MoveOn.org is running a petition campaign urging Congress "to demand President Bush seek congressional authorization before considering military action in Iran."
Can't hurt to try, can it?
To add your name, visit: http://pol.moveon.org/noescalationiniran/.
10 comments:
Great idea. I signed it, but must admit I froze when trying to decide what personal message I could add. What more can we say to convince this man that we do not want to be the world's bully any more?
Actually, you're addressing Congress in the message/petition. Maybe that will help -- I agree that there is no reasoning with this president.
What I said, to my members of Congress, was something along the lines of: "Please, please, do your job. Stop this imperialist president."
I think the actual content is less important than it would be in a letter that you directly wrote, in the context of the petition itself, since no one's going to read all of the messages. (Well, except the NSA. ;^) ) Mostly, I think you just want to have something other than the boilerplate, so that your signing of the petition can be automatically scanned, noted as "not a match to the boilerplate," and thus be counted as a likely unique individual, and not just another mindless clicker, or worse, as a downright made-up entity.
You cock-eyed optimist, you!
I am hesitant to cast a shadow over your obvious enthusiasm for this petition, but...
Petitions don't work, especially coming from constituents in uncompetitive districts. I also suspect that the "boilerplate" idea doesn't work anymore: the voter registration history of each signature is no doubt analyzed to see which signatories might actually change their vote if the M.C. does not change his/hers. With today's polarized politics, very few would pass muster.
Politicians do not care about petitions, they care about votes: how to get them, how not to lose them. They do care about MoveOn.org coming to them with $100,000 in hand, promising (and delivering on that promise) to spend that money either for their reelection or defeat, depending on their vote.
I think MoveOn.org should charge people $10 per signature (like selling indulgences): not too high a price to pay to feel good about yourself. Then they can spend that money for outreach in swing districts. After all, what is the worth of a signature from someone who won't even spend $10 to back it up. It's OK to ride on the bandwagon, but better to chip in for gas and food to get there.
It is funny that the Right Wing seems to get this even at the grass roots level (and in church!). It is telling that Conservative giving has a broad tail of $50 donations from churchgoers, whereas Liberals have a few superdonors like Geffin and Soros. It's also funny how many Liberals will gladly pay for cable TV but not join an NPR member station, spend $4/day on designer coffee but not $1/day for ending a divisive, bloody, and costly war.
You have inspired me, but not to sign a petition. Instead I have sent another $200 to the ACLU. I am determined to get our Constitution back before I die. And I suspect I'm more likely to achieve that goal by letting Ben Franklin do the talking for me.
Meanwhile, if you're planning to stand out in front of a supermarket gathering signatures in winter, be sure to take a coat. I know first hand how cold that can get!
I should add that I was talking about Iraq. I cannot conceive of even George Bush moving into Iran at this point. Anyone that foolish would not be deterred by Congress in any case.
Impeachment is the proper remedy for a President who would show such signs of reckless behavior and mental instability, not some toothless Congressional resolution.
You're absolutely right about the dubious effectiveness of petitions, Dan. As I said in the original post, though, it can't hurt.
In addition to possibly adding a little bit of weight to the thinking of a member of Congress, I'd also argue that having a petition about a specific issue at least raises consciousness. Maybe also by a small amount, but, you never know. Maybe somebody gets inspired, takes it to the next level, whatever.
Right now, I'm horribly avoiding the news, because it seems dominated by horse race coverage for something whose finish line is more than a year and a half away. So, for me, it's good to get a reminder that Bush bears close watching in the meantime.
Which, I guess supports Clare's assessment of me as c.e.o.
Maybe if Dan sends me $200, I can write some personalized letters of outrage on his behalf.
LOL!
I forgot to salute Dan for his very valuable contribution, in all seriousness. You're a good man, Dan.
Clare, I would never dream of insulting your generous offer of vicarious outrage with something as tawdry as money.
Who would accept my money for such an inspired untertaking receives trash; ’tis something, nothing; ’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands: But she that sells me her hard-earned brownie points gives me of that which not enriches me and makes her poor indeed.
Good luck with the letter writing!
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