MoveOn.org ad controversy

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The MoveOn.org ad controversy began when the U.S.

ad also labeled him "General Betray Us".[1] The organization created the ad in response to Petraeus' Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq. MoveOn hosted pages on its website about the ad and their reasons behind it from 2007 to June 23, 2010. On June 23, 2010, after President Obama nominated General Petraeus to be the new top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan (taking over the position from retiring General Stanley McChrystal), MoveOn erased these webpages and any reference to them from its website.[2]

Contents

Arguments

The ad[3] argued:

  • "Every independent report on the
    surge strategy
    has failed."
The group later cited the
GAO,[4] NIE,[5] and Jones[6] reports published for Congress around the same time as Petraeus' report. USA Today compared the four reports' findings.[7] The New York Times also did so.[8] The group referred to an Associated Press study finding that the civilian death toll in August 2007 was the second highest since the surge began. The study found as well that "monthly death tolls began to decline after the new security plan was launched" and that "Deaths went down in Baghdad during August".[9] The group also referred to a Los Angeles Times article stating that "the U.S. troop increase has had little effect."[10]
  • "Yet the General claims a reduction in violence. That’s because, according to the
    car bombs
    don’t count."
The group later referred to an editorial
car bombs.[12]
  • "The Washington Post reported that
    assassinations
    only count if you're shot in the back of the head -- not the front."
MNF-I says that they make no distinction among the possible points of impact on the head.[12]
  • "According to news reports, there have been more civilian deaths and more American soldier deaths in the past three months than in any other summer we’ve been there."
The group later cited an
White House". The article concluded by stating that "So is the surge working? The short answer is that no one can know for certain because statistics only tell a small part of the story."[15]
  • "We'll hear of neighborhoods where violence has decreased. But we won't hear that those neighborhoods have been
    ethnically cleansed
    ."
The group later cited a
Shiite militias' cleansing of Baghdad has progressed: they've essentially won."[16]
  • "Iraq is mired in an unwinnable
    civil war
    ."
  • "General Petraeus has actually said American troops will need to stay in Iraq for as long as ten years."
The group later referred to a statement by
counter-insurgency is somewhere around a 9- or a 10- year endeavor" in reference to The Troubles in Northern Ireland.[12]

Criticism

The Washington Post's "Fact Checker" stated that the General's report of "sharply declining Iraqi casualty rates is certainly open to analysis, debate, and challenge" but that "MoveOn.org does not provide adequate factual support for its larger assertion that Petraeus is 'constantly at war with the facts' and is 'cooking the books' for the White House".[19]

Controversies

Payment controversy

The New York Post quoted a Times public relations director saying the full one-time rate was $182,000, an additional $40,000 above what has been paid back.[23]

Fox News stated:

Catherine Mathis, vice president of corporate communication at the Times, said she could not discuss specific advertisers, but said the rate for a special advocacy, full-page, black and white, standby ad is $64,575. At that rate, an advertiser can request that an ad run on a specific date, but cannot be guaranteed such placement.[24]

Conservative columnist George Will argued that "the paper made a huge and patently illegal contribution to MoveOn.org's issue advocacy ad." He also stated that "The Times' performance in this matter confirms an axiom: There can be unseemly exposure of mind as well as of body."[25]

Copyright controversy

Google and MoveOn were accused of selective adherence to trademark law for removing ads from

Google Adwords for Maine Senator Susan Collins, citing infringement of MoveOn trademarks.[26]
[27] Wired stated on October 15, 2007 that the "left-leaning political advocacy group, MoveOn.org, is backing down" and will allow Google to show the ads. "We don't want to support a policy that denies people freedom of expression," Moveon.org communications director Jennifer Lindenauer said.[28]

Response

Political response

Meet The Press, "I don't condone anything like that, and I have voted against those who would impugn the patriotism and the service of the people who wear the uniform of our country".[34]

Several other Democratic Senators and

advocacy groups".[37]

Former President

Senatorial candidate Al Franken argued in a Star Tribune editorial "It is, of course, ridiculous that the United States Senate spent a day debating and voting on a resolution condemning an advertisement while our troops remained in Iraq, fighting a war with no end."[39]

Linguist George Lakoff argued that the "ad has raised vital questions that need a thorough and open discussion. The ad worked brilliantly to reveal, via its framing, an essential but previously hidden truth: the Bush Administration and its active supporters have betrayed the trust of the troops and the American people."[40] Liberal blogger Arianna Huffington argued that "Was the MoveOn ad blunt? Yes. Did it go for the jugular? No doubt. But while the way it chose to make its points can be debated, the accuracy of those points cannot."[41] Anti-war activist and Congressional candidate Cindy Sheehan stated that "I have often been critical of MoveOn.org, basically because I feel, for the most part that they support Democrats to the detriment of democracy... The occupation of Iraq is a disaster and I applaud MoveOn for moving a little closer to the true 'anti-war' movement and encourage them to come with us farther."[42]

Bush administration has put him in." Fellow Max Boot accused Moveon.org of "desperate attempts to besmirch one of the most admired soldiers in the entire American armed forces" and argued that the ad will "backfire".[43]

Pete Hegseth, an Iraq War veteran and executive director of

Weekly Standard calling the ad "utterly shameful." He argued that "It shows contempt for America's military leadership, as well as for the troops who have confidence in him, as our fellow soldiers in Iraq certainly do."[44] Time magazine blogger Joe Klein posted that "It is no small thing to accuse a military man of betraying his country. It is also palpably untrue in this case. Whoever cooked up this ad is guilty of a disgraceful act of malicious puerility." He also posted that "This is a distraction from the main event."[45]

The Politico has stated that Moveon.org "welcomes the controversy." Eli Pariser has said, "Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade, even if it’s a respected general".[47]
They have since deleted all reference to the ad from their web site.

Legislative response

On September 20, the Senate passed an amendment by

House passed an amendment to a continuing budget resolution which condemned the ad "in the strongest terms" by a 341–79 vote on September 26.[51][52][53]

2002 midterm elections and the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth ads attacking John Kerry during the 2004 Presidential election.[55] Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan said, "They're all disgraceful ads and we ought to treat them the same way".[56] The vote was 50–47 in favor, but since 60 votes were required to pass it, the amendment did not carry.[57]

MoveOn.org for giving moderate Republicans a ready excuse for staying with Bush and for giving Bush and his supporters a way to divert attention away from the war".[58] Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, stated that "It is unconscionable and outrageous that instead of doing the people's work and ending this war, Congress chooses meaningless and distracting gestures.[59]

Popular response

A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 23% of Americans approved of the ad while 58% disapproved.[60] The Economist stated on September 27 that "the group had raised $500,000 the day the Senate voted, its biggest one-day fundraising total all year. Over four days, in the midst of the row, it took in $1.6m[illion]."[61]

Counter-ads

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani ran his own full-page ad[62] in The New York Times on September 14.[63][64][65] Giuliani asked for and received a similar reduced fee as Moveon.org, paying $65,000.[66][67]
organization Freedom's Watch created two video ads in response to MoveOn.org's ad.[68][69][70] On September 24, Freedom's Watch ran a full-page ad[71] in The New York Times attacking former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — calling him a "terrorist". The ad asserted that Ahmadinejad "has supported attacks on our soldiers and our allies".[72]

Removal

MoveOn hosted pages on its website about the ad and their reasons behind it from 2007 to June 23, 2010. On June 23, 2010, MoveOn erased these webpages and any reference to them from its website. The change took place in the aftermath of President Obama's nomination of Petraeus to be the new top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan upon General

Stanley McChrystal's retirement. Commentator Jon Bershad of Mediaite stated, "Since MoveOn is an advocacy group with no claims to unbiased content, there’s nothing unethical about scrubbing the site. However, it is pretty darn funny imagining them hastily running to their computers in the aftermath of Obama’s announcement"[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "ABC News: Ad Against Petraeus Strikes a Nerve". ABC News. Archived from the original on September 24, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Bershad, Jon (June 24, 2010). "MoveOn.org Removes "General Betray Us" Ad In Response To Petraeus Appointment". Mediaite. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  3. ^ "MoveOn.org Political Action: General Petraeus or General Betray Us?". pol.moveon.org. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  4. ^ David M. Walker (September 5, 2007). "Iraqi Government Has Not Met Most Legislative, Security, and Economic Benchmarks" (PDF). gao.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  5. ^ "Prospects for Iraq's Stability: Some Security Progress but Political Reconciliation Elusive" (PDF). politico.com. August 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Comparing four views on Iraq situation" by Jim Michaels in USA Today on September 9, 2007
  8. ^ "Assessments of the War - New York Times". The New York Times. September 10, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  9. ^ "At least 1,809 Iraqi civilians killed in August" on NBC News
  10. ^ "Civilian deaths up again in Iraq". Los Angeles Times. September 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.
  11. ^ Krugman, Paul (September 7, 2007). "Time to Take a Stand". The New York Times.
  12. ^ a b c "General Betray Us?". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  13. ^ "Experts Doubt Drop In Violence in Iraq"
  14. ^ "Violence appears to be shifting from Baghdad" on NBC News
  15. ^ NPR: Statistics the Weapon of Choice in Surge Debate
  16. ^ ""Baghdad's New Owners"". Archived from the original on September 3, 2007.
  17. ^ "TheHill.com - Rep. Schakowsky: Petraeus hints at decade-long Iraq presence". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  18. ^ "FactCheck.org: Liberal Lobby Lacks Context". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  19. ^ "General Betray Us?". WaPo Fact Checker.
  20. ^ "New York Times Says It Violated Policies Over MoveOn Ad", By Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post, September 24, 2007, p. A8
  21. ^ "Betraying Its Own Best Interests", by Clark Hoyt, The New York Times, September 23, 2007
  22. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. (September 26, 2007). "MoveOn Pays The Times $77,508 for Ad Cost". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  23. ^ Bureau, CHARLES HURT (September 13, 2007). "Times Gives Lefties A Hefty Discount For 'Betray Us' Ad". New York Post.
  24. ^ "Pro-Bush Group Airs Ads Denouncing Liberal Anti-Petraeus Ad". Fox News. September 14, 2007. Archived from the original on September 15, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  25. ^ "All the Hubris Fit to Print" at RealClearPolitics
  26. ^ "Sen. Susan Collins' Web Ads Run Up Against Google, MoveOn.org". Fox News. October 12, 2007. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007.
  27. ^ "Our advertising policies and political speech". Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  28. ^ "MoveOn.org Reverses: Allows Critical Ads on Google". Wired. October 15, 2007. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
  29. ^ Rhee, Foon (September 10, 2007). "Republicans bash MoveOn.org over anti-Petraeus ad". The Boston Globe.
  30. ^ "MoveOn Unfazed By Furor Over Ad, Washington Post: Liberal Group Presses On Despite Senate Resolution Denouncing Petraeus Ad - CBS News". CBS News. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007.
  31. ^ https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070916/ap_on_el_pr/giuliani_clinton [permanent dead link]
  32. ^ "Kerry: MoveOn.org is 'over the top'". CNN. September 10, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  33. ^ "Transcript: Sen. Joe Biden on 'FOX News Sunday'". Fox News. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  34. ^ "'Meet the Press' transcript for Sept. 23, 2007". NBC News. September 23, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  35. ^ "GOP calls on top Senate Dem to condemn anti-Petraeus ad - CNN.com". CNN. September 10, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  36. World News with Charles Gibson
     on September 14
  37. ^ Hulse, Carl (September 22, 2007). "NEWS ANALYSIS; As Bills to End War Stumble in Congress, Partisan Din Swells". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  38. ^ September 28 Video of Bill Clinton on CNN
  39. ^ "The latest from the StarTribune". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
  40. Huffington Post
  41. ^ "Dept. of Misdirection: With Iraq a Disaster, GOP Goes Crazy Over a Newspaper Ad". Huffington Post. March 28, 2008.
  42. commondreams.org
  43. ^ "CFR Fellows Respond to Iraq Testimony". Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2007.
  44. ^ "MoveOn.org Calls Petraeus a Traitor"
  45. ^ "Moveon.Infantile"
  46. ^ "MoveOn.org Political Action: Democracy in Action". Archived from the original on September 17, 2007.
  47. ^ Grim, Ryan (September 13, 2007). "'Betray Us' ad unites GOP, distracts Dems". POLITICO. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  48. ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  49. ^ "Senate Votes to Condemn MoveOn for Ad Attacking General Petraeus". Fox News. September 21, 2007. Archived from the original on October 3, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  50. ^ a b "Senate Approves Resolution Denouncing MoveOn.org Ad" in The New York Times on September 21, 2007
  51. ^ "Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)". Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  52. ^ "Senate Condemns "General Betray Us" Ad". Associated Press. September 20, 2007.
  53. ^ Marre, Klaus (September 26, 2007). "House overwhelmingly condemns MoveOn ad". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
  54. ^ Chambliss Ad (Cleland). YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  55. ^ "The Verbal Senate Record". Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  56. ^ NPR: Anger over 'Betray Us' Ad Simmers on Hill
  57. ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress - 1st Session". www.senate.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  58. ^ Bacon Jr, Perry (September 21, 2007). "MoveOn Unmoved By Furor Over Ad Targeting Petraeus". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  59. ^ "House condemns MoveOn.org for 'Betray Us' ad - CNN.com". CNN. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007.
  60. ^ "23% Approve of MoveOn.org Petraeus Ad, 58% Disapprove". www.rasmussenreports.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  61. ^ "An ad too far" in The Economist
  62. ^ See http://www.nysun.com/pics/62696_main_large.jpg
  63. ^ "Giuliani Plans Full-Page Ad Defending Petraeus". The Washington Post. September 14, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  64. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. (September 14, 2007). "Angered by an Antiwar Ad, Giuliani Seeks Equal Space". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  65. ^ "Rudy Blasts Hillary Again Over MoveOn Ad". CBS News. September 17, 2007.
  66. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q. (September 14, 2007). "Giuliani slams Times over anti-Petraeus ad". The Boston Globe.
  67. ^ Saltonstall, David (September 15, 2007). "General Petraeus ad nets Giuliani big bucks from donors". Daily News. New York.
  68. ^ "Freedom's Watch - Move On". Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  69. ^ "Freedom's Watch - Condemn". Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  70. ^ ""New TV Ad Slams MoveOn.org"". CBS News. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  71. ^ "Freedom's+watch+iran+nyt+ad.JPG (Image)".
  72. ^ Grim, Ryan (September 28, 2007). "'Anti-MoveOn' claims first successes". POLITICO. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
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