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 Michael Moore and Me

True confession time for this conservative factory girl from Flint, Michigan—over 30 years ago my radical hippy brother inspired the career of Michael Moore, a radical greasy-haired goofball from my home town.

There I said it. After many years of shame and penance I can now admit the ugly truth about that great pretender—the self-proclaimed champion of regular folks who peddles Marxism in his regular folk costume.

First let’s clarify some regular folk credentials.  Michael Moore likes to say he’s from Flint, when he is really from Davison, a middle class suburb. I spent my childhood in both Flint and Davison. Moore attended private school in Davison. I attended public school.  Moore tries to give the appearance that he is a “regular guy”, a “shop worker”, when he never worked a day in a General Motors factory. I worked for years in GM factories and warehouses in hourly and salary positions.

Now back to the story. In a strange twist of fate, my brother influenced Moore’s first foray into the liberal media, an alternative newspaper called the “Flint Voice”.  The Flint Voice, which later became the Michigan Voice, was, in part, inspired by my brother’s alternative (read hippy) newspaper the Freedom Reader published from 1970 to 1973 in Flint.  Moore told me this himself when I called the Flint Voice office trying to track down old copies of the Freedom Reader. 

Moore is one of the liberal elite who has affection for Marxism, but likes to make money off of the American free enterprise system that he despises. His latest movie maintains that “Capitalism is Evil”.  Apparently not so evil that he isn’t willing to make millions and live like a king.  Ok, a sloppy, kind of slovenly king, but a king, nonetheless.   

It’s not that I don’t think he should be able to say whatever he wants—like my brother and like our founding fathers, I’m okay with a healthy dose of skepticism regarding government actions and I love the freedom of speech that allows us to disagree.  But like most regular folks, I loathe hypocrisy and dishonesty; I love my country, despite its imperfections; and I love the principles on which this country was founded—individual liberty, freely elected government, free enterprise, and moral and spiritual values.  I don’t love my country for what it can be after socialist manipulation; I love it right now for the principles on which it was founded. So, after all of these years, I’d like to say that in my humble opinion, Moore is an obnoxious, elitist, dishonest, Marxist, hypocrite.  

See, isn’t America wonderful? He is free to be a fool and I am free to call him names. I love liberty.

A fellow graduate of Davison High School, Kevin Leffler made a documentary on Michael Moore called Shooting Michael Moore. Shooting is done in the same style as Roger and Me.  The movie was not widely distributed, although it should have been.  C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb

interviewed Leffler about Shooting Michael Moore (www.shootingmichaelmoore.com).  Here is his take on it:

Davison, MI --July 26, 2007--  Kevin Leffler is a friendly, CPA, tenured assistant professor, and founder of an educational non-profit, who is a life-long resident of Davison, Michigan.  Leffler lives outside of Flint, Michigan, Michael Moore’s purported “home town”.  That Leffler elected to finance and create a documentary about his old high school and work buddy Michael embraces a rare sort of poetic justice. 

Leffler’s Shooting Michael Moore reveals another side of Moore.  We learn that while writing books and shooting films that expose America’s inequities and presenting himself as a moral compass, he abused the non-profit status, engaged in questionable tax practices, violated environmental laws, and invested in Halliburton, oil stocks, leading drug companies, and HMO chains.  Additionally, contrary to his public persona, he used and deceived both the “little people” as well as U.S. servicemen, and Flint’s populace is still waiting for him to bring promised jobs. 

Though we soon discover that honesty and generosity may not be descriptive of Moore, Shooting Michael Moore is neither mean-spirited or deceptive like so much of the namesake’s work...

We  “visit” Moore’s lakeside mansion on Torch Lake, Michigan and his penthouse in Manhattan and wonder if Moore is really anti-rich.   Once we learn Iran and Osama Bin Laden praised Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 we also question his patriotism.  

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These and similar facts are laid out in Do as I say (Not as I do:  Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy by Peter Schweizer.  According to Schweizer, Moore insists, “I haven’t altered my life in any significant way. I think once you are working class, you’re always working class.” 

Moore claims to expose the injustice of big business while investing in big business and while becoming big business.  Moore made tons of money off his best selling book Stupid White Men which, with this title, should have been an autobiography about how one stupid white man (Moore) tries to fool regular folks into thinking he is: (1) regular folk; (2) out to help them;(3) a great American.  But, of course, it was not; it was an irreverent, sarcastic criticism of capitalism, President Bush and America.   

Moore’s regular guy uniform of jeans and baseball cap is either born out of sloppiness or marketing, not true allegiance with regular folks. He is the classic elitist—he wants to impose his rules on others, but not live by them himself.    His mansion on Torch Lake is reportedly made of 70-year-old Michigan red pine trees. And he was cited by local authorities for despoiling a wetland in an attempt to extend his private beach. There are reports that on a book tour he refused to drink Poland Spring water and demanded Evian.  And he also demanded travel by private jet and a fleet of four-wheel drives.   
 

Let me be clear.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with having mansions and penthouse apartments, houses made of pine trees, Evian water, private jets and fleets of gas guzzling vehicles.  I aspire to have a bit of that myself—right now I can only afford the Evian.  And I think some people are able to have all of these things and still manage to be regular folks. But I don’t run around the country ridiculing free enterprise and pretending to be something I am not. 

And what does Moore really think about regular folks?  When asked by Bill Maher how he got folks to say “really incredibly stupid” things, Moore replied:  “Oftentimes it’s just turning the camera on and not interrupting them.  And of course the people from Michigan—I grew up amongst these people, so I know them quite well.  I didn’t think I had to venture too far, but I believe you could literally plop a camera down in any place in the United States and find the same radius of insanity within an hour of where you put the camera.”   

His criticism is even more ruthless when he is overseas, where he once asked, “Should such an ignorant people lead the world?”  And he told a British audience: “You’re stuck with being connected to this country of mine, which is known for bringing sadness and misery to places around the globe.”

Moore also strays from his hometown roots when he challenges gun ownership.  Regular folks in Mid-Michigan, like regular folks across America, like their guns.  In his movie Bowling for Columbine, Moore criticizes gun owning Americans as paranoid, yet Moore surrounds himself with armed guards.

Moore also maintains that his love of the unions makes him a champion of the regular guy (this is faulty logic for so many reasons).  Yet, according to Schweizer’s research, Moore tried to dissuade writers on his show TV Nation from joining the union, even threatening them that if they did, he would fire one of them.    

In a previous movie, Sicko, he praises the Fidel Castro’s health care system in Cuba and trashes the American system.  I find it amazing that the liberal elites never denounce the human rights violations of communists and dictators; they only find things to praise.  So long as dictators give free check ups to those whom they don’t kill or torture, all is well.  And last I checked, I didn’t see homemade rafts going towards Cuba.  Like many of the Marxist hippies of the 60s, Moore finds little to love about America, but much to exploit—most notably exploiting regular folks along the way. 

So what is my penance to America for my family’s role in spawning the career of Michael Moore?  I started RegularFolksUnited.com, a forum for REAL regular folks to fight back against the assault on American values. The regular folks I know love God, family, country, capitalism….and their guns.  They would love to see Michael Moore on a raft to Cuba.

Way to go! Tell it like it is!

>> Shopworker Charlie

Tuesday, September 8, 2009, 10:04 pm

This is wonderful Lori! I am going to post this on my fb profile!

>> Digital Publius

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 9:07 am

Michael "give me Moore food", is a big fat idiot. There, I said it. He is a shining example of elitist hypocrisy at its worst. So typical of the marxist, huffington post crowd that want to tell everyone else what is best for them. At the end of the day it's really about total control. Hey Barry, why not make that slovenly fool, Michael Moore,the Health and Fitness Czar? Great piece, Ms Roman. I am sending this on to all of my mates round the world.

>> Black-bag Bobby

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 9:19 am

I posted this as a link on my facebook page. When Moore calls capitalism evil and that it can't be regulated that implies that the opposite economic system is good and doesn't require any regulation. That's a contradiction in terms as the opposite system is socialism/communism and requires 100% control/regulation by the elitists whether the government is a dictatorship, monarchy, plutocracy, aristocracy, theocracy, etc. Furthermore, I always like to use this line... I'll adapt it for Michael Moore. The original line I use Rosie O'Donnell. Blaming guns for killing people is like blaming a spoon for Michael Moore being fat.

>> Scott Strzelczyk

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 9:36 am

Some folks from Flint have offered much coarser descriptions of Moore recently. If those words manage to make it into a comment they will have to be deleted! I know that some of you think I went easy on him, but "dishonest Marxist elitist" is as tough as you are going to get from this lady!

>> Lori Roman

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 11:45 am

typical that Michael Moor would insist on Evian water... Evian is "naive" spelled backwards.

>> Way2Frank

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 9:45 pm

Thanks for revealing Moore's hypocrisy even further. It's just sad that so few are gullible enough to believe his claims; must just be the power of celebrity...

>> mombogogo

Friday, September 11, 2009, 12:33 pm

I was late in seeing this topic, but I wonder what the point is. I believe in the right to bear arms as much as I do the right to free speech. As my football coach used to say, "If the shoe fits, wear it" If there's any truth to anything he's saying, let's discuss it. If not, who cares? There's always "moore" where that came from. Why waste time on a distraction when we have better things to do for our country, our faith and our family.

>> aforceforgood

Friday, September 11, 2009, 1:24 pm

Bravo! I love to see honesty and truth. Thank you for being upfront and exposing the hypocrisy! How does he sleep at night? You are a true American, and keep up the good work! A Patriot

>> Rclink

Friday, September 11, 2009, 2:29 pm

Lori, after all you have done to further the cause of regular folks, that's plenty tough enough

>> Andy G

Friday, September 11, 2009, 6:56 pm

michelle moore,seanpenny,and most other hollywood socialistic thugs should read about samuel adams,and the making of the great country they are trying to destroy. we need more smart people like jon voight,and craig nelson.

>> silus dogood

Friday, September 11, 2009, 10:37 pm

Thanks, Lori. Fantastic column. I hope it gets posted in a lot of places and read by many. Keep up the good work.

>> Will Schultz

Friday, September 25, 2009, 4:49 pm