I am just as much progressive as everyone of the hard-working people at MoveOn.org and am doing what I can to help elect Obama.
However, I think that MoveOn might make a bigger impact if you learned from the masters, and by that I mean the Republicans.
I’ve seen a number of recent e-mails lamenting the horrible ads and slander of the McCain campaign that beg the membership to donate so that the truth can be told.
With all due respect, you guys just don’t get it. It is much easier to sew doubt that convince someone of something. As a result, your efforts would be much better spent generating media that generated doubt about him.
Something like this video ad:
Sinister, or perhaps old-timey music fades in (I’d have to think about the music some more)
McCain video with him saying that the economy is sound and strong, with date in bottom – left.
fade to:
McCain video that shows him admitting he doesn’t understand the economy, dated
fade to:
Stuttering video of him being clueless about how many houses he owns, dated
fade to:
Video of him saying that the economy is having a hard time, dated
fade to some horrible press photo of him looking clueless on one side, with a montage of people who are bumming that fade in and fade out on the other side.
Voice-Over:
Does McCain really have a handle on the economy? Can a man who doesn’t even know how many houses he ownes have any idea of what you are experiencing in these troubled times? Do we want to give the Republicans four more years?
Voila! Doubt! Not lies, just using the rich fodder that McCain has practically given us on a silver platter.
Unfortunately, we live in an era where truth and issues have been replaced with spin and attack ads, and if we (meaning all progressives) don’t catch a clue fast, we are going to lose yet another election (and we can kiss the supreme court goodbye).
When I was a little boy, I got beat up on the playground at school almost everday. I tried talking to the bullies, tried hiding from the bullies, tried everything I could. I didn’t get left alone until I broke one of there noses. Know why? Because that’s all they understood. It wasn’t their fault, I didn’t want to do it, but they gave me no choice.
The progressive movement in this country is in the same position. If we don’t take the gloves off and start bloodying some noses, we are all sunk.