When the history of the 2004 election is written it will be called “How MoveOn.org Saved the World.” Their organization has engaged tens of thousands of progressives in the political process. A win in November would not have been possible without the revolutionary work undertaken by MoveOn.org.
Last week MoveOn.org challenged the findings of the Gallup organization and suggested their polling methodology benefited Republican candidates for office. This is a serious charge and it is important that it be resolved in a way that builds confidence for media polling.
MoveOn.org’s press statement on this matter also suggested that Gallup’s findings were being manipulated to benefit Republicans because the founder of Gallup is a Christian who sees his work as his “mission.” The public is supposed to infer from this statement that polling outfits (or any other political group, I suppose) should be suspect whenever there are Christians involved. This part of the charge against Gallup is completely unfair. People can be Christian and still maintain their professionalism.
Former Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn reacted with these words when he heard the charges:
"I was deeply concerned when I read it," Mr. Flynn said. "There's a growing, blatant, anti-religious sentiment in the United States. It's oftentimes well camouflaged and very subtle. It's very troubling and disturbing."Mr. Flynn, a Democrat who is a Catholic and served as ambassador to the Vatican under President Clinton, has spoken out against what he perceives to be bias against those who have strongly held religious beliefs. The former mayor said he was particularly offended by the suggestion that Mr. Gallup's political beliefs could be inferred from his religious views.
"You're affecting the Gallup Organization's reputation. You're slandering this reputable, respected business," Mr. Flynn said. "At some point in time, there has to be some level of decency that someone stands up and says, 'No.'"
The national director of the Anti- Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, also decried the religious references in the MoveOn.org ad.
"It's irrelevant, extraneous, and borders on being offensive to evangelical Christians," Mr. Foxman told The New York Sun. "It's one thing to challenge methodology and credibility. It's another thing to say that the methodology and credibility are motivated by faith. ... What if the poll was headed by a devout Jew? How would we have felt?"
As a Christian who wants MoveOn.org to succeed in their efforts, I was personally offended by MoveOn.org's overreaching on this issue. My overall appraisal of their work remains high. Though I do believe that MoveOn.org owes Christians everywhere an apology for the error in judgment they made. The group does have some very legitimate concerns about how Gallup conducts their polls. Hopefully, MoveOn.org's over zealousness on this matter will not overshadow all their efforts.
