therapy.There are worse things to do in life than make people feel good, but most political organizations—especially ones that spend more than $30 million during an election and get called a left-wing Christian Coalition—have more concrete goals. MoveOn, however, isn't an organization so much as an outlet. It's a network of aggrieved liberals, connected by the central nervous system of the Internet, and it enables its members to convince themselves they're "doing something" when they're really not.
Talking to each other at least keeps them from bothering normal people. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 20, 2004 4:33 PM
All the talking...it makes them sound rather Episcopalian.
Posted by: Mikey at December 20, 2004 4:47 PMThese sorts of organizations are like sterile petri dishes. You have to worry about what kinds of virulent bugs might get nourished on them when the lid comes off.
Posted by: M. Murcek at December 20, 2004 4:51 PMReading articles like this has got to be a relief to moderate Democrats. The MoveOn wing of the party obviously doesn't have a clue what it wants, let alone how to get it. It makes any worries about a legitimate 3rd party challenge from the left appear rather misplaced.
Posted by: Timothy at December 20, 2004 4:58 PMAs long as they don't all run into the jungle, start eating bugs and drafting the 12 year olds telling them to kill everyone with glasses, because they are counter-revolutionaries, we should be OK.
It's a cult like the Moonies.
Posted by: Bart at December 20, 2004 5:00 PMThe Reverend Moon does good works.
Posted by: oj at December 20, 2004 5:35 PMMaybe.
Jim Jones and the People's Temple is a better example.
Posted by: Bart at December 20, 2004 5:49 PMIt's a cult like the French.
Posted by: JimGooding at December 20, 2004 5:50 PMTypical liberal, all talk, no action?
Posted by: Sandy P at December 20, 2004 7:18 PMAs long as they don't all run into the jungle, start eating bugs and drafting the 12 year olds telling them to kill everyone with glasses, because they are counter-revolutionaries, we should be OK.
George Soros is the type that'll end up there eventually.
Posted by: Mike Morley at December 20, 2004 9:56 PMHey, anyone here ever been to a Moonie wedding?
Seen one, seen 'em all.
Posted by: Gabby at December 20, 2004 10:46 PMI doubt that Soros etal. will be so lavish with their campaign money in the future, as the return was so meager this time. Without money, does MoveOn really have any political significance? I mean, other than helping the people they hate? A MoveOn endorsement for a Democrat is like a KKK endorsement of a Republican.
Posted by: J Baustian at December 21, 2004 3:27 AMJ Baustian,
What makes you think that Soros wasn't 'long' on Dow Futures and the price of oil? If he were, he made plenty.
Posted by: Bart at December 21, 2004 6:19 AMSorry, I meant 'short' on Dow Futures and 'long' on oil. The Dow's up about 10% and oil down about 15% since the election.
Posted by: Bart at December 21, 2004 6:20 AMBart - You profit by shorting something the price of which falls, or by taking a long position in something whose price rises.
Posted by: Tom at December 21, 2004 9:08 AMYou're right. Not enough coffee in the morning. Thanx!
Posted by: Bart at December 21, 2004 10:07 AMIf Soros repeats his effort, it might become clear that his purpose was to manipulate the market, not elect a president. (If that was his purpose)
Soros was only the most visible of the billionaires who threw money at the 527's.
Posted by: J Baustian at December 21, 2004 10:29 AMWas it really that many billionaires? I know that the Red Sox ownership ponied up a lot of money for Kerry but I thought that had more to do with strongarm tactics in Massachusetts concerning Fenway Park modifications than anything else. If they didn't fork over the dough, they wouldn't be allowed to close local streets to private vendors on days of games.
Outside of the entertainment industry and a few gays, who else was involved?
Posted by: Bart at December 21, 2004 10:47 AMOn the Democratic side, some guy named Peter Lewis (I think) was the primary donor, giving even more than Soros. He is from Cleveland. I think he is connected with the trial lawyers, but I don't remember.
Posted by: jim hamlen at December 21, 2004 1:02 PMHe is the CEO of Progressive Insurance and an advocate for legalized marijuana, a trendnoid heir to an insurance fortune.
Posted by: Bart at December 21, 2004 1:48 PM