Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Front Fell Off.
This is a selection from an Onion-like site based in Australia. It seems too close to real for comfort....
Friday, March 20, 2009
Speech from MI U.S. Senator Carl Levin, on AIG Bonuses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2009
Contact: Senator Levin's Office
Phone: 202.224.6221
Senate Floor Speech: A.I.G. Executives Should Follow Autoworkers Example
Mr. President, much has already been made of the recent action by A.I.G. to distribute $165 million in bonuses for some of the very employees that contributed to the company’s near collapse, the loss to our treasury of tens of billions of dollars, and the severe damage to our economy. I joined with 43 of my colleagues yesterday in signing a letter to the chief executive officer of A.I.G. to express our outrage that this kind of money could go out the door when the only reason the company survives today is the $170 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars that have been pumped into A.I.G. over the past 6 months.
I recognize that my disgust with this situation is not unique. But I want to briefly discuss the appalling double standard that has been revealed by the treatment of hundreds of thousands of honest autoworkers who are victims of the current financial crisis, compared to the treatment a few hundred over-paid financial executives whose poor judgment and greed helped cause A.I.G.’s and our nation’s financial crisis.
Right now, in large part because of the mortgage fraud, sleazy lending practices, outrageous financial engineering, and inadequate regulatory oversight that caused the financial crisis, we are in a deep recession. The recession means that people aren’t buying cars, and many of those who want to buy a car can’t get a loan because credit is so tight. No one foresaw those circumstances back in 2007, when the U.A.W. last negotiated a labor contract for this country’s autoworkers. That four-year contract was supposed to last through 2011. When the bottom fell out on the economy, the future of the Big Three auto companies was called into question. The auto industry came to the federal government for help, and we offered assistance in the form of bridge loans with the understanding that all the stakeholders would have to sacrifice to make this a fair deal for taxpayers.
The autoworkers response was not, “We signed a four year contract, and we aren’t changing a word.” They could have taken that position, but they didn’t. Instead, the workers renegotiated their contract. They agreed to significant reductions in their pay and benefits. They are doing what they can to help their companies survive and help get our nation out of this economic ditch.
Contrast those autoworkers with A.I.G. executives. When the economy began tanking, A.I.G.’s stock nosedived, its assets plummeted in value, and the company lost its AAA credit rating. Due to hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments which A.I.G. had issued, called credit default swaps, but which they failed to support with reserves, A.I.G.’s executives came hat in hand to the government. The government responded with billions of dollars in aid, not to protect A.I.G., but to safeguard the U.S. economy from the threat posed by an A.I.G. collapse.
A.I.G.’s executives, including the Financial Products Division that helped bring A.I.G. down, were saved from bankruptcy. To recover from A.I.G.’s financial fiasco and repay the government loans, it should have been clear that everyone at A.I.G. would have to make sacrifices to sustain the company and rebuild the U.S. economy. Unlike the autoworkers, however, A.I.G.’s executives didn’t step up to the plate. The 400 or so A.I.G. employees at the Financial Products Division signed employment contracts in the spring of 2008 that promised millions of dollars in bonuses and retention payments. When A.I.G. attempted to renegotiate those employment contracts, the Financial Products executives refused. They demanded their millions, and A.I.G. complied at the same time the company is borrowing tens of billions from American taxpayers.
This week, according to information obtained by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, 73 A.I.G. executives received so-called “retention” bonuses of $1 million or more. That’s 73 millionaires out of the A.I.G. fiasco that is taking billions of taxpayer dollars to fix. 11 of those millionaires took the money and left – they don’t even work at A.I.G. anymore.
Wall Street has been out of control for years now, with high-risk financial concoctions and with excessive compensation that is too often unrelated to performance or shareholder value. But the contrast between assembly line workers in the auto industry giving up their bonuses and benefits to keep the Big Three in business, while executives who drove A.I.G. over a cliff thumb their noses at the very taxpayers bailing them out is too much to go unnoticed.
The greed and chutzpah shown by these executives is reprehensible – unacceptable to me, unacceptable to my constituents, and unacceptable to every American who believes, as I do, that our nation perseveres through hard times by working towards our common interests and making shared sacrifice. American taxpayers are pouring billions into A.I.G., even as millions of Americans have lost their jobs. Many more have made sacrifices like the autoworkers to help their employers and their families survive.
A.I.G. employees need to be clear: without the U.S. government, there would be no A.I.G., and they would have no job and no salary, let alone a bonus, let alone a million-dollar bonus. In these exceedingly difficult times, A.I.G. executives should follow the example set by American autoworkers: renegotiate their employment contracts and accept compensation that doesn’t shock and offend the American taxpayers who are keeping their company and this economy afloat.
March 18, 2009
Contact: Senator Levin's Office
Phone: 202.224.6221
Senate Floor Speech: A.I.G. Executives Should Follow Autoworkers Example
Mr. President, much has already been made of the recent action by A.I.G. to distribute $165 million in bonuses for some of the very employees that contributed to the company’s near collapse, the loss to our treasury of tens of billions of dollars, and the severe damage to our economy. I joined with 43 of my colleagues yesterday in signing a letter to the chief executive officer of A.I.G. to express our outrage that this kind of money could go out the door when the only reason the company survives today is the $170 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars that have been pumped into A.I.G. over the past 6 months.
I recognize that my disgust with this situation is not unique. But I want to briefly discuss the appalling double standard that has been revealed by the treatment of hundreds of thousands of honest autoworkers who are victims of the current financial crisis, compared to the treatment a few hundred over-paid financial executives whose poor judgment and greed helped cause A.I.G.’s and our nation’s financial crisis.
Right now, in large part because of the mortgage fraud, sleazy lending practices, outrageous financial engineering, and inadequate regulatory oversight that caused the financial crisis, we are in a deep recession. The recession means that people aren’t buying cars, and many of those who want to buy a car can’t get a loan because credit is so tight. No one foresaw those circumstances back in 2007, when the U.A.W. last negotiated a labor contract for this country’s autoworkers. That four-year contract was supposed to last through 2011. When the bottom fell out on the economy, the future of the Big Three auto companies was called into question. The auto industry came to the federal government for help, and we offered assistance in the form of bridge loans with the understanding that all the stakeholders would have to sacrifice to make this a fair deal for taxpayers.
The autoworkers response was not, “We signed a four year contract, and we aren’t changing a word.” They could have taken that position, but they didn’t. Instead, the workers renegotiated their contract. They agreed to significant reductions in their pay and benefits. They are doing what they can to help their companies survive and help get our nation out of this economic ditch.
Contrast those autoworkers with A.I.G. executives. When the economy began tanking, A.I.G.’s stock nosedived, its assets plummeted in value, and the company lost its AAA credit rating. Due to hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments which A.I.G. had issued, called credit default swaps, but which they failed to support with reserves, A.I.G.’s executives came hat in hand to the government. The government responded with billions of dollars in aid, not to protect A.I.G., but to safeguard the U.S. economy from the threat posed by an A.I.G. collapse.
A.I.G.’s executives, including the Financial Products Division that helped bring A.I.G. down, were saved from bankruptcy. To recover from A.I.G.’s financial fiasco and repay the government loans, it should have been clear that everyone at A.I.G. would have to make sacrifices to sustain the company and rebuild the U.S. economy. Unlike the autoworkers, however, A.I.G.’s executives didn’t step up to the plate. The 400 or so A.I.G. employees at the Financial Products Division signed employment contracts in the spring of 2008 that promised millions of dollars in bonuses and retention payments. When A.I.G. attempted to renegotiate those employment contracts, the Financial Products executives refused. They demanded their millions, and A.I.G. complied at the same time the company is borrowing tens of billions from American taxpayers.
This week, according to information obtained by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, 73 A.I.G. executives received so-called “retention” bonuses of $1 million or more. That’s 73 millionaires out of the A.I.G. fiasco that is taking billions of taxpayer dollars to fix. 11 of those millionaires took the money and left – they don’t even work at A.I.G. anymore.
Wall Street has been out of control for years now, with high-risk financial concoctions and with excessive compensation that is too often unrelated to performance or shareholder value. But the contrast between assembly line workers in the auto industry giving up their bonuses and benefits to keep the Big Three in business, while executives who drove A.I.G. over a cliff thumb their noses at the very taxpayers bailing them out is too much to go unnoticed.
The greed and chutzpah shown by these executives is reprehensible – unacceptable to me, unacceptable to my constituents, and unacceptable to every American who believes, as I do, that our nation perseveres through hard times by working towards our common interests and making shared sacrifice. American taxpayers are pouring billions into A.I.G., even as millions of Americans have lost their jobs. Many more have made sacrifices like the autoworkers to help their employers and their families survive.
A.I.G. employees need to be clear: without the U.S. government, there would be no A.I.G., and they would have no job and no salary, let alone a bonus, let alone a million-dollar bonus. In these exceedingly difficult times, A.I.G. executives should follow the example set by American autoworkers: renegotiate their employment contracts and accept compensation that doesn’t shock and offend the American taxpayers who are keeping their company and this economy afloat.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Toward a Declaration of a Global Ethic
Here is a version another group came up with a few years back that a friend (Hi Brad) directed me to. If you click on this site you'll see a link that will take you to The Principles.
The Initial Declaration is printed below. The Principles were written as explication of the Declaration. As you read, please keep in your mind that this is a document created by fallible women and men. It is an attempt to articulate principles, common to the ancient guidelines for human behavior found in the teachings of all the religions of the world, that are pertinent for today and the time to come. Consider its words from your own perspective, remembering the guidance imparted to you by the wise ones of your tradition, whatever that may be.
If you reproduce this material, please note that it is copyrighted by the Council for the Parliament of the World's Religions.
The Declaration of a Global Ethic
The world is in agony. The agony is so pervasive and urgent that we are compelled to name its manifestations so that the depth of this pain may be made clear.
Peace eludes us ... the planet is being destroyed ... neighbors live in fear ... women and men are estranged from each other ... children die!
This is abhorrent
We condemn the abuses of Earth's ecosystems.
We condemn the poverty that stifles life's potential; the hunger that weakens the human body, the economic disparities that threaten so many families with ruin.
We condemn the social disarray of the nations; the disregard for justice which pushes citizens to the margin; the anarchy overtaking our communities; and the insane death of children from violence. In particular we condemn aggression and hatred in the name of religion.
But this agony need not be.
It need not be because the basis for an ethic already exists. This ethic offers the possibility of a better individual and global order, and leads individuals away from despair and societies away from chaos.
We are women and men who have embraced the precepts and practices of the world's religions:
We affirm that a common set of core values is found in the teachings of the religions, and that these form the basis of a global ethic.
We affirm that this truth is already known, but yet to be lived in heart and action.
We affirm that there is an irrevocable, unconditional norm for all areas of life, for families and communities, for races, nations, and religions. There already exist ancient guidelines for human behavior which are found in the teachings of the religions of the world and which are the condition for a sustainable world order.
We Declare:
We are interdependent. Each of us depends on the well-being of the whole, and so we have respect for the community of living beings, for people, animals, and plants, and for the preservation of Earth, the air, water and soil.
We take individual responsibility for all we do. All our decisions, actions, and failures to act have consequences.
We must treat others as we wish others to treat us. We make a commitment to respect life and dignity, individuality and diversity, so that every person is treated humanely, without exception. We must have patience and acceptance. We must be able to forgive, learning from the past but never allowing ourselves to be enslaved by memories of hate. Opening our hearts to one another, we must sink our narrow differences for the cause of the world community, practicing a culture of solidarity and relatedness.
We consider humankind our family. We must strive to be kind and generous. We must not live for ourselves alone, but should also serve others, never forgetting the children, the aged, the poor, the suffering, the disabled, the refugees, and the lonely. No person should ever be considered or treated as a second-class citizen, or be exploited in any way whatsoever. There should be equal partnership between men and women. We must not commit any kind of sexual immorality. We must put behind us all forms of domination or abuse.
We commit ourselves to a culture of non-violence, respect, justice, and peace. We shall not oppress, injure, torture, or kill other human beings, forsaking violence as a means of settling differences.
We must strive for a just social and economic order, in which everyone has an equal chance to reach full potential as a human being. We must speak and act truthfully and with compassion, dealing fairly with all, and avoiding prejudice and hatred. We must not steal. We must move beyond the dominance of greed for power, prestige, money, and consumption to make a just and peaceful world.
Earth cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness of individuals is changed first. We pledge to increase our awareness by disciplining our minds, by meditation, by prayer, or by positive thinking. Without risk and a readiness to sacrifice there can be no fundamental change in our situation. Therefore we commit ourselves to this global ethic, to understanding one another, and to socially beneficial, peace-fostering, and nature-friendly ways of life.
We invite all people, whether religious or not, to do the same.
Given at the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions, September 4, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Text of Declaration and Principles © 1993, Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions
http://www.conjure.com/CTS/ethic.html
The Initial Declaration is printed below. The Principles were written as explication of the Declaration. As you read, please keep in your mind that this is a document created by fallible women and men. It is an attempt to articulate principles, common to the ancient guidelines for human behavior found in the teachings of all the religions of the world, that are pertinent for today and the time to come. Consider its words from your own perspective, remembering the guidance imparted to you by the wise ones of your tradition, whatever that may be.
If you reproduce this material, please note that it is copyrighted by the Council for the Parliament of the World's Religions.
The Declaration of a Global Ethic
The world is in agony. The agony is so pervasive and urgent that we are compelled to name its manifestations so that the depth of this pain may be made clear.
Peace eludes us ... the planet is being destroyed ... neighbors live in fear ... women and men are estranged from each other ... children die!
This is abhorrent
We condemn the abuses of Earth's ecosystems.
We condemn the poverty that stifles life's potential; the hunger that weakens the human body, the economic disparities that threaten so many families with ruin.
We condemn the social disarray of the nations; the disregard for justice which pushes citizens to the margin; the anarchy overtaking our communities; and the insane death of children from violence. In particular we condemn aggression and hatred in the name of religion.
But this agony need not be.
It need not be because the basis for an ethic already exists. This ethic offers the possibility of a better individual and global order, and leads individuals away from despair and societies away from chaos.
We are women and men who have embraced the precepts and practices of the world's religions:
We affirm that a common set of core values is found in the teachings of the religions, and that these form the basis of a global ethic.
We affirm that this truth is already known, but yet to be lived in heart and action.
We affirm that there is an irrevocable, unconditional norm for all areas of life, for families and communities, for races, nations, and religions. There already exist ancient guidelines for human behavior which are found in the teachings of the religions of the world and which are the condition for a sustainable world order.
We Declare:
We are interdependent. Each of us depends on the well-being of the whole, and so we have respect for the community of living beings, for people, animals, and plants, and for the preservation of Earth, the air, water and soil.
We take individual responsibility for all we do. All our decisions, actions, and failures to act have consequences.
We must treat others as we wish others to treat us. We make a commitment to respect life and dignity, individuality and diversity, so that every person is treated humanely, without exception. We must have patience and acceptance. We must be able to forgive, learning from the past but never allowing ourselves to be enslaved by memories of hate. Opening our hearts to one another, we must sink our narrow differences for the cause of the world community, practicing a culture of solidarity and relatedness.
We consider humankind our family. We must strive to be kind and generous. We must not live for ourselves alone, but should also serve others, never forgetting the children, the aged, the poor, the suffering, the disabled, the refugees, and the lonely. No person should ever be considered or treated as a second-class citizen, or be exploited in any way whatsoever. There should be equal partnership between men and women. We must not commit any kind of sexual immorality. We must put behind us all forms of domination or abuse.
We commit ourselves to a culture of non-violence, respect, justice, and peace. We shall not oppress, injure, torture, or kill other human beings, forsaking violence as a means of settling differences.
We must strive for a just social and economic order, in which everyone has an equal chance to reach full potential as a human being. We must speak and act truthfully and with compassion, dealing fairly with all, and avoiding prejudice and hatred. We must not steal. We must move beyond the dominance of greed for power, prestige, money, and consumption to make a just and peaceful world.
Earth cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness of individuals is changed first. We pledge to increase our awareness by disciplining our minds, by meditation, by prayer, or by positive thinking. Without risk and a readiness to sacrifice there can be no fundamental change in our situation. Therefore we commit ourselves to this global ethic, to understanding one another, and to socially beneficial, peace-fostering, and nature-friendly ways of life.
We invite all people, whether religious or not, to do the same.
Given at the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions, September 4, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Text of Declaration and Principles © 1993, Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions
http://www.conjure.com/CTS/ethic.html
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Why I'm Not Now and Have Never Been the Democrats' "Rush Limbaugh"
by Michael Moore
Oscar and Emmy-winning director
Posted March 6, 2009 | 04:46 AM (EST)
I have watched with mild amusement this week the self-immolation of the Republican Party as it bows before the altar of Rush Limbaugh, begging for mercy, pleading for forgiveness, breathlessly seeking guidance and wisdom from The Oracle.
President Obama and the Democratic Party have wasted no time in pointing out to the American people this marriage from hell, tying Rush like a rock around the collective Republican neck and hoping for its quick descent to the netherworld of irrelevance.
But some commentators (Richard Wolffe of Newsweek, Chuck Todd of NBC News, etc.) have likened this to "what Republicans tried to do to the Democrats with Michael Moore." Perhaps. But there is one central difference: What I have believed in, and what I have stood for in these past eight years -- an end to the war, establishing universal health care, closing Guantanamo and banning torture, making the rich pay more taxes and aggressively going after the corporate chiefs on Wall Street -- these are all things which the majority of Americans believe in too. That's why in November the majority voted for the guy I voted for. The majority of Americans rejected the ideology of Rush and embraced the same issues I have raised consistently in my movies and books.
How did this happen? Considering how, for the past eight years, the Republican machine thought they could somehow smear and damage the Democrats if they said it was "the party of Michael Moore," it appears that the American public heard them loud and clear and decided that, 'hey, if you say Michael Moore is connected to the Democrats, then the Democrats must be OK!'
During this past election, a Democrat in Michigan, Mark Schauer, was running against the incumbent Republican congressman, Rep. Tim Walberg. Schauer asked me to endorse him and campaign for him, and I did. The Republicans were thrilled. They acted like they had been handed manna from heaven. They filled the airwaves with attack ads showing pictures of me and asking voters, 'is this the guy you want influencing your congressman?' The voters of western Michigan said "YES!" and threw the Republican out of office. The newly elected congressman told me his poll numbers had gone up once the Republicans started running ads likening him to me.
There have been over a half-dozen attack documentaries on me (Michael Moore Hates America, Fahrenhype 9/11, etc.), plus a feature film starring Kelsey Grammer and James Woods that had me being slapped silly for 83 minutes. Several books have been written by the Right in a concerted attempt to denounce me. One book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, had me listed at #1. The author was so sure people would know why, he didn't even bother to write a chapter on me like he did for the other 99. You just get to the end of the book and all it says is "#1" with nothing but a big picture of me that takes up a full page.
What made the Republicans so sure that Americans would recoil upon the mere mention of my name, or by simply showing a photo of my face?
The result of this was one colossal backfire. The more they attacked me, the more the public decided to check out who this "devil" was and what he was saying. And -- oops! -- more than a few people liked what they saw. Overnight I went from having a small, loyal following to having millions go to movie theaters to watch... documentaries? Wow.
Yes, the more the Right went after me, the more people got to hear what I was saying -- and eventually the majority, for some strange reason, ended up agreeing with me -- not Rush Limbaugh -- and elected Barack Obama as president of the United States, a man who promised to end the war, bring about universal health care, close Guantanamo, stop torture, tax the rich, and rein in the abusive masters of Wall Street.
Think about this road I've traveled. At the beginning of the Bush years, I was pretty much an outsider, referred to as being on the "far left." I usually found myself holding viewpoints that differed from the majority of the people in this country. When I spoke out against the war -- before it even started -- I was marginalized by the mainstream media and then booed off the Oscar stage in "liberal Hollywood" for commenting about a "fictitious" president. Seventy percent of the public back then supported the war and approved of the job George W. Bush was doing.
But I stuck to what I believed in, kept churning out my movies, and never looked back. The Right and the White House spokespeople came after me time after time. President Bush 41 called me an "a**" on TV, and I became a favorite punching bag at both the 2004 and the 2008 Republican National Conventions in speeches by John McCain and Joe Lieberman. On the front page of this morning's Washington Post, Mark McKinnon, a top adviser to George W. Bush, revealed -- for the first time -- the Bush White House strategy of singling me out in the hopes of turning the country against me and the Democratic Party. Here's what the Post said:
Mark McKinnon, a top adviser in President George W. Bush's campaigns, acknowledged the value of picking a divisive opponent. "We used a similar strategy by making Michael Moore the face of the Democratic Party," he said of the documentary filmmaker.
In the end it all proved to be a big strategic mistake on their part. Thanks to the Republican attacks on me, average Joes and Janes started to listen to what I had to say. Contrary to Richard Wolffe's assessment that "there were no Democrats as far as I can remember who were saying they stood with Michael Moore," Democrats, in fact, have stood side by side with me during all of this. Here's the Congressional Black Caucus supporting me on Capitol Hill in 2004. Here's Terry McAuliffe, the head of the Democratic National Committee, enthusiastically attending the premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11" with two dozen senators and members of Congress. Here's a group of Democratic congresspeople endorsing my film Sicko in the chambers of the House Judiciary Committee in 2007. And here's President Jimmy Carter inviting me to sit with him in his box at the Democratic National Convention. Far from making me into a pariah, the Republicans helped the Democratic leadership realize that to identify themselves publicly with me meant reaching the millions who followed and supported my work.
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Though John Kerry lost in 2004, my focus that year had been to get young voters registered and out to vote (I visited over 60 campuses). And so, just a few short months after the release of Fahrenheit 9/11, America's young voters became the only age group that John Kerry won. They set a new record for the largest 18 to 24-year-old turnout since 1972, when 18-year-olds were given the right to vote, thus sending a signal about what would happen four years later with the youth revolution that ignited Obama's campaign.
After Fahrenheit, I kept speaking out, the Republican machine kept attacking me, and two years later, in 2006, the American public sided with me -- not Rush Limbaugh -- and voted in the Democrats to take over both houses of Congress.
And then, finally, two years after that, we won the White House.
That's the difference -- The American people agree with me, not Rush.
The American public believes that health care is a right and not a commodity.
They want tougher environmental laws and believe that global warming is real, not a myth.
They believe that the rich should be taxed more.
They want to go after the crooks on Wall Street who got us into this mess and the politicians who enabled them.
They want more money invested in education, science, technology and infrastructure -- not in more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
They believe that, whether Democrats or Republicans have been in power, wealthy corporations have been calling the shots for the past few decades and the American people's voices have not been heard as their country has slowly been driven into the ground. Our politicians and our media have been bought and paid for by the highest bidders and we don't trust them anymore.
Finally -- they want us to get the hell out of Iraq and to investigate the criminals who sent us there for fictitious reasons.
Obama and the Democrats going after Rush is a good thing and will not do for him what the Republican attack plan did for me -- namely, the majority of Americans will never be sympathetic to him because they simply don't agree with him.
The days of using my name as a pejorative are now over. The right wing turned me into an accidental spokesperson for the liberal, majority agenda. Thank you, Republican Party. You helped us elect one of the most liberal senators to the presidency of the United States. We couldn't have done it without you.
Oscar and Emmy-winning director
Posted March 6, 2009 | 04:46 AM (EST)
I have watched with mild amusement this week the self-immolation of the Republican Party as it bows before the altar of Rush Limbaugh, begging for mercy, pleading for forgiveness, breathlessly seeking guidance and wisdom from The Oracle.
President Obama and the Democratic Party have wasted no time in pointing out to the American people this marriage from hell, tying Rush like a rock around the collective Republican neck and hoping for its quick descent to the netherworld of irrelevance.
But some commentators (Richard Wolffe of Newsweek, Chuck Todd of NBC News, etc.) have likened this to "what Republicans tried to do to the Democrats with Michael Moore." Perhaps. But there is one central difference: What I have believed in, and what I have stood for in these past eight years -- an end to the war, establishing universal health care, closing Guantanamo and banning torture, making the rich pay more taxes and aggressively going after the corporate chiefs on Wall Street -- these are all things which the majority of Americans believe in too. That's why in November the majority voted for the guy I voted for. The majority of Americans rejected the ideology of Rush and embraced the same issues I have raised consistently in my movies and books.
How did this happen? Considering how, for the past eight years, the Republican machine thought they could somehow smear and damage the Democrats if they said it was "the party of Michael Moore," it appears that the American public heard them loud and clear and decided that, 'hey, if you say Michael Moore is connected to the Democrats, then the Democrats must be OK!'
During this past election, a Democrat in Michigan, Mark Schauer, was running against the incumbent Republican congressman, Rep. Tim Walberg. Schauer asked me to endorse him and campaign for him, and I did. The Republicans were thrilled. They acted like they had been handed manna from heaven. They filled the airwaves with attack ads showing pictures of me and asking voters, 'is this the guy you want influencing your congressman?' The voters of western Michigan said "YES!" and threw the Republican out of office. The newly elected congressman told me his poll numbers had gone up once the Republicans started running ads likening him to me.
There have been over a half-dozen attack documentaries on me (Michael Moore Hates America, Fahrenhype 9/11, etc.), plus a feature film starring Kelsey Grammer and James Woods that had me being slapped silly for 83 minutes. Several books have been written by the Right in a concerted attempt to denounce me. One book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, had me listed at #1. The author was so sure people would know why, he didn't even bother to write a chapter on me like he did for the other 99. You just get to the end of the book and all it says is "#1" with nothing but a big picture of me that takes up a full page.
What made the Republicans so sure that Americans would recoil upon the mere mention of my name, or by simply showing a photo of my face?
The result of this was one colossal backfire. The more they attacked me, the more the public decided to check out who this "devil" was and what he was saying. And -- oops! -- more than a few people liked what they saw. Overnight I went from having a small, loyal following to having millions go to movie theaters to watch... documentaries? Wow.
Yes, the more the Right went after me, the more people got to hear what I was saying -- and eventually the majority, for some strange reason, ended up agreeing with me -- not Rush Limbaugh -- and elected Barack Obama as president of the United States, a man who promised to end the war, bring about universal health care, close Guantanamo, stop torture, tax the rich, and rein in the abusive masters of Wall Street.
Think about this road I've traveled. At the beginning of the Bush years, I was pretty much an outsider, referred to as being on the "far left." I usually found myself holding viewpoints that differed from the majority of the people in this country. When I spoke out against the war -- before it even started -- I was marginalized by the mainstream media and then booed off the Oscar stage in "liberal Hollywood" for commenting about a "fictitious" president. Seventy percent of the public back then supported the war and approved of the job George W. Bush was doing.
But I stuck to what I believed in, kept churning out my movies, and never looked back. The Right and the White House spokespeople came after me time after time. President Bush 41 called me an "a**" on TV, and I became a favorite punching bag at both the 2004 and the 2008 Republican National Conventions in speeches by John McCain and Joe Lieberman. On the front page of this morning's Washington Post, Mark McKinnon, a top adviser to George W. Bush, revealed -- for the first time -- the Bush White House strategy of singling me out in the hopes of turning the country against me and the Democratic Party. Here's what the Post said:
Mark McKinnon, a top adviser in President George W. Bush's campaigns, acknowledged the value of picking a divisive opponent. "We used a similar strategy by making Michael Moore the face of the Democratic Party," he said of the documentary filmmaker.
In the end it all proved to be a big strategic mistake on their part. Thanks to the Republican attacks on me, average Joes and Janes started to listen to what I had to say. Contrary to Richard Wolffe's assessment that "there were no Democrats as far as I can remember who were saying they stood with Michael Moore," Democrats, in fact, have stood side by side with me during all of this. Here's the Congressional Black Caucus supporting me on Capitol Hill in 2004. Here's Terry McAuliffe, the head of the Democratic National Committee, enthusiastically attending the premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11" with two dozen senators and members of Congress. Here's a group of Democratic congresspeople endorsing my film Sicko in the chambers of the House Judiciary Committee in 2007. And here's President Jimmy Carter inviting me to sit with him in his box at the Democratic National Convention. Far from making me into a pariah, the Republicans helped the Democratic leadership realize that to identify themselves publicly with me meant reaching the millions who followed and supported my work.
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Though John Kerry lost in 2004, my focus that year had been to get young voters registered and out to vote (I visited over 60 campuses). And so, just a few short months after the release of Fahrenheit 9/11, America's young voters became the only age group that John Kerry won. They set a new record for the largest 18 to 24-year-old turnout since 1972, when 18-year-olds were given the right to vote, thus sending a signal about what would happen four years later with the youth revolution that ignited Obama's campaign.
After Fahrenheit, I kept speaking out, the Republican machine kept attacking me, and two years later, in 2006, the American public sided with me -- not Rush Limbaugh -- and voted in the Democrats to take over both houses of Congress.
And then, finally, two years after that, we won the White House.
That's the difference -- The American people agree with me, not Rush.
The American public believes that health care is a right and not a commodity.
They want tougher environmental laws and believe that global warming is real, not a myth.
They believe that the rich should be taxed more.
They want to go after the crooks on Wall Street who got us into this mess and the politicians who enabled them.
They want more money invested in education, science, technology and infrastructure -- not in more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
They believe that, whether Democrats or Republicans have been in power, wealthy corporations have been calling the shots for the past few decades and the American people's voices have not been heard as their country has slowly been driven into the ground. Our politicians and our media have been bought and paid for by the highest bidders and we don't trust them anymore.
Finally -- they want us to get the hell out of Iraq and to investigate the criminals who sent us there for fictitious reasons.
Obama and the Democrats going after Rush is a good thing and will not do for him what the Republican attack plan did for me -- namely, the majority of Americans will never be sympathetic to him because they simply don't agree with him.
The days of using my name as a pejorative are now over. The right wing turned me into an accidental spokesperson for the liberal, majority agenda. Thank you, Republican Party. You helped us elect one of the most liberal senators to the presidency of the United States. We couldn't have done it without you.
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