The Furious Spinner

Mario and I saw Michael Moore at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland last night along with a sold-out crowd of 10,000 people! It was so great to be surrounded by that many like-minded souls. (I didn't say the same-minded; I'm sure we would all disagree on many things, but that's OK.) We parked at the Lloyd Center and caught the MAX (Portland's light rail) and rode it to the Rose Quarter. We are country mice and haven't been on any mass transit in probably twenty years. I almost threw-up, but besides that, it was fun.

We followed the crowd into this huge stadium. I'm not usually very good in crowds—I'm five foot zero, gimme a break. But I went with the flow, literally, and we found our seats amongst the thousands, after various people shoved Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich paraphernalia in our faces.

Gus Van Sant, Portland's premier movie director, came out and talked for a few minutes. He seemed a bit shy. He said he had never spoken in front of a crowd that big. Two movie screens beside him projected his face big time for all to see.

Then Michael Moore came out, dressed as he always is in baggy blue jeans, t-shirt, blue wind-breaker jacket, and a baseball cap. The applause was tremendous! We all roared and cheered and clapped. He told us he is on a 39 city tour in 29 days; this was day 25, and he had gotten responses (and crowds) like ours in every city.

This told him what we've all wanted to hear: Bush is doomed! He said the American people are pissed off because they don't like being lied to, and it is becoming obvious to just about everyone that this administration lied about Iraq. He said we are a liberal country. He sensed we all doubted this, so he explained that in every poll on social issues, the majority of people were liberal: on gun control, the environment, women's right to choose, etc.

He talked about the Democratic party not being a real opposition party: they are imitation Republicans. And if the American people have a choice between an imitation and the real thing, they'll vote for the real thing every time. He said not long ago the California electorate had a choice between a governor they despised and a right wing whacko candidate, and they voted for Gray Davis, so they don't really want the right wing whackos—the American people just need better choices.

He talked about Faux News and MSNBsee-you-later, those bastions of the right wing conservatives, and how they are spewing their anger and hate all day long. He said you've got to wonder what they're angry about: they've got the White House and both houses of Congress. They're angry, he said, because white men are no longer the majority: THEIR TIME IS UP, and they know it. Their whining and hate-spewing is the sound of DYING DINOSAURS!

Moore talked about Rush Limbaugh. Buying one Oxycontin is a felony. Limbaugh supposedly bought about 30,000. That's 30,000 felonies, yet he's sitting in a plush rehab center, while 2.1 million of "our fellow Americans are sitting in prison—half of these people are in on drug related offenses." Limbaugh has been a leading hate speech purveyor these last fifteen years, Moore pointed out, without any sympathy for drug dealers or takers. Moore suggested we let the druggies out and lock Limbaugh up! We cheered our agreement. Drug addiction is a medical problem, not a crime, he said.

Moore admonished us that now was not the time to be spineless, was not the time to be nice to these people, or to accept who the Democratic hacks want to give us as a candidate. Now was the time—before the primaries—to really question the candidates. Don't choose anyone yet, because then they don't have to change any of their positions. He said, "Imagine if all 10,000 of you sent letters to all the candidates pressing them on the issues." (That would be incredible!) Don't support "anyone but Bush," because we will just lose. Don't settle for a Democrat who is a Republican, he warned.

He pointed out that Howard Dean supports the death penalty and won't cut Pentagon spending, and the NRA approves of him. Send letters, emails, or call him up: press him on these issues and get him to change his mind. Moore said we know little about Wes Clark. Where does he stand? Clark needs to let us know.

He then talked about Dennis Kucinich and made a truly enlightening analogy. DK is saying all the right things, but whenever he talks publicly about abortion Moore is disturbed. DK has changed his mind about abortion, which is fine—it's good for people to change their minds. But when speaking about it even now, DK will say, "I'm personally against abortion, but I wouldn't support any legislation to restrict a woman's right to choose." Moore pointed out that if someone said, "I'm personally against interracial marriage, but I wouldn't support any legislative restrictions" we'd all be going, "Hey, wait a minute!" Yet we accept these kinds of prejudices or statements when it comes to women's rights. Why? Women are the majority, after all. We screamed, "Yes!" We need to stand up for our rights, especially given the recent eroding of those rights with the passage of the so-called partial birth abortion ban. Moore said what DK should say is, "I personally can't have an abortion so I should just shut the fuck up!"

Moore talked about how we piss on our own people, and other countries look at us and wonder what is wrong with us. Other countries don't take health care away from the weakest people, the people who need it the most, the way the U.S. does

I stopped taking notes after a while; I was having such a good time. He talked for two hours and included a bit of theater when he called local right-wing talk show host Lars Larson. (Lars mentioned it on his show today and said Moore had no right to give out his personal phone number—which happened inadvertently. Lars said he got calls all night and his wife was afraid. Poor Lars.) Moore asked that we pledge to help during the next election. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines: Bush has got to go.

(Linda S. reminded me that one of the best parts of the night was when Moore gave this response after someone shouted from the audience, "Impeach Bush!" Moore said, "Impeach him? Impeachment is too easy. I want to see Bush and his whole administration taken out of the White House in handcuffs!")

I felt buoyed and hopeful and not a bit disappointed by the whole thing. We rode the Max back to the Lloyd's parking lot (again, no throwing up). Then we drove home listening to Neil Young singing, "Rockin' in the Free World."

The regime change is comin' to a country near you...2004. Make it happen! 0 comments

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