SENTIENT TIMES Feb/Mar 2003

Democracy In Action

Letter to Members of MoveOn, January 22, 2003

Thank you. The week of Jan 20th exceeded our wildest dreams. Our plan was to launch an anti-war television ad campaign, hold 12 local press conferences, grow our “Let the Inspections Work” petition, and have meetings in Congressional offices around the country. We knew it would be big. But we never thought it would be this big. That we were able to reach so far and do so much is because of you. You made it all possible.

We didn’t expect, frankly, to have 100,000 new members join our organization in one week. We didn’t expect to be able to deliver a petition with over 310,000 American signers—the largest since MoveOn’s inception. (We’re told that when Senator Diane Feinstein’s aide saw the petition, his eyes opened wide. He said that this was the biggest petition he recalled them receiving. Feinstein’s segment was over 8,000 pages long.)

We never thought that our ad—carrying the “Let the Inspections Work” message—would be aired on virtually every major TV news show. We never thought George Stephanopoulos would show it to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and grill him on the dangers of war. We never imagined it would be broadcast and discussed on news programs in Australia, Pakistan, Russia, and Japan.

We didn’t anticipate that a new national poll, taken on the very days our story was playing everywhere, would show public support for war plummeting, or that this poll would be the top story in the Washington Post (1/22/03). We didn’t anticipate that local press conferences, staffed by MoveOn members in 12 cities, would generate front-page stories on the new breadth and tactics of the anti-war movement.

And then there are the Congressional meetings. We had high hopes for the meetings that occurred in Congressional districts across the country on January 21st. After all, 9,000 folks had signed up to participate, and we had an incredible team of over 800 local volunteers and 12 tireless volunteer regional coordinators who were working to set everything up. But, after a week of continual surprises, our expec-tations were once again exceeded.

One comment sums up the experience of many:

“It was fantastic! Probably the best meeting I’ve ever been at—ever. 18 regular people who came together as strangers, were in agreement with one another, speaking eloquently, passionately, respectfully and from the heart.” The member went on to say, “As a former Congressional staff person, I know this was truly impactful and meaningful.”

The impact was pretty clear. On January 21st alone, over 30 members of Congress signed onto a “Dear Colleague” letter to the President, asking him to let the inspectors do their jobs and abide by the UN process. It’s pretty remarkable—Congress is taking up our petition. And more signers keep coming in. In one of our most exciting moments, a pro-war-resolution Repre-sentative took a look at the letter, listened to our members, and then signed on the spot. Now that’s democracy in action!

The Dear Colleague letter is just the beginning. One Representative from Maryland is taking our petition to the floor of the House of Representatives. Another offered us space in his offices to do more anti-war organizing. One enthusiastic Representative is even going to join MoveOn.

From Maine to Florida to Arkansas to Washington State, from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Huntington, Alabama, diverse, articulate groups of MoveOn members got together to talk to the offices of their Senators and Representatives. Local newspapers, TV and radio stations covered the events, from the Denver Post to Pacifica Radio.

The meetings themselves were simply incredible. But you don’t need to take our word for it. Here are a few short samples from the hundreds of reports that have been pouring in:

“The voices of several veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars, of a VA doctor, a pediatrician, other doctors, nurses, retirees, teachers, grandparents, a law student, one after another, built a strong case for encouraging Kolbe to urge Bush to give stronger support for the Inspections Process. It was a bit uncanny. Not practiced, nor planned, but one by one, each person integrated his/her contributions into what had been said before. This was a very intelligent, well-informed, professionally-diverse, group of people, speaking in one voice for winning the peace, without war.” - Martha Warner, Congressman Kolbe meeting, Arizona.

“I was so proud to be associated with the group that showed up to Congressman Tancredo’s office! They were an eclectic group of housewives with children, high-powered businessmen, grandmas, artists, executives, PhD’s—and each spoke with such grace and eloquence. It was just amazing.” - Carol Grant, Congressman Tancredo meeting, Colorado.

“An interesting and exciting outcome of the event is that the Congressman agreed to lead a rally on Feb. 17th of many different coalitions. His feeling is that it’s up to the public to voice their opposition—that’s the only thing that will make legislators oppose the President. I/we will be working with him to make this next event a success.” - Sheryl Barajas, Congressman Davis meeting, Illinois.

“I was glad I made the drive, it was quite an honor to join with these good folks … a retired Quaker, a Methodist minister, an active lay person, a retired fighter pilot who is a Republican, a social scientist, a person who had lived in Kuwait and an anthraxed postal worker. We were together for just an hour but it was a good gathering to share and express our concerns.” - Mike DeGregory, Congressman Smith meeting, New Jersey.

As you can see, we are a force to be reckoned with. So what are our next steps? Over the next few months, we’ll be offering all sorts of ways to continue to engage on this issue.

The national meetings project and our work for the last week was made possible by the exceedingly hard work of hundreds of volunteers and scores of local and national organizations. We deeply appreciate the assistance that we have received—we couldn’t have pulled this off without help. All the folks who helped put together local meetings and press conferences have our gratitude and appreciation—they’re heroes and true patriots.

We also appreciate support for the meetings project from the following organizations: Friends Committee on National Legislation, the American Friends Service Committee, the National Council of Churches, TrueMajority, Peace Action, and Women’s Action for New Directions.

The last thank you goes to every one of MoveOn’s members. It is an honor and an incredible privilege to work with such an amazing group of people—a group that is changing the face of this country and turning the tide against a war. The latest Washington Post poll released this week showed support for the war plummeting.

The stakes are high, this war is a menace to our country and our world. But the last week has shown that an enormous group of Americans are going to do everything in their power to ensure that a peaceful resolution is reached.

Sincerely, The MoveOn Team

With a system that today revolves around big money and big media, most citizens are left out and the foundations of democracy are in peril. MoveOn is a catalyst for a new kind of grassroots involvement, supporting busy but concerned citizens in finding their political voice. The MoveOn nationwide network of hundreds of thousands of online activists is one of the most effective and responsive outlets for democratic participation available today. In addition to working for a peaceful resolution with Iraq, MoveOn’s electronic advocacy groups address issues such as campaign finance, environmental and energy issues, and nuclear disarmament. For a full report on these lobbying experiences, and to find out how you can participate in future MoveOn actions, visit www.moveon.org.

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