14 Oct 2011 MoveOn.org

Posted at 21:41h in GroupSnoop by

Introduction

MoveOn is an American liberal advocacy group that raises millions of dollars to support liberal candidates and is an arm of billionaire George Soros’ political army. MoveOn raises money for liberal candidates through rock concerts and entertainment events. It generates political ads and energizes the liberal base with its ties to Hollywood elites and liberal musicians. Since its founding, MoveOn has supported and endorsed only Democratic candidates in the general presidential elections. MoveOn actively promotes anti-military policies, cap-and-trade policies, economic redistribution, and government-run health care.

History and Mission

MoveOn began in 1998 as an email group created by Joan Blades and Wes Boyd.[1] Around the time of then-President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, MoveOn sent out an Internet petition asking Congress to “censure President Clinton and move on” from the perjury issue rather than impeach him.[2]

MoveOn has opposed the Iraq war and promoted cap-and-trade and campaign finance reform.[3] MoveOn also supports the death tax.[4] In describing itself, the group states,[5]

[t]he MoveOn family of organizations brings real Americans back into the political process. With 5 million members across America — from carpenters to stay-at-home moms to business leaders – we work together to realize the progressive promise of our country. MoveOn is a service — a way for busy but concerned citizens to find their political voice in a system dominated by big money and big media.

 

Organizational Structure

MoveOn has a bifurcated organizational structure. MoveOn has two legally distinct groups: MoveOn.org Civic Action and MoveOn.org Political Action.[6]

MoveOn.org Civic Action

MoveOn.org is a 501(C)(4) nonprofit organization.[7] MoveOn.org Civic Action “is engaged in a campaign to reform the media and other work aimed at bringing real people back into the democratic process by making sure legislators hear their voices.”[8]

MoveOn.org Political Action

MoveOn.org Political Action is a federal PAC (political action committee). The group explains, “MoveOn.org Political Action, one of the largest Political Action Committees in the country, brings real Americans into politics to fight for a more progressive America and elect progressive candidates.”[9]

Attacks on Military / Conservative Leaders

For years, MoveOn attacked government officials such as President George W. Bush and U.S. General David H. Petraeus. On September 10, 2007, it published a full-page advertisement in the New York Times accusing General Petraeus of “cooking the books for the White House.”[10] The ad also labeled him “General Betray Us.”[11] The Washington Postreported, “MoveOn.org did not provide adequate factual support for its larger assertion that Petraeus is ‘constantly at war with the facts’ and is ‘cooking books for the White House.’”[12]

In June 2010, U.S. Army General Stanley A. McChrystal resigned as commander of all U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Soon after, President Barack Obama appointed General Petraeus to replace McChrystal. MoveOn, which had been running the anti-General Petraeus advertisement on its website for years, quietly removed the anti-Petraeus advertisement, causing critics to charge that MoveOn’s prior criticism of Petraeus had been based solely on the fact that he was associated with President Bush.[13]

MoveOn.org once had a video on its website entitled “30 Seconds of Bush” wherein President Bush was compared to Adolf Hitler.[14]

MoveOn does not always offer substantive solutions to the immediate problems about which it frequently pontificates. For example, in response to the tragic 2010 British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil spill, MoveOn supported street rallies to protest BP’s failure to quickly fix the problem.[15] Although MoveOn.org professes to have an interest in caring for the environment, as of late 2010, it had made no financial or professional contribution to finding an immediate solution or cleaning the spill.

Funding and Spending

MoveOn spends millions to support liberal politicians while simultaneously attacking conservatives. MoveOn spent $21.6 million to support Democrats in the 2004 election.[16] Hollywood elites such as Oliver Stone and Rob Reiner have made ads for MoveOn.[17]

MoveOn endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. MoveOn.org planned to spend $30 million in the 2008 election cycle.[18]

MoveOn uses its war chest to push the Democratic Party to the left. This game plan was expressed clearly in an e-mail that MoveOn.org Political Action Director Eli Pariser sent to the group’s financial supporters on December 9, 2004. Regarding MoveOn’s role in the Democratic Party, Pariser wrote:[19]

For years, the party has been led by elite Washington insiders who are closer to corporate lobbyists than they are to the Democratic base. But we can’t afford four more years of leadership by a consulting class of professional election losers. In the last year, grass-roots contributors like us gave more than $300 million to the Kerry campaign and the DNC, and proved that the party doesn’t need corporate cash to be competitive. Now it’s our party: we bought it, we own it, and we’re going to take it back.

Liberal billionaire George Soros supports MoveOn. In 2004, Soros and his management fund donated more than $2.6 million to MoveOn.[20] Additionally, in 2004, Herb and Marion Sandler donated more than $2.5 million, and Peter B. Lewis donated $2.5 million.[21]

Leadership

(as of MoveOn.org Civic Action’s 2008 990 tax forms)

Wesley Boyd – Director
Joan Blades – Director
Eli Pariser – Director / President
Harald Leventhal – Chief Financial Officer
Carrie Olson – Treasurer / Chief Operating Officer

Contact Information

MoveOn.org Civic Action
P.O. Box 9063
Berkeley, CA 94709
To contact MoveOn, use the following link: http://pol.moveon.org/feedback/fb/form.html?tp=suggest
Website: www.moveon.org

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  1. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.htmlas of August 9, 2011.
  2. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.html as of August 9, 2011.
  3. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.htmlas of August 9, 2011.
  4. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.htmlas of August 9, 2011.
  5. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.html as of August 9, 2011.
  6. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.html as of August 9, 2011.
  7. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.htmlas of August 9, 2011.
  8. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.html as of August 9, 2011.
  9. ^ “About the MoveOn Family of Organizations,” MoveOn.org, available at http://www.moveon.org/about.html as of August 9, 2011.
  10. ^ “MoveOn.org Ad,” New York Times, September 10, 2007. A pdf copy of the advertisement is available at http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/moveon_Petraeus_NYTad.pdfas of August 9, 2011.
  11. ^ “MoveOn.org Ad,” New York Times, September 10, 2007. A pdf copy of the advertisement is available at http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/moveon_Petraeus_NYTad.pdf as of August 9, 2011.
  12. ^ Michael Dobbs, “General Betray Us?,” Washington Post, September 20, 2007, available at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2007/09/general_betray_us.html as of August 9, 2011.
  13. ^ Jon Bershad, “MoveOn.org Removes ‘General Betray Us’ Ad In Response To Petreaus Appointment,” Mediaite, June 24, 2010, available at http://www.mediaite.com/online/moveon-org-removes-general-betray-us-ad-in-response-to-petraeus-appointment/ as of August 9, 2011.
  14. ^ Brendan Steinhauser, “MoveOn.org’s Ad Comparing Bush to Hitler,” FreedomWorks, August 16, 2009, available at http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/bstein80/moveonorgs-ad-comparing-bush-to-hitler as of August 9, 2011.
  15. ^ Jim Hagerty, “MoveOn chapter protests BP oil spill,” The Rock River Times, June 2010, available at http://rockrivertimes.com/2010/06/09/moveon-chapter-protests-bp-oil-spill/ as of August 9, 2011.
  16. ^ Tim Harper, “Putting the Moves on MoveOn.org,” September 23, 2007, The Toronto Star, available at http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/259511as of August 9, 2011.
  17. ^ Tim Harper, “Putting the Moves on MoveOn.org,” September 23, 2007, The Toronto Star, available at http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/259511 as of August 9, 2011.
  18. ^ Carrie Sheffield, “Progressives Plan Mobilization for ‘Change Election,’” March 19, 2008, The Washington Times, available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/mar/19/liberals-plotting-mobilization-for-change-election/ as of August 9, 2011.
  19. ^ “Eli Pariser,” Discover the Networks, available at http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2138 as of August 9, 2011.
  20. ^ “MoveOn.org Voter Fund,” Center for Public Integrity, available at http://projects.publicintegrity.org/527/profile.aspx?act=dir&id=682&cycle=2004&sub=2as of August 9, 2011.
  21. ^ “MoveOn.org Voter Fund,” Center for Public Integrity, available at http://projects.publicintegrity.org/527/profile.aspx?act=dir&id=682&cycle=2004&sub=2 as of August 9, 2011.


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