To: Boad of Directors`, Board of Directors
Move On Board Should Resign
The Board of MoveOn has betrayed MoveOn's mission to promote progressive causes. It has failed to oversee the staff of MoveOn by allowing them to create a petition site which accepts petitions directly contra to positions taken by MoveOn. Despite repeated complaints citing the adverse effects of an open forum petition site, the staff has refused either to change the policy or to submit it to a vote of the membership. The staff of MoveOn is displaying the very lack of transparency which it criticizes in government. MoveOn 's staff has not only betrayed MoveOn's ideals but also MoveOn's members. The board of directors is charged with overseeing the staff. Either it knew about the change and supports this betrayal of everything MoveOn stands for or it should have known and failed to exercise proper oversight. In either case the board has failed to fulfill its function and should resign forthwith.
Why is this important?
I am the CO of the Mid-Peninsula American Dream Council, MoveOn division. My members, my core council and I are all opposed to this open forum policy since it dilutes the MoveOn brand. Our legislative team has worked long and hard to develop working relationships with our Congresswomen and local politicians. When we, acting as the council and a part of MoveOn delivered petitions to their offices, our positions received a hearing. Now, we can deliver a petition and on the same day another group can deliver a petition against us and both will bear the MoveOn signature. There is no way we will be able to command the respect and attention we have worked to establish under these circumstances. We have followed MoveOn down every twist and turn its taken for the last 2 years, even picketing offices of friendly politicians because MoveOn wanted concerted action. We have gone to trainings and held trainings only to see nothing come of those efforts. (99% , anyone) We have accepted MoveOn's reducing the support it gives the councils we have worked so hard to build. Now we are being asked to share a progressive web site with organizations and people who are opposed to our goals and when we complain are told, "it doesn't matter." It matters to us a great deal and we will not accept this cavalier disregard of our complaints. The least the staff could have done was conducted a vote to register opinions. It needn't have been of all the membership, just the people on the original phone call-instead we got to talk about Thanksgiving. The staff disrespected us and our members and they apparently did it with the board's approval.