Friday, November 05, 2004
Michael Moore gives me hope
You know, you can criticize him but you can't criticize his enthusiasm. He sent me a personal ;-) this morning:
1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again.
2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since
Woodrow Wilson in 1916.
3. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults
(Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again that your parents are always
wrong and you should never listen to them.
4. In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the
country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think the war wasn't worth fighting (51%), and don't approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52%). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)
5. The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the
Senate. If the Democrats do their job, Bush won't be able to pack the
Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues. Did I say "if the Democrats do
their job?" Um, maybe better to scratch this one.
6. Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the birthplace of
our democracy. So did 6 of the 8 Great Lakes States. And the whole West
Coast! Plus Hawaii. Ok, that's a start. We've got most of the fresh water,
all of Broadway, and Mt. St. Helens. We can dehydrate them or bury them in
lava. And no more show tunes!
7. Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any
old nut -- a poisonous nut. A great nation was felled by a poisonous nut.
May Ohio State pay dearly this Saturday when it faces Michigan.
8. 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will
no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years isn't such a long time! If
you're ten years old and reading this, your golden years will be truly
golden and you will be well cared for in your old age.
9. Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed on Tuesday, cannot get married
in 11 new states. Thank God. Just think of all those wedding gifts we won't
have to buy now.
10. Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress,
including the return of Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. It's always good to
have more blacks in there fighting for us and doing the job our candidates
can't.
11. The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink up!
12. Admit it: We like the Bush twins and we don't want them to go away.
13. At the state legislative level, Democrats picked up a net of at least 3
chambers in Tuesday's elections. Of the 98 partisan-controlled state
legislative chambers (house/assembly and senate), Democrats went into the
2004 elections in control of 44 chambers, Republicans controlled 53
chambers, and 1 chamber was tied. After Tuesday, Democrats now control 47
chambers, Republicans control 49 chambers, 1 chamber is tied and 1 chamber
(Montana House) is still undecided.
14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than
the one he's having this week. It's all downhill for him from here on out --
and, more significantly, he's just not going to want to do all the hard work
that will be expected of him. It'll be like everyone's last month in 12th
grade -- you've already made it, so it's party time! Perhaps he'll treat the
next four years like a permanent Friday, spending even more time at the
ranch or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn't he? He's already proved his
point, avenged his father and kicked our ass.
15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very
dark road, it is also just as likely that either of the following two
scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the
Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear
that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that
history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for
too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and
arrogant -- and thus, reckless -- that he will commit a blunder of such
major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from
office.
16. There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of them of voting
age. We only lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide -- it
means we're almost there. Imagine losing by 20 million. If you had 58 yards
to go before you reached the goal line and then you barreled down 55 of
those yards, would you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go
home crying -- especially when you get to start the next down on the three
yard line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope! More sports analogies are
coming!!!
17. Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted for the
candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's more than the total
number of voters who voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton or Gore.
Again, more people voted for Kerry than Reagan. If the media are looking for
a trend it should be this -- that so many Americans were, for the first time
since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal. The country has
always been filled with evangelicals -- that is not news. What IS news is
that so many people have shifted toward a Massachusetts liberal. In fact,
that's BIG news. Which means, don't expect the mainstream media, the ones
who brought you the Iraq War, to ever report the real truth about November
2, 2004. In fact, it's better that they don't. We'll need the element of
surprise in 2008.
Feeling better? I hope so. As my friend Mort wrote me yesterday, "My
Romanian grandfather used to say to me, 'Remember, Morton, this is such a
wonderful country -- it doesn't even need a president!'"
But it needs us. Rest up, I'll write you again tomorrow.
Yours,
Michael Moore
1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again.
2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since
Woodrow Wilson in 1916.
3. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults
(Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again that your parents are always
wrong and you should never listen to them.
4. In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the
country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think the war wasn't worth fighting (51%), and don't approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52%). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)
5. The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the
Senate. If the Democrats do their job, Bush won't be able to pack the
Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues. Did I say "if the Democrats do
their job?" Um, maybe better to scratch this one.
6. Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the birthplace of
our democracy. So did 6 of the 8 Great Lakes States. And the whole West
Coast! Plus Hawaii. Ok, that's a start. We've got most of the fresh water,
all of Broadway, and Mt. St. Helens. We can dehydrate them or bury them in
lava. And no more show tunes!
7. Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any
old nut -- a poisonous nut. A great nation was felled by a poisonous nut.
May Ohio State pay dearly this Saturday when it faces Michigan.
8. 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will
no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years isn't such a long time! If
you're ten years old and reading this, your golden years will be truly
golden and you will be well cared for in your old age.
9. Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed on Tuesday, cannot get married
in 11 new states. Thank God. Just think of all those wedding gifts we won't
have to buy now.
10. Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress,
including the return of Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. It's always good to
have more blacks in there fighting for us and doing the job our candidates
can't.
11. The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink up!
12. Admit it: We like the Bush twins and we don't want them to go away.
13. At the state legislative level, Democrats picked up a net of at least 3
chambers in Tuesday's elections. Of the 98 partisan-controlled state
legislative chambers (house/assembly and senate), Democrats went into the
2004 elections in control of 44 chambers, Republicans controlled 53
chambers, and 1 chamber was tied. After Tuesday, Democrats now control 47
chambers, Republicans control 49 chambers, 1 chamber is tied and 1 chamber
(Montana House) is still undecided.
14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than
the one he's having this week. It's all downhill for him from here on out --
and, more significantly, he's just not going to want to do all the hard work
that will be expected of him. It'll be like everyone's last month in 12th
grade -- you've already made it, so it's party time! Perhaps he'll treat the
next four years like a permanent Friday, spending even more time at the
ranch or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn't he? He's already proved his
point, avenged his father and kicked our ass.
15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very
dark road, it is also just as likely that either of the following two
scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the
Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear
that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that
history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for
too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and
arrogant -- and thus, reckless -- that he will commit a blunder of such
major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from
office.
16. There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of them of voting
age. We only lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide -- it
means we're almost there. Imagine losing by 20 million. If you had 58 yards
to go before you reached the goal line and then you barreled down 55 of
those yards, would you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go
home crying -- especially when you get to start the next down on the three
yard line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope! More sports analogies are
coming!!!
17. Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted for the
candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's more than the total
number of voters who voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton or Gore.
Again, more people voted for Kerry than Reagan. If the media are looking for
a trend it should be this -- that so many Americans were, for the first time
since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal. The country has
always been filled with evangelicals -- that is not news. What IS news is
that so many people have shifted toward a Massachusetts liberal. In fact,
that's BIG news. Which means, don't expect the mainstream media, the ones
who brought you the Iraq War, to ever report the real truth about November
2, 2004. In fact, it's better that they don't. We'll need the element of
surprise in 2008.
Feeling better? I hope so. As my friend Mort wrote me yesterday, "My
Romanian grandfather used to say to me, 'Remember, Morton, this is such a
wonderful country -- it doesn't even need a president!'"
But it needs us. Rest up, I'll write you again tomorrow.
Yours,
Michael Moore
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Stupid Dems
Here's another Dem who is a Dem-basher and who does NOT know his ass from a whole in the ground.
Politics News Article | Reuters.com: "For Democrats, Sen. John Kerry's White House loss and setbacks in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives created a mood of despair, jolted the potential field of 2008 candidates and set off a spirited round of second guessing.
Debate raged about whether the party needed a major overhaul or a little fine-tuning, with some Democrats warning against overreaction and others saying the reality of two consecutive lost elections required a change.
'If Democrats are going to be a national party, we have to fundamentally change our message and philosophy,' said Democratic consultant Doug Schoen, the pollster for former President Bill Clinton.
'We have to move to the center on fiscal issues, cultural issues and defense issues, and develop specific programs to balance the budget and recognize the importance of family,' he said. 'And if we don't, we'll lose again.'
Republicans savored the success of a strong voter turnout operation that trumped more publicized Democratic efforts and the victory of a values-based, conservative message. "
The Left Coaster gets it exactly right. See me email below. I am from the most red of red states, Georgia. I know the south. The way back to popularity is not becoming "more centrist" since that indicates we are way off the the left, which is totally false. "More centrist" refers to political games, not ideology or beliefs. "More centrist" means adopting the codes and implicit (and false) logic of the Right. We must believe in ourselves. We must kick ass. We must be proud. See my letter below....
Politics News Article | Reuters.com: "For Democrats, Sen. John Kerry's White House loss and setbacks in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives created a mood of despair, jolted the potential field of 2008 candidates and set off a spirited round of second guessing.
Debate raged about whether the party needed a major overhaul or a little fine-tuning, with some Democrats warning against overreaction and others saying the reality of two consecutive lost elections required a change.
'If Democrats are going to be a national party, we have to fundamentally change our message and philosophy,' said Democratic consultant Doug Schoen, the pollster for former President Bill Clinton.
'We have to move to the center on fiscal issues, cultural issues and defense issues, and develop specific programs to balance the budget and recognize the importance of family,' he said. 'And if we don't, we'll lose again.'
Republicans savored the success of a strong voter turnout operation that trumped more publicized Democratic efforts and the victory of a values-based, conservative message. "
The Left Coaster gets it exactly right. See me email below. I am from the most red of red states, Georgia. I know the south. The way back to popularity is not becoming "more centrist" since that indicates we are way off the the left, which is totally false. "More centrist" refers to political games, not ideology or beliefs. "More centrist" means adopting the codes and implicit (and false) logic of the Right. We must believe in ourselves. We must kick ass. We must be proud. See my letter below....
How I feel--post election excitement
here's an email I sent to a friend.
Dear Paul, just a quick email response because I could go on for hours.
The election was a real disappointment on many levels. Surprisingly, blame is not being cast that widely or that vociferously. The mood I am getting from most people in the world of Liberals is one of determination. It is believed that Kerry ran a good race, that there is little back-biting to be done. Many feel Dean should head the Democratic party. Voter turnout was VERY high, and, contrary to what is reported, the youth vote made it out in large numbers. That the latter’s effect was limited is due to high turnout of typical Republican non-voters: very poor white Christians. The gay-marriage ballots in Ohio and Michigan brought them out in droves to the point of smothering high turnout in Cleveland, Columbus, and, almost, Detroit, etc. Such a ballot still was not enough to get a Bush win in Michigan and Oregon. Pennsylvania, which did not have such an amendment, went overwhelmingly Kerry.
Yes, there was unfairness. Were votes electronically manipulated, however? Hard to say because in Florida and Ohio, such things are impossible to know because there is no paper trail. More importantly, the unfairness made this an uphill battle no matter what. Republican-controlled districts limited or cut back polling places and voting machines in traditionally democratic areas of Ohio and Florida. This resulted in five-hour or even six-hour lines in some pro-democratic areas. It was amazing to see lines of people in ponchos, with umbrellas in the cold rain who insisted on staying until their votes were cast. That high turnout seemed so good during the day. The exit polls seemed so positive. On the morning news, Bush looked like he had just swallowed a quart of Maalox and chased it with whisky sour. I was hoping, naively, for a 280+ kerry victory... But then there was voter intimidation too, such as people following Native Americans home from the voter-registration tables in South Dakota and taking their license plate numbers. The list is very, very long and only in America does this not make it to the surface because of our lazy media. To sum it up, Kerry nearly won Ohio with only 6 months to prepare. The Republicans have had a strategy and the political offices to fertilize and cultivate a Bush victory for the last four years. MoveOn and ACT did brilliant jobs—they turned a 58%-42% landslide into a 51-49% near victory. I know people in Florida, in Erie who did the work. Philly was a democratic madhouse slamming the Republicans into nothingness.
There are many people I know who are madder than ever, but they are not mad at Kerry. If anyone did not deliver, it is Edwards, who couldn’t bring in a single southern state. So people are mad and are already getting ready to fight for the supreme court. I am putting an American flag on my house and car because I am sick of pseudo-patriots claiming that real Americans only live in the Midwest, that Californians and New Yorkers are somehow less in touch, that patriotism is a solely Republican value. I’m doing it in homage to a former idea of America and democracy that seems to have disappeared. I’m doing it to water down the symbol they want to appropriate. Andrew Sullivan, whom you may know of, said Bush “deserves a fresh start, a chance to prove himself again, and the constructive criticism of those of us who decided to back his opponent. He needs our prayers and our support for the enormous tasks still ahead of him." Well, frankly, no fucking way. This is not about a fresh start, the next four years will be about holding these people accountable. Today the LA Times has the first interviews with soldiers who watched as looted dragged away those high-grade explosives from the al Qaqaa munitions complex. Responsibility for this cannot be passed off and many are motivated to keep the media on the ball. The L.A. Times has become a truly great paper this year, while the New York Times has become lazy. Today, in the NYT, there was something to the effect that the Dems were out of touch. Well, sorry, 49% is not out of touch and I’m prouder than I ever have been to be liberal.
That is my mood. I think it is shared by a lot of folks, at least nearly sixty million of us anyway.
I apologize for any grandiloquence or shrillness. Greetings to the family.
Andy
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