I'd like to talk about the MoveOn dynamic. With nearly 4 million active members, it's a formidable organization with a powerful lobby. Yet the recent controversy over their ad in the New York Times has brought them some not-too-welcome publicity and scrutiny.
On the one hand, they have fired up their members. But on the other hand, they have made some Democrats cautious about associating with them. The recent vote on the Cornyn amendment, which denounced the ad, illustrates the Democrats' apprehension.
Along with Senators Clinton and Dodd, who are running for President, the following Senators voted against the amendment and are up for reelection next year. Their margins of victory in 2002 follow their names.
Durbin +22
Feingold +12
Harkin +10
Kerry +62
Lautenberg +10
Levin +22
Reed +56
Rockefeller +26
As you can see, these are by and large safely held seats.
I've previously written about the obligations that our elected officials should meet to satisfy the voter blocs who put them in office, but not everyone in the Democratic community is actually supportive of MoveOn and their tactics, and that's an important element to this dynamic.
I could go on about the spineless Dems who are too chickenshit to stand up for principle, but that's not where this conversation needs to go.
What are the dangers of supporting MoveOn? Obviously, those Senators who feel vulnerable are not willing to embrace MoveOn... is this to their advantage or their detriment? Does an association with MoveOn cause more harm than good?
Update: Rasmussen just released a similar poll.