Thank goodness for MoveOn.Org, because without them, companies that make indelible markers and poster-board might go out of business.
MoveOn Political Action organization protest in front of the White House, Thursday, July 14, 2005, to protest President Bush’s Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. (AP)
Does anyone know anyone who is in MoveOn? Could you ask them if there is anything, any left-wing issue or topic, for which they WON’T whip together a protest?
And just for the record, I hate all rallies and protests, whatever the reason.
*** Update ***
Here is a protest slogan they won’t be using any time soon:
Mr Furious
Me. I’ve given them money (though not for probably more than a year) and signed many a petition. I’ve voted on ad campaigns, etc. And I am still on the email-list.
But you’re right. The fact that I get gazillions of emails (not to my main email, thank God) from them on every stage of every issue has basically rendered them a sort of white noise even to me. Even “Mr. Furious” doesn’t have enough outrage for them.
ppgaz
Hmm. No rallies or protests.
American Revolution.
Hmmm.
Brad R.
I’m having MoveOn and Focus on the Family organize a “John Cole is a Meanie” rally outside your house next week. Oh, and Fred Phelps will be there- he seems to think you’re gay for some reason.
mac Buckets
I’d like to ask those protesters what principle of their “liberal values” allows them to ask for punishment of an accused person before the investigation has released any findings. But I think I’d know what answer I’d get, and it would include “Chimpy McHalliburton,” “No War For Oil,” and “Racist BushNazi Cabal.”
sidereal
Ugh. They used to be kind of cool, but now they’re so the FotF of the left.
Steve
Protests are fun. They help people feel involved in the political process. They also look really dorky. That’s America!
I don’t see what is wrong about calling for the firing of someone who has admitted to a firing offense. But the awesome thing about criticizing people who do that for violating their “liberal values” is that, when the situation is reversed, you can go right ahead and do the exact same thing because you never claimed to have any liberal values!
ppgaz
I don’t know which is more tedious: A rank lack of appreciation for political theater? A gratuitous bashing of good political theater? The knee-jerk grabbing of someone else’s theater and co-opting it for one’s own political theater? This list is not comprehensive, of course.
It’s interesting to me that in this, of all countries, which features rampant blathering about freedom, we have adopted an anti-freedom attitude toward the most original and the most American forms of expression.
What could possibly be more American than picketing the White House?
Oh, I know: Browbeating opposition and looking down one’s nose at protest. Shitting on good public servants for daring to challenge the King. Now THAT’S American.
Hmmm. It’s all so confusing. I guess Some Animals are More Equal Than Others, or something.
mac Buckets
I can scarcely think of anything less American than demanding punishment of someone before a criminal investigation has released Finding One.
KC
I see protests quite a bit when I’m walking to work in the morning, going to eat lunch, or walking home. Most protests are small affairs, but some have been really big lately (anti-Schwarzenegger protests). Frankly, I’ve learned to ignore them and I think most other people I know have too.
ppgaz
I think you may have confused “punishment” with a simple, political job action that is entirely arbitrary and can be done any time at the whim of the president.
I don’t see any signs calling for Rove’s execution.
Rick
You gotta love their sense of timing! Because it’s the only sense they have.
Cordially…
Jeff
At least they appear to civil.
You should be here in Philly when the “Free Mumia” idiots come to town once a year.
ppgaz
Do you have a life, Rick? You talk like a person who lives out of a shopping cart and growls at the world through lost teeth.
Your posts remind me of birdshit spots on my car. No matter where I park, sooner or later, splat.
Looks like you live on a diet of sour grapes.
Jeff G
That was ppqaz “protesting” your comments, Rick.
ppgaz
This is a q
This is a g
Thanks,
ppg
Don Surber
President Bush should announce that Karl Rove has resigned to become president of Halliburton — just to tick these people off
Maybe they should picket Bob Novak for telling Karl Rove about Plame
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050715/D8BBQEVO0.html
Jeff G
Sorry, ppg. Can’t tell on my browser with the name underlined. Could have gone either way. Not surprisingly, I went right.
Mike
“That was ppqaz “protesting” your comments, Rick.”
I’m sure that’ll have as much affect on Rick’s behavior as these idiots are gonna have on Bush’s. What are they gonna do? NOT vote Republican next time?
Al Maviva
They are complete losers and no-hopers. No angry revolutionary left wing cause has ever succeeded in a democracy, without the aid of giant papier mache puppets, something this protest clearly lacks.
Come to think of it, no angry revolutionary left with cause has ever succeeded *with* the giant papier mache puppets, either.
I guess it’s tough going when you’re smarter than everybody else.
Mike
“I guess it’s tough going when you’re smarter than everybody else. ”
Or at least better at making Paper mache puppets…
Rick
I’m only bird guano, and not a potatohead. Like the zealot I am, I’ll just redouble my efforts in the expectation of a different result.
Cordially…
Prudence Goodwife
I hate all rallies and protests, whatever the reason.
Good thing you didn’t write the 1st ammendment.
Mr. Kahn
And just for the record, I hate all rallies and protests, whatever the reason.
Are you really so sure about that?
What about Martin Luther King’s marches and Gandhi’s protests?
Stormy70
Movin’ on up to the White House,
we finally got a piece of the Pie!jdm
> What could possibly be more American than
> picketing the White House?
> Oh, I know: Browbeating opposition and looking
> down one’s nose at protest. Shitting on good
> public servants for daring to challenge the King.
> Now THAT’S American.
A shame the talkies replaced silent films. Your flair for the overly-dramatic is first-rate: you coulda been a star.
Browbeating the opposition (those poor things), shitting on the opposition (and that’s just wrong)… man, that’s rhetoric!
You go, girl.
Jess
I’m a moderate and a member of MoveOn. These are my reasons for supporting them:
They make it possible for the average person to participate in politics in a constructive manner, working within the system; this is what democracy is all about, folks–governement of, by, and for the people.
Their positions, although consistently left of center, are NOT radical; they support positions held by at least 40% of the voting public, if not a majority. They are NOT anti-American, but believe we can do a better job of living up to American ideals.
Most importantly, for me at least, most of their focus is on issues that make it possible for a democratic free society to stay that way (balance of power, fair courts, free press, etc.). In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in great danger of losing the freedoms that we claim to be so proud of.
I certainly don’t expect many of you to agree with MoveOn’s positions, but at least make an effort for the sake of intellectual integrity to recognize that they are not on the lunitic fringe. I don’t agree with many of the positions held by, say, John McCain, but I can recognize that he’s a sensible man whose ideas are worth considering.
Here are some of the supposedly radical issues pushed by MoveOn (check out their website for more info):
-A moderate candidate for the Supreme Court
-Protecting Social Security from privatization
-Defeating extremists such as Santorum, DeLay, and Katherine Harris
-Protecting NPR and PBS from budget cuts
-Better press coverage of the Downing Street Memos
-Election reform
-Fairness and accuracy in the media, and keeping the media safe from extreme partisanship
-Honest answers about and an exit strategy from Iraq
These are all mainstream issues that we should all be taking action on; I think MoveOn should be applauded for encouraging people to do more for their country than just blindly following orders or bitching around the water cooler.
Again, disagree with them all you like–but don’t misrepresent where they’re coming from.
Bob
I marched against the war. The Vietnam War, that is. If I remember right, I marched on Washington in the fall of 1969 and shouted the name “John Lewis,” a soldier killed in Vietnam, through the fence at the White House. Lewis was from Illinois. If I ever go back to Washington, DC, I can try to look up his name on The Wall. The church we slept in was teargassed. There was a lot of clubbing going down.
It does a body good to get out on a picket line. I’ve been involved with organized labor out here in the SF Bay Area and over the years I’ve done my share of picket lines. Something about demanding justice that gives you a sense of power. When people get tired of you protesting you’ve made the first step.
Myself, if I was back there I’d carry a sign saying, “Please keep your treasonous puppetmaster until the indictments come down.” It would have to be a big sign.
Mike
-A moderate candidate for the Supreme Court
Obviously most would agree with this, but this is just code. They would come out strongly against any Conservative (and brand them radical), but would they do they same against a leftist that used to work for the ACLU?
-Protecting Social Security from privatization
I can understand some folks position on this but
My 22 year old son is just starting out in the work place. Why should he be forced into giving up a percentage of his income that he EARNED rather than investing it as he sees fit?
-Defeating extremists such as Santorum, DeLay, and Katherine Harris
But not Barbara Boxer, Cynthia McKinney or any of the other moonbats?
-Protecting NPR and PBS from budget cuts
Why should the government be in the broadcasting business?
And if we as a society have decided they should be, then let’s ensure that they run balanced programming. Bill Moyers is NOT balanced. Actually, I think he’s sorta unbalanced.
-Better press coverage of the Downing Street Memos
But what if it were a Democratic President? Would they be as worried about it?
-Election reform
Code: Since we can’t get a majority to support our positions and elect us, we’ll just change the rules.
-Fairness and accuracy in the media, and keeping the media safe from extreme partisanship
So when will they start picketing the NY Times?
-Honest answers about and an exit strategy from Iraq
Good thing they weren’t around when we invaded France.
“So General Eisenhower, when EXACTLY will all American troops be coming home from Europe?”
They are a liberal partisan organization, no different than Focus on the Family. They want to impose their agenda on the American people JUST LIKE Focus on the Family. No difference. THAT’s where they’re coming from.
Mike
P.S. There are STILL troops in Europe…
ppgaz
Quite so.
rhetoric: the art of writing effectively; skill in the effective use of speech.
-//
Compare and contrast to the subspecies’ attack on the thread:
HARHARHAR Those protesters are (ayuck) a bunch of funny losers! One of ’em has a bugger in his nose!!
HARHAR!!
John B.
OK, here’s what happened: Rove (or someone else really high up) told Judy Miller, she told Novak, Novak confirmed with Rove, Rove says “I heard that too”, therefore confirming it. Novak writes the article, publicly outing Plame b/c Judy Miller had the sense not to write about such sensitive material. Novak tells all in front of the Grand Jury, avoiding jail. Judy won’t reveal her original source, goes to jail. Now if we only knew what Novak said! The mysteries.
SeesThroughIt
When’s the last time you ever heard conservatives argue for “balance” and not mean themselves?
Basically, the word “balance” when used in right-wing parlance ceases to hold any of its original meaning. This crusade to “balance” PBS is really pathetic.
sidereal
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not opposed to protesting or picketing in principle. I’m all for more active citizen involvement, and often the most appropriate form of involvement is getting everyone in the same place.
I just think this is a stupid and counterproductive thing to protest about.
Jess
Mike,
As I said, go ahead and disagree with those positions, but realize that according to the latest polls, you are actually in the minority on most of those issues. What that means is that MoveOn is not some extremist organization trying to foist their radical views on the rest of America; they ARE America, just as much as you and your fellow travelers are.
But that doesn’t mean you should STFU; it’s because of people like you and the members of MoveOn that important issues get discussed from all angles and we sort out the interesting new ideas from the totally wacko ones. Our country is founded on the (radical) notion of balance of power, of all voices being heard, and of minority rights as well as majority rule. If you’re suggesting that these principles be abandoned, then YOU are the radical, anti-American wacko trying to foist your attitudes on the American people. And as a pro-American moderate and big fan of our Founding Fathers’ political vision, I will do everything I can to fight that attitude.
Jess
“They are a liberal partisan organization, no different than Focus on the Family. They want to impose their agenda on the American people JUST LIKE Focus on the Family.”
There is actually a crucial difference between the world MoveOn is striving for and the one FoF is working towards: in MoveOn’s world, dissent is still welcome. This is why I support them and reject more radical left-wing organizations that do seem to want to silence dissent and destroy their opponents. And since the MoveOn agenda is largely geared towards an expansion of the democratic process and civil rights, I think the term “impose” isn’t quite accurate; how can you “impose” democratic empowerment on the American people? Please explain.
Mr Furious
Jess did a much better job explaining/defending MoveOn than I did, no I’ll try and get her back…
So, Mike, exactly which of those positions threaten you and which one’s are us lunies looking to “impose” on you. Most of those issues are simply maintaining the status quo, hardly “imposing” anything.
Focus on the Family on the other hand:
-Advocates Amending the Constitution to exclude and discriminate against an entire class of citizens.
-Dramatically shift the balance of the Supeme Court
-Ten Commandments anywhere and everywhere.
-Obviously wants to overturn Roe v Wade
-Wants to outlaw sodomy.
-Abstinance-only sex-ed.
-No stem-cell research.
-Intelligent Design taught in schools
Every one of those things requires a radical society shift, changing existing law or even the Constitution, and dramatically altering the way things are done in the country to meet their narrow viewpoint. Yeah, FOF and MoveOn, you’re right, they’re pretty much the same.
Mr Furious
“Lunies?” How about “loonies” instead?
Pam is a Non Stick Spray
I guess it’s entirely irresponsible for partisan opponents of the fortified Republican establishment to push for moderation when we know that if they were in power, they would hardly be moderates. Afterall, democracy works best when the public is strictly polarized and everybody realizes their potential as snarling partisan robots rather than reaching out to the middle to try to woo voters to the other side..
Pam is a Non Stick Spray
By the way, Bill Moyers is no longer on PBS. The right needs to stop using Bill Moyers as an example of PBS liberal bias. He has retired and his show is now hosted by David Brancaccio.
Remember, it’s much better to have thoughtful, considerate journalists with strong and unobscured political convictions than some weak-minded pokerfaced mutt who prostitutes his show to empty spin and rhetoric.
Al Maviva
ppgaz – “subspecies”?
I think it’s spelled “untermenschen.”
I won’t hold your malaprop against you, however; as I said, I’m aware that it must be very tough for you, being smarter than everybody else.
Sinequanon
It seems YOU doth protest too much…
Sinequanon
Everytime you post on a blog about politics whose principles you disagree with, you too are ‘protesting’…just in a different form
Randolph Fritz
John, if no-one protests, nothing changes.
p.lukasiak
has anyone else noticed the emergence of the latest right-wing meme….
“If he hasn’t been convicted of a crime, he shouldn’t be fired….”
Rick
AWOL,
No, that seems to be the norm in society.
Cordially…
Marc
Were all the conservatives here tsk-tsking the Republican protesters that mobbed the 2000 recount in Florida? No?