It was not about the word "betray"...it was about control of the message.

[madfloridian]

First and most obvious..about the Democrats who voted to "reprimand" an activist group. It reminds us they are not willing to let that emphemeral group called "The Left" have too much say in party stuff. And there were enough of the more conservative Democrats to get that vote against MoveOn passed...even though issues about ending the war are getting nowhere.

Actively opposing The Left

Here is their view in a nutshell:

In June 2006, PPI president Marshall opined in the Democratic Strategist that Democrats needed to “raid the red zone” and win over Republican voters. “Security will continue to dominate national politics for the foreseeable future. It is axiomatic that the American people are not likely to give power to a party they do not trust to defend their values and keep them safe,” Marshall wrote. “Democrats therefore must close the national security confidence gap that has dogged them since the era of Vietnam prote.

All kinds of layers to this issue. Everyone wants to control someone, and you have to peel away the layers. The message sent by yesterday's vote was originally from the Republican right wing sent to us via our Senate Democrats. I really think our party fails to see that they are being manipulated so easily by the right. Maybe they think they are being congenial by bringing such a thing up for a vote.

I don't think they realize they were outclassed by the right wing manipulators. They don't understand that to those on the right it is not a game...it is a set of programs developed through the years as they took hold of and added to the noise machine. They know how to control the message, and they taught our Democrats a hard lesson yesterday.

"Controlled controversy" is used to deliberately cause outrage

Yet Blackwell's foundation, the Leadership Institute, is not a Republican organization. It's a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) charity, drawing the overwhelming majority of its $9.1 million annual budget from tax-deductible donations. Despite its legally required "neutrality," the institute is one of the best investments the conservative movement has ever made. Its walls are plastered with framed headshots of former students -- hundreds of state and local legislators sprinkled with smiling members of the U.S. Congress, and even the perky faces of two recently crowned Miss Americas. Thirty-five years ago, Blackwell dispatched a particularly promising 17-year-old pupil named Karl Rove to run a youth campaign in Illinois; Jeff Gannon, a far less impressive student, attended the Leadership Institute's Broadcast Journalism School.

Courtesy Salon Graphics

It is tied to their Campus Leadership Program which truly specializes in ugly stunts like Catch an Immigrant Day.

...."The Leadership Institute teaches the same principle. Controlled controversy -- making your point in a manner so bombastic that your opponents blow their cool -- is a Blackwell specialty. Before the 2004 Republican Convention, the conservative elder personally went to a drugstore and bought little pink heart stickers, bandages and purple nail polish. At home, he made the "Purple Heart Band-Aids" that he later distributed in Madison Square Garden to mock John Kerry's war wounds.

Jane Hamsher added more at Fire Dog Lake yesterday. It was not just about MoveOn. It was not just reprimanding that group. It was a reprimand of us as well.

Just like the FISA bill, it was all a charade. And then today, they join with the Republicans in their little moment of mock outrage over MoveOn so we all just don’t talk about how badly the war is going. The Democrats have the majority, and THIS is what they let happen?

..."It’s not just MoveOn that is having their wrists slapped, it’s all of us. All of us who stood together and had the temerity to fight their precious comrade in comity, Joe Lieberman. Those of us who want to push them into doing something on Iraq, which they really don’t want to do. It is now the “Sense of the Senate” that the “uncivil” left are not entitled to free speech, especially if we’re trying to exercise it to make their lives difficult.

Bipartisan Warm and Fuzzy Condemnation of MoveOn

It was all wrapped up in levels of control, from the right to the center to the left.

[Mythsaje]

1. Yeah, well...

If they think they can shut us up, they're barking up the wrong goram tree.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1870678&mesg_id=1870678

[madfloridian]

2. Nice post.

:hi:

[H2O Man]

3. Nominated.

This is exactly the type of OP that makes DU such a valuable site. Thank you for this. If I could nominate this more than once, I surely would.

[Horse with no Name]

4. I agree.

So I nominated it too!

[Canuckistanian]

5. Exactly. This was no "kneejerk response"

The pro-war right has roomfuls of people just waiting for a chance to spring into action on issues like this.

And they have connections, influence and deep pockets. And that influence doesn't just include GOP politicians.

Moveon was just the latest project. There WILL be others.

But, as Will Pitt said, this has given Moveon stature. Average people perceive that although Moveon went too far (very debatable), at least they're a force to be reckoned with.

[madfloridian]

6. Half a million in one day...

yes, it gave them stature. But so much anger happened.

[JNelson6563]

7. Amen sister!

Well done MF. :toast: :hug:

Julie

[madfloridian]

8. Thanks, Julie, I value your judgment.

:hi:

[Sufficient Voice]

9. Yep

*sigh*

[understandinglife]

10. Just gave MoveOn another $ 100.00 -- WE control the message ...

... and that is why those beltway neoconsters and their duplicitous (Dem and Repub) enablers are freaking ...

Recommended.

[madfloridian]

12. I like the way Olbermann handled it on Countdown tonight.

But I noticed Solz and everyone has to say they didn't "approve". No one can just say it was fine, don't worry.
So fearful.

[pberq]

11. Kick & Nominated !

[madfloridian]

13. More from the Leadership Institute....their influence

It has had quite a huge effect on our party I believe. This is from the Salon article in the OP link. I believe the basis of yesterday's actions is fear, I really do. The kind of fear that will turn them against their own base in the guise of being proper.

Blackwell took me on a tour of the headquarters, chatted with me for nearly an hour, and gave me a copy of the institute's antisocialism in-house film, "The Roots of the Ultra Left." The institute is a very friendly place.

Over the last 25 years, more than 40,000 young conservatives have been trained at the institute's Arlington, Va., headquarters in everything from TV makeup for aspiring right-wing talking heads to prep courses for the State Department's Foreign Service exam. Classes are taught by volunteers recruited from the ranks of the conservative movement's most talented organizers, operatives and communicators."

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/05/25/blackwell/index0.html

They have caused our party, which did not fight very hard, to think of even those of us who are not so very far out of the meanstream as being extreme. I believe our party leaders really feel that way about us.

[KG]

14. the dem party feels more threatened by the left than the right.

[madfloridian]

15. You are right, and I wonder when that happened.

It never seemed so bad until 04.

[bettyellen]

16. very good read. As always, thank you Mad.

[madfloridian]

17. Not one single Democrat has taken the side of the activists and MoveOn

I remember what Al From said about activists right after the election... the party should NOT "bend knee" to them.

Democrats must adopt a centrist course

I think the party is getting their messaging from the trio of groups called the DLC/PPI/Third Way. I think they are deathly afraid of the consequences from those groups and the money people.

They know they have nothing to fear from us....

There's a perception in some media and political circles that Democratic White House wannabes, like their Republican counterparts, must systematically bend the knee to ideologically inflexible and noisy party activists to have any prayer of nomination or election. They should pay attention to what happened in Connecticut on Nov. 7, where even in a strongly anti-war blue state, voters rejected a high-profile effort to exclude Joe Lieberman from the Democratic Party.

The saddest thing to me is that they even have Governor Dean shut up very effectively. Not a single person in the party leadership has stood up for us.

[bettyellen]

19. they should worry about losing their base of volunteers- because they are- bigtime

alienating those folks who phonebank and knock on doors for free.
I see myself sitting next year out, throwing money to Veterens for Peace and the ACLU instead of these guys.
I still trust in Howard, if they muzzle him, I'm done for now.

[emsimon33]

18. This is what has been so frustrating: The Republicans embrace their base

while the Democrats too often reject theirs.

The irony is that what these Republicans and Demo-Republicans know but drown out with their shouting and contempt is that the so-called liberal values are at the core of the Constitution and are the true "moral values" that most Americans hold dear.

[KoKo]

20. Thanks MF..."...that the 'uncivil left' are not entitled to free speech.."

Says it all about what's going on.

BTW: Newt Gingrich was on C-Span Friday and was asked about rising stars on the political scene. He mentioned a bunch of Repug ops but then said and Rahm Emmanuel on the Democrat side.

I thought you'd like to know that. When Rahm is the only rising star on the Dem side that Newt can think of. :eyes: very telling.

[KoKo]

33. Kick..

[moondust]

21. It was about the word "betray."

MoveOn could have alternatively titled their ad using straight language as something like: "Is General Petraeus' true allegiance to the Bush administration or to the people/troops?"

As such I doubt that it would have been the target of a silly, uninformed, distorted, one-sided, hypocritical Senate resolution or the subject of much more than a passing mention.

[madfloridian]

22. Sorry you don't see the real issue.

It is about keeping the message in line with what the Republicans find acceptable.

It was all ok when the right wing groups attacked our Democrats. No one spoke up then.

[moondust]

25. It's not just Republicans.

22 Democratic senators also did not accept the mass media use of the word "betray" in reference to a general and it's unlikely they would have done anything about it if the title had used "softer" language.

[madfloridian]

30. That is just BS overload

after all the ugly stuff they have hurled at us for years. Now suddenly, criticize the miliary and oopsy...you are officially reprimanded in the senate.

Please tell me I dreaming and the defense of the senate's actions are not going on at a Democratic board.

[moondust]

31. I don't see many here defending the Senate's actions.

On the contrary, everybody I see here is donating to MoveOn, including me.

I'm just saying that I think the superficial grounds used for the Senate resolution and accompanying bluster were that one word in the title of that one large ad, which makes it even more ridiculous that the U.S. Senate would waste its time on such a thing. One word in one ad, Senator? What about the EXTENDED SMEAR CAMPAIGNS waged against war heroes John Kerry and Max Cleland?

Somebody would very much like to destroy MoveOn.org and will take every opportunity they can get to achieve that goal. It's too bad that some Dems are complicit. But a lot of Americans including some Democrats would never consider it acceptable, no matter what, to openly criticize or question the allegiance of a military officer who is "giving up his/her life to defend the country." Even knowing from history that sometimes military officers are on the side of the despots, not the people.

[madfloridian]

32. My family has a long military history.....

We always criticized them. We said it to their faces when they took too much pleasure in their role in death and dying. They all did you know before all the lies came out about Vietnam.

Fear of the military and fear of the right wing took hold of our party. I am very ashamed.

I was just reading parts of the report Petraeus gave before Congress. He just simply did not tell the truth.

Yet now the group that put a question mark after "betray us"? is the scapegoat.

[cali]

24. Yep. That's it in a nutshell.

And because of the name calling or implied name calling, all the oxygen got sucked out of the debate on Habeas and the Dwell amendment.
Love MoveOn, know this was great for them organizationally but they could have done it smarter.

[madfloridian]

26. That is no argument.

Considering how no Democrats spoke out in defense of Kerry when he was swiftboated so publicly....let's not use false arguments.

Our senate made fools of themselves over this, and we need to speak up.

Reid did not have to let this on the floor. It's sad.

[cali]

27. Are you sure not dems spoke out against Kerry being

swiftboated? I know they didn't have a censure vote, but that's hardly the claim you just made.

As for calling my argument "false", that's an opinion not a fact. So don't state it as fact. Same as the no dems spoke out claim.

Reid made a political decision. I don't agree with it, but I get the calculation he made. Politics is akin to a chess game. He made a strategic decision. As I said, I think it was a poor one, but that's more than likely what it was.

And frankly, it hasn't chilled anything, and I doubt it will in the future. In fact, it amplified rather than muzzled MoveOn.

[madfloridian]

28. It's all ok.

It just shows the mindset here and in the party now.

[bbgrunt]

29. I totally agree with you, mad. These appeasers don't

bother to mention that the title of the ad was a question mark--asking if perhaps the pimp general was a betrayer. Something the other side does constantly: "Are the democrats traitors?" kind of news coverage. It's really really sad to see so many waffle on this.

[uppityperson]

23. Thank you. Thank you thank you. I am glad that others see this also. Thank you. eom

[madfloridian]

34. Florida Dems and the Senate Dems have shown contempt...

for other Democrats in the space of one month.

What do they think? Do they think we don't matter? Do they think the elections are all set up so it doesn't matter if we vote?

That is so scary.

[riderinthestorm]

35. A most important post to K & R.

There have been numerous steps on the way towards Harry Reid's decision to censure MoveOn. For example, requests from the party base on even "respectable" issues like election tampering have been shunned by the party leadership as some kind of "loony left" movement. I am really concerned at how far our leadership has drifted from paying us any mind: from our concerns about the appointment of Alberto Gonzales (the torture architect for chrissake!) to the Patriot Act, our reasonable voices have been labelled as "fringe".

I wish votes like the censure against Moveon didn't surprise or sadden me as much as it does, still. I know it's CT around here to articulate that our Dem leadership is actually just the same as the Rethugs and are secretly colluding on powersharing and money grubbing, but sometimes their actions are so perfectly in sync with the rightwing agenda it's breathtaking.

It bears repeating. The Senate Dems have censured their base with this censure of Moveon - this unprecedented action by the Senate was meant to silence us. A most important post.

[madfloridian]

36. Thank yoi so much for that post.

And for seeing the danger in what they did.

[madfloridian]

37. A video...must see.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x56494

Impressive.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

38. Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

Kick is all I can manage... Wish I had not missed the opportunity to nominate this insightful post.

[ChenZhen]

39. WRONG, it is about "betray". Food, Schmood....

Its like a 3rd grade come back. The rhyming is just bad execution. Britney Spears, who should be banned on a basis of "bad entertainer", could scribe a line more intellectual and deep than that (maybe). And even her dancing delivery of such would prove to be more enlightening than Petraus, or Betray us...seriously.

Something doesn't have to rhyme to be poetic, credible, or true. I mean, I love Sesame Street jingles, but Im probably not going to live my life by any of Elmo's songs.

Seriously...they could of obtained the same effect with a few of the following words, from a Thesaurus:

"abandon, be unfaithful, bluff, break faith, break promise, break trust, break with, commit treason, cross, deceive, deliver up*, delude, desert, double-cross, finger*, forsake, inform against, inform on, jilt, knife*, let down, mislead, sell, sell out, take in*, trick, turn in, turn informer"

This isn't a free speech issue...its a bad speech issue. Damn it to Hillary and Kerry for not standing shoulder in shoulder with their other Dems and casting a vote to say, "you guys need some more effective copy writers"

[madfloridian]

40. Well, the senate took proper care of it, didn't they? A precedent for censorship.

All because of two words with a ? after them.

I helped pay for the ad, I am proud of it.

I am amazed I am still standing after the battering in the other forum, but doesn't matter.

The right wing Democrats are now showing themselves in full living color.

They have the power given them by the corporations and the GOP, and by golly gum they will keep that power by condemning their own party.

[ChenZhen]

41. I wouldn't be proud of that ad. Censor that and anything by Tyler Perry.

Speaking of which, he probably could of could of penned a better ad about Madea bitch slapping a niece romatically involved with General Petraus.

That may of hit home more, but regardless, Id want that censored to.

[madfloridian]

42. I was proud of the ad, and we donated.

I am also proud of the new one, and we are among those helping them hit 2 million dollars.

I am angry at how many people think it is ok for the senate to do such a thing. I am angry about the conservative Democrats who have said such ugly things to me for posting about it.

I am very worried about the health of our party when not a single Democrats speaks up against the senate censorship.

[ChenZhen]

43. Whats the new ad?

General Petraus, Shilling for the truth, or killing for the Bush?


Easy now man. No amount of anger about an orchestrated distraction is going to cure this illusion of a democracy and the robbing of our tresury.

[madfloridian]

44. I am a woman, and I am intelligent. Don't talk to me that way.

The ad is up at MoveOn.

[madfloridian]

45. I don't call women "bitches" like you just did Medea Benjamin.

I have criticized her for disrupting meetings, but I respect her and her right to do it.

And what does Tyler Perry have to do with MoveOn. That is one weird post.

[madfloridian]

46. I see you got away with calling Medea a "bitch" That's sad.

I wish DU had not become like that.