Save The Republic! MoveOn.Org ad ties into Star Wars mania

[dcooper]

From the latest MoveOn e-mail:

We've written tens of thousands of letters, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls (20,000 Tuesday alone), and raised a whopping $1.2 million to run ads. Now, as the vote on the nuclear option looms, it's time to break out our secret weapon. We've got to, as the movie says, "use the force."

Today, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith opens at theaters nation-wide. And weirdly enough, the plot of what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest films in movie history revolves around a scheming senator who, seduced by visions of absolute power, transforms a democratic republic into an empire.

We've put together a new TV ad, based on the same theme, that we're launching today. It's our first (and only) political ad to feature both a space battle and an army of judge robots. You can check it out at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/savetherepublic/

The movie's opening buzz and its parallel theme to our current fight for the filibuster present a great opportunity to educate the public — and have some fun. So we've put together a flyer that draws on the Revenge of the Sith story to explain the very real threat to democracy posed by the nuclear option. Any chance you can take half an hour tonight or tomorrow to pass out some of these flyers at your local theater?

You can download the flyer, sign up to hand 'em out, and get some more instructions on exactly what to do at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/savetherepublic/

The reporters we've talked to love the idea of combining the two biggest stories in the country today. So even if you're not a big Star Wars fan, you should consider joining in. Together, we can harness the energy around the movie to reach a much broader audience with our message about the dangers of absolute power.

In Washington, the battle to save the filibuster and appoint fair judges rages on. Today, debate continues on the four most egregious nominees — judges who were filibustered by Democrats because they represent the most ideologically extreme end of American jurisprudence. At any point from today on, Bill Frist could rise and set into motion the "nuclear" process, which will culminate in a vote.

Republicans are betting that the American public will get lost in the procedural details of this complicated issue. If we can help this issue break out into pop culture, we'll shine a spotlight on this power-grab and illustrate how much Americans really do care about democracy and the system of checks and balances that preserves it.

It's incredibly easy: just download the flyer and make some copies and head over to your local multiplex to hand them to Star Wars fans. And you can multiply your impact by sending a quick note to the press, based on our sample.

You can get started right now, at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/savetherepublic/

Sincerely,

–Eli, Tom, James, Carrie and the MoveOn PAC Team
Thursday, May 19th, 2005

P.S. For a pretty good walk-through of how the nuclear process is likely to play out, check out this article from the Washington Post:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=729

[Rspaight]

Thanks for sharing. A lot of people have noticed the political echoes (which is interesting considering this basic plot has been unfolding since the horrid Phantom Menace, which went into production in '97...).

You might want to strip the "id" stuff off the end of those URLs, since they appear to log you in.

Ryan

[RDK]

Great link - certainly better than those Burger King ads where the dude fights Darth Vader with a flourescent light or whatever...

[dcooper]

You might want to strip the "id" stuff off the end of those URLs, since they appear to log you in.

Ryan

Thanks for the tip, Ryan. Although, if you want to make a contribution in my name, there's nothing stopping you!