MoveOn is a liberal advocacy group formed in 1998 to oppose the impeachment of then president Bill Clinton. MoveOn was originally founded as a political action committee (PAC), but in the Campaign of 2004, it formed a 527 group, the MoveOn.org Voter Fund, raising millions of dollars to oppose President George W. Bush’s reelection. MoveOn set the stage for the formation of other 527 groups such as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Because these groups can accept unlimited donations and can engage in unlimited independent campaign spending, they have been criticized as a means for the very wealthy to exert a disproportionate influence on American elections. In June 2008, MoveOn closed shop on its 527 operation but continued to operate as a PAC.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in the Campaign of 2008, MoveOn spent just under $5 million in independent expenditures in support of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and just under $1 million in opposition to Republican nominee John McCain. Other major independent expenditures by the group during this period included over $140,000 spent against Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, just under $250,000 against Republican senator Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), and just under $200,000 in support of other Democratic House and Senate candidates.
While MoveOn supports liberal causes, it has been selective about which liberal candidates it funds. For example, the group spent less than $10,000 in independent expenditures in support of Democrats Hillary Clinton (2008) and John Edwards (2004) in their quest for the party’s nomination. Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken of Minnesota received over $10,000 to fund his recount efforts, which ultimately resulted in Franken’s victory (many months later) over incumbent Republican senator Norm Coleman.
In the Campaign of 2012, MoveOn spent just under $1.2 million in independent expenditures, with approximately $181,000 going to support Democrat Barack Obama’s reelection, approximately $863,000 to oppose Republican Mitt Romney’s election, and the remainder in opposition to Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and in support of Democratic House candidate Brad Schneider of Illinois.
MoveOn’s role in the Campaign of 2016 has been both visible and policy-oriented. The group attempted to fuel Democratic Party support for a “Run, Warren, run” effort in 2014, preferring Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (Massachusetts) more progressive views to Hillary Clinton’s centrist ones. MoveOn is has recently asked its social media followers to “donate” their social media accounts to it for some specified amount of time as a means of campaign/issue mobilization using a DonateYourAccount tool, similar to what the Obama campaign employed in the Campaign of 2012. And, as Obama’s Iranian nuclear deal looked like it might face some Democratic opposition in Congress, MoveOn mobilized its eight million members to express their vocal support for the deal, including the use of field organizers, a six-figure, multiplatform ad buy, and a petition drive against New York Democratic senator Chuck Schumer, who has spoken out in opposition to the deal. MoveOn announced a donors’ strike against the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in response to Schumer, hoping to cost Senate Democrats who refuse to support the Iran agreement $10 million in lost campaign contribution pledges during a seventy-two-hour period.
See also Swift Boating
Berning, Nick. “MoveOn Announces Donor Strike in Response to Schumer’s Iran Position.” MoveOn.Org, August 6, 2015. http://front.moveon.org/schumer-iran/#.VcfIap1Viko. Accessed September 5, 2015.
Center for Responsive Politics. “MoveOn.Org 2004 Election Cycle.” http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527events.php?id=41. Accessed September 5, 2015.
Center for Responsive Politics. “MoveOn.Org Summary, PAC Spending by Cycle—2004.” http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00341396. Accessed September 5, 2015.
Center for Responsive Politics. “Moveon.Org Summary, Independent Expenditures, Communication Costs and Coordinated Expenditures as of April 11, 2013.” https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/indexpend.php?cycle=2012&cmte=C00341396. Accessed September 5, 2015.
Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie. “Attack Ads Skirt Spending Limits.” CBS News, December 5, 2007.
FactCheck.Org. “MoveOn.Org.” August 11, 2010. http://www.factcheck.org/2010/08/moveonorg/. Accessed September 5, 2015.
Johnson, Sasha. “MoveOn.org Shutters Its 527.” CNN Political Ticker, June 20, 2008.
Kaye, Kate. “Progressive Political Giant MoveOn Wants Your Twitter Account.” AdvertisingAge, July 6, 2015. http://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/progressive-politics-giant-moveon-twitter-account/299352/. Accessed September 5, 2015.
Martin, Jonathan. “MoveOn Looks to Nudge Elizabeth Warren into 2106 Presidential Race.” New York Times, December 8, 2104. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/us/politics/looking-to-nudge-senator-elizabeth-warren-into-2016-presidential-race.html. Accessed September 5, 2015.
Weigel, David. “MoveOn Plans ‘Mass Mobilization’ to Save Iran Deal.” Washington Post, July 23, 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/07/23/moveon-plans-mass-mobilization-to-save-iran-deal/. Accessed September 5, 2015.