MoveOn.org Moves Into Panic Mode

It’s pure panic time in Democratic circles as the 40-year reign James Carville predicted seems to ending a few decades early.

MoveOn.org, a long-time Progressive powerhouse in DC and around the country, is running around with its hair on fire and preparing for a bad November.

And the group is currently trying to figure out what friends to save and which ones to toss overboard. A September 4 e-mail to members said:

In this election we’ll focus on a handful of progressive heroes facing tough races, where we can make a real difference together. Which progressive heroes would you nominate to be our top priorities this fall?

It can be a long-time member of Congress or someone running for the House or Senate for the first time. He or she should be a proven progressive fighter, especially in standing up to corporate influence in Washington. And since we have limited resources, please nominate folks who are in truly close races where MoveOn members could swing the balance.

A few days later, MoveOn issued this e-mail:

Election Day is less than two months away, and we need to decide today whether we’ll have enough resources for a major campaign to help stop the Republicans and their corporate allies from taking over Congress.

In a survey over the weekend, 92% of MoveOn members said that we should work broadly to help Democratic candidates–especially now that corporate front groups are spending $400 million to boost Republicans’ chances.

But MoveOn went into full panic mode the next day, attempting to instill fear in its Big Government-loving members:

It’s a perfect storm.

Polls show record levels of voter anger at Washington. Corporate interests are spending $400 million to try and buy Congress for the Republican Party. And Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin are whipping up a frenzy of right-wing hatred and coded racism.

In short, we’re on the verge of losing this election. And if that happens, right-wing Republicans and their corporate benefactors will do everything they can to kill any progressive legislation for the rest of the Obama presidency.

The good news is that we’ve still got a chance to turn the tide. We’ve seen before how a massive outpouring of support from grassroots progressives can swing an election–remember what happened in 2008?

It’s time to do it again. We’ve got the pieces in place for an all-hands-on-deck effort over the next two months: We’ll mobilize MoveOn’s 5 million members to get out the vote and stop the takeover of Congress.

According to the Alliance for Worker Freedom, four out of the top five contributors to 527 political organizations were unions.

But the Democrats benefit from more than union money. And who can forget that the biggest recipient of Goldman Sachs contributions were Democrats.

And who received the most campaign cash from British Petroleum and its employees? The one and only Barack Obama.

So please, MoveOn.org, spare us the fear mongering. Corporatism is alive and well in Washington, DC and benefits the Democratic Congress and the White House.