Move On should indeed "move on". This organization lost their way a long time ago. Now it just another DNC homey without conscience or clout.

Eli, I'm ashamed to think I was once a believer that this organization could be the future of a progressive movement and true defender of political electoral justice. Instead it shed its skin and became just another slimey outlet for party politics without passion or ethics.

Yeah! These endorsements just keep coming. Im glad our liberal brothers and sisters are organizing and having their voices heard. Im pumped and ready to go. GO OBAMA!

He talks a good talk, but actions speak louder than words. Obama is not for a Universal, Single-Payer, Not-for-Profit health care system. This is enough for me not to vote for him.

The Obama campaign, as of March 2007, has accepted $159,800 from executives and employees of Exelon, the nation's largest nuclear power plant operator. I guess as a nation we have to decide for conservation and sustainability over business as usual.

And let's not forget who Wall Street's darling is; Obama tops the list.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/17/AR2007041701688.html

So who will really be for 'change' and going forward? Barack? Maybe more forward than normal, but is that what America needs right now. We need radical changes if we want to survive as a sane culture, because we currently live in a very insane society.

Please look into Cynthia McKinney running for the Green Presidential nominee. We need a peaceful and loving warrior such as Cynthia.

Go Obama!!!

I liked how Cynthia voted in Congress. But, unfortunately, she is a wacko.

It was a pathetic "poll". The only two choices were Clinton and Obama. There was no "none of the above" choice. I tried to cast a vote without marking either of these two corporate candidates, but their webform wouldn't accept a blank vote.

I would be careful with MoveOn. Eli Pariser has refused to condemn Israel for the atrocious war in Lebanon. I have not heard anything from him on Israeli treatment of Gaza.

i have no way to prove it, but i suspect that the moveon leadership's preference is for hillary; the obama endorsement would seem to be their attempt to halt, or at least slow, their slide into irrelevance.

all that sound and fury---and fundraising---in the lead-up to the midterm elections, and then...silence.

JulieP--Puh-leeze, the "Cynthia-is-nuts" chestnut is beyond worn out. I agree that you have to be a bit crazy to run for President and subject yourself to the media circus for months on end. Green candidates have the mixed blessing of almost zero mainstream coverage. However, she is the real deal.

People have concluded that McKinney is a "whacko" due to the skewed media coverage she has received because of one run-in with Capitol Cops who didn't recognize her. She was a perfectly competent legislator and still is an excellent speaker. People assume that just because she was calling for a criminal investigation into 9/11 that she bought into the conspiracy theories. Uh-uh. Check out some of her speeches on YouTube.

Go Green.

JulieP,
Re: Cynthia McKenny. Most of the patients in the insane assylum think that the Doctors are wacko, too.

I guess MoveOn members want another Republican administration.

Wait! 70% of 1 out of 10 CA Democratic voters isn't 10% of the primary voter.
It is 7%, if 7% is even representative of the action group in CA.

The true power of the situation is the real strength of the bandwagon and mob appeal
and the effective tool blog and internet activities. It's rather alluring, and humans are easily swayed
by the crowd's momentum. Born again, as it were. "And so, ask not what your individual thoughts are,
but ask how you can trumpeted the horn and call in the troops!"

Matthew Smith statement is an illuminating case study. His response is like that of a convert or a "ditto head"
Obama supporters rattle off the slogans and jargon seamlessly and with no controversy. They reinforce
the cult of personality, reinforce the bandwagon. The message is complete, the program is set:
"ability to draw people to him,
energize people ... who generally don't vote...
atmosphere of long-overdue possibility."

"I believe" they say, in... Change.

Then again, California has a long history of voting for the cult of personality.

It will probably be Clinton vs. McCain in November.
Obama *might* still win the nomination, it depends on this Tuesday. And Romney has an outside chance of beating McCain for the nomination.

That's it.
"This is enough for me not to vote for him."
- ChangeB42Late
If you get all righteous over a single issue, it will be like a vote for McCain (possibly Romney).

In the American class warfare, the plutocracy *always* attacks, or defends. They never walk away from the fight because the current crop of Republican politicians don't suit them perfectly (I'm not talking about the gullible rubes voting Republican, I'm talking about the plutocracy).

Vote Obama or Clinton. Either one will hold the line more or less against further Republican degradation of the country. From this defensive position, work on improving the media, the environment, health care, whatever concerns you most. But if a Republican wins in November, this nation is toast. If Clinton wins, at least the Republicans will get on board with trying to constrain the 'Unitary Executive' that they loved so much when it was Bush.

Sorry, MoveOn doesn't move me. I dropped them a long time ago after some poll that didn't reflect the way I voted. Compromise is a better name.

Funny how my daughter who worked for the democratic party some time ago calling people, she says the most important category that people selected was Change and that Obama picked up this idea from there.

This is what I tried to send to Move-on yesterday, but it bounced back. Then I sent them another message. But first I want to say to Common Dreams that your silence and lack of coverage on Edwards over almost the whole time of the Primary was deafening and telling.

This was one of my messages that didn't get through to Move-on (though others did.)

*********************************************************

Your survey of Presidential Choices. None of the above. Where is John Edwards name? Why did you wait until today to get this out? Why did you not do this earlier? Why did you choose a day when so many of us real progressives concerned about corporate influence are in mourning at the suspension of John Edwards' campaign? Do you remember who won your environmental poll? Where were you earlier when we needed you? What do you think about all the dirty tricks played in the campaign thus far? Where is Edwards name? Why don't you have a place for other?

****************************************************************************************

Karita Hummer
San Jose, CA

RE: - But first I want to say to Common Dreams that your silence and lack of coverage on Edwards over almost the whole time of the Primary was deafening and telling.

You are right, it speaks volumes.

I'm with ChangeB42Late and KaritaHummer.

I tried to "vote" by saying I would vote for neither
one of them and was able to eventually send a "general
comment" saying why. Both Billary and Obama are ruled
by their corporate masters. Moveon's voting form,
while allowing one to say they would not promise to
vote for whoever the Democratic nominee was, did not
allow one to say I would vote for neither of the
two "selectees". My vote was rejected because I
refused to pick either one.

I wonder how many other members wanted to say the
same thing. By disallowing those members' opinions,
Moveon was able to say 70% of the (allowed) voting
members favored Obama, while their invitation to vote
said they would only endorse a candidate if 2/3 of
their members favored them.

My comment to Moveon said I would either not vote,
vote for a third party candidate, or even consider
voting for Ron Paul if he became the GOP candidate.
(I know - Ron Paul has only a couple positives and
many negatives, but at least he says what he will
actually do vs. Obama's hot air. I'm tired of this
crap.)

O'Bama follows in the tradition of Raygun and Clintock. Mass egomaniacal extremism that puts American Idol into the cockpit of the Global Destroyer. In the social democracies, the rabble keeps the idol awake, worried sick, every night. You decide when you're going to have social democracy. You decide when to put the rope around American Idol's neck and pull him off his pedestal.

MoveOn appears to be a big bucks organization with more than one sacred cow in its backrooms.

ABC=Anyone But Clinton

Change is going to confront whomever becomes president forced by the physical laws of the planet, although I very much doubt this is the change Obama trumpets. The vast extension of carrying capacity the USA has relied upon is about to rapidly be removed and the rewards of Overshoot will become the new reality, the real outcome of the American Century.

I dispute that real change occurs from the bottom up. At least not in today's political climate.

Exactly which alterations to gov. policy have grassroots movements achieved during Bush's reign? All the marching, demonstrating, sit-ins over the past 7 years have achieved the precise sum of zero.

Real changes occur from top and bottom simultaneously. Grassroots movements provide the stimulus from which our leaders should provide a voice, advocacy and support in pressuring government.

I participated in the MoveOn poll and explained my rationale: I know Clinton is a corporate fascist, whereas I only suspect that Obama is. I suspect the sentiments were shared by most of the former Edwards and Kucinich supporters who gave their votes to Obama.

MoveOn took a separate vote as to whether its members would commit to supporting whoever the Democratic nominee is. They didn't publish the results of that vote; they just characterized the results as "overwhelming" willingness to support the nominee. If Hillary's the nominee, I'm going Green or Socialist. If Obama's the nominee, I may still go Green or Socialist, depending upon what I find out between now and then.

With Clinton there is zero chance a Clinton administration would not be up to its ears in lobbyists and sleaze (compare the latest revelations of Bill with Kazakhstan and his other profit-making "consulting" for business-interest donors). Progressives would have no real voice.

With Obama, progressives are clearly forming part of his base (e.g. Ted Kennedy), and progressives would have some kind of seat at the table of an Obama administration. Obama has the rhetorical ability and sincerity to tap a broad reservoir of goodwill across all sectors of grassroots America to implement some of the Democratic Party domestic agenda. I can see Obama getting votes even from some grassroots evangelical-Republicans in November against the wishes of their venal leaders. If Obama is nominated I think he would win by a landslide.

The fundamental argument for Obama over Clinton is (a) although Obama's and Clinton's core platforms are similar there are nevertheless some real differences in terms of record and positions in favor of Obama; (b) Obama is not known corrupted in mega-scale ways as are the Clintons; (c)more electable in the general election than Clinton; (d) inspires hope and reaches across all sectors of America.

Go with whatever your heart/mind/conscience tell you, not what someone else tells you.

I think that it's good that move-on choose to endorse a candidate. Let's get a dem in the white house, then fight like hell for reform of the electoral system so that we can actually vote for the candidate that we prefer rather than the one we least dislike. Sure we only have a small chance of accomplishing this goal, but we have no chance at all if the dems don't win.

Bob K - Excellent article you linked to above regarding the Obama myth. I urge all remaining Obama supporters to read it. Don't get fooled again.

At least with Clinton you know what you are getting, and as someone else pointed out above if she gets in the Repugs will do everything they can to roll back the doctrine of the Unitary executive.

And then there is the reality that if you are a Dimocrat, which I am not, if you really want your party to take the General Election, Clinton is your only remaining hope. Obama can not possibly win the general election.

The best choice is Obama..

(but I think MacCain will win..because the US is a right wing nation)

still I have hope and I will support Obama...

No one is perfect and Obama is the best we can get in the American system..any change will have to be incremental because there are powerful forces that are in control and they silence dissenters...like Kucinich.

I like Obama as a personality too. (I can not even watch Hillary, Bill or Bush on tv any more. I dislike them so much.)

Chunga's Revenge,

Thanks, but since my post has disappeared (?) I'll post it again.

"In Latin America, they've got a name for the kind of politics that Sen. Barack Obama represents: neoliberalism with a human face. It's an attempt to revive an unpopular free-market, pro-business agenda behind the leadership of someone whose personal history suggests an affinity with the exploited and oppressed."

THE OBAMA MYTH
http://www.counterpunch.org/sustar11042006.html

You are not going to see any radical change. If it comes, it will be in increments. You should look at Obama, as a good, solid first step in the right direction for change.
First he has to get in, and once he is there, his true agenda will surface. None of them are telling you all that they represent, and all that they hope to implement when, and if they get in. Unfortunatly thats politics. It stinks, but it is what it is.
For me, i see an honest straight shooter in Obama. I also see hope in him. He wasn't my first choice, but i do see some chance with him.
You have to put your trust in one of those that are left. Who do you consider to be better, in the choices that are remaining?

I too, tried to say I could not support either Obama or Clinton.
The Move On site would not let you make a comment without a vote. I checked one of the candidates, then tried to negate it by my added comments and opinions. That obviously did not work!
I can feel angry at MoveOn, which I do, but this event also underscores our delimena in the Real World of American Politics. For many of us, the landscape of possibilities has dwindled from what appeared to be a cornucopia of choice with many candidates to yet another impossible choice. And all of this "action" without a majority of Americans casting a single vote.

I'm not going to vote for anyone or talk to anyone unless they're absolutely perfect and agree with me 100%. Let's not live in the real world.

Good grief! Do you want another Republican?

Democracy is messy. We do not always get the best candidates. You all know people who will vote for American Idol and never vote for President. And face it, some Americans just don't get it. They still love Bush. And they will vote Republican because their preacher/boss/father tells them to.

But, our choices are this: Obama or Hillary. No, our system isn't perfect. No, it isn't what I wanted either. But for now I am voting for Obama in the primary. But if Hillary wins the nomination, I will vote for her in November.

Face it, it is our only chance nationally. If you don't like, work for change. And work in local politics. Get out there and kick some Republicans out of the State and Federal offices before they take over like they are doing in this red state.

Personally, I would LOVE to have either Obama or Hillary represent my state in Congress. (Of course, who is worse than Coburn and Inhofe?)

But remember, it can happen in your state, too. People suffer, and still don't get that the religion is used AGAINST them. And it gets worse every year. The Republican right wingers are nuts, and all hell bent on control by corporations. They vote like good soldiers against people. That is how they get reelected.

Vote for the Democrats. We have gave up to much already. It may be the only chance we have for a while.

>>>
You should look at Obama, as a good, solid first step in the right direction for change...
>>>

...Or you can take off the rose-colored glasses and see that genuine progressivism has, once again, been co-opted by neo-liberals who will end up giving even 'liberalism' a bad name.

>>
Good grief! Do you want another Republican?
>>

Does not a Republican by any other name smell as badly?

Senator Clintn stood up for MoveON last August with the "Betrayus" Ad. Of course it makes sense for the members to support Obama who stayed silent.

aybayb, What do you suggest, with what's left to choose from?

Why is it that "expanding the armed forces by 100,000" means change? WTF? I'll NEVER VOTE FOR A CONTINUANCE OF THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! Not to mention the lame attempt at health care that leaves 15 million uncovered. Obama is no savior...I won't even give my take on Shillary. Wasted time. We've been screwed again, and VERY LITTLE WILL CHANGE.

United we stand, and divided we fall, and this is exactly the demise of the progressive community. If you care at all about a true 'change' for our country, you would not even be considering Hillary or Obama.

Evil, despite it being the lesser of two, still equates to evil. If progressives don't support the Green Party, then where do you stand? Will you just be another marginalized minority in a corrupt and corporate subservient two party system that neither recognizes you nor believes in you?

Kucinich, Cynthia McKinney, Nader. These are the people we should be supporting at all costs, because it is people like them, like us, that need to lead our communities through a very perilous future.

We need to prepare for some EXTREMELY tough times ( post peak oil, lack of humane healthcare, degrading education standards, debt now increased to a maximum of 10 TRILLION dollars, unilateral wars, destruction of our Constitution, dying middle class, poor getting poorer, etc, etc. Our system will be collapsing soon, and if we do not have beacons of light, we may all become lost in the darkness.

>>>
...From their principled opposition to the Iraq war - a war I also opposed from the start - to their strong support for a number of progressive causes, MoveOn shows what Americans can achieve when we come together in a grassroots movement for change...
>>>

Let's not get carried away. Those who see Senator Obama as a courageous man of integrity ought to ask him why, if he was so adamantly opposed to this war 'from the start', he voted on numerous occasions for the billions in funding that allowed the war to continue.

No okiegal - Your choices are Clinton (republican light) or a real republican. Nominating Obama is the same as voting for the republicans. He has no chance in the general election.

Don't get me wrong I have no intention of voting for her, I will vote Green. That is the only way I will be able to sleep with myself after the election. But I have no illusions about the Green candidate being elected either. That is my whole point though, don't vote for Obama if you realy want a Democrat in the white house. Me I see no real difference at this point. But who knows HRC might supprise us all, at least she has a chance of winning in the General Election.

This vote was bogus. It didn't cookie your computer when you vote so you could vote more than once. You just had to check a box that said you pledge not to vote more than once. Plus, the email announcing the vote was sent out about 24 hours or less before they endorsed Obama today.

Not exactly what I would call democracy in action. I'm going to be really cautious about anything MoveOn does from now on.

I will always support Move On, and Barack Obama.
peace

I am also through with Move-On, and have actually had their meetings in my home, but no more! I have heard that their leadership now has an average age of 28! Being an elder successful professional woman who was able to make it on my own I never fully realized how much the patriarchy would be so threatened by a powerful, intelligent, competent woman having the audacity to run for president. The degree of vilification of Hillary Clinton attests to the deep fear and hatred for women that not only most men but some women have who have internalized the patriarchal stance on "woman's role." Carolyn Kennedy is clearly far too young and too privileged to have any understanding or caring of what most women in the world endure. A prominent woman saying "How could she take care of the White House if she can't take care of her own house?" is the epitome of female denigration and clearly indicates where that commentator thinks women should be.

I believe that Hillary Clinton will win the presidency, because there are hopefully still enough intelligent women in America who have bothered to read the history of how the patriarchy got started (brute force, rape and denigration of women for over 400+ years as an excuse for the Church to steal their lands and belongings, including the hideous torture and burning alive of millions of us for "having sex with the devil."). I don't like everything she does, but it seems obvious to me that Hillary is doing what she thinks she has to do to get elected (the same things as the men do) and if she is it will prove my point, if not, sadly both of us are wrong. Women are the majority, and hopefully enough of us who have not swallowed the patriarchal dictum that women are inferior to men, not supposedly being born in the image of a wantonly cruel, revengeful, murderous male deity will want to give a woman a chance to do what the males have miserably failed in doing. There will never be peace on earth as long as gender hierarchy prevails (obviously the basis of patriarchy), and to me that is the number one priority the world needs to address. I'm excited to think of our leadership being a couple. Hillary's election will help the cause of female equality in the world today more than any leader's ever has. And I don't see any other woman waiting in line for the chance to be treated as she is, for those of you who say, "Yes, I want a woman but not this woman." I hope enough other women can see that Hillary is our best and maybe only chance at making things better for women everywhere anytime in the foreseeable future.

I voted for Obama in the MoveOn poll, and also wrote a comment that asked (to paraphrase): "Why did your so-called progressive organization wait on polling until Edwards, the most progressive candidate minus Kucinich, was off the ballot? And where's Mike Gravel?" Sure, give us only two choices, because progressives are all too stupid to digest information that delves deeper than CNN/FOX. That's the message that I got from this poll, anyway.

Ya know after that flap about the Betray Us add, I almost sent Move on some of my hard earned cash. I am glad now that I came to my senses.

I sent the money to the ACLU instead, good call I think.

I love Move On for all it does but am uneasy with this vote on Hillary & Obama. I'm not sure why the vote was taken before Super Tuesday. Obviously it gives a boost to the winner and leverages Move On's influence but wouldn't it have been wise to wait until Super Tuesday and see what the mainstream Dems wanted? and then support that candidate? I like Obama, but also like Hillary; she never looked better than she did last night in LA.

Our focus should be exterminating the Republican rats in November; everything else a means to that end.

>>>
aybayb, What do you suggest, with what's left to choose from?
>>>

Here we go again...accepting our continuing disempowerment as an inescapable fact. Maybe we should actively look for "what's left to choose from". Surely there are candidates out there who not only opposed this war 'from the start', but continued to oppose it even in the face of those in the media and in the Democratic 'leadership' who were afraid of being accused of 'hurting the troops' if they voted for cutting off funding.

Surely there are candidates out there who are willing to advocate for a universal not-for-profit healthcare system, rather than a system that is a boon to the bloodsuckers in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

I think there are candidates out there who are in favor of holding this criminal Bush administration to account for the blood and treasure wasted on creating a failed state in Iraq. Sure, this entirely gratuitous warmaking has been good for business; but is that the measure of good policy?

I think there are candidates out there who are willing to advocate for EQUAL rights for same-gender couples, rather than hemming and hawing and beating around the bush with talk of 'domestic partnerships' or 'civil unions' designed specifically to appease those bigots who are intent on punishing those who dare to be assertively gay.

I could go on....but I already can think of at least one candidate who has been outspokenly in favor of doing what genuine progressives would call "the right thing". Even though millions agreed with his positions on these and other issues, they chose to be led by their noses into accepting the "conventional wisdom" put out by the pundits and talking heads and party hacks who pronounced him incapable of winning.

There's something very wrong with this unflattering picture of "democracy in action."

----------------------------------
"A society of sheep must beget in time a government of wolves."
-- Bertrand de Jouvenel

People who are saying "No I will not vote for Obama, I Wanted Kucinich" are like people who
are offered a $50,000 a year job and say " Nope, I want $100,000 a year or I won't work "
Sure $100,00 is nice, but $50,000 is better than nothing.

Sorry,

but MoveOn is exactly the sort of group I wrote about earlier in that they limit discourse from the left - you certainly better not use words like "imperialism" or "corporate media" in their company...

Ron Paul offers little?

Bring the troops home now

Stop the looting of Social Security

Save trillions overseas,reducing our dept,helping veterans,children,and seniors,and cutting taxes

End forced health care screening and vaccinations.

Oppose WTO,NAFTA,CAFTA,and theNAU

Fight for freedom to choose health care.

Stop corporate welfare and pollutters.

Protect our privacy and civil liberties.

Stop the national ID card

OPPOSE INTERNET TAXES AND REGULATION

He's a OBGYN w/ 4000 babies delivered.He worked in clinics for $3.00 per Hr. all were treated regardless of there abillity to pay. He's been a devoted husband.he's an organic tomato farmer. He's been called the modern Thomas Jefferson.

I ready don't know what the —- these people are looking for.

Maybe the greatest thing that D K could do for the Constitution right now is support RON PAUL.

By the way I did send money to both Kucinich and Paul,but

KUCINIC IS OUT OF THE RACE ...

Do you people realize that the NWO knows no party.

Take a little look :

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1070329053600562261

Wait for it to crash and pick up what you can from the pieces. If anyone thinks this county will be allowed to make the 'changes' necessary to preserve itself, the planet and perhaps even humanity itself, dream on. But by all means keep pretending that incremental change is the only way forward. It's what the establishment is counting on.