(Net) Power to the People

(Net) Power to the People!

by Don Rittner

When I first met Joan Blades in the 1980’s, the soft spoken west coast head of computer company Berkeley Systems Design was working on a software program that could read to the blind on a Macintosh. Today, she’s trying to reform Congress.

Fed up with the way national politics was going during the Clinton impeachment fiasco last year, Joan, originally a lawyer and mediator before becoming a software entrepreneur, and her partner Wes Boyd started an online Web site and grassroots petition drive called ‘Censure and MoveOn’ (www.moveon.org) in September, 1998. Like many people at the time, they felt that Congress was wasting way too much effort over the ‘Lewinsky Affair’ and ignoring the work needed to be done for the people. They wanted Congress to censure Clinton and move on to better things like solving pressing national problems. In a few short months, the bipartisan MoveOn became a political force able to deliver its message in the lightning fast delivery system of the Internet.

In just 10 days, 150,000 constituent communications were logged on MoveOn’s server-- an average of 350 messages for each member of Congress. One month after they started, MoveOn delivered to each member of the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives constituent communications urging them to "censure and move on."

This humble of beginnings grassroots effort netted 450,000 signatures within weeks all of which were delivered to the members of Congress. MoveOn also made it easy for individual onliners to send email to their Congressman making their voices heard instantly, as well as posting their opinions on the MoveOn Web site. MoveOn provided periodic updates on what was going on in Congress and what action to take, if needed. Several Congressmen admitted that getting a few hundred emails from MoveOn members affected their vote.

MoveOn also was nonpartisan in their efforts. Instigated by a letter from Larry Rockefeller, a republican edition of MoveOn was created in which he and other republicans could, and did, express their opinions.

MoveOn also received pledges of $13.2 million and 750,000 volunteer hours pledged to continue to work during the next election to make a new Congress, one in which works for the people’s interest. Their mission for the next two years will be to make effective citizen participation as easy as clicking a computer mouse. Priority issues include monitoring and opposing the renewal of the current Independent Counsel statute, monitoring emerging congressional candidates, and to make it easy to contribute time, money and support to various campaigns.

Capitalizing on their success, MoveOn has initiated a new petition drive as a result of the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, focussing on gun control legislation called ‘Gun Safety First.’ This drive is to pressure Congress into regulating guns like they do any other consumer product with child safety standards for gun makers and better security checks for gun buyers.

They have an online petition calling for "government to accept its proper role in regulating firearms." In the first 24 hours, the petition attracted 25,000 signatures. By May 11, 60,000 Americans from every state in

the nation have signed the petition. MoveOn has delivered more than 100,000 emails from constituents to their Senators and has begun an aggressive calling campaign. Moreover, in excess of 500 individuals have

offered to volunteer time to "Gun Safety First" lobbying efforts.

What Blade and Boyd have shown with MoveOn is the raw power of the Internet in delivering information rapidly and organizing large numbers of people. The ability to become politically active by using your computer and the click of a mouse may bring more people into participating in our democratic institutions. Less than half of the registered voters have been voting in elections; many feel disenfranchised.

As millions of new users get on the Net each month, the mainstream political establishment will have to deal with the demand for instant access to political positions by candidates, and information on the issues . In the 1992 presidential campaign, President George Bush hardly was visible on the Net. Bill Clinton’s people were all over it. You will see a totally different role of the Net in the upcoming 2000 elections. Already, the Democratic Party has targeted women and the Net for the upcoming elections.

Joan Blade’s Berkeley System Design became famous for their flying toasters screen saver, but if MoveOn continues to become a viable political force on the Net, her legacy could be one in which she helps restore Americans faith in democracy.