Laraine asked me to post this--at least we have a liberal present now!:)
Jen
Dear Friends,Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying! Do I have tocome there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism,OK? Bush IS a goner -- IF we all just quit our whining and bellyachingand stop shaking like a bunch of nervous ninnies. Geez, this isembarrassing! The Republicans are laughing at us. Do you ever see themcry, "Oh, it's all over! We are finished! Bush can't win! Waaaaaa!"Hell no. It's never over for them until the last ballot is shredded.They are never finished -- they just keeping moving forward likesharks that never sleep, always pushing, pulling, kicking, blocking,lying.They are relentless and that is why we secretly admire them -- theyjust simply never, ever give up. Only 30% of the country calls itself"Republican," yet the Republicans own it all -- the White House, bothhouses of Congress, the Supreme Court and the majority of thegovernorships. How do you think they've been able to pull that offconsidering they are a minority? It's because they eat you and me andevery other liberal for breakfast and then spend the rest of the daywreaking havoc on the planet.Look at us -- what a bunch of crybabies. Bush gets a bounce after hisconvention and you would have thought the Germans had run throughPoland again. The Bushies are coming, the Bushies are coming! Yes,they caught Kerry asleep on the Swift Boat thing. Yes, they found thefrequency in Dan Rather and ran with it. Suddenly it's like, "THE ENDIS NEAR! THE SKY IS FALLING!"No, it is not. If I hear one more person tell me how lousy a candidateKerry is and how he can't win... Dammit, of COURSE he's a lousycandidate -- he's a Democrat, for heavens sake! That party is sopathetic, they even lose the elections they win! What were youexpecting, Bruce Springsteen heading up the ticket? Bruce would make ahelluva president, but guys like him don't run -- and neither do youor I. People like Kerry run.Yes, OF COURSE any of us would have run a better, smarter, kick-asscampaign. Of course we would have smacked each and every one of thosephony swifty boaty bastards down. But WE are not running for president-- Kerry is. So quit complaining and work with what we have. Oprahjust gave 300 women a... Pontiac! Did you see any of them frowning andmoaning and screaming, "Oh God, NOT a friggin' Pontiac!" Of coursenot, they were happy. The Pontiacs all had four wheels, an engine anda gas pedal. You want more than that, well, I can't help you. I had aPontiac once and it lasted a good year. And it was a VERY good year.My friends, it is time for a reality check.1. The polls are wrong. They are all over the map like diarrhea. OnFriday, one poll had Bush 13 points ahead -- and another poll had themboth tied. There are three reasons why the polls are b.s.: One, theyare polling "likely voters." "Likely" means those who haveconsistently voted in the past few elections. So that cuts out youngpeople who are voting for the first time and a ton of non-voters whoare definitely going to vote in THIS election. Second, they are notpolling people who use their cell phone as their primary phone. Again,that means they are not talking to young people. Finally, most of thepolls are weighted with too many Republicans, as pollster John Zogbyrevealed last week. You are being snookered if you believe any ofthese polls.2. Kerry has brought in the Clinton A-team. Instead of shunningClinton (as Gore did), Kerry has decided to not make that mistake.3. Traveling around the country, as I've been doing, I gotta tell ya,there is a hell of a lot of unrest out there. Much of it is not beingcaptured by the mainstream press. But it is simmering and it is real.Do not let those well-produced Bush rallies of angry white peoplescare you. Turn off the TV! (Except Jon Stewart and Bill Moyers --everything else is just a sugar-coated lie).4. Conventional wisdom says if the election is decided on "9/11" (thefear of terrorism), Bush wins. But if it is decided on the job we aredoing in Iraq, then Bush loses. And folks, that "job," you might havenoticed, has descended into the third level of a hell we used to callVietnam. There is no way out. It is a full-blown mess of a quagmireand the body bags will sadly only mount higher. Regardless of whatKerry meant by his original war vote, he ain't the one who sent thosekids to their deaths -- and Mr. and Mrs. Middle America knows it. HadBush bothered to show up when he was in the "service" he might havesomewhat of a clue as to how to recognize an immoral war that cannotbe "won." All he has delivered to Iraq was that plasticized turkeylast Thanksgiving. It is this failure of monumental proportions thatis going to cook his goose come this November.So, do not despair. All is not over. Far from it. The Bush people needyou to believe that it is over. They need you to slump back into youreasy chair and feel that sick pain in your gut as you contemplateanother four years of George W. Bush. They need you to wish we had acandidate who didn't windsurf and who was just as smart as we werewhen WE knew Bush was lying about WMD and Saddam planning 9/11. It'slike Karl Rove is hypnotizing you -- "Kerry voted for the war...Kerryvoted for the war...Kerrrrrryyy vooootted fooooor theeeewarrrrrrrrrr..."Yes...Yes...Yesssss...He did! HE DID! No sense in fighting now...whatI need is sleep...sleeep...sleeeeeeppppp...WAKE UP! The majority are with us! More than half of all Americans arepro-choice, want stronger environmental laws, are appalled thatassault weapons are back on the street -- and 54% now believe the waris wrong. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO CONVINCE THEM OF ANY OF THIS -- YOUJUST HAVE TO GIVE THEM A RAY OF HOPE AND A RIDE TO THE POLLS. CAN YOUDO THAT? WILL YOU DO THAT?Just for me, please? Buck up. The country is almost back in our hands.Not another negative word until Nov. 3rd! Then you can bitch all youwant about how you wish Kerry was still that long-haired kid who oncehad the courage to stand up for something. Personally, I think thatkid is still inside him. Instead of the wailing and gnashing of yourteeth, why not hold out a hand to him and help the innersoldier/protester come out and defeat the forces of evil we now sodesperately face. Do we have any other choice?
Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com
5 comments:
If anything, Michael Moore is very persuasive. If I were a democrat, I would be more moved, but I am moved regardless. What are we when half of our voters feel disollusioned that they can't win the election, so why bother trying? It's like giving students a pass/fail test on whether their values are important and never grading it. Why the hell do we have this insane 2 party system that pits opponents and neighbors against one another in the name of American Pride?!!
If you don't get what I'm saying, I don't believe that this is a fair election, nor do I feel that we have had fair elections for a very long time. I would much prefer a return to the founding principle of the presidency. By that I mean there are no parties mentioned in the constitution, first of all, and secondly, It's not a 1 winner/1 loser situation. The original elections led to the conclusion that #1 voted was president, and #2 was vice president. What if they don't agree? So the fuck what!!!
I mean really, every other part of the national government is balanced proportionally with at least 2 viewpoints. If I accept the notion of 2 parties, and I will reluctantly, then the 2 parties share power everywhere but in the executive board. This gives them an unfair advantage and too much power! If the president were Republican and the VP were Democratic, think of the moderation and slow contemplation of decisions that would be added.
I know, our government works slowly enough, but that's for our protection and the ensurement of our inalienable rights. Don't you want your government to consider every argument and every necessary compromise before acting on OUR best interest anyway?
Jen
Personally, I think anyone that gets thier politcal philosphies from a man like Michael Moore needs to have thier heads checked. When are people going to realize Michael Moore is out to make money,just like every other person in this country. Thats what capitalism is, and if you don't like it move to Cuba. Now, I also think that people who worship the ground that Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh walk on are nuts as well. MAKE OUT YOUR OWN MIND AND DON"T GIVE ME TALKING POINTS!!!!
The two-party system isn't going anywhere so to argue about its merit is fruitless. Its a great system, corrupted like everything else by money. On both sides, democrat and republican. What angers me the most is when democrats get up and say how bad those rich white republicans are and how they dont care about you, when they are just as rich and white as the rest of us.
The scare tactics being employed by John Rodham Clinton, oops sorry John Kerry, are shameful. In one week alone he has revealed knowledge that Bush has a secret plan to reinstitute the draft (never will happen), a secret plan to take away social security (standard democractic ploy), and a secret plan to raise your taxes (oops again, that is John Kerry's plan).
The debates will tell all. When America sees the unorganized, whining and bitching ofJohn Kerry, the election will be over. This election will not be as close as the last, and will be surprising to many.
I would have liked to seen Howard Dean win the nomination. At least we know and still know where Dean stands. Granted I don't agree with his position, but at least I know what his position is.
jason
First off, the raising of taxes is not just John Kerry's plan. It has to be Bush's plan. It is inevitable. The End....on that topic.
Michael Moore is an intelligent man. He is intelligent in his delivery which makes him money, but he is also intelligent in that he, well his researchers, draws from independent news sources as well as the mainstream to develop his books. Any reader should supplement an author's POV with other reading. It is just as dangerous to have only read political literature by Ann Coulter as it is to have only read Michael Moore. True, Michael Moore can become extremely one-sided, leaving holes in his arguments, but that's why it's important to be an educated reader (something that is difficult for the youth with the No Child Left Behind Act). I personally enjoy what I've read of Al Franken. He seems to give a more well-rounded POV than Michael Moore.
I really have to say, even though remark on Michael Moore's persuasiveness, I don't respect him at all. He tries to market himself as a journalist, and a good one at that. He tries to tell us that he is acting in good journalistic intention by writing these books and making these movies, but he IS NOT. One sided areguments, beating up straw men, is very easy and frankly cowardly. It takes a masterful journalist to give both arguments, as strong as they can be made, and reason persuasively why one strong argument is better than the other. THAT'S what I want, not MIchael Moore. Honestly, that's what I want from this forum. I trust the opinions of my friends so far as they are thoughtful and convicted, not that they are all the best or even all right. When I see something I like, I investigate and I challenge it. Thank you guys for giving me reasons to question our candidates.
Jen, I think you make a valid point in that Michael Moore is incorrect in thinking that he is a journalist. He is a persuasive entertainer. He entertains with his sense of humor while providing thoughts to challenge a person whether positively or negatively.
Post a Comment