LOOKING AT 2004
MoveOn BulletinFriday, June 13, 2003
Co-Editors: Tai Moses and Don Hazen, AlterNet
Subscribe online at:
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/
CONTENTS:
1. Eli Pariser: The Big Choice
2. Don Hazen: A 12-Step Program for Regime Change
3. Jan Schakowsky: How Badly Do You Want to Win?
4. Robert Borosage: Cracking the Conservatives
5. Bracken Hendricks: An Energy/Jobs Program
6. Liz Langley: Abba Cadabra
7. Jim Motavalli: Getting Out the Vote
8. Farai Chideya: Dreaming a New America
9. Roberto Vargas: Reclaiming America
10. Ruy Teixeira: Deciphering the Democrats' Debacle
11. Granny D: Don't Stand in the Way of Our Joy
12. John Moyers & Elizabeth Ready: Ballots can Keep Bullets from
Flying
13. About the Bulletin
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THE BIG CHOICE
We recently invited all MoveOn members to join together and
articulate a positive vision for our nation, based from the ground
up on core principles. To kick off the process, members were asked
to take an hour to interview each other about their fears and hopes
for our country. People paired up randomly: folks in Maine called
folks in Texas; nineteen-year-old college students called
septuagenarians.
I've spent the last few days reading through the thousands of pages of
reports from these thousands of calls. Read together, these
interviews highlight the stark choice we face.
When we asked participants to talk about the values that the Bush
Administration lacks, integrity, honesty, respect, compassion, and
fairness were at the top of the list. Interviewees were furious at
the duplicity and secrecy of the Bush Administration; so many of them
mentioned lies that one could pick out the word scores of times on a
single page.
It's no coincidence that these attributes occur together. The
President's ideology is predicated on the idea that society is
essentially a group of selfish individuals scrambling for power.
Respect, compassion and fairness, in this view, are attributes of the
weak: in order to "win," individuals must seize every competitive
advantage. And truthfulness is less important than the appearance of
credibility. Communications are just a means to an end.
What's the alternative? We asked folks what American values they
resonated most strongly with. "Compassion, equality, fairness and
respect," they responded. These also begin to shape a positive
worldview, a view based on the idea that collaboration and community
build stronger societies -- that if we strengthen the bonds between
each other, if we trust, respect, and empathize with each other, we
will be more creative, more resilient, more fair, and ultimately more
collectively powerful.
Political strategists like to talk about swing states and target
demographics for voter turnout. These tactics are important, but it's
also important to keep at least one eye on the big question: In 2004,
do we want a President who believes in trust, respect, and community,
or one who believes in power?
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A 12-STEP PROGRAM FOR REGIME CHANGE
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HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT TO WIN?
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CRACKING THE CONSERVATIVES
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AN ENERGY/JOBS PROGRAM
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ABBA CADABRA
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GETTING OUT THE VOTE
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DREAMING A NEW AMERICA: PEACEFUL REGIME CHANGE IN 2004
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RECLAIMING AMERICA
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DECIPHERING THE DEMOCRATS' DEBACLE
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DON'T STAND IN THE WAY OF OUR JOY
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BALLOTS CAN KEEP BULLETS FROM FLYING
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ABOUT THE MOVEON BULLETIN AND MOVEON.ORG
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MoveOn Bulletin Op-Ed
by Eli Pariser
Don Hazen, AlterNet
How we engage this election will speak volumes about the future of
our country. By focusing on what we have in common -- the clear-cut
goal of regime change at home -- we can all succeed. We need to
dedicate ourselves to the task ahead fully, without ambivalence,
minimizing squabbling, knowing we are right. How important is this?
It feels more important than anything we will do for a very long time.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16050
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky
The Illinois congresswoman issued this clarion call at the recent
Take Back America conference: "If we are serious about getting rid of
George W. Bush in 17 months, then we have to make some decisions and
some commitments. ...If we are to win, it's clear we need to do more,
do it louder, do it faster and do it better. And if we don't, in 2008
we will live in a country and a world far different from the one we
have had and the one to which we aspire."
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16099
Robert Borosage, TomPaine.com
Over the past two years, the United States has witnessed a staggering
reversal of fortune. We need a big argument about the course this
country's on -- and Democrats would benefit most from forcing it.
Democrats would do well to learn from how the New Right responded to
life in the political wilderness in the mid-1970s, when Nixon was in
disgrace and Democrats controlled everything.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/7985
Bracken Hendricks, The Nation
The time is right for a national commitment to energy independence.
Enter the Apollo Alliance: a broad coalition including labor unions,
green groups, consumer advocates and socially responsible businesses.
By focusing on good jobs and new investment to solve persistent
energy and environmental problems, Apollo offers common ground both
for labor unions and for environmental advocates. Such a project is
attractive to swing voters, and could also unite the progressive base.
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030609&s=hendricks
Liz Langley, AlterNet
My new political party, ABBA (Anyone But Bush Again), is an SOS to
those who didn't want George W. Bush the first time, which was most
of us, and those who don't want an encore. All you have to do is one
thing: vote for the one guy running against Bush who has a shot of
winning. And if anyone tries to Naderize this thing, we lob stuff at
them -- old fruit, chairs, opened paint cans -- until they quit.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16088
Jim Motavalli, E Magazine
The election of George W. Bush has been a disaster for the
environment. With polluters holding the upper hand in Congress, a
newfound interest in electoral politics has persuaded many
environmental groups and their funders to take a look at the tactics
of fighters like the League of Conservation Voters. With basic
environmental protections under attack, an electoral role for
environmental groups is essential, argues the author.
http://www.emagazine.com/may-june_2003/0503feat1.html
Farai Chideya, AlterNet
The anti-war movement provided a blueprint for mapping constituencies
that can collaboratively restore democracy. It would be a shame if
the National Council of Churches and American Muslims, the hip hop
activists and the suburban anti-war moms never met on common ground
again. We must find a way of convening Americans with an interest in
peaceful regime change at home -- what we call an election -- and
make plans for 2004.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15433
Roberto Vargas, YES! Magazine
A Chicano community activist asks himself some tough questions: "Why
had I developed such a disdain for this country? How many more people
felt similarly disconnected? If I had instead chosen to be
politically involved, how much more could I have contributed to
advancing justice, respect, and wellness for my own community and the
larger U.S. community? If millions like me had not surrendered their
connection to an American national identity, could we have evolved a
more caring, just, and respectful nation?"
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16036
Ruy Teixeira, Washington Monthly
Last year the author argued that a series of economic, demographic,
and ideological changes was laying the basis for a new Democratic
majority that would materialize by decade's end. After poring over
post 2002 election survey data, county-by-county voting returns, and
a great deal of underlying demographic data, the evidence suggests
that Bush and the Republicans are vulnerable sooner, if Democrats can
exploit those weaknesses.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15792
Doris 'Granny D' Haddock
Says the 93-year-old activist: "Politics is about winning. It is
about winning to save lives and raise people up from poverty and
illness and loneliness and injustice. Those posturing on the left
sometimes forget that. Don't tell me that you can't support a
particular candidate because of this or that. This isn't about you
and your precious political standards. When we have reasonable people
in power, let us start our arguments again, for we can not move
forward unless we have a decent government underneath us and a Bill
of Rights to let us speak freely."
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15789
John Moyers and Elizabeth Ready, TomPaine.com
"Peace" means more than just "anti-war." It summarizes in a word the
concepts of economic and environmental justice, civil rights,
equality, democracy and compassion. With that understanding in mind,
peace organizers can broaden the call for a massive registration and
Get Out the Vote effort.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15693
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