MoveOn goes mainstream at first Democratic convention

After years of attacking politicians from the outside, MoveOn.org is joining the establishment by attending its first Democratic National Convention.

The 2008 Democratic bash will feature a significant presence from the grassroots organization founded 10 years ago in response to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Now with more than 3.3 million members, the group that has fueled opposition to the Iraq war will join staffers at high-profile events in Denver.

{mosads}MoveOn communications director Ilyse Hogue said that the increased enthusiasm among members and the rise of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), whom the group endorsed during the primaries, helped persuade MoveOn to take part in the established political event.

“What’s different now is that we have a candidate who not only has embraced progressive values but grassroots organizing, which is what MoveOn is all about,” Hogue said.

The decision to attend was made despite the organization’s tough criticism of Obama a few months back, stemming from his support for a rewrite of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The FISA overhaul included on offer of immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Bush administration’s controversial wiretapping program. MoveOn opposed the overhaul and called on Obama to do the same, but he ultimately joined Republicans and other Democrats in supporting the priority for the Bush administration.

But those differences won’t keep MoveOn from the convention. MoveOn Executive Director Eli Pariser will be part of a panel of liberal and online groups. MoveOn will also co-host an art gallery of Obama-inspired works and an outdoor concert of indie bands.

Hogue added, though, that just three of its 15 staffers plan to be in Denver.

“The bulk of our work will be with the members all across the country, and that will remain the case through the convention,” she said. “They’ll continue to self-organize.”

Other interest groups friendly to Democrats will look to reprise what they’ve done in past years.

Members of the coalition that split after the 2004 election have agreed to hold a joint rally Sunday supporting the Democratic presidential candidate. Just as in past years, the labor groups hope to work together to turn out voters in swing states, such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio, said Steve Smith, an AFL-CIO spokesman.

The Sunday event was organized for Democratic convention delegates who are part of the AFL-CIO and its former member unions, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers. The National Education Association, the union for teachers, will also be at the rally.

“We feel it’s important to give delegates an opportunity to come together as the unified labor movement,” Smith said.

Both the AFL-CIO and SEIU will sponsor discussions about the economy during convention week and will brief reporters on their election strategy this year. The AFL-CIO is co-sponsoring an economic forum where experts are going to address healthcare, trade and union-backed legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize by allowing them to bypass secret-ballot elections, Smith said. The Change to Win coalition of unions that left the AFL-CIO is holding its own forum focusing on why it thinks the American Dream is at risk.