Forum Post: Well after attempting to Co-Opt OWS, MoveOn is now trying to use OWS for their own interests.....
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 8, 2011, 11:50 a.m. EST by Halim
(135)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Well it's happening. Groups like Move-On tried to co-opt OWS and I don't think it worked. But now they are trying to use our phrases and our "likeness" for their advantage. This is exemplified in their newest email blast:
Dear MoveOn member,
Great news: A new poll out today shows Elizabeth Warren with a clear lead for the first time against Tea-Party backed Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race!1
The biggest threat now is Wall Street and corporate interests, which are so terrified of what Warren would do in the Senate that they've begun pouring millions of dollars into shadowy attack ads run by Karl Rove.2
We've got to make it a top priority to elect Elizabeth Warren and other candidates like her who will never stop fighting for the 99%. And with the first primaries in these races less than 100 days away, we need to start immediately.
We'll create ads and videos to educate voters about Warren's fiery populism and her opponent's corporate backers, and we'll organize actions to get those themes into the media. We'll send MoveOn members out talking to voters, and we'll bring the same approaches to other key races around the country. But we need to know whether we'll have the resources to pull it off. Please support MoveOn's effort today:
Chip in $5 to MoveOn's big plan to elect Elizabeth Warren and other true progressives.
The rise of the 99% movement—the fight-back in Wisconsin, the Occupations and actions against Wall Street, the campaigns to stop Congress from siding with the 1%—creates an important opportunity to build progressive electoral power. We need to focus on electing champions who'll fight for the 99%, rather than pouring our energy into electing marginal Democrats, so that we build power to take on economic inequality in 2012 and beyond.
We're preparing a massive campaign for 2012 to help elect Elizabeth Warren and identify hundreds of other candidates who will stand up for the 99% and help them win races up and down the ballot. We want to help ten times more candidates than we've helped in previous years. Here's some of what we'll do:
Prioritize several key races with candidates like Elizabeth Warren, Ilya Sheyman, and Eric Griego, who stand strongly with the 99% movement and will be champions in places like Washington or Lansing. Direct grassroots support for hundreds of candidates who commit to supporting the 99%, including mobilizing MoveOn's 5 million members to call voters, go door-to-door, and more. Create a progressive ballot guide that lets local progressives know who should get their vote, from school board to statewide races. But we can't pull it off without you. We need to take on Wall Street together. Can you chip in $5 to MoveOn today so we can launch this campaign immediately?
https://pol.moveon.org/donate/warren1.html?bg_id=hpc5&id=33644-20023494-ZYbSeBx&t=3
Thanks for all you do.
–Adam R., Elena, Milan, Kat, and the rest of the team
Pretty soon they will email everyone telling them to chip in and help the Obama campaign, because "he has always stood up for the 99%", just like they did in 2008. This is why we cannot trust groups like this! Please even if you have nothing to say comment so we can keep this "up" on the forum
ya know, I personally believe this is an optimistic signal. I want to see repelicans out.
OUT I said.
That said, we can keep a close eye on these replacements. We can hold the weight of our membership over them, and bend them toward our will.
Think about that for a moment.
Those who believe OWS owns the term 99% are mistaken. Its a simple math term which reflects groupings.
I've said before that many have the concept that OWS is fighting a war, the term class warfare is often used.
Fighting a multi-front war is not often a good tactic, yet in this case it's a great idea!
MoveOn has identified Elizabeth Warren as one of the good guys. Try listening to her, there are several Youtubes featuring her and her work. MoveOn is fighting on the 'front' that OWS has opted out of, OWS is in the streets, fighting one on one with whatever comes their way. MoveOn is fighting on the political 'front', attempting to help place good people into positions of strength, and in the process strengthening the opportunities for OWS to succeed.
OWS has no need to fear allies, no need to fear co-option. It's just the same 'war' only different fronts.
Anarchist Freak Show. Sadly, that's what this movement is - without real leadership.
This is a huge waste of potential. OWS could be a major political force, a political party. If it would lose the anarchy and the direct democracy nonsense and get some real leadership.
So we use what we have. OWS regardless of the way you view them, has created a consciousness that wasn't there before, so let them do what they do best and the rest will do what they do best and hopefully we'll end up with something we all can live with.
they said 99% not ows. ows is not the 99% but rather a portion of it. maybe OWS is trying to co-opt the 99%.
Unfortunately, my understanding is that moveon is an instrumentality of the democratic party attempting to co-opt the ows movement. Same ole same ole from the same ole malfeasers and their ilk, republocrats. We need real structural change in a totally decrepit corrupt system, moveon "just don't cut it." I also understand that you (i.e. moveon.org) get secret funding from the vampires at Goldman Sachs, what shame. The vampire that controls the world has a "whole bag of tricks" including moveon.........This was my response to e-mail solicitation by moveon.org. Reminds me of the "cold war era" when Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty appealled for funds from the general public when in reality funding was primarily supplied by the Central Intelligence Agency. Famous ad quote of that time: "RFE is only there if you care." RFE wasn't a true "grass roots" supported endeavor and I doubt thatmoveon.org is not functioning in similiar vein.
There is an alternative to this MoveOn all-dressed-up-and-nowhere-to-go-? crap. While this may have been the goal all along, creating an answer to the TP to support B Obama, there is still an alternative if the moderate, independent, fed up and pissed off people that supported this movement want it. All you have to do is stop looking to New York and set your sights on Philadelphia.
NGA NOW all roads lead to Philadelphia July 4th 2012
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/
NO WAR
I like Elizabeth Warren and I hope she is elected. Send your money directly to her campaign rather than to these bozos who might only use a fraction of it for genuinely good candidates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xgWPV60G2I
WOW. Ignorant!
Your going to have a lot of opinions if you expect to represent %99. I'll be sending my $ to elect Liz Warren --------IMO the most important first thing we can do right now to start to change America. There are very few folks in politics who understand wall street and are willing to fight for what's right. I'm for Liz. This movement is called Occupy WALL STREET after all.
I agree. It's just too bad that OWS can't/won't be the political force that it has the potential to be.
This allows groups like MoveOn to step in to fill that role. This is OWS's own doing - for not having real leadership. Allowing anarchists to continue to run this thing - the direct democracy freak show. Sad that the legit messages, like ending government corruption and financial reform, are being held back by the anarchy of this movement.
It is a force because people are talking about it all the time. It's given a voice to quite a few people and if they choose to become political because of what they've read here great !
That is a huge waste of potential. I believe that OWS has the potential to be a political party, rather than just hoping a few people choose to become political.
By next summer, OWS will be represented by all of the establishment Dems and the media while they silence or simply ignore anyone left of the original movement. It's sad, but OWS had such potential, but by insisting on being leaderless, faceless and without one unified voice, it has allowed itself to be lost.
I agree with you, but I think that it might be a good thing to be co-opted. Unless this movement will lose the anarchy and get some real leadership, it will continue to be anarchy. See my comments above.
Agreed, if someone doesn't step up and define this thing, it will be over sooner rather than later. I just hope it doesn't end up like the TEA Party. It had such potential before the GOP took over and disgraced it.
So agree. I just don't see any way to get around the anarchists that are running this thing.
People have been screaming for leaders and focus since day one. Moving the debate is good, but without real leadership and organization designed to get results for political change, groups like MoveOn will fill that void. In a way, this is fortunate, because MoveOn will push some issues for political change directly. Unfortunate, because this allows the strength of the OWS message to be diminished.
But this is OWS's own doing - by not losing the anarchy and getting real leadership.
I expect this to be a re-elect Obama forum by next summer with corporate sponsors and "featured" op-ed's from Dem insiders and politicians telling us all how only the Dems fight for the 99% and blah blah blah.
The problem is, the majority of the people here seem to believe them. I trust a politician as far as I can throw them, but many seem to just need to be a part of a party so they can define an "enemy" to direct their anger and frustration toward.
Well said.
I'm not sure, April, if you are entrely accurate about "the anarchists" (quite frankly I'm not even sure what "anarchism" means, in the sense you are using it: there are so many definitions) running OWS. I believe there is an internal struggle developing in the leadership right now about how to go forward. There has always been tension between various factions, as there are in all such movements, but it is gaining momentum now. The kind of monolithic dominance of one such faction (anarchists) is not something i see as either complete or permanent.
Please understand that I am not disagreeing with you about MoveOn. I think the are a force for good, and if they see themselves as allies in spirit, more power to them, and us.
Puff had a very nice post about her ideas in this forum not long ago, and it echoed your sentiments about leveraging OWS's momentum into political action. That's where my own sympathies lie.
That said, the constancy of the occupy tactic is also positive all by itself, By insuring these issues remain in the public eye, helping create a public dialogue, has incredible value. The result of that dialogue may mean compromising on some of the higher ideals, but that's life, isn't it. An entire society of 350 million people will never arrive at a single consensus: compromise is inevitable.
I don't feel that OWS is threatened in any serious way by a strong ally who shares the bulk of OWS principles. It is not something to be feared, but welcomed, if cautiously.
The most basic definition, of anarchy, what I am speaking of, is no heirarchy and no leaders. That is the whole problem with this movement. But true anarchy, with no leaders, is impossible to achieve in practice - and so there certainly is leadership. The anarchists.
I think the tensions are between the anarchists and the regular protesters, who want to move forward with making changes with and through government. The anarchists do not believe in working through government for change. The OWS quote on the news page "we don't need politicians". The regular protesters want political change through government. The anarchists do not. The anarchists, although a minority in number (I hope!) , will continue to dominate because they are the leaders. OWS is based on an anarchistic structure - non-heirarchical and decentralized. Form shapes content. Anarchy is the form. The result can only be anarchy. This anarchy will be permanent, unless the form is changed. And we get real leadership and an effective hierarchical organizational structure.
The occupy tactic has helped to move the debate and get alot of good discussion going. I give the anarchists credit for that - getting this thing started. I welcome any ally that will make change happen in government. The biggest reason being - OWS will not do it. I am ecstatically happy that MoveOn is pushing these candidates who can hopefully push some good legislation!
But I see this also as opportunity lost on the part of OWS. And wasted potential. Because OWS could be so much more a force for change. Real political change, maybe a political party even. If it would just lose the anarchy and get some real leadership. Because for all the best intentions of any group co-opting or allying, like MoveOn, the OWS message gets diminished, rather than have come from OWS directly.
OWS itself, and its anarchy, is it's own worst enemy. Not the media, not the government, not anyone or anything the anarchists like to spew. Anarchy is doomed to fail, except if you're an anarchist. Hooray, we've achieved anarchy and we will have our moment in the sun with direct democracy and we'll use and string along alot of innocent, unsuspecting, discontented people to do it. We'll make alot of noise and let everyone complain about everything, but never really do anything to solve the problem.
Have you read the article written about David Graeber that I linked in my post above. He said, this movement is an experiment in direct democracy. Thats it. An experiment. We are all his guinea pigs. I'm sure this will be a book of his someday. Do you think he will thank us??
At this point, I hope and pray we get co-opted! Leave the anarchists alone in the park with their direct democracy sillyness, so the rest of us can all move on to get something legitimate done.
Time to Occupy the NYCGA! I wonder if they have their own enforcers ready yet???
The NGA is the only way around them.
The blood of OWS pools in the hands of the NYCGA
NGA NOW all roads lead to Philadelphia July 4th 2012
https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/
Thanks for that. Glimmer of hope.
did you see the spots airing on Keith olberman?
oh my gosh. I totally forget about it. When was it? Dec 5? I'll try to find it over the internet. You don't happen to have a link do you?
my bad, I remember you asking me for some info. There were I think eight spots running this week on K.O. so you might catch one tomorrow? It's the same spot as on the website. I don't have cable, gee this is the second time this year I wish I did ; )
12-5 First commercial starts to air nationally on Current TV at 8pm and 11pm during Keith Olbermann's show. Watch Keith's show that entire week to see our ad which you may preview here:http://youtu.be/PnNazuRXoEc
http://occupywallst.org/forum/update-on-the-99-declaration-and-the-national-gene/
Good. Because the anarchists running this movement are holding this movement back from becoming a huge political force.
This is nothing but anarchy. There are a bunch of anarchists running this thing with the help of their Serbian Revolution fighter friends. To say or believe that this movement has no leaders is either to be ignorant or to lie. This whole movement is built on deceit. Leaderless, spontaneous uprising? Lies. It was planned by anarchists and Serbian revolutionaries in order to take advantage of peoples discontent in order to further their own agenda. Direct Democracy and/or the total elimination of government.
The anarchists are holding this movement back from being a huge political force for ending government corruption. This movement is absurd.
So good for MoveOn.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11293836/1/meet-the-man-behind-occupy-wall-street.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCrC6GL7430&feature=youtu.be