A Slacker Drums up the Vote: Michael Moore Blasts Media - Urges the Faithful on the Eve of College Tour

Oct. 6, 2004

The outspoken Michael Moore called me “a lazy bastard.”
Okay, he didn’t single me out at the poorly-attended press conference last week to kick off his 60-city “Slacker Uprising Tour” in 20 battleground states over the 35 days prior to the presidential election.
But as I looked around the room only to see six of us from the media and only one of the four area television stations present, and only Interlochen Public Radio from the nearly 30+ radio stations from the area, I had to agree with Moore, my media counterparts have become lazy.
Maybe some in the media felt that it wasn’t newsworthy that a New York Times best-selling author and a Oscar winning filmmaker, whose current film “Fahrenheit 9/11” has grossed over $220 million worldwide to date -- moving it into the top 200 grossing films of all time -- was speaking in Northern Michigan. Add in the fact that nearly five million DVDs were pre-ordered for release this week, more than the year’s hottest film, “Passion of the Christ,” and much of the local media still didn’t deem Moore worthy of covering.

PERFECT STORY
Add in the fact that Moore’s new book “Will They Ever Trust Us Again?” a collection of letters from soldiers in Iraq, family members and veterans sharing their feelings on the war which will also come out this week will probably be the most talked-about book between now and the election. Plus, Moore is foregoing an opportunity to win potentially another Oscar by allowing the television broadcast of “Fahrenheit 9/11” prior to the election... that would seem to make him the perfect story for the local media.
The failure of many from the media not show up was a major error on their part as Moore will probably have the greatest impact on this year’s election, more so than the two candidates running for President. Moore isn’t going to change the minds of the 45% of diehard Republicans or the 45% who are devoted to the Democratic Party; instead he will have the greatest impact on those who don’t vote.
If Election Day turnout reaches 56% percent of eligible voters, Moore will be one of the major reasons. His commitment to reach out to those who normally don’t vote seems to be working.

MR. POPULAR
While his first stop on the tour was at the Elk Rapids High School and drew 500, (the auditorium’s capacity) event organizers said that requests for the $35 tickets were nearly five times what they could sell. After Elk Rapids, Moore made stops at Ferris State, Central Michigan, Wayne State and two University of Michigan campuses -- all to sold out auditoriums attracting over 50,000 to his speeches. In all, Moore and organizers expect over 600,000 to come out to auditoriums and NBA basketball arenas to hear why he feels Bush needs to be voted out of office. To date more than half of his upcoming 60 appearances have sold out.
“I am calling this my Slacker Uprising Tour,” said Moore. “Because I want to reach out to slackers like me and motivate them to get off the couch and vote.”
Moore is offering comic incentives at each of his stops, like a year’s supply of Tostidos and dip, or clean underwear, and even a six-pack of beer to those who register to vote or commit onstage that they will vote. He is even offering to clean your dorm room.
“My wife said I ought to clean my own room before I volunteer to clean others,” said Moore. “Think about back in your college days -- for a lot of guys, clean underwear, a six-pack of beer and a bag of chips was a big deal.”

MOTIVATION
While the bags of chips and three packs of underwear and copies of the book “My Pet Goat,” are publicity stunts, Moore believes he will be able to motivate the traditional non-voter.
“The non-voters are not the wealthy or the elite, they are the single mothers, young people and the disenfranchised. Many of them have given up, feel despair, and even cynicism about the whole process,” said Moore. “Democracy is not a spectator sport, it is a participatory event, and it only works when everyone is involved. I am pleased to hear reports that during the last couple of months over 100,000 young people have registered to vote in Michigan and we are hearing similar reports from other battleground states. I believe that skews well for the Democrats.”
Moore added that his visit and tour is not what is newsworthy: it is the number of Democrats who live in what has been perceived as a Republican-dominated region that should be most startling.
“I really believe that Democrats are in the majority up here, and they are finally starting to come out of the woodwork. You hear people in the grocery store talking to each other and when then they see each other wearing Kerry buttons they say, ‘oh I didn’t know you were a Democrat.’ I am hearing where these county parties started out with just a couple of people and now have hundreds of members.”

BOTH SUCK
Moore is calling on Democrats to “come out of the closet” and become known.
“I finally know what is like to vote in Russia (home of one-party government),” he said. “When I went to my precinct in Bellaire during the primary and saw that there was only one candidate running for each office, I now know what a Russian ballot looks like. You need to get out and run and if I find the time I will run as a Democrat for the county commission.”
Moore is a self-proclaimed independent who supported Nader last time. His philosophies align him closely with those of the Democratic Party, hence his support for John Kerry.
“Look, those that are cynical to the process think both Bush and Kerry suck,” said Moore. “I am asking that their motto simply be ‘Bush and Kerry Both Suck -- That’s why I am voting for John Kerry.’ Look, Bush had his four years and we are now at the greatest debt our nation has every seen after we just got out of debt. His ‘No Child Left Behind’ program is leaving millions of kids behind -- our educational system is way underfunded. His foreign policy program has left us with more enemies than we had before he came into office.”
As for what a lethargic Kerry needs to do in the final weeks to motivate voters and bring independents to him, Moore feels Kerry has already done it.
“He received some bad advice early on to ignore these vicious attacks from Bush supporters,” said Moore. “He is fighting back. He is listening to himself. I have never seen anything more despicable in any previous election where they have attacked a man who was wounded three times, who actually went to war, who risked his life. Yet those same people are unable to tell us where Bush was for the one year he was supposedly doing his duty.”
Moore and others point out that there is no debating that Kerry was in the war zone and wonder why people are not coming forward saying they remember serving with Bush.

OUT OF MAINSTREAM
Moore is frustrated by what he believes is a group that has highjacked the Republican Party and taken it out of the mainstream.
“I say to my Republican friends, how could you have allowed this to happen to the party of Lincoln? This is not the party that Eisenhower and Governor Bill Milliken built,” said Moore. “Heck, Nixon was better then what we have today, at least his policies were more towards the center.”
I challenged Moore that his own approach, tactics and beliefs were far from the center.
He disagreed.
“My ideals are part of the mainstream now. A majority of Americans share the same beliefs as I do on everything but the death penalty,” said Moore.
“Look, I believe a woman who does the same job as a man should get paid the same as a man does; so do a majority of Americans. I don’t want to pay more taxes either. A majority is against assault weapon ownership; even most of my hunting friends oppose these assault rifles. I am not opposed to hunters and their rights. The list goes on where my views are simply in line with a majority of Americans, including my opposition to the war.”

PROTESTERS’ VIEW
The 80 protesters/Bush supporters outside the event disagree with Moore’s assessment of himself. To them he is “hated” and “a liar” and his views are “Un-American.” In many polls Republicans dislike him more than Kerry.
When protestors were told that Moore stated his views were in line with a majority of Americans, various responses came forward.
“There he goes lying again,” shouted one. “Moore isn’t an American and he ought to move to Paris,” responded another.
When one Bush supporter was asked why she was here, her response was because, “Moore told a pack of lies about the President in the movie.” When questioned further if she had seen the movie she responded, “No.” As to how she knew the movie was “full of lies,” her response was “I heard it on Rush Limbaugh.”
Moore said he was happy to see the protestors out front and wished there were more of them.
“If they are out there protesting me that means I am keeping them away from going door-to-door and other campaign activities,” he said. “I will give my Republican friends credit -- they are well organized and well funded. They work hard by starting everyday at 5 a.m. and continuing late in the night. Democrats must counter by getting out the vote. I am asking everyone to take the day off from work and school and help get people to the polls.”

FLORIDA-BOUND
Moore sees another sign that he feels has Republicans concerned.
“The New York Times just reported that Democrats have out-registered Republicans significantly in several key swing states,” said Moore. “Democrats and Kerry supporters have to quit whining about things and realize they are in very good shape and it will be simply about getting out the vote and to make sure that every vote is counted.”
For his part, Moore plans to spend Election Day in one state in particular to keep an eye on the voting process.
“I have several independent filmmakers who have committed to join me in Florida to film the voting process at precincts that were in question the last time,” said Moore. “If there is any shenanigans this time it will be documented on film. I am also happy to report over 1,000 attorneys have volunteered their time to assist any voter who is refused his or her right to vote. These attorneys will take voters to the courthouses and get court orders to allow them to vote if necessary.”
Moore’s visit last week also included a $100-per-person reception at the White Birch Motor Lodge where guests were treated to the culinary delights of LuLu’s Restaurant from Bellaire. Despite the endless supply of shrimp, fondue and gourmet cheeses, Moore had little time to eat. The crowd of 150 plus kept him busy with comments, photographs and autographs.

NEEDS REST
When Moore finally made it to a table to sit down he wasn’t looking for food but rather a moment of rest. The Flint native, now a resident of Bellaire, looks tired. He has come a long way since challenging Roger Smith and General Motors for abandoning Flint in his documentary “Roger & Me,” 15 years ago. Moore looks like a guy who could use eight hours of sleep for the next eight months.
“Yeah I am exhausted,” said Moore. “I need a break. I am seriously considering taking a year off after the election is over with. I need family time.”
Before Moore had a chance to ponder how he would spend his time off, aides pulled him away, explaining that tribal representatives from Sault Ste. Marie had come down to see him. They were concerned that because GKC Theaters had boycotted Moore’s film in the U.P., thousands didn’t get a chance to see the film.
Moore promised to get the film to them at no charge prior to the election and that he would come to see them via phone or in person. In turn, tribal representatives promised that this would be the greatest turnout of Native American voters ever.
It was music to Moore’s ears to know another group of disenfranchised Americans would take to the polls.

A FREE COUNTRY
As he returned to the Elk Rapids High School to speak to the choir, he passed the 80 protestors. Moore said he was glad that they were free to express their views without the fear of being asked to leave or arrested.
“I welcome anyone to come to my speeches. After all, that is what makes this a great country, having the freedom to express your opinions. I am not sure the other side though wants to hear what the rest of America has to say.”
Inside the auditorium Moore outlined his goal of seeing voter turnout top 56%, which has not happened since the 1968 election.
Speaking on his promise to help clean dorm rooms, Moore added that there is only one room he would really like to clean, and that is at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. In fact, Moore has already ordered a couple of U-Hauls and plans to help with the move after the election as a friendly gesture to President Bush.
Then again I also met 80 people ready to help Moore pack his bags and move him to Canada.