Irony 101
MoveOn began as an online petition to urge Congress and the independent prosecutors' office to abandon the the Bill Clinton PenisGate investigation. In a time when nobody could stop talking about Monica Lewinsky and the oval office blowjob, MoveOn Democrats urged people to, well, move on - the president may or may not have lied, but it's time to forget about the past and start thinking about new issues.
Five years later, two of Move On's projects are to promote Truth Uncovered, a documentary examining the intentional lies and exaggerations of the Bush presidency leading up to the second Iraq war, and Censure Bush, a petition to formally censure Bush for those lies and exaggerations. Meanwhile, Republicans urge people to, well, move on - the president may or may not have lied, but it's time to forget about the past and start thinking about new issues.
Of course I have my own biases and opinions. I believe that Clinton lied (under oath, no less) but it didn't bother me: the lie was harmless to everyone but his wife and family, and nobody but the dry cleaner would have had their lives affected if nobody had found out. I also think that Bush and many members of his cabinet and administration lied about WMDs and the reasons for the war, which is the reason why it's important not to drop the issue: you cannot have a rational discussion about what's to be done in Iraq until you abandon unassailiable, ill-defined, inapplicable fabrications like "the war against terror" which get run up the flagpole whenever the war is questioned. MoveOn's political pressure remains relevant now, while the Republicans' 1999 political pressure was not.
But still, whenever someone forwards me the latest MoveOn petition, I laugh that an organization founded to defend the president against lying to congress and the nation is now spearheading a campaign to make sure nobody forgets that the president lied to congress and the nation.
Five years later, two of Move On's projects are to promote Truth Uncovered, a documentary examining the intentional lies and exaggerations of the Bush presidency leading up to the second Iraq war, and Censure Bush, a petition to formally censure Bush for those lies and exaggerations. Meanwhile, Republicans urge people to, well, move on - the president may or may not have lied, but it's time to forget about the past and start thinking about new issues.
Of course I have my own biases and opinions. I believe that Clinton lied (under oath, no less) but it didn't bother me: the lie was harmless to everyone but his wife and family, and nobody but the dry cleaner would have had their lives affected if nobody had found out. I also think that Bush and many members of his cabinet and administration lied about WMDs and the reasons for the war, which is the reason why it's important not to drop the issue: you cannot have a rational discussion about what's to be done in Iraq until you abandon unassailiable, ill-defined, inapplicable fabrications like "the war against terror" which get run up the flagpole whenever the war is questioned. MoveOn's political pressure remains relevant now, while the Republicans' 1999 political pressure was not.
But still, whenever someone forwards me the latest MoveOn petition, I laugh that an organization founded to defend the president against lying to congress and the nation is now spearheading a campaign to make sure nobody forgets that the president lied to congress and the nation.