MoveOn.org has announced that its members voted to endorse Barack Obama in a poll supposedly requiring 2/3 support. I'm on their email list (which they interpret as being a member), and I did some calculations based on the email I received from them announcing the endorsement.

MoveOn claimed 3.2 million members, and gave the vote results as 197,444 for Obama and 83,084 for Clinton. Running the percentages, I found that 6.2% of MoveOn members voted for Obama, which I personally would not consider a landslide. 91.2% of MoveOn's members were not counted at all in considering the endorsement.

Now maybe you are thinking, "Well, they could have voted and expressed their preference, couldn't they?" When the email announcing the poll came, I went to the poll, but there was no way to express my preference. There were only two options - Obama or Clinton. MoveOn deliberately disenfranchised all its members who did not favor endorsing either establishment candidate. We didn't count. There is no way of knowing how many of the 91.2% of MoveOn's members who weren't counted went to vote but didn't because they didn't favor either option, or didn't bother because from the email itself it appeared they would not be allowed to express their view. It is quite possible that these numbers would have dwarfed the numbers who voted for Obama.

MoveOn claims to be a citizen organization which does what its membership wants. However, this kind of phony poll is typical of the organization. They appear to operate by deciding at the top what to do, and then devising some way of making it appear that this is a membership decision.

Why would an organization which claims to be anti-war only offer its members the options of supporting one of two candidates who both a) have voted for funding for the Iraq War, b) have refused to commit to removing all U.S. troops from Iraq during their Presidency if elected, c) favor increasing the size of the bloated military budget, and d) favor increasing the number of active duty soldiers? Before giving some ideas on the answer, let me note that this is not the first time MoveOn has disappointed its anti-war members. Just last year, MoveOn engaged in a major campaign for funding for the Iraq War.

What is MoveOn about? It was founded, well before the current Iraq War, by two wealthy businessman who were upset by both sides of the political spectrum - conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats. When it disappoints its progressive and peace-minded members, it is just reverting to form. Its basic purpose appears to be to protect the establishment against all threats.

ACTION: Go to MoveOn's Comment/Suggestion page and express your outrage at their phony poll and their endorsement of a pro-war establishment candidate.

Hi Bill-

MoveOn recently organized various peace demonstrations highlighting the 5th year anniversary of the Iraq war in various neighborhoods. One in New York banned a Quaker residnt's sign because its message--"Jesus Christ Forbids War"--was considered "inappropriate for a diverse neighborhood (his own).

I sent a polite and detailed requst for clarificaiton to the national MoveOn comment site, asking wheher Christian Quakers were unwelcome at their demonstrations. I haven't received a reply yet, and frankly don't expect one. MoveOn seems typical of many organizations that at first seem to propose an alternative to a current problematic practice, but on closer inversigation turn out to be just another facet of the problem themselves--the flip side of the same coin, so to speak. Not a different coin at all. Thanks for pointing out your poll information.