MoveOn Who?
The seemingly ubiquitous controversy surrounding MoveOn.org's "General Betray Us" ad does not appear to have resonated widely. Few Americans off the campaign trail or outside the halls of Congress have even tuned in.
The ad, which ran in The New York Times as the top U.S. commander in Iraq testified before Congress, provoked anger from lawmakers and a retaliatory full-page ad from Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign (not to mention hours of TV talking head punditry. But a new Fox News poll shows that few are paying attention, and the dust-up has had little impact on opinions of either MoveOn or the Democratic Party.
Just 18 percent of registered voters said they have been paying "a lot" or "some" attention to MoveOn's ad, while more than half, 53 percent, said they were paying "not much" or "none" and one-quarter volunteered they had not heard of the ads.
MoveOn.org itself remains a largely unknown quantity. Only about a third even express an opinion of the group, unchanged since Fox last asked about the political advocacy group in March.
Views of the Democratic Party itself are also similar to what they were in Fox polling earlier this year. Also, few voters see MoveOn.org as an influential faction within the party -- about two in 10 said the group has "a lot" of influence. Among self-identified Democrats, just one in 10 said the group has that much power.
There's also little evidence that the ad will have a major effect on the presidential campaign. Asked whether Hillary Clinton's vote against the Senate amendment disapproving of the ad would impact their thinking, most voters said it wouldn't. Among Democrats, 72 percent said Clinton's vote wouldn't make a difference to them, and of the rest, a higher percentage said it would make them more likely to vote for her (14 percent) than less (6 percent).
The ad's deepest impact may be in riling up groups already at odds with MoveOn. Among Republicans, just 3 percent have a favorable view of MoveOn, while 35 percent have an unfavorable opinion -- up 7 points since March. About three in 10 say the group has "a lot" of influence on Democratic Party policies.
By Jennifer Agiesta |
September 28, 2007; 1:38 PM ET
Polls
Previous: Slow Recovery for Consumer Comfort |
Next: The Female Factor
Posted by: jad | September 28, 2007 3:57 PM
They would think that there are a bunch of degenerates running around this country.
Posted by: Mike | September 28, 2007 7:03 PM
We still have free speech. MoveOn posted a controversial add - nobody went to jail. Guiliani posted a retaliatory add - nobody went to jail. The door to free speech swings both ways.
Posted by: Derek | September 28, 2007 8:09 PM
I guess Derek missed the United States Senate condemning free speech the other day. Going to jail is the next step. We already know that an anti-Bush bumper sticker will get you arrested in the US these days.
Posted by: Jan | September 28, 2007 8:44 PM
I'm sure that the U.S. congress will pass a resolution condemming the remarks of Mr. Limbaugh concerning our soldiers who have returned home after serving in Iraq.
Posted by: Lenny | September 29, 2007 11:19 AM
I'm still waiting to hear Dick Cheney apologize for his profane remarks to Sen. Patrick Leahy on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
Posted by: James White | September 30, 2007 4:10 PM
This is probably the most accurate portrayal of the Moveon ad I've seen. I barely know what the organization is about - I get my news from other sources.
Since none of the presidential candidates are directly involved with Moveon, why should they have to defend/refute its tactics? Seems like a lot of manufactured hysteria to me.
Posted by: TEL | September 30, 2007 9:57 PM
I think it's time the Repugs moved on. No one cares, no one is paying attention and Guliani wasted his money. Who cares.
MoveOn did better than Congress or the Whitehouse. They accept our donations and listen to us. Our government takes our taxes and ignores us.
Posted by: Pansycritter | October 2, 2007 9:44 AM
I think MoveOn was named because some folks got stuck on the sticky stuff on Monica's blue dress and couldn't let it go. In the meantime if it were not for the Clintons (yes, both of them) we would have been in a recession a long time ago.
This time around the public is ignoring the political stupidity of both parties and are waiting for someone in public life to actually do something.
Posted by: Mooooooove | October 5, 2007 10:00 PM
Move on must have resonated with many people because about one and a half dollars were sent to them. I understand many people signed up afterwards.
Posted by: Mildred Kish | October 8, 2007 7:20 AM
I like Move On. While this was a bit tactless, it was free political expression and that's what America is all about. If more ordinary people put their opinion out there, then maybe, we wouldn't be in the mess we are now.
Posted by: David | October 10, 2007 2:01 PM
Should have ran this instead:
General Petraeus or
General Westmoreland?
Yes, tis time to MoveOn, and for MoveOn to make Ann Coulter the face of the Republican party. Especially with todays comments on wanting me to be "perfected"
Posted by: Ben David | October 12, 2007 1:43 AM
Giuliani made a lot of money by acting outraged. Moveon made a lot of money by acting outraged.
I hope Moveon puts that money to good use.
Posted by: Carrington Ward | October 13, 2007 11:52 PM
Who cares?
Who gives a fat rats rump about what these freaks think of each other?
The Republicans hate everything MoveOn stands for and MoveOn hates everything the Republicans stand for (with the possible exception of "gay public-bathroom sex" where the GOP has staked out a wide stance). Rush Limbaugh is a drug addled moron and Ann Coulter is the poster child for desperation. Who assigns any value to anything any of these people think? (Assuming you believe any of them are actually thinking...)
Posted by: Dijetlo | October 15, 2007 11:48 AM
Don't kid yourself. Many common everyday Americans are paying very close attention to the democrat party and it's very close ties to moveon.org. This was not a "free speech" moment; this was "politics of personal destruction" (LOL) plain and simple. This ad was run before the General said even one word. We don't need Rush, Ann, or Shawn to do our thinking for us, they just verbalize our sentiments. We are paying very close attention to what all democrats, but more Hillary, John, Barack, Harry, and Nancy are saying and doing. So go ahead, believe that on one is paying attention, you all will find out what can and will happen..
Posted by: Anonymous | October 17, 2007 11:58 AM
What kind of statistics are you running here? Oh that's right, I almost forgot..."we don't talk about Dr. Ron Paul". Since all of you sucker fish will have to actually learn how to report real news. Get a life, and stop reporting what your superiors tell you to and report the truth. Understand what is at stake here!!!
Posted by: Curt | November 19, 2007 8:23 PM
Very useful information. Thanks !
Posted by: borja | December 5, 2007 3:54 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
What happened to free speech in our country? Are we so willing to give it up out of fear of being labeled unpatriotic? What would our Founding Fathers think of todays society?