MoveOn.Org and The Ad Reaction

A while back, I signed an online petition organized by a then-fledgling group called MoveOn.Org. The petition was in protest of abuses by the FCC. MoveOn.Org provided another outlet for me to express my frustration with the direction of the FCC, the other being the EFF. By signing this petition, I became a “member” of MoveOn, apparently. This was entertaining for me because my political views fall way outside MoveOn’s general spectrum. I’ve never donated money to any of their causes or ads, but I have signed the occasional petition for actions I believe to be legitimate and in the best interest of our country. I don’t support most of their actions, but neither will I decry their efforts as I find their passion to be inspiring. I may not agree with them all the time, but I wholeheartedly support their effort to involve the regular folks who often feel so disenfranchised. MoveOn.Org recently ran an ad that attacked General Petraeus’ report to Congress about the effectiveness of the troop surge in Iraq. They basically claimed that Petraeus was “cherry-picking” his facts to make the surge look effective when multiple reports from other sources indicated that the surge was not effective. As part of their ad they called him “General Betray Us”. Needless to say, some were not amused. (more…)