What We Accomplished Together in 2023

By MoveOn. Tuesday, December 19 2023

What a year! Thanks to MoveOn members like you, we boldly celebrated 25 years of progressive change—despite the challenges of this political environment shaped by dark money, disinformation, and right-wing capture of our government. While we’re strategizing and building for the intense election year ahead of us, we look back on the work we’ve done together in 2023. 

In October, we brought together hundreds of grassroots leaders and volunteers from across the country for the MoveOn 25 Member Summit. For two days in Atlanta, we highlighted 25 years of impact and shared MoveOn’s road map for taking back power for the people in 2024. 

As Republicans and right-wing activists increasingly attacked our rights and autonomy, we continued to mobilize around the country:

• This year has been one of the most consequential and deadly legislative sessions for the LGBTQ+ community. We utilized state-based partnerships and worked with MoveOn members directly to fight against these violent attacks with calls and letters in support of LGBTQ+ electeds and against Target and Starbucks’ corporate attempts to silence LGBTQ+ employees.
• When right-wing activists and Republicans ramped up their book bans, we moved into action (literally!) and went on the road with our first-ever Banned Bookmobile on a multistate tour to sound the alarm on GOP censorship and book bans. 
• The first iteration of the tour was so successful, we did a second leg in different cities and created strategic partnerships with Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It.
• We used the momentum of this moment to fight back against censorship further by creating our “Artists Against Book Bans” campaign, featuring a letter signed by 150+ influential celebrities and our Read Banned Books T-shirt, an initiative we spearheaded with beloved “Reading Rainbow” star LeVar Burton.

We showed up and showed out to protect our freedom and democracy: 

• We continued to fight back against the corruption of Clarence Thomas and the rigged right-wing Supreme Court by working in lockstep with a coalition of partner organizations to hold the Supreme Court justices to a higher standard, resulting in a Code of Conduct that creates rules and standards for justices to abide by. This is just the first step in our long-term goal of holding SCOTUS accountable and creating guardrails that protect against the corrosion of our democracy.
• After Democrats secured an electoral win in Wisconsin in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans in the state retaliated, trying to impeach Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz—who won her election earlier this year with the endorsement and help of MoveOn members. We mobilized in Wisconsin with partners and made calls in protest, which led to Republicans’ taking impeachment off the table. 

We launched our campaign against the Complicit Caucus—the 18 vulnerable swing-district House Republicans who masqueraded as moderates to win in districts that Biden had previously won in 2020—and took the fight to their home turf:

• With the support of highly organized and trained cohorts of MoveOn members in these districts, we continuously exposed these members of Congress to voters in their district via paid ads, in-district actions, strategic communications, and more for what they truly are: enablers of extremist right-wing values that don’t align with their constituents’. They must be voted out. 
• MoveOn has been campaigning from the very beginning to expel George Santos since news of his lies to and betrayals of the American public became clear. After a pivotal year of campaigning, when more damning evidence of fraud surfaced from the scathing House Ethics Committee report, we leveraged the moment to demand Congress expel him by flying a Santos balloon in front of the Capitol on the day of the historic vote.
  

We continued to hold Trump accountable—through all 91 charges—and fought back against MAGA extremists and their disinformation campaigns:

• MoveOn has led the charge with pivotal partnerships across the movement to hold Trump accountable for his actions, both in and out of the White House. He is not above the law. Our yearslong push to demand that Trump be prosecuted for his many crimes was successful when charges were filed in various states and federally earlier this year.
• We’re building on this momentum with our campaign to disqualify Trump from the 2024 ballot. The U.S. Constitution says no one who participated in or incited an insurrection against the U.S. government can hold public office again. Clearly, this includes Trump’s role in organizing the violent insurrectionist attack on January 6. We’re working with MoveOn members in key states where lawsuits are being introduced to build this narrative and keep Trump off the ballot in 2024. 

 

We continued to fight for working-class and marginalized communities in 2023. MoveOn members leaned in to support workers and allies in the labor movement:

• It was a Hot Labor Summer indeed! The Writers Guild of America began striking for a fair contract, and SAG-AFTRA followed a few months after. We garnered thousands of petition signatures, and MoveOn members joined workers at picket lines across the country. 
• MoveOn members made calls, sent emails, and showed up to support Teamsters United in their strike against UPS and the United Auto Workers. CEOs heard our voices clearly and renegotiated new contracts for hundreds of thousands of workers across the country.
  

We did all of this our way—with grassroots donations, people-powered action, member-driven campaigns, strategic partnerships, and cross-movement collaboration. Millions of MoveOn members took action this year—from signing petitions to calling Congress to showing up in the streets to participating in voter outreach and so much more. It’s your support that allowed us to keep fighting and giving back. MoveOn members provided critical support for our state allies and more than $150,000 to Maui for relief and repair after a devastating series of wildfires. 

MoveOn members fought to pass laws and keep up the pressure for congressional and administrative action for an America that works for all:

• We mobilized to prevent a devastating GOP government shutdown, month after month. Republicans will try to counter back even stronger in the new year, but Democrats have held the line, and MoveOn members supported them to fight back against cuts to essential services and programs. 
• The Biden administration, along with the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, took action to crack down on junk fees that impact a majority of Americans. MoveOn members fought alongside champions in government who are seeking to rein in corporate power and put consumers first.
  

 

MoveOn members took action in solidarity against militarism and for freedom around the world:

• MoveOn began calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. There was an outpouring of engagement from MoveOn members in the form of calls, letters, and petitions to end the violence and save lives.
• The petition to save as many lives as possible in Gaza and Israel has nearly 500,000 signatures—names that were delivered at an event with partners in front of the White House—and MoveOn members donated more than $500,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.  

 

Every year, we continue to build on the previous year’s successes and failures and to learn from them. Our work in the past year is a testament to that.

In the upcoming months, it will be more important than ever for us to unite and fight back against Trump and MAGA extremists. The ongoing threat is in many places, and we will continue to fight back, whether the fight is in Congress, boardrooms, or courtrooms. We will continue to fight for a populist democracy that works for the many, not just the few. 

We will be the ones to make the changes now for a sustainable future with justice for all.

Watch our video below: 

Thanks for all you do.