Hundreds listen to Moore politics
Sunday, February 01, 2004
By Ted RoelofsMichael Moore has never been afraid to offend.
He didn't disappoint Saturday night in an appearance at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, as more than 2,000 people jammed inside to hear him take on President Bush, Rush Limbaugh, war with Iraq -- and just about everything else on the political right.
Several hundred more were turned away when the church ran out of space in its sanctuary and overflow rooms. They came to hear the brash, outspoken author and award-winning documentary filmmaker, who is also famous for denouncing Bush in March before a national television audience at the Oscars.
"Why aren't we in charge?" Moore asked. "We are the majority in this country, not those crazies standing out there on Fountain Street," referring to a small group that gathered briefly with American flags to protest his appearance.
In the course of a speech that lasted nearly 90 minutes, Moore faulted the political left in America for being splintered and disorganized.
Dressed in blue jeans, a sloppy sweater and tennis shoes, he urged the largely youthful crowd to vote in November's presidential election and to identify "10 slackers that you are personally going to take to the polls with you."
Moore also repeated a line he uttered a couple weeks ago at a campaign appearance for retired General Wesley Clark, in which he called President Bush a "deserter." It refers to allegations that Bush skipped out on months of service to the Texas Air National Guard in the 1970s.
"I want to see that debate between the general and the deserter," Moore said, to loud applause.
He drew his loudest ovation when he said the nation should never send its young to war "unless it's for the self-defense of the country."
Among those cheering for Moore was Emily Hogan, 23, of Cedar Springs, a social worker who considers herself a big fan. In her view, Moore is one of the few who dares to stand up to the powerful and conservative forces that help elect Bush president.
"I have all his books," Hogan said. "I have all his videos."
Of his controversial speech at the Oscars, Hogan gave Moore credit for speaking up.
"I think he deserves applause for that. You need to stand up to something when you disagree with it. That's American."
Hogan thought the sizable turnout proves West Michigan is less conservative than many believe.
That's not quite the view of Michigan GOP chairwoman Betsy DeVos, who took a few swings at Moore prior to his appearance.
"He's free to go wherever he is invited. That freedom is a privilege I'm not sure he values very much," DeVos said.
"Michael Moore is a distasteful character who has made a fortune off of peddling fear, ignorance and hatred while posing as a self-righteous populist. At his core, he is an elitist and a propagandist who thinks that he ... should tell people how do business and live their lives."
As for his attacks on Bush, DeVos said they "reflect his juvenile and incoherent leftism."
Moore, 49, has been linked to populist and left-wing causes since at least the 1980s, when he edited the Michigan Voice in Flint.
He graduated from print to film with the 1989 release of "Roger &Me," a satiric documentary about the loss of jobs in Flint and his relentless pursuit of GM chief Roger Smith for an interview.
He reprised the tactic in "Bowling for Columbine," in which he tracked down an aging Charlton Heston to confront the actor and National Rifle Association president on gun control.
It won an Oscar for Moore in March, when he stepped out on the stage to denounce President Bush and the war with Iraq: "We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you."
A pastor at Fountain Street said his appearance is in keeping with a long tradition at the church of controversial speakers, from Eleanor Roosevelt to black activist Stokely Carmichael.
"We could have filled the sanctuary twice," said senior pastor Judith Walker-Riggs. She said she hoped the appearance would spark interest in the political process in a group that has opted out of a recent elections.
"Michael is so popular with the generations that have historically not been voting," she said.
Before his speech, Moore went outside and spoke to the hundreds of people who were turned away when the doors were closed.
"That's usually the group I'm in, the tardy group," Moore quipped.
