MoveOn's "Taking 'Red Handed' EVERYwhere" campaign

Maybe I complain to (and about) MoveOn.org so much because I'm a member. When I signed up, my hope was to help advance genuinely progressive policies in government. What a naïve hope that was!

From a July 11 message from Eli Pariser [MoveOn.org Political Action] to members:

Right-wing Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (R-CT) is kicking her campaign into high gear this week. Her strategy: distance herself from the bad decisions she's been a part of (like Iraq), and hope to eke out a win under the radar this November.

It ain't going to happen. Starting next Monday, we're deploying our organizers to manage new on-the-ground visibility campaigns with MoveOn members in EVERY competitive Republican district.

Because officeholders of all parties are only human, there will probably always be some who earn the label, "lap-dog of the administration." Through weasel words and PR maneuvers, some are now attempting to create "distance... from the bad decisions" where no such distance exists. Avoiding responsibility and blame-shifting are certainly nothing new to Washington.

Likewise, other officeholders (again, of all parties) are doing their level best -- against all odds -- to be responsible public servants. They aren't afraid to call "bad decisions" exactly what they were: decisions they would make differently now -- not out of political expedience, but because they've learned something. Such experience is valuable.

MoveOn cites "Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (R-CT)" without specific explanation, and then (predictably) launches into "we're deploying our organizers... in EVERY competitive Republican district."

Presuming MoveOn isn't assigning some coded meaning to "competitive," it sounds like they're targeting anyone wearing the GOP armband -- regardless of the merit of that person's service. Such blind "Us and Them" approaches to politics poorly serve all Americans.

Where else is this brand of thinking abundant? The Middle East.

Silly me, I thought democracy was a renewable resource. Exporting democratic principles doesn't require us to import narrow attitudes and ancient conflicts in exchange.