MoveOn Hits Back At Senate: "No Wonder Public Approval Of Congress Is Tanking"
MoveOn chief Eli Pariser hammers back at today's Senate vote condemning his group with this statement:
"No wonder public approval of Congress is tanking. They’re so out of touch with reality that they can find time to condemn an ad but they can't do what most Americans want -- vote to end this war."
Hard to argue with, really. What we're really hoping to see soon is some polling on the question of the importance the American public accords the Ad Heard Round The World.
Comments (17)
Kelly Burnett wrote on September 20, 2007 3:47 PM:Very well said, I am a Dem but will soon become an Independent. The Dem's have turned into spinless wimps, they lied to us, the will never get another dime from me. Leadership in nonexistent!
someparisian wrote on September 20, 2007 3:52 PM:Lined up next in the Big Media Circus cycle in Congress: an up-or-down vote on whether to shock MoveOn with a Taser.
gypsy howell wrote on September 20, 2007 3:55 PM:They seem to be going way out of their way to try to prove to me that Nader was right after all.
They don't need my money - they get their money from the same place the republicans do. Apparently, they don't even need my vote anymore.
demwinger wrote on September 20, 2007 3:55 PM:plenty of dems voted against this bill and approval ratings for congress are low cause people still think the republicans are in charge.
DaveW wrote on September 20, 2007 3:58 PM:The Repubs voted straight party line on the Boxer amendment. Half the Dems voted for the Republican resolution. There is no opposition to Bush, no matter how elections turn out. The two party system has got to go -- that's all that really matters anymore. This patient has been dead and stinking for years. Time to bury it.
Daniel wrote on September 20, 2007 4:00 PM:I really can't believe the Senate wasted their day on this. I couldn't have put it better than Dodd.
www.campaigndiaries.com gonzone wrote on September 20, 2007 4:00 PM:Exactly correct MoveOn!
"Lots of readers have written in to urge that Democrats actually force the Republicans to filibuster, not merely cave at the threat. The prospect of a presidential veto is, in part, what makes that a pointless exercise for the Democrats. So for all the frustration about not being able to achieve a 60 vote majority, remember that 67 votes is the real bar to overcome.
--David Kurtz"
So they choose to waste time on frivolous bullshit like criticizing MoveOn instead?
MarcNYC wrote on September 20, 2007 4:00 PM:If people really think that the Repugs are still in charge, what does that say about how effective the Dems are?
oleeb wrote on September 20, 2007 4:04 PM:The half of the Dems who voted for this bullshit are the problem. They are absolutely spineless cowards. Everything everyone has said here is true. The question is what needs to be done to change things. The only thing we can do is to recruit, run and elect more Democrats with balls. Any Democratic Senator voting for this bullshit is a coward plain and simple. There is at least some hope for those who had the balls to vote against this. I don't know what to make of Obama's high-tailing it outta there so he didn't have to cast a vote on this, but it certainly was not his finest hour. Anyone who wants to see change in our political system needs to press all of them on issues like this and others. It's just appalling that even on a little matter such as this how chicken so many Democrats are isn't it? This pretty well shows ya that there's no hope at all that this body of poltroons will do what it takes to cut off funding for the war.
mopper wrote on September 20, 2007 4:16 PM:This is a pretty sad display.
The Republicans are playing the left (voters as well as politicians) badly. Look at this.
Divide and conquer, indeed.
CT Voter wrote on September 20, 2007 4:20 PM:What we're really hoping to see soon is some polling on the question of the importance the American public accords the Ad Heard Round The World.
My predictions.
Proportion of Americans who have never seen ad: 93%
Proportion of Americans who have seen ad, but just don't care: 89%
Proportion of Americans who think Moveon is some sort of moving company and/or gas station: 73%
Proportion of Americans who think Petraeus is someone who's auditioning for "Dancing with the Stars!": 43%
Proportion of Americans who think Congress is lamer than the lameduck President: 67%
Proportion of Americans who are slowly and sadly realizing that their elected representatives truly do not give a crap about their constituents: 55%, with a bullet.
Nice work, Senators.
Keith wrote on September 20, 2007 4:47 PM:Seems like Obama and Moveon are on the same page....
phil james wrote on September 20, 2007 4:50 PM:In response to the Senate Democrats' vote today I have joined and made a contribution to MoveOn as I believe everyone posting here should who isn't already a member. Mr. Harry Reid, if you and your esteemed collegues think this is going away, you are seriously mistaken. Your gang has done precisely NOTHING to stand up to the thugs who carry the Bush banner in the Senate and you are the MAJORITY leader. When sir, when are you going to get down to business?
ydnew wrote on September 20, 2007 4:53 PM:I'd love to see some polling on it because I believe it could be Terry Schiavo all over again--a serious misreading of the American public's state of mind by our elected representatives. Without the attention they gave to MoveOn's ad, most people would never have heard of the ad, and never have cared. Now most people are going to be wondering why the Senate has so much time on its hands. They've demonstrated vividly this week that they only thing they can accomplish is to condemn free speech. Woo-hoo. Go them. Not.
And if I'm wrong, well, I gave MoveOn $100 today after not having contributed in at least three or four years. I bet it's the best fundraising month they've ever have!
M. Stratas wrote on September 20, 2007 5:17 PM:Does Bush have a dossier on all these Democratic senators? MoveOn is an independent organization and the Democrats can't even put up a fight to say "F**k to this rreprimand?
Sid wrote on September 20, 2007 5:48 PM:Dem Leaders Not Going Far Enough
By nearly two-to-one, more say Democratic leaders in Congress are not going far enough, rather than too far, in challenging Bush's policies in Iraq (42% vs. 22%). A quarter of Americans believe that Democratic leaders are handling this about right.
Opinions about the Democrats' approach on Iraq have been largely stable since March. However, somewhat fewer Republicans say Democratic leaders are going too far than did so in July (50% today vs. 63% then). The current balance of opinion among Republicans is closer to where it stood in June and March.
Meanwhile, a 61% majority of Democrats think Congress is not doing enough, up from 54% in July. And by a wide margin, independents also would like to see Congress do more to challenge Bush on Iraq. Currently, 48% of independents say Congress is not going far enough in challenging Bush's Iraq policies, up from 43% in July.
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=355
The Dems simply need to stop worrying about their jobs and actually DO their jobs!
As for the contributions to MoveOn...I'm right there with you. This is actually going to be a boon to them. And when the Dems see the $$$ that are raised in the next week or so they will rethink their position on the ad.
The vote today to end freedom of speech, while at the same time not having the fortitude (or sack) to force the Republickkers to filibuster, is beyond the pale.
Or is that pail? As in a vessel in which to carry water...for the White House.
Security code - "spine"...get one!
