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MoveOn Brings Activists Together to Set a Course for the Future
Seattle Post-Intelligencer ^ | 22 November 2004 | Tracy Johnson

Posted on 11/22/2004 8:33:30 AM PST by Publius

There was a dose of commiseration and some quiet lamenting about a presidential election lost, but the focus of the people crowded into a Beacon Hill home last night was what they can do now.

Or, as Seattle lawyer Randy Gordon put it: "How to take the positive energy of engagement and enragement and move forward."

The "house party" was one of dozens in the Seattle area and thousands held simultaneously across the country that were organized by MoveOn, a fast-growing political-action group aimed at getting "moderate to progressive" candidates into office.

Key issues, from the Iraq war to same-sex marriage, brought out the political activists in people who'd been perfectly content to sit quietly in the background before.

So the idea last night, less than three weeks after voters put President Bush in the White House for another four years, was to keep the momentum going.

Attendee Paul Loeb said it was important "to have people recognize this is a long-haul fight."

"A lot of people are demoralized by the election," said Loeb, editor of a collection of social-issue essays titled "The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear."

"The most important thing," he said, "is to keep all these new people who have come in involved."

Jeanne Legault said she opened her Beacon Hill home for the political gathering -- drawing mostly Democrats -- because she hopes to get a local MoveOn organization up and running.

Some hosts gave their parties catchy names such as "Where do we go from here," "Blue America strikes back" and "Bush beat Kerry, but he didn't beat me."

The parties -- which took place in living rooms on Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, Mercer Island, Edmonds and other local places -- began with a national conference call linking all of them. Officials asked participants to decide which issues were the most important, then discuss how to go about accomplishing their goals.

In three different discussion groups at Legault's house, some said they were most concerned about ending the war in Iraq, protecting abortion rights or income-tax reform. Others were worried about erosion of civil liberties, the ballooning national deficit or discrimination against gays.

They debated strategies to pursue over the next two to four years, including whether MoveOn should move its views toward the political center to attract more support -- or whether it should work to transform the Democratic Party "to offer a more viable and inspiring alternative to the Republicans."

Phil Bereano said he wanted to see the latter, noting that he would like to have seen a presidential candidate who stood strongly against the war in Iraq.

"We have a party that has become a 'lite' shadow of the Republican Party," said Bereano, a University of Washington professor of technology and public policy. "The center of gravity needs to be pushed all the way to the left again."

Others said getting support for their message should involve media reform, a focus on organizing or an effort to champion presidential candidates who could connect well with the American people.

After the Nov. 2 election, Emma Bartholomew said, she needed to spend a full week in mourning.

She said she used to be a Republican, until she began feeling that religious views had taken over. She's not entirely happy with the Democrats these days, either.

"We keep moving to the center, and it keeps shifting to the right," said the 45-year-old software tester.

Bartholomew said the timing of the house parties was key -- it offered a chance for a post-election strategy session while people are still "fired up."

"It's important to get people together now," she said, "before they just fade away."


TOPICS: Extended News; Politics/Elections; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: bartholomew; bereano; democrats; emmabartholomew; gordon; jeannelegault; leftistswatch; legault; liberalangst; loeb; morondotorg; moveon; moveonorg; paulloeb; philbereano; randygordon; uofw
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Ah,there's nothing like a cup of liberal angst to start a Monday morning. It's almost as good as bacon burps.
1 posted on 11/22/2004 8:33:31 AM PST by Publius
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To: Publius

If they wish to set a course---set it into the local pond!


2 posted on 11/22/2004 8:34:58 AM PST by fastattacksailor (This tagline brought to you by Izzy Dunne's tagline virus!)
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To: Publius

this is part the shadow party.


3 posted on 11/22/2004 8:36:53 AM PST by Haro_546 (Christian Zionist)
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To: Publius

Crawl back into the holes you came from, you stinking, commie, traitorous scumbags.


4 posted on 11/22/2004 8:37:41 AM PST by pissant
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To: Publius
"We have a party that has become a 'lite' shadow of the Republican Party," said Bereano, a University of Washington professor of technology and public policy. "The center of gravity needs to be pushed all the way to the left again."

Note to self: Send the good prof an e-mail urging him ever-leftward....

5 posted on 11/22/2004 8:38:12 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: Publius
I have a suggestion: Let them continue to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic!!! Some folks just never get it!
6 posted on 11/22/2004 8:38:31 AM PST by NFOShekky (Freedom Is Never Free.)
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To: Publius

Someone should tell them to lead by example and take their own advice and JUST MOVE ON!! Move on out of this country would be my choice for them.


7 posted on 11/22/2004 8:39:36 AM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (Never play leapfrog with a unicorn!)
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To: Publius

the course for the future better be raffles and back sales...I doubt that terrorist George Soros will part with another $10-mill on these pieces of crap.


8 posted on 11/22/2004 8:39:49 AM PST by God luvs America (When the silent majority speaks the earth trembles!)
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To: anniegetyourgun

They are so far left they are about to fall off the political playing field.


9 posted on 11/22/2004 8:40:04 AM PST by Publius
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To: Publius
"A lot of people are demoralized by the election," said Loeb

How can somebody be de-moralized if they weren't moral to begin with?

10 posted on 11/22/2004 8:41:16 AM PST by Slyfox
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To: Publius
positive energy of engagement and enragement

I think that's what that Hmong sniper was feeling.

11 posted on 11/22/2004 8:42:10 AM PST by rabidralph (Arm Tibet)
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To: Publius

"Engagement and enragement"? Where did this guy learn to speak English? From Jesse Jackson?


12 posted on 11/22/2004 8:42:32 AM PST by Luddite Patent Counsel ("Inanity is the Mother of Convention")
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To: Publius

Are those jokers going back to being a gun grabbing org?


13 posted on 11/22/2004 8:42:39 AM PST by Dan from Michigan ("...don't you fill me up with your rules, cause everybody knows that smoking ain't allowed in (bars))
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To: Publius
After the Nov. 2 election, Emma Bartholomew said, she needed to spend a full week in mourning.

CUCK-koo, CUCK-koo....

14 posted on 11/22/2004 8:43:11 AM PST by TheBigB (<----still tired and red-eyed from this weekend's BAYWATCH marathon on TV Land.)
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To: anniegetyourgun
Note to self: Send the good prof an e-mail urging him ever-leftward....

You don't have to encourage him. After years of trying to understand the Vietnam-era left, a wise newspaper editor who works with them explained to me how their brains work: they try to shoehorn just about every situation into one of three precedents: Vietnam, the civil-rights battle and/or Watergate. That's why so many of them supported the Kosovo intervention - any Vietnam-type squeamishness about the military action was overcome by their perception of the civil rights struggle involved: the Serbs became the Southern bigots, Milosevice became Bull Connor and the Kosovar Albanians were the repressed blacks.

And this cranial hard-wiring is apparently incurable. Which is why they can't adjust to modern times and futher marginalize themselves with every passing election.

15 posted on 11/22/2004 8:43:14 AM PST by dirtboy (Tagline temporarily out of commission due to excessive intake of gin-soaked raisins)
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To: Slyfox

my guess is they are close to commiting sedition .... and if their not carefull attract a lot of attention from the terrorists who will use them.... much like VN used Kerry then and now.....


16 posted on 11/22/2004 8:43:25 AM PST by Gibtx (pajamahadeen call to arms.....)
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To: anniegetyourgun

Support this effort to move left and also ...get Whoopi and Barbra,Michael and Baldwin,Susan and Tim involved!


17 posted on 11/22/2004 8:45:18 AM PST by MEG33 ( Congratulations President Bush!..Thank you God. Four More Years!)
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To: dirtboy
I do hope so, db.

However, I fear that in the end, they will remake themselves into the image of Hillary. She will become someone we won't even recognize over the next 3 years - physically and politically. It worries me very much. Remember, the electorate voted for her wretched husband.....twice. We must be vigilant.

18 posted on 11/22/2004 8:47:33 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: Gibtx
They're nowhere near sedition. Now if they tie up with people who want Washington and other blue states to secede from the Union to become Canadian provinces, then we're talking about sedition.
19 posted on 11/22/2004 8:48:04 AM PST by Publius
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To: Publius

We FReepers owe it to them to sign up for their parties, just for the gigglefest and muted gloating we all deserve.


20 posted on 11/22/2004 8:49:06 AM PST by rabidralph (Arm Tibet)
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