Moving On?

Campaign season reformers struggle to find postelection direction.

by Jonas Raab

MoveOn, a progressive political-reform organization that was arguably one of the most vocal of the 527 groups in the presidential election, has had many ambitious goals over the years.

Convince Congress to censure Clinton rather than impeach.

Save Gray Davis from being recalled.

Stop the war in Iraq.

Keep Bush out of office.

Goals reached? Uh, zero.

No, the years haven't been kind to MoveOn, and in the face of its most recent disappointment, some of the group's 2 million members nationally have been asking, "Now what?" As it stands today, there's no clear answer.

"I think people are waiting to see at this point," said Margaret Smith, a publishing associate who was the South Philly volunteer precinct leader.

The once-bustling MoveOn office at Fourth and South streets is now empty, and organizers hired by MoveOn's political action committee are out of a gig. In fact, all MoveOn field offices have been cleaned out as the group has reverted to a completely online organization. Still, last month, MoveOn held more than 1,600 Sunday night house parties across the nation as a kind of mass survey to see what issues their members would like to focus on now that the election is over.

Over drinks and cookies, MoveOn members discussed election reform, protection of civil liberties, the Supreme Court, Iraq and economics. However, the parties were a one-shot deal. Members keep in contact only through the Web site and e-mail.

Most seem to be putting on a happy face despite the fact they were unable keep George W. from gaining his self-proclaimed mandate. Despite the results, many volunteers feel like they won due to the surge in motivation and inspiration that they got out of the experience.

"The enthusiasm created by MoveOn thus far isn't going to just fade away," said Smith, who attended one of the parties in Philadelphia. "I think it's prudent for the leadership to take stock and think critically about the group's next move."

Although there are a lot of positive feelings among MoveOn volunteers, especially in Philadelphia, there is, of course, a lot of frustration and sadness.

"It was pretty devastating in the days and weeks [following the election]," said former Center City volunteer Precinct Leader Benjamin Wyskida, an outreach director for a graphic design and communication firm. "We did as much as we possibly could."

This has left MoveOn members wondering, as Wyskida puts it, "How come this didn't work?"

To that end, MoveOn has faced criticism for alienating swing voters with their radically progressive approach that made the Democratic Party appear weak and divided. But was it the liberals' blind commitment to progressive ideologies and the lack of unity within the Democratic Party that kept many states from turning blue on Nov. 2?

"The reality of the situation is that we have to [change things in Washington] and if it makes [the Democratic Party] look divided, it is because we are divided," said Ray Murphy, one of the many MoveOn lead organizers who is now unemployed. "We need to come through this with a party that actually represents the people it says it does."

Accomplishing this is the real task. "If you want to look at a model for success, look at the right wing," Murphy said. "They started in the '70s and continued to build this group of activists for over 30 years by sticking to their core principles and ideologies. That is what I hope MoveOn does, and that is what a lot of people are hoping for — leadership for a new Democratic Party."

The pre-election fervor among MoveOn members stemmed not entirely from a hatred of Bush (although that was part of it) but from a more general anger at the administration as a whole. Did that anger push MoveOn's members and message too far left, creating a split between the moderate and liberal Democrats that may keep a Democratic president out of the White House for the forseeable future?

"I don't think [MoveOn] is an organization that fractured the party at all," said Wyskida. "We just brought more people to the table, and that is the challenge to the moderates — the people we brought to the table are just more liberal than they are."

In the end, though, MoveOn and its members are unsure what the future holds for them and for the Democratic Party as a whole. However, as past events have shown, MoveOn's approach does not seem to be working. And that's what troubles some one-time MoveOn-ers most, including Murphy, who thinks its time to start focusing some energy on U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, an ultra-conservative he thinks might seek the White House in 2008.

Said Wyskida, "We have to find a way to articulate a bigger and inspiring vision of what the world could be if people listen to us."