MoveOn.org is Blowing The Winds of Freedom

Iowahawk Special Commentary
by Aaron Headley
MoveOn.org Special Deputy Assistant for Grassroots Direct E-Marketing

Do you feel what's in the air?

Whether you're a protester in the streets of Beirut, or a grassroots American citizen activist speaking your mind on the SmirkyVonChimpHitler.com UBB forum, you can't escape it -- that unmistakeable stirring of something new, something big, something poised to change our very world. What is it? That, my friend, is the Wind of Freedom -- and where ever you find it, MoveOn.org will be blowing.

Since its inception, MoveOn.org has championed the cause of People Power, harnessing the mighty force of millions of ordinary Americans from Park Slope to Williamsburg, from Los Feliz to Santa Monica, from Wicker Park to West Wicker Park and everywhere in between. Through our organization and fundraising efforts, we have inspired countless millions of everday Americans to log off of Craig's List, get up out of their Aeron chairs, and work together to change the world. And now this prairie fire of activist People Power, first kindled by MoveOn, is spreading across the globe.

Case in point: witness the street protests that took place in Lebanon this week. No doubt inspired by the election year example of MoveOn and other vital progressive organizations in America and Europe, thousands of young Lebanese people marched through the streets of their cities. The parallels to our 2004 anti-war actions were almost eerie: here was a spontaneous march of courageous young people saying NO to violence, and demanding things. Also, many of them were carrying signs. If you squint your eyes just right, and mentally PhotoShop in a jpeg of Madison Square Garden and a few "No Blood For Oil" banners, you can almost see the MoveOn protest at the GOP National Convention.

Beirut is not the only place where MoveOn is having an impact. Throughout the Middle East, from Egypt to Iran, there is a rumble of freedom that can be directly traced back to MoveOn's earliest Flash Animation Against Bush film contest. When Al-Jazeera and Iraqi State Television broadcast these films, I can only imagine how many normal Muslim citizens were heartened by our principled stance with the international community against the illegal US invasion of Iraq. Later, they drew encouragement from our online petition to end US military occupation, our fund drive raves to Re-Reject Bush, our courageous suit to overturn the stolen election in Ohio, and our steadfast opposition to the Administration's dangerous push for early Iraqi elections. Make no mistake: these efforts created a rich loamy fertilizer of inspiration from which the flower of Mideast freedom is just starting to emerge.

To be sure, the revival of People Power in the Middle East is not all due to MoveOn. We must give credit where credit is due. The people of the region have also drawn courage from other role models, like visionary filmmaker Michael Moore; respected intellectuals like Noam Chomsky and Ward Churchill; political trailblazer Dr. Howard Dean; and elected leaders like Ted Kennedy and Maurice Hinchey. These are just some of the fearless dreamers and tireless doers who show, by example, how ordinary folks can speak out up to corrupt fundamentalist dictators.

In closing, I would like to tell the young people of the Mideast that they shouldn't worry about thanking MoveOn and others in the US anti-war community; you have already paid us back, with interest. Your courageous movement for freedom and democracy has inspired us in turn. At MoveOn, we have embarked on a new $15 million ad campaign calling for the immediately withdrawal of US troops from the region, so that your countries can hold elections without the taint of American-style corruption and crony capitalism.

Good luck, and drop an email to us sometime.

Comments

[JMS]

Moveon.org is clearly trying to take credit for some of AARP's many accomplishments.

[Gab]

What's funny is that here in Lebanon, no one has ever heard of moveon (unless ur a blog junky).

[Sticky B]

There's just such a fine line between reality and parody here. I'm not sure which is which..............

[W]

But you can call me

George bin McSmirkyVonChimpO'Hitler

[Jabba the Tutt]

Grant, your dream is your dream fulfilled:
McSmirkyVonChimpO'Hitler. Enjoy. It's all about the O'.

[A.R.Yngve]

OK, I was unfair. Of course the Guardian is correct that whenever people talk nice and "feel other people's pain", then wars and oppression must go away just like that.

Everybody now: "Kim-Jong-Il, we feel your pain! Iranian ayatollahs, we feel your pain!" Once more, with feeling: "Janjaweed militias in Sudan, we FEEEEEL your PAAAAAAIN!"

There. Doesn't it feel great to solve the world's problems with so little effort?
;-)

-A.R.Yngve
http://yngve.bravehost.com

[Big man at Moveone.org]

We at Moveon.org would like to thank Iowahawk and correct some of the misconceptions about Moveon.org:

We don't use Photoshop. Heck, George Soros gives us enough money that we can make stuff up as we go along.

We didn't think the Iraqi election was a really big deal. Because lets face it unless George Soros thinks its a big deal we don't either. And also they didn't have any bumper stickers just ugly purple fingers. How tacky!!

We were rather surprised you didn't mention our other visionaries like Bill Clinton and Robert Byrd. We think we have a rather deep lineup. Did you dig the comparisions that Bill Clinton made about the freely elected Democratic nation of Iran. Now that's we like to see and say. By the way, Dr. Ward Churchill is one of our newest members. George is thinking about buying the entire University System of Colorado so that Dr. Churchill can do his own thing.

In closing we at Moveon.org are really looking forward to our newest challenge. We are thinking about buying North Korea so that we can have a safe haven where folks Dr. Chomsky, Saddam Hussein and Mr. Assad can rest in pieces.

As we like to say, you ain't seen nothing yet and you are not likely to.

[Y-2-DRAY]

While MoveOn is blowing the winds of freedom, Michael Moore is breaking wind...

[Timmy!]

Those who believe this piece was really written by someone at MoveOn: Please report for Bullshit Detector recalibration.

One more excellent piece from Iowahawk!

[Randall]

Just to clarify. The Guardian article credits Osama only in a very ironic sense. It claims that Osama's plan backfired, which is all well and good.

Be that as it may, the article is a double-jointed and insincere attempt to deny Bush credit for the current democracyward movement in the ME.

It even suggests, risibly, that whatever credit Bush should get is in "coming around" to Clinton's - and the international community's - alleged emphasis on democracy promotion.

I suppose stealing credit is the second most sincere form of flattery.

[A.R.Yngve]

If you follow the convoluted logic of The Guardian crediting Osama Bin Laden with democratic reform (he's the SYMPTOM of the Middle East's problems, not the cure)... then Israelis should be grateful to Hitler... the Kurds should love Saddam Hussein... and the Moon is made of cheese.

-A.R.Yngve
http://yngve.bravehost.com

[RLA Schaefer]

What one might say about Dan Rather also applies to MoveOn.com:
1) If you won't kick people when they're down, when will you kick them?
2) Let the door hit you on the way out.
RLA Schaefer Dubuque Iowa

Sorry above comments were meant for The moron at MoveOn

What a load of self dilusional cods wallop.........yes the marches in Beirut this week were inspired by the Anti war demos....?I knew the left were liars, one thing to lie to others, it's another to believe the lie yourself.

I suggest a session with a good head shrink is in order for who wrote that article and any one who believes that piece of tripe you wrote...."winds of freedom"......only between your ears.

[Grant]

"SmirkyVonChimpHitler"

Smirky, Chimp, and Hitler are all standby's for mocking crazy leftist name-calling, but "Von", that is new.

I would just like to thank you for the addition of "Von." "Mc" was getting old anyways, and "Von" really brings some more German flavor to it. Or maybe a "Mc" and a "Von" in the same name? Is that too crazy to dream for?

[Ross Hunter]

Re Ray...

Nah, the "Craig's List" ref. was the nudge.

R
Pulaski, Iowa

[Ariana]

Hi Hawk,

You're going to love this one. Only the Guardian would make an attempt to credit Osama bin Laden with starting a democratic revolution in the Middle East.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1429001,00.html

"Has Osama bin Laden started a democratic revolution in the Middle East? One of very few universally valid laws of history is the law of unintended consequences. The effects of what men and women do are rarely those they intend, and sometimes they are the exact opposite. If that happens here, it would be hard to imagine a nicer illustration of the law."

[OMG!]

Wow,Moveon is full of it! !!

[John from WuzzaDem]

You had me at "MoveOn.org will be blowing"

Excellent.

[Ray]

With all of this succes it should be easy to raise money for the new site MoorePoundsOn.org. It is going to need a BIG server.

[Juliette]

Guess getting naked in public and temporarily blinding the rest of us paid off.

[Damian]

I was looking for the MoveOn site and landed here. Your post is truly inspiring. The Wind of Freedom, that's poetry. Yes, yes, I can feel it blowing. It's flapping the pants legs of my Gap corduroys. Where can I send my $15,000 donation for whatever you are doing in the SmirkyVonChimpHitler vein. Or should I contribute directly to SmirkyVonChimpHitler.com? On your advice I have upgraded from Photoshop 7.1 to Photoshop Mental and the similarities of which you write are vividly tripping down my optic nerve.

This is MoveOn.org, right?

DGB

[A MooreOn]

Don't those Lebanese protestors know they are being used by KKKarl Rove to help the secret Halliburton natural gas pipeline that starts in Tarjikistan, goes through Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kurdistan, Syriastan and Bushistan?

[mike]

I can imagine some of these MoveOn types taking this seriously-

[cirby]

I, for one, am freshly inspired to go out and make some more giant papier-mache heads.

[Vox Poplar]

You are just tooooo eeeeeevvvvviiiiiilllll!

The scary part is that MoveOn will probably try to claim Bush's success in the Middle East as their own. Because if there's one thing MoveOn is known for is a complete willingness to ignore reality.

Keep up the good work.