Today’s New York Times Magazine has an article titled “Can Lobbyists
Stop the War?” that is focused on the efforts of an outfit called
Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (A.A.E.I.) that was spawned by
moveon.org. It is led by a 32 year old moveon.org veteran named Tom
Matzzie, whose most recent strategy “stresses Democratic unity and
driving a wedge between Republicans and President Bush.” Matzzie feels
that this approach makes much more sense than demonstrating in the
streets. The Times explains:
The playbook for opposing a war has changed markedly since the
street-protest ethos of the anti-Vietnam movement. Tie-dyed shirts and
flowers have been replaced by oxfords and BlackBerries. Politicians are
as likely to be lobbied politely as berated. And instead of a
freewheeling circus managed from college campuses and coffee houses, the
new antiwar movement is a multimillion-dollar operation run by
media-savvy professionals.
Matzzie told the paper: “Last time [it] was done in the streets. People
were concerned about civil society breaking down. You have to play in
politics, which is something we do very explicitly.”
Matzzie is close to the Democratic Party leadership and meets with
Pelosi and Reid about once a month. Last year when the Democrats caved
in and gave Bush money to continue the war, Matzzie took the position
that to do otherwise would be essentially “a vote for a war without
end.” Obviously, Matzzie has loftier career goals in mind than lobbying
politicians. This kind of double-speak would qualify him to be a press
secretary for Hillary Clinton. Fellow liberals at the grass roots level
were less than delighted with his position and was accused of “having
been co-opted by the party leaders with whom he frequently rubs elbows.”
Mattzie supposedly believes that “political and lifestyle radicalism was
a gift to supporters of the Vietnam War that his allies will not give
again.” Apparently he much prefers the life-style of a corporate
lobbyist and has the girth to show for it.
full:
http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/ruminations-on-the-antiwar-movement/
- [PEN-L] Ruminations on the antiwar movement Louis Proyect
-
