Who’s a Sell Out?

Farhad Manjoo asks a question:

MoveOn, which began with an e-mail petition opposing President Clinton’s impeachment in 1998, has grown into one of the biggest and best-known netroots groups on the left. When Republicans controlled the White House and the Congress, it raised millions of dollars in soft money for insurgent liberal candidates and produced memorable commercials blasting President Bush. Now, however, with the Democrats running the House and Senate, MoveOn’s stance on the Pelosi bill has led critics to suggest complicity with the new congressional power structure. MoveOn has settled for something less than ideal. It’s the classic problem the outsider faces after getting inside: Now that it’s got an in with the speaker of the House, has MoveOn lost its soul?

Seems like a topic that has been bubbling up a lot since the midterms. Who’s a sell-out, and who is just exerting hard-won influence? What do you think?

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.