TrueMajority explained

TrueMajority
Colorcode:
  1. 406ECE
Merged:USAction
Position:Center-left
Ideology:Progressivism
Country:the United States

TrueMajority was a far left advocacy group in the United States. In September 2007, TrueMajority and its related organization TrueMajorityACTION merged with USAction.[1] By 2008, the combined groups had over 700,000 members,[2] making it, together with MoveOn, one of the two largest liberal advocacy groups in the United States.[3]

TrueMajorityACTION was a separate but closely related organization, which had a different status under U.S. law so that it could campaign for specific parties and politicians.

In 2007, TrueMajority merged with USAction in 2007. In 2012, Ben Cohen founded Stamp Stampede.

History

TrueMajority was founded in June 2002 by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's.[4] [5]

TrueMajority was mentioned on The Colbert Report on March 5, 2007, when Ben and Jerry made a guest appearance. In the episode, they offered free frisbees to Colbert viewers who visited the web site, and then they signed up each viewer who visited as a member of the advocacy group.[6]

TrueMajority's Ten Principles were endorsed by Greenpeace USA, Rock the Vote, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Peace Action, the National Head Start Association, Global Exchange, The Interfaith Alliance, The Nation, Sojourners, Rainforest Action Network, Women's Action for New Directions, Service Employees International Union, and National Council of La Raza.[7]

Stances

TrueMajority organized protests of the 2008 G-20 Summit.[8] It also opposed the 2008 financial bailout of banks, and helped to organize protests of the bailout.

In 2004 TrueMajority ran advertisements calling for a paper trail in electronic voting.[9]

Iraq war opposition

TrueMajority co-sponsored protests and advertisements against the Iraq war in 2003.[10] The organization published anti-war advertisements in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, but its ads were refused by television networks including CNN, Fox, MTV, and Comedy Central.[11] [12] TrueMajority also supported Howard Dean in the 2004 Democratic primary, mounting a letter-writing campaign and arguing for his support on the grounds of his opposition to the Iraq War.[13] In 2008 TrueMajority gathered over 20,000 petitions to urge CalPERS to investigate KBR for war profiteering, including in the petitions accusations of rape and murder.[14] [15]

Notes and References

  1. http://usaction.org/about-us/history-achievements/ USAction: History and Achievements
  2. News: Many voice anger over $700b outlay. Wallack,Todd . Bender, Bryan . Boston Globe. Sep 26, 2008.
  3. News: What is the Future of Healthcare Reform Following Daschle Withdrawing Health Sec. Nomination?. Democracy Now!. Feb 4, 2009. Feb 19, 2009. February 11, 2009. https://archive.today/20090211061805/http://i4.democracynow.org/2009/2/4/with_daschles_withdrawal_from_health_sec. dead.
  4. News: Web Politics: "It's Just the Beginning". https://web.archive.org/web/20040405002313/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_13/b3876133.htm. dead. April 5, 2004. BusinessWeek Special Report / Online Extra. March 29, 2004.
  5. News: WIRED . February 16, 2004 . The Computer Ate My Vote . Kim . Zetter .
  6. Web site: Ben and Jerry. 2007-03-05. The Colbert Report.
  7. Web site: Principles Explained . TrueMajority . https://web.archive.org/web/20080212211604/http://www.truemajority.org/who/principlesex.html . 2008-02-12 .
  8. News: Experts To Discuss G-20 Summit, Announce International Day Of Protest. Forbes. Nov 12, 2008.
  9. News: Paper backup for e-voting called for in ads. Klug, Foster. USA Today. Mar 19, 2004.
  10. News: Anti-Iraq Ad Features Leader of Bush's Church. Fox News. January 31, 2003. Feb 19, 2009.
  11. News: Hollywood declares, hell no, this time we won't go. James, Steve . Weinraub, Mark . Sydney Morning Herald. March 29, 2003.
  12. News: Anti-war groups allege ad block on airwaves. https://archive.today/20120913021856/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030329/asp/foreign/story_1819152.asp. dead. September 13, 2012. The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Mar 29, 2003.
  13. News: Liberals Keep Close Watch on Dean. Fox News. February 26, 2005. Feb 19, 2009.
  14. News: CalPERS targeted Thursday for supporting KBR, accused of rape and murder in Iraq!. Bacher, Dan. San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center: Central Valley. Jun 18, 2008. Feb 19, 2009.
  15. News: 20,000 petitioners ask CalPERS Thursday to get tough on KBR, now linked to massive fraud, rape, and massacre. YubaNet.com. Jun 19, 2008. Feb 19, 2009. June 26, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080626162456/http://yubanet.com/california/20-000-petitioners-ask-CalPERS-Thursday-to-get-tough-on-KBR-now-linked-to-massive-fraud-rape-and-massacre.php. dead.