MoveOn.org

MoveOn.org
Formation 1998
Membership
7 million[1]
Website moveon.org

MoveOn.org is an American progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee.[2] Formed in 1998 in response to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton by the U.S. House of Representatives, MoveOn.org has raised millions of dollars for candidates it identifies as "progressives" in the United States.[2] It also runs a petition Website similar to Change.org.[2]

Structure

MoveOn comprises two legal entities, organized under different sections of U.S. tax and election laws. MoveOn.org Civic Action is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation,[2] and was formerly called MoveOn.org. It focuses on education and advocacy on national issues. MoveOn.org Political Action is a federal political action committee, and was formerly known as MoveOn PAC. It contributes to the campaigns of many candidates across the country. MoveOn describes the legal structure of the Civic Action that of "a California nonprofit public-benefit corporation" and MoveOn.org Political Action that of "a California nonprofit mutual benefit corporation," and refers to both corporations collectively as "MoveOn".[3]

Anna Galland is the executive director of MoveOn.org Civic Action and Ilya Sheyman is the executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action.[1] The president of MoveOn's board is former executive director, Justin Ruben. Co-founder Joan Blades is also on the board. Past board members include co-founder Wes Boyd, former executive director Eli Pariser, and former Chief Operating Officer Carrie Olson.

MoveOn.org's structure also incorporates a groups of councils across the country. These councils consist of at least 4 active members in a local area who are tasked with planning and executing events as well as fostering a sense of local identity.Additionally, this system of councils is used to help MoveOn.org transition from an online presence to an on foot presence in communities across the United States and helps MoveOn.org establish this culture of organizing that they are pushing for. MoveOn.org now has over 250 local councils and one in every state.[4]

History

MoveOn started in 1998 as an e-mail group, MoveOn.org, created by software entrepreneurs Joan Blades and Wes Boyd, the married cofounders of Berkeley Systems. They started by passing around a petition asking Congress to "censure President Clinton and move on", as opposed to impeaching him. The petition, passed around by word of mouth, gathered half a million signatures but did not dissuade Congress from impeaching the President.[5] The couple went on to start similar campaigns calling for arms inspections rather than an invasion of Iraq, and campaign finance reform.

Since 1998, MoveOn has raised millions of dollars for many Democratic candidates.[6] In November 2007, a drive spearheaded by MoveOn caused Facebook to change its controversial new "Beacon" program, which notified Facebook users about purchases by people on their friends list.[7]

Since the 2000 election cycle, the MoveOn PAC has endorsed and supported the campaigns of candidates, including the 2008 presidential candidacy of Democrat Barack Obama.[8]

In 2007, MoveOn was a co-founder of Avaaz, a similar organization with an international focus.

In 2016, MoveOn endorsed U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders for President of the United States after holding online elections in which 340,665 members reportedly cast their ballot. 78.6 percent of these supported the junior Senator from Vermont, while 14.6 percent and 0.9 percent supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, respectively.[9][10]

Communication methods

MoveOn.org has advertised in new and traditional media formats, with publicity strategies including billboards, bus signs, and bumper stickers.[11]

MoveOn has collaborated with groups in organizing street demonstrations, bake sales, house parties, and other opportunities.[12]

Changes in federal election laws have impacted groups like MoveOn. The McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform legislation, which went into effect in 2002, allows political parties to raise larger amounts of "hard money" contributions, but bans unlimited soft money contributions to the national political parties and prohibits federal officeholders from soliciting "soft money."[13] MoveOn, like many other political organizations which sought to influence the 2004 election, was able to circumvent this legislation using a 527 group, which became inactive in 2005 and closed in 2008.[14]

In preparation for the 2006 midterm elections, MoveOn created a new system for soliciting potential voters named Call for Change. As part of the Call for Change effort, MoveOn reported that it placed over seven million phone calls to registered voters.[15]

On May 16, 2011, MoveOn.org debuted SignOn.org, a non-profit hosting service for Internet petitions, and in 2013, SignOn.org became MoveOn Petitions. The MoveOn Petitions campaigning platform competes with other, similar hosts such as Change.org, Avaaz and PetitionOnline.

2016 election actions

Run Warren Run

In December 2014, MoveOn.org began their campaign to get Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to run to be the 45th President of the United States. MoveOn.org's plan to get Warren to run for office included getting their large base of supporters to sign a petition urging Warren to run, spending roughly a million dollars on television advertisements in Iowa and New Hampshire, the states that kicked off the presidential nomination process, and creating a website called "Run Warren Run".[16] When asked about the "Run Warren Run" campaign, Ilya Sheyman, MoveOn.org's executive director, made it clear that the mindset behind the campaign was to show Senator Warren that there was a path for her to the presidency and that there was a substantial amount of grass-roots energy in key states that would support her if she chose to do so.[16] By the end of the campaign, MoveOn.org got 365,000 signatures showing support for Warren and had planned, organized, and executed over 400 events.[16] In the end, Warren did not run for the 2016 presidency.[17]

Support for Bernie Sanders

After failing to get Senator Warren to run for the presidency, MoveOn.org chose to back Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) after 78% of its membership voted in favor of him rather than Hillary Clinton or Martin O'Malley.[18] Ilya Sheyman claimed that Bernie Sanders' consistent fortitude in regards to standing up to big money and corporate interests really resonated with their members.[19]

United Against Hate

In response to the rhetoric of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, a group of over 100 celebrities launched the "United Against Hate" campaign hosted by MoveOn.org. The large list of celebrities in support of the campaign attracted the media's attention. The celebrities, from a range of industries, primarily the film industry, include: Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, Julianne Moore, Macklemore, and Neil Patrick Harris.[20] The goal of the campaign was to stop Trump, whom they viewed as a "dangerous" and "divisive" leader.[21]

Model

Internationalization of the MoveOn Model

From the start, MoveOn.org's model was able to combine net activism with meaningful political activism.[22][23] As MoveOn.org developed its presence within politics into the one that it has today, the model and structure that they developed became desirable to other organizations who face similar challenges.[24] One person who aided in the internationalization of the MoveOn Model is MoveOn.org's former advocacy director, Ben Brandzel. In 2007 after leaving MoveOn to work on John Edwards presidential campaign a bit before it fell apart, Brandzel headed to Australia to help a young Internet driven group called GetUp!. According to their website, GetUp! is "an independent movement to build a progressive Australia and bring participation back into [their] democracy."[25] When Brandzel arrived in Australia to help GetUp!, he realized that GetUp! was facing similar opportunities and challenges to MoveOn.org.[26] Brandzel then helped GetUp! implement similar structure and campaigns as MoveOn.org and they were able to achieve results at a rate that he says were "three times the pace of MoveOn in the U.S." From this, he concluded that the success MoveOn.org achieved was not a fluke, rather it was a model that could be applied to different scenarios and could help other organizations achieve similar results in regards to net and political activism.[24] MoveOn.org's model helped shape and mold GetUp!'s organizational leadership in online campaigning, the communication within the organization, and their theory on how to create concrete political change.[17][27][28]

Financial contributors

MoveOn.org is primarily funded by small-dollar contributions from its millions of members. Major contributors to MoveOn.org during the 2004 election cycle included financier George Soros who gave US$1.46 million to MoveOn.org Voter Fund; Peter B. Lewis, chief executive of the Progressive Corp., who gave US$500,000 to MoveOn.org Voter Fund.[29]

Criticism

MoveOn was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League, among others, when a member-submitted advertisement which drew parallels between President George W. Bush and Adolf Hitler was submitted to their online ad contest "Bush in 30 Seconds". The ad was part of an online MoveOn-sponsored contest during the 2004 presidential election in which members were invited to create and submit political ads challenging President Bush and his administration.[30][31] The ad was quickly pulled off the website.[30]

Fox News criticized the organization after it successfully encouraged the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates not to attend two debates sponsored by the network. Fox News advisor David Rhodes and the network's commentators Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly have also made accusations that MoveOn.org "owns" the Democratic Party and George Soros owns MoveOn.org.[32][33]

Google and MoveOn have been accused of selective adherence to trademark law for removing ads from Google Adwords for Maine Senator Susan Collins, citing infringement of MoveOn trademarks.[34][35] Wired stated on October 15, 2007, that the "left-leaning political advocacy group, MoveOn.org, is backing down" and will allow Google to show the ads. Moveon.org communications director Jennifer Lindenauer said: "We don't want to support a policy that denies people freedom of expression."[36]

On June 17, 2008, MoveOn emailed its members stating that it had produced "the most effective TV ad we've ever created."[37] The ad depicts a mother telling Republican senator and presumptive nominee John McCain that she will not let him use her infant son, Alex, as a soldier in the war in Iraq. Subsequent to the ad's release, Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, "praised" MoveOn for "10 years of making even people who agree with you cringe."[38] The New York Times op/ed contributor Bill Kristol criticized the ad in an essay, including pointing out that the "United States has an all-volunteer Army. Alex won’t be drafted, and his mommy can’t enlist him. He can decide when he’s an adult whether he wants to serve."[39]

David Petraeus advertising controversy

In 2007, MoveOn was criticized by 31 Republican senators and one independent senator for running a print ad in The New York Times that questioned the personal integrity of General David Petraeus, with headlines such as "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" and "Cooking the Books for the White House".[40] On September 20, 2007, the Senate passed an amendment by Republican John Cornyn of Texas designed to "strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus". All forty-nine Republican Senators, as well as twenty-two Democratic Senators, voted in support.[41] The House passed a similar resolution by a 341–79 vote on September 26, 2007.[42]

On September 20, 2007, The Washington Post stated: "Democrats blamed the group Moveon.org for giving moderate Republicans a ready excuse for staying with Bush and for giving Bush and his supporters a way to divert attention away from the war."[6][43][44]

The New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt later stated in an op-ed that MoveOn was mistakenly charged US$77,000 less for the ad than it should have been under Times policies,[45] and MoveOn announced that it would pay The New York Times the difference in price.[46]

MoveOn.org ran more ads using a 'betrayal' theme, with TV spots targeting former President Bush and former Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.[47][48] Giuliani ran his own full-page ad[49] in The New York Times on September 14, 2007.[50][51][52] Giuliani asked for and received a similar reduced fee as Moveon.org, paying US$65,000.[53][54]

Anti-Trump Movement

Moveon.org has been part of the anti-Trump movement. It has taken credit for helping to promote the 2016 Donald Trump Chicago rally protest, and for paying for printing protest signs and a banner.[55][56]

Further reading

Books
Journal articles

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Terkel, Amanda; Grim, Ryan (December 5, 2012). "MoveOn Moving On: Progressive Powerhouse Launches Radical Strategic Overhaul". Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "What is MoveOn™?". MoveOn.org. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "MoveOn Volunteer Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Agreement". Moveon.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  4. ↑ HAYES, CHRISTOPHER (8/4/2008). "MOVE ON @ 10". Vol. 287 Issue 4, p11, 7p, 1 Color Photograph. Retrieved NOV 11, 2016– via EBSCOHost.
  5. ↑ McNally, Terrence (June 24, 2004). "MoveOn as an Instrument of the People". AlterNet. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  6. 1 2 Bacon Jr., Perry (September 21, 2007). "MoveOn Unmoved By Furor Over Ad Targeting Petraeus". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Liedtke, Michael (2007-11-30). "Facebook revamps new advertising system", Huffington Post, November 30, 2007.
  8. ↑ "MoveOn Endorsement Throws Progressive Weight Behind Barack Obama" (Press release). MoveOn.org. 2008-02-01. Archived from the original on February 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
  9. ↑ "Sanders campaign endorsed by MoveOn.org". The Big Story. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  10. ↑ Sheyman, Ilya. (2007-11-30). "The Top 5 Reasons MoveOn Members Voted to Endorse Bernie (with the Most Votes and Widest Margin in Our History)", Moveon.org, January 12, 2016.
  11. ↑ "MoveOn.org becomes anti-Bush powerhouse". CNN. 2004-01-13. Archived from the original on September 9, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  12. ↑ Hazen, Don (2003-02-11). "Moving On: A New Kind of Peace Activism". AlterNet. Archived from the original on 2006-10-18. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
  13. ↑ "Glossary of Terms: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA)". OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Sasha (2008-06-20). MoveOn.org shutters its 527.
  15. ↑ "MoveOn.org Political Action: Democracy in Action". Pol.moveon.org. Archived from the original on March 22, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  16. 1 2 3 Editor, Sam Stein Senior Politics; Post, The Huffington (2015-06-02). "Run Warren Run Folds As Elizabeth Warren Spurns White House Bid". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  17. 1 2 Lenchner, Charles (Fall2015). "Bernie versus Hillary". Vol. 24 Issue 3, p 62–67. 6p. 1 Illustration. Retrieved November 9, 2016 – via EBSCOHost.
  18. ↑ Haberman, Maggie (2016-01-12). "MoveOn Site Puts Its Backing Behind Bernie Sanders". The New York Times - First Draft. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  19. ↑ Swanson, Ian (January 12, 2016). "MoveOn endorses Bernie Sanders". TheHill. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  20. ↑ Mic. "Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington Join More Than 100 Celebrities in Campaign to Stop Trump". Mic. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  21. ↑ "United Against Hate: Michael Stipe, Mark Ruffalo, Over 100 Artists Form Coalition To Defeat Trump". The Inquisitr News. Retrieved 2016-11-18
  22. ↑ Carty, Victoria (Aug2011). "Multi-Issue, Internet-Mediated Interest Organizations and their Implications for US Politics: A Case of MoveOn.org.". Vol. 10 Issue 3, p265-282. Retrieved NOV 12, 2016 – via EBSCOHost.
  23. ↑ Karpf, David (2009). "The Moveon Effect: Disruptive Innovation within the Interest Group Ecology of American Politics". Rutgers University, School of Communication. APSA 2009 Toronto Meeting Paper. Retrieved NOV 10, 2016.
  24. 1 2 Karpf, David (NOV 4, 2013). "Netroots Goes Global A new wave of online organizations applicating MoveOn's efforts across the world.". NATION CO INC. Retrieved NOV 14, 2016 – via EBSCOHost.
  25. ↑ "GetUp! Action for Australia". GetUp! Action for Australia. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  26. ↑ "What makes the substantive representation of women possible in a Westminster parliament? The story of RU486 in Australia on JSTOR"(PDF). www.jstor.org. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  27. ↑ VROMEN, ARIADNE (Mar2015). "Campaign Entrepreneurs in Online Collective Action: GetUp! in Australia.". Vol. 14 Issue 2, p195-213. 19p. Retrieved NOV 12, 2016 – via EBSCOHost.
  28. ↑ "Power of the iMob on JSTOR" (PDF). www.jstor.org. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  29. ↑ "Democrats Forming Parallel Campaign". Washington Post. 2004-03-10. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  30. 1 2 "Hitler Ad Should Never Have Appeared On MoveOn.org". Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  31. ↑ "PR Newswire: Public Interest Services". Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  32. ↑ Hennessey, Kathleen (March 9, 2007). "Nevada Democrats cancel candidate debate co-hosted by Fox News". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  33. ↑ "Dems cancel debate over Fox chief's Obama joke". CNN. 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
  34. ↑ "Sen. Susan Collins' Web Ads Run Up Against Google, MoveOn.org". FOXNews.com. 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  35. ↑ Chavez, Pablo (2007-10-12). "Our advertising policies and political speech". Google Public Policy Blog. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  36. ↑ Stirland, Sarah Lai (2007-10-15). "Reverses: Allows Critical Ads on Google". wired.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
  37. ↑ "Baby's mom tells McCain in new ad: "You can't have him"". Bleedingheartland.com. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  38. ↑ Kakutani, Michiko (2008-08-17). "Television: Is Jon Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  39. ↑ Kristol, William (2008-06-23). "Op-Ed Columnist: Someone Else’s Alex". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  40. ↑ "GOP calls on top Senate Dem to condemn anti-Petraeus ad". CNN. September 10, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  41. ↑ "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session". United States Senate. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  42. ↑ Taylor, Andrew (September 26, 2007). "House Condemns MoveOn.org's Petraeus Ad, 341-79". Common Dreams. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  43. ↑ "Senate Condemns "General Betray Us" Ad". Associated Press. September 20, 2007.
  44. ↑ Marre, Klaus (September 26, 2007). "House overwhelmingly condemns MoveOn ad". The Hill. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  45. ↑ Hoyt, Mark (2007-09-23). "Betraying Its Own Best Interests". The New York Times.
  46. ↑ Vekshin, Alison (September 23, 2007). "MoveOn.org Says It Will Pay Times More for Controversial Ad". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  47. ↑ Don Gonyea (September 22, 2007). "Anger over 'Betray Us' Ad Simmers on Hill". NPR. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Putting the moves on MoveOn.org" in The Toronto Star
  49. ↑ his own full-page ad
  50. ↑ "Giuliani Plans Full-Page Ad Defending Petraeus - washingtonpost.com". washingtonpost.com. September 14, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  51. ↑ Seelye, Katharine Q. (September 14, 2007). "Angered by an Antiwar Ad, Giuliani Seeks Equal Space". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  52. ↑ "Rudy Blasts Hillary Again Over MoveOn Ad, Giuliani Continues To Call For Clinton To Denounce Petraeus Ad, Apologize". CBS News. September 17, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  53. ↑ Seelye, Katharine Q. (September 14, 2007). "Giuliani slams New York Times over anti-Petraeus ad - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  54. ↑ "General Petraeus ad nets Giuliani big bucks from donors". New York Daily News.com. September 15, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  55. ↑ Seitz-Wald, Alex (March 12, 2016). "How Bernie Sanders Supporters Shut Down Donald Trump's Rally in Chicago". MSNBC. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  56. ↑ Scott, Eugene; Johns, Joe (March 12, 2016). "Sanders: Don't blame my supporters for violence at Trump rally". CNN. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
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