Joan Blades, an American businesswoman and co-founder of MoveOn.org, revolutionized political activism with her innovative approach to grassroots organizing. Her efforts to harness the power of the internet to mobilize millions of citizens for social and political change have reshaped the landscape of American democracy, inspiring a new generation of activists to make their voices heard.

"Common sense as well as common values all lead us. Our future depends upon it and our present is going to be vastly better when we get back to these basics."



"People think of us as an information distributor because that's how they relate to the Internet. But most of the time people already have pretty well established opinions."



"What is the biggest public forum in the United States? We were told it's the Super Bowl. The ad shows kids working at blue-collar jobs, and the final statement is just written text: Who's going to pay for the trillion dollar deficit?"



"When we compile a petition, we often have members go to their representative's or Senator's offices and deliver it in person. This way they can experience a real connection with the staff."



"We put together a one-sentence petition asking Congress to censure President Clinton and move on to other pressing issues. We sent it to under 100 friends and family, and within a week we had 100,000 people sign the petition."



"A book reaches a different crowd of people. There are 50 different stories of very different individuals participating in their communities either locally or nationally in meaningful ways."



"Touch screen voting is a fine thing so long as they have a voter-verified paper trail."



"The purpose of The Motherhood Manifesto is mothers really need to be given the ability to parent."



"When you become active in the system and communicate to your representatives, and they don't vote in accordance with your values, your responsibility is to support candidates who will."



"Most families need both parents to work. Moms need to be able to work and earn fair pay and have the flexibility in their jobs to also be primary caretakers."



"What we do is not going to be successful unless our members care about it."

