Letter from Michael Moore

[MelissaB]

January 7, 2005

Dear Friends,

Something historic happened yesterday. For the first time since 1877 a member of the House and a member of the Senate stood up together to object to the outcome of a presidential election.

This is the first step on a necessary road toward making sure that everyone is allowed to vote and that every vote is counted (something we did not see in 2000 or 2004) so the next time around ALL of us can be confident, when the election results come in, that they reflect the will of the people, not the whim of mechanical error and human obstruction.

Unlike 2000, when the black members of Congress were told to sit down and shut up, this time a senator had the courage to stand with them, as the law requires, to force Congress to go back to their separate chambers to discuss and debate the issues surrounding the vote count. Senator Barbara Boxer rose to the occasion and stood with Ohio Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and 29 other Representatives "to cast the light of truth on a flawed system which must be fixed now." The ensuing debate, at times, became a debate over me and all of you and the fact that we would dare make the attempt to protect our democracy.

I was blown away when Representative Maxine Waters took to the floor and said, "Mr. Speaker and members, I dedicate my objection to Ohio's electoral votes to Mr. Michael Moore, the producer of the documentary '9/11' and I thank him for educating the world on the threats to our democracy and the proceedings of this house on the acceptance of the electoral college votes for the 2000 presidential election."

I am honored to the point of embarrassment because it is Maxine Waters who deserves thanks for defending our most basic right, not once, but twice.

Coming out of the gates like this in the very first week of session sent a strong message that we are not going to be pushed around. If the Republicans think the next four years are going to be a cakewalk, they've got another thing coming. With Michigan Representative John Conyers leading the charge, we showed them something not seen in over 120 years. And we're just getting started!

Congratulations to the tens of thousands of you who called, faxed, and e-mailed Barbara Boxer and other senators. You have shown the world, with the strength of your convictions, that the movement toward a truly representative democracy will not be stopped in its tracks. Yesterday's actions will be marked by history books as a turning point for the electoral process and for a Democratic Party that has for too long sat back and taken it on the chin.

Your voices have echoed all the way up to the hallowed halls of Congress and for that, you deserve thanks more than anyone.

Yours,

Michael Moore
[e-mail]
www.michaelmoore.com

P.S. If you want to see portions of what took place, check out the video clips and transcripts on the website.

[Califooyah Operative]

1. wow. thank you michael moore and everyone who fought for this...

am I the only who's been incredibly inspired since january 6th and the weeks before by the actions of some of our fellow democrats?

[meganmonkey]

3. You are not alone!

I am not only inspired but motivated to keep fighting!!!

:toast:

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. Add me to the list.

[bush_is_wacko]

10. Me too!

Lot's of inspiration. We accomplished something that we have not previously accomplished in this country. "We the People" forced our government to listen. Our system of government actually did what it was designed to do. We made the point that GWB has NO mandate and he'd best watch his p's and q's or we'll do it again and again. I think it will take SEVERAL times for him to get the message, he is an idiot after all, but if we stick together we can make a difference.

[helderheid]

18. completely inspired

[ailsagirl]

30. Nope!! I'm there with ya

[blindpig]

2. geez Mike, the glass is half full?

I'm underwhelmed. One senator with guts, BFD. We'll see what happens with SS, that's where the Democratic Party makes or breaks its deal with the American people. If they can't hold the line there then that trash heap of history is waiting for them.

[merh]

5. Well take your half of the glass (that empty part) and just

sit and sulk! But me, I take the half full glass and I celebrate. In 2000 folks walked away with the empty glass and moaned and whined, but they didn't do much beyond that.

If we had your attitude after Nov. 2, none of this would have occurred. We didn't settle for the emptiness, we raised our voices, we made ourselves heard, despite the efforts by many to label us conspiracy theorists and descendent's. We made congress act despite the efforts to shut us down and without the help of the MSM. We, the people, still have a voice in government. They heard us, they didn't ignore us and we made it happen.

I will continue to work on this and I will be heard. I am proud of what we have accomplished thus far, but I will not settle for this, there is so much that we need to do. I stand up with my half full glass and thank all those who made this happen. You can damn whoever you want with your half empty glass, it will be just as bitter and lonely as it sounds, but that is up to you.

[blindpig]

8. I've always been a pessimist

We're usually right and occasionally have pleasent surprises!;>}But like I said, we'll see what happens when things get substansive. The SS fight will tell all.

One can never be bitter and lonely when one has irony to keep one company.

[mzmolly]

19. Pessimsits are not right, they just don't pay attention when they're wrong

:hi:

Think about every man/woman that has contributed great things to our history and to society in general ... not one was a pessimist my friend. Food for thought. ;)

Optimism doesn't mean burying your head in the clouds, it's about envisioning change and effecting change. One can't do that if they don't things will "ever change."

[blindpig]

25. however

the same might be said for every cheap jack hustler and opportunist. Peabody and Carnagie come to mind.

I like to think that we pessimist provide balance.

[mzmolly]

26. LOL.

Whatever blows your hair back ... :hi:

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. I'd rather be thanked and inspired than pissed on.

What we saw on January 6 was more than one senator. It was a coordinated effort among the Democrats like I haven't seen in years. There was clearly a lot of preparation for what happened. The speeches had been prepared in advance and were orchestrated to introduce issues into the public record that couldn't be on December 8 because of Republican absence at the Judiciary Committee forum. Dayton and the other “dumbass” Democrat Senator were the only ones who didn't use information from Dec. 8, but I think they were part of the plan too. Here's what I think happened.

You've got a Democratic minority so there is no way in hell the objection is going to pass. So what do you do? You make the Republicans look like total assholes. (Like they need help.) How do you do that? You force a debate and to do that, all you need is one Rep and one Senator. When the debate begins most of the Democrats stand and profess outrage at voting irregularities and disenfranchisement. They point fingers at Blackwell, a notorious Republican. They argue for election reform and voters' rights. Two democrats stand to speak in opposition. But what do they say? Do they say that the election system is just fine and dandy? No, they stay on the topic of the objection and say that it’s a waste of time and don't agree with the objection. Why do they do that? To echo the Republican speeches to show that this isn't a partisan issue, or at least shouldn't be. Now the Democratic party can say, “Wait a minute. We didn't gang up on you. Senators D & D rose to speak on your behalf.”

Additionally, those who spoke in favor of election reform and voters' rights turn around and vote no on the objection because a) they know a yes vote won’t result in anything and b) the Republicans can’t use a yes vote as an accusation of disgruntled poor losers. Boxer has to vote yes because she signed the objection.

Here’s the really brilliant part. They have now removed the wind from any Republican sails as far as fighting against an investigation. If the goal is to improve the process rather than overturn the results, the Republican look unpatriotic and petty if they fight it. This also will take some opposition spotlight off investigations rather than escalating it into a down and dirty public fight. Sometimes it’s easier to get at the truth when you aren’t posturing in front of cameras.

No, the Democrats weren’t the disappointment on January 6. That would be the corporate media yet again for choosing Andrea Yates’ acquittal reversal over an historic moment on the Hill. Still, that silence may play into Democrat hands. That remains to be seen. Overall though, I think this explains John Kerry’s letter of January 5 because it plays into this scenario as well. The Democratic elected officials cannot do this alone. They need our help to show what jerks the Republicans are being about as basic a right as voting.

[mzmolly]

20. Awesome post!

:toast:

[blindpig]

23. that might work for political junkies

Yes, it was certainly better than 2000, how could it be worse? At least they didn't roll over, hurray! But hardly anything to get enthused about, way too nuanced for it to register with the masses, like Kerry's Iraq position. You of course are right concerning the complicit press, almost as worrisome as pink tutu dems.
It's hard to get worked up considering all of the fat opportunities that have slipped away, all of the exposed lies ignored. I'll not get happy about hypotheticals, only a knockdown drag out defense to the last of SS will show the Party to be worth more than a bucket of warm spit.

[bunny planet]

28. Pessimists see the glass half empty, Optimists see it half full

Optometrists see half a glass of water.

You my friend, are no optometrist.

:hi:

[ailsagirl]

34. Excellent post, Pacifist-- well thought-out points

Regardless of what anyone says, I think the contest (if that's what it's called) FORCED the repugs to respond and their response was the typical angry, meaningless BS with no salient points to refute anything that the Dems pointed out.

As for what the Dems pointed out... aside from what was actually said, there was Conyers' 100 page report.

A hundred pages!! Imagine!!

And what do we want? That all the people's voices be heard and their votes counted--

What did they want? To shut us up.

So that's the bottom line: repugs DON'T WANT fair elections because they know they'd LOSE. Nice little party they've got going.

[bush_is_wacko]

11. Social Security is being spoken of on both sides of the aisle

I think it is shaping up to be a BIG battle. This should be an issue that we go after as adamantly as election reform. I hope we all realize that.

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. I agree.

[Turn CO Blue]

12. Agree and disagree.

One Senator standing up for election reform is a huge, huge deal. The Repugs know that we won't lie down.

Corporatizing social security is another huge battle coming up. Thankfully, we can expect senior citizens to come hold a flank in this one -- and as you know, they also vote in huge numbers! I'm up for this one, just like I was up for the last one.

The difference in this case, is we won't be writing to solely Democrats. We will write and call them all. I expect the "tens of thousands" of letters and calls in the election reform battle to be "hundreds of thousands" of letters and calls in the battle to maintain the integrity of social security.

If the Dems don't win this one about social security, if some decent Repubs don't join us, if the so-called "red-state" citizens go along and abandon the greatest generation and the baby-boomers to poverty -- well then, at that point I may be persuaded that the glass is more than half empty and that we'd all deserve what we get!

Everything we have in our arsenal must be thrown against this insiduous, inane and fiscally-irresponsible scheme to corporatize social security!!!!

[Pacifist Patriot]

15. I agree. We all have to be able to "multi-task."

Those of us at the grass roots level who aren't leading the charge on a single issue have to be prepared to fight on a full range of subjects.

[MajorFlaw]

7. The fact that the CBC did not have to stand alone this year is probably

a direct result of the footage of the 2000 included in F 9/11. We expect to be fucked by Rethugs, not our own. I don't see how the Dems could have allowed them to stand alone again. MM made it a question of honor and loyalty.

[Pacifist Patriot]

9. My post above explains what I think happened.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=268574&mesg_id=268701&page=

[MajorFlaw]

13. And I mostly agree with you, although I don't think it was staged quite

so carefully. I don't think the Dems in the senate were prepared to allow a repeat of 2000, and I believe Boxer volunteered to take the hit for several other senators who would have signed on if necessary. I also consider it a success. Objectively, there was nothing that we could have accomplished other than forcing the debates. We did that. What else did anyone expect to happen. Even if the OH electors were thrown out, shrub would still win. The only thing we could have gotten was the debate and we got it.

[Pacifist Patriot]

16. Oh don't get me wrong. I certainly don't think it was a

leadership idea. I think grass roots activism inspired this and it was pulled together in the last minute. I think there was a scramble to orchestrate it and the inspiration came from the bottom up.

[MajorFlaw]

17. Roger that. This challenge came from us, not them. Leadership would have

preferred for it to go away. It didn't.

[mzmolly]

21. I was happy to receive this letter today. Michael Moore is viewing this

as a victory as well.

Cheers to Michael Moore for being a catalyst for change! :toast:

[gordianot]

22. You are one of the few effective voices we have left.

My 13 year daughter watches Fahrenheit 911 about once a week. She has turned into a political activist with a conscience. This is happening in many homes.

The time is coming these young voices will carry on.

[RevCheesehead]

24. oh, what the heck - why not:

:loveya: Michael Moore :loveya:

because he, if anybody, really deserves them, and could probably use them, too.

And yes, in my own eclectic way, I think he's kinda sexy, too. Nice big cuddly bear! :)

[yurbud]

27. Moore is right: dems did less than we wanted but

it's a start.

The fact is, if ALL the dems present that day had voted to object, they would have won.

But would Bush just walk out of the white house? and what would the far right house, the far right senate, the far right juduciary, the far right media and the dickless media do if Kerry DID get in?

[ailsagirl]

29. That particular scene in Fahrenheit 911 was key, I think, in

helping to mobilize people. I'm so glad he included it-- it was very powerful.

Remember, it won Best Film at Cannes... and I've no doubt whatsoever that, because of this, it was widely shown and applauded in Europe. You can't applaud that movie without realizing what Chimp and his goons really are.

That film, IMO, did much to disseminate the information about the crooks who stole our government and, as a result, has served to weaken their credibility in the world's eyes by a huge margin.

With few exceptions, the rest of the world HATES Chimp. That can only help our cause.

Thank you, Michael Moore.

[Vidar]

31. He really is a class act. nt

[Not a Sheep]

32. MICHAEL MOORE '08. /eom

[seito]

33. When RepubliCONs dis you by name on the floor of the U.S. Congress

you can safely say that you are an American Hero

Thanks Mike :)

I will join the Rev in offering :loveya:

[dzika]

35. "In the clearing stands a Boxer"

Thanks to the title of Michael Moores' letter I can't get this tune out of my head.


From Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water...

THE BOXER

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
’til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains

MP3:
THE BOXER

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon-and-garfunkel/124664.html">Lyrics

[Dancing_Dave]

36. We didn't see it in 2002 either....

And we won't see it in 2006 unless we get enough states to get rid of the Repuke vote fraud machines.

http://scoop.co.nz/mason/features/?s=usacoup

[in_cog_ni_to]

37. Maxine Waters was right.

Michael Moore did open the eyes of America with that scene in 911. I never knew it happened and was SHOCKED, DISGUSTED and saddened by it. HE really does deserve credit for what happened on Thursday.