I was so offended by the MoveOn.org person's claim that "changing minds is overrated" that I wrote an entire essay on the case for trying to change minds.

Changing people's minds requires empathy with other people. Just as an entrepreneur must have empathy with customers in order to produce a marketable product, someone who tries to change someone's mind must have empathy with how the other person is thinking in order to take that person on the journey from one point of view to another.

...Most important, attempting to change someone's mind demonstrates respect for that person. It is dehumanizing to people to suggest that there is no need to appeal to their reason. It is insulting to suggest instead that one's hold on truth is so powerful that any disagreement is wicked.