What's happened to Moveon.org? According to Norman Solomon, the organisation has lost its bite. He claims that the powers behind the group are hesitant to support the growing grassroots campaign to pressure the Bush administration in bringing troops home from Iraq.
"Part of the problem is MoveOn's routine fuzziness about the war - and the way that the group is inclined to water down the messages of antiwar activism, much of which is not connected to the organization.
"Consider how the MoveOn website summarized the [Cindy Sheehan] vigils: "Last night, tens of thousands of supporters gathered at 1,625 vigils to acknowledge the sacrifices made by Cindy Sheehan, her son Casey and the more than 1,800 brave American men and women who have given their lives in Iraq - and their moms and families." Such a gloss excludes a key reason why many people participated in the vigils: They wanted to express clear opposition to any further U.S. involvement in the war.
"Despite its high-profile role in the vigils this week, MoveOn is still not giving a high priority to addressing the Iraq war in its ongoing work. When I went to the MoveOn website today and looked at its roster of "Current Campaigns," just a single item on the list was focused on Iraq -- and that one, from June, involved "demanding that Bush address the evidence in the 'Downing Street Memo.'"
Australia's equivalent, Get Up!, may have made an initial media splash, but its effectiveness remains to be tested. How willing is it to openly challenge ALP policy, especially on foreign policy?
"Part of the problem is MoveOn's routine fuzziness about the war - and the way that the group is inclined to water down the messages of antiwar activism, much of which is not connected to the organization.
"Consider how the MoveOn website summarized the [Cindy Sheehan] vigils: "Last night, tens of thousands of supporters gathered at 1,625 vigils to acknowledge the sacrifices made by Cindy Sheehan, her son Casey and the more than 1,800 brave American men and women who have given their lives in Iraq - and their moms and families." Such a gloss excludes a key reason why many people participated in the vigils: They wanted to express clear opposition to any further U.S. involvement in the war.
"Despite its high-profile role in the vigils this week, MoveOn is still not giving a high priority to addressing the Iraq war in its ongoing work. When I went to the MoveOn website today and looked at its roster of "Current Campaigns," just a single item on the list was focused on Iraq -- and that one, from June, involved "demanding that Bush address the evidence in the 'Downing Street Memo.'"
Australia's equivalent, Get Up!, may have made an initial media splash, but its effectiveness remains to be tested. How willing is it to openly challenge ALP policy, especially on foreign policy?
5 Comments:
I notice many Government members have accused GetUp of being a Labor party front. Seems strange when Hewson is so active in the organisation!
Where's your thinking on this Antony?
I notice many Government members have accused GetUp of being a Labor party front. Seems strange when Hewson is so active in the organisation!
Where's your thinking on this Antony?
Get Up! does indeed have Hewson on board, BUT, two of the major players are ALP, evan thornley and bill shorten.
i reckon get up COULD be useful, but the verdict is very much out.
the libs have already and will continue calling the group an ALP front. as i wrote, the bravery of the group will depend on seriously challenging conservative ALP dogma. the point remains, getting rid of howard is important, but what replaces it? a carbon copy ALP?
Lost its bite? Did it have it in the first place?
i'm the first to admit that i was initially keen about moveon.org but in the last 6-12 months, my feelings have changed. i've learnt more about them etc. but, i still think they've proven a point, and winning elections isn't the only important event...
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