Mark your calendar for July 9: Moveon.org is organizing events at gas stations around the country in a “National Day of Action for an Oil-Free President.” The main goal is to inform voters that
John McCain’s campaign is run by oil lobbyists,1 it’s funded by oil companies,2 his policies are straight out of Big Oil’s playbook,3 and he won’t solve our energy crisis.
After the jump you can read the full text of the e-mail I received from Moveon.org. It includes footnotes supporting the assertions in that quote.
Fortunately for Barack Obama, Moveon.org isn’t going to be less involved in this election just because Obama made a gratuitous swipe at the group on Monday.
I was happy to see that Moveon.org also defended Wes Clark, who has been getting slammed by the right-wing noise machine. By the way, the Obama campaign went out of its way to “reject” Clark’s reasonable statements about McCain’s qualifications to be president.
This post by Chris Bowers explains succinctly why disavowing Clark was dumb:
No one in the entire country is more important to Democratic credibility on foreign policy than Wesley Clark. No one. And this isn’t just my opinion, it is the opinion of Democratic congressional candidates who requested him.
There are those who think that Obama is being super secret strategic on this one, and playing both the McCain campaign and the media for a fiddle. However, if you really want to be strategic, you need to see the whole board. Going well beyond this media cycle, and even going beyond this presidential election, Republicans score a huge strategic victory if they are able to permanently damage the credibility of the leading Democratic spokesperson on national security.
Paul Rosenberg had a priceless comment in that thread:
Incompetent is you think tactically instead of strategically.
Idiotic is you think tactically instead of strategically about the strongest surrogate you have on your weakest suit in the game.
Getting back to the main point of this post, Moveon.org is right to hit McCain campaign over energy policy. He is worse than Obama on that issue, and the price of gas is at the forefront of voters’ minds this summer.
If you attend or help organize one of the July 9 events, please put up a diary here to let us know how it went.
Dear MoveOn member,
High gas prices have lots of people’s blood boiling. But what really makes me angry is $4 gas AND no real progress on alternative energy.
That’s what President Bush’s leadership has done for us. We need to make sure voters know that John McCain won’t be any different. And what better place to communicate that than right at the gas pump?
On July 9th, we are holding a National Day of Action for an Oil-Free President. With local outreach events at gas stations around the country, we’ll make sure voters know the facts: John McCain’s campaign is run by oil lobbyists,1 it’s funded by oil companies,2 his policies are straight out of Big Oil’s playbook,3 and he won’t solve our energy crisis.
If you’re concerned about energy and climate change, will you host a local outreach event in [your city] as part of the Day of Action? Hosting is easy, and we’ll help you every step of the way. Start by clicking here:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3854…
The Oil-Free President rallies are simple events-people will be holding signs, handing out fliers, and reaching out to the media. Taking the facts right to people at the pump is a powerful way to get the message out: if you want a change in our energy policy, McCain is not for you.
Gas prices have risen to an all-time high-from $1.50 to $4.00 a gallon during Bush’s presidency. And the oil industry is making billions on $4.00 gas, while nothing much is being done about oil independence or global warming. Big Oil has made it clear who their candidate is in this race by investing $1 million in John McCain’s campaign. And McCain has repaid that friendship by supporting millions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies4 and pushing gimmicks like offshore drilling and gas tax holidays that provide no immediate relief or long-term solutions.
People need to know Barack Obama represents real change on energy.5 While Obama is presenting substantive plans for reducing carbon emissions, curbing our dependence on oil, and going after oil speculators, John McCain is selling us snake oil.
With voters desperate for relief, McCain’s promises could sound pretty good. We have to make sure our neighbors realize McCain is Big Oil’s friend-not ours.
Can you help get that message out by hosting a gas station event for the National Day of Action for an Oil-Free President on July 9th?
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3854…
Hosting the events right after Independence Day is also great timing. People will have gas prices on their minds after holiday travel. And it is just the right time to remind everyone the only way we’ll make progress on the energy crisis is if we have a president independent of Big Oil influence, who will stand up for us.
Thank you for all you do.
-Noah, Andrea, Stephen, Anna, Lenore and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. “John McCain, His Big Oil Lobbyists, and His Big Oil Policies,” Progressive Media USA Research, June 16, 2008
http://mccainsource.com/corrup…2. “McCain Heads to Texas to Sell His Soul to Big Oil,” ThinkProgress, June 16, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3819…3. “The Big Pander to Big Oil,” New York Times, June 19, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06…4. “John McCain On The Side Of Oil Companies,” Progressive Media USA Research, April 23, 2008
http://www.mccainsource.com/ho…5. “FAQ: The Obama Energy Plan,” Earth2Tech.com, June 9, 2008
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