A Letter from Michael Moore to the Non-Voters of America
Dear friends,
DISCLAIMER: If you are planning to vote for Al Gore in November,
good for you. Don't let what I'm about to say change your mind
because I've been told by all the experts that if you do change
your mind based on what I'm about to say, George W. Bush might
win the election and I certainly couldn't live with myself if
that connoisseur of pharmaceuticals (the kind you snort up your
nose or the kind you inject on death row) won, in part, because
of a letter I spit out over the Internet. So let's review -- you
like Gore, you vote for Gore. He's a decent guy. I met him last
year at some benefit, he came up to me, big hug -- whoa, this
veep is no stiff, I thought -- and thanked me for this and that.
He even quoted lines from "The Awful Truth" - whoa,
scary, I thought, what's he doing watching cable channels above
40 on the box...not much to do on this veep gig, eh?
I told him I admired what he did when he came home to America
as a Vietnam Vet and spoke out against the war. That took a lot
of courage, I said (his dad lost his Senate seat for being an
early opponent of the war).
So, if Al Gore is your man, go for it. In fact, I insist on
it, even if you are just throwing your vote away.
What I am about to say, though, is not intended for any Al
Gore (or George W.) voters. If you are one, please click off now.
_________________
To Whom It May Concern:
I address this letter to the largest political party in the
United States - the 55% of you in the voting public who are so
disillusioned with politics and politicians, so sick and tired
of all the broken promises, so disgusted with all the b.s. that
you have absolutely no intention of voting in November.
You know who you are.
AND YOU ARE THE MAJORITY!
You rule. You are the Non-Voters, all 100 million of you!
Until now, you have been the subject of scorn and ridicule.
You've been called apathetic, lazy, ignorant. Your actions have
been viewed as unAmerican (I mean, what kind of citizen in the
World's Greatest Democracy would not exercise his or her most
important and cherished right - the right to freely choose your
leader!).
Well, may I be the first to tell you that, not only are you
NOT stupid and apathetic, I believe you are smarter than all the
rest of us combined.
YOU figured it out. YOU uncovered the scam. And YOU had the
guts to no longer participate in a lie. Way to go! In 1996, you
helped set the all-time American record for lowest turnout ever
at a presidential election.
The reason you, the majority, no longer vote in America is
because you, the majority, realize there is no real choice on
the ballot. The "two" parties both do the bidding of
the wealthy and agree with each other on 90% of the issues. They
take 90% of their money from people who make over a hundred-grand
a year, and then enact over 90% of the laws those contributors
want passed.
On the ballot this November, you already know there is no contest.
The independent Cook Political Report in D.C. last week announced
that, out of 435 House seats up for election in November, there
are only 47 seats where there is a "true race" between
opponents - and, of those, only 14 seats have a race that is even
"close" between the two candidates. 14 out of 435!
"Ninety-seven to ninety-nine percent of incumbents running
for re-election will be returned to Congress in November,"
according to the Cook Report.
The Non-Voters already understand this. And they are not going
to waste one iota of their day on November 7 driving to some smelly
elementary school gymnasium to participate in a Soviet-style election
with no friggin' choice on the ballot.
So, to you brave voter-resisters, I say congratulations on
your act of civic disobedience! I joined you this primary season
and refused to go along with this charade of "choice."
Nearly 80% of those of us of voting age - over 160 million Americans
- staged a sit-in on our living room couches during this year's
primaries. THAT is the great untold story of this election year.
How much longer will the punditocracy be able to get away with
dismissing this massive no-show as "a sign Americans are
content with the booming economy?"
Now that we have made our presence known (you all don't mind
me speaking for us, do you? Good. In fact, I'll just assume the
currently-vacant mantle of this majority party and serve as your
leader until you say otherwise...), it is time to find a way that
says, loudly and clearly, just how mad as hell we are and how
we are not going to take it anymore. We need to find a way where
our vote screams "None of the Above!" A chance to act,
like that Chinese guy in Tieneman Square, standing in front of
a moving tank and stopping it in its path.
In November, we should find a way to follow in the footsteps
of those intelligent Minnesotans who, even thought they could
care less about professional wrestling (and even less, I'm sure,
for Jesse "The Body"), proved to the world that they
not only have a sense of humor, but they know how to stick it
to the whole bloody system. Think of just how high their level
of anger must have been against the One-Party-With-Two-Heads monopoly!
I mean, state government is no joke - somebody's gotta build the
roads, run the schools, catch the criminals. You don't want to
turn the asylum over to the chief lunatic but, damn it, that's
what the people of Minnesota did - just to send a message! Wow.
That took some guts.
So, for those of you who weren't going to vote anyway, well...what
if you actually did? What if you drove down to that stinky gym
where the little shell game behind the pretend curtains is taking
place ("Pay no attention to the voters behind the curtains!"),
walk in, sign in, take the ballot they hand you, and toss yourselves
inside the booth like a political molotov cocktail.
Boom!
"You wanna tell me there's a choice here between two guys
who both support NAFTA, WTO, the death penalty, the Cuban embargo,
increased Pentagon spending, sleazy HMOs, greedy hospital chains,
250 million guns in our homes, more bombing of Iraq, the rich
getting richer and the rest of us declaring bankruptcy?"
Boom!
Not me.
Boom!
I'm voting for Ralph Nader.
KAAAABOOM!
Friends, we are losing our democratic control over our country.
We may have already lost it. I hope not. But in the last 20 years
of the Reagan administration, Corporate America has merged and
morphed itself to such an extent that just a handful of companies
now call all the shots. They own Congress. They own us. In order
to work for them, we have to take urine tests and lie detectors
and wear bar codes on chains around our necks.
In order to keep our jobs we have had to give up decent health
care, the 8-hour day (and time with our kids), the security that
we'll even have a job next year, and any unwillingness we may
have to compete with a 14-year old Indonesian girl who gets a
dollar a day.
And how frightening (and great) is it that the last place we
can freely try to inform and communicate with each other is on
this very Web? Six companies run by six men control the majority
of the news we now get from newspapers, television, radio and
the Internet. One out of every two books is bought at a bookstore
owned by one of only two companies. Is it safe in a "free
society" to have the sources of our information and mass
communication in the hands of just a few wealthy men who have
a VESTED interest in keeping us as stupid as possible - or at
least in keeping us thinking like them so that we vote for THEIR
candidates?
I fear the cement on this new oligarchy of power is quickly
drying, and when it is finished hardening, we are finished. The
democracy, the one that's supposed to be of, by, and for the people,
will cease to exist.
We must not let this happen, no matter how cynical and disgusted
we've become at the whole electoral process.
Ralph Nader, to me, represents a chance for us to at least
temporarily stop the cement from drying. We need him in there
kicking things up, stirring the pot and forcing a real debate
about the issues. Whether it's Ralph as Candidate or Ralph as
President, he may represent our last hope to get\ our country
back from the clutches of the powerful few.
I am not writing these words lightly. I am hoping to sound
a siren and rally the majority who, for good reason, have given
up - but might just have it in them to find the will for one last
fight against the bastards.
Can Ralph win? Well, stranger things have happened in the past
decade. C'mon, think about it, not a single one of us ever thought
we'd see the Berlin Wall come down or Nelson Mandela as President
of South Africa. After those two things happened, I joined a new
school of thought that said ANYTHING was possible. Jesse Ventura
started with 3% in the polls and won. Ross Perot in '92 started
with 6% and, after proving to everyone that he was certifiably
insane, still got nearly 20% of the vote.
Ralph already has between 7% and 10% in the polls - before
he's done any serious campaigning. He's gone from 3% to 8% in
my home state of Michigan. These are amazing numbers and the pundits
and lobbyists and Republicrats are running scared. Hey, you like
to watch scared Republicrats running? Tell a pollster you're voting
for Ralph.
Now, look, before you all send me a lot of mail about how weird
Ralph is 'cause he doesn't own a car or is a "sell-out"
'cause he's got a few million dollars, let me say this: I used
to work out of his office, and Ralph is definitely one of a kind.
In a future letter I will write of those experiences but, for
now, let's just agree that Ralph is at least half as crazy as
Jesse Ventura - and about a hundred times as smart. I'd say he's
also saved about a million or so lives, thanks to the consumer
and environmental legislation he has devoted his life to.
And between Gore, Bush, and himself, he's the only person running
who would guarantee universal health care for all, the only candidate
who would raise the minimum wage to a decent level, the only one
who would get up each morning asking himself the question, "What
can I do today to serve all the people of this country?"
The list goes on and on. You can read more about what Ralph
stands for by going to his website (http://www.votenader.org).
You'll agree, I'm sure, there's lots of common sense there, regardless
of what political stripe you are.
But remember. If you are even THINKING of voting for Al Gore,
vote for Al Gore. Ralph Nader does not need a single Gore vote.
There are a hundred million of us out there who are uncommitted
and currently not voting.
Right now, Gore and Bush are each hoping to win by getting
only 40 million votes.
If you are in the Non-Voting majority and want to let 'em all
have it, if you want to get our country back in our hands...well,
if even half of you show up and vote November 7 then you won't
be held responsible for Bush winning the White House.
In fact, you won't be held responsible for putting Gore in
the White House, either.
Rather, you will have made history by putting a true American
hero at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
And you will have given every company, every boss who's done
ya wrong, the worst nightmare of their lives.
November 7. Payback Time.
The revenge of the Non-Voters!
So sayeth their unappointed leader, yours truly, Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com http://www.theawfultruth.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com
PS. Come to think of it, Democrats should be on their knees
thanking Ralph for running. Rather than taking votes from Gore,
Ralph's going to be the one responsible for turning the House
back over to the Democrats.
When millions of these Non-Voters enter that booth to vote
for Ralph, and they come across their local race for Congress,
they will find no Green Party candidate in most of the 435 Congressional
districts. So who do you think Ralph's army of Non-Voters will
plunk down for Congress? The Republican? I don't think so.
The Democrats are only six seats short of regaining control
of the House. Ralph Nader will be the reason the Democrats get
the House back for the first time since Newt's Contract on America
in 1994.
Democrats should send their checks to Nader 2000, P.O. Box
18002, Washington, DC 20035.
(Or, better yet, let's try to elect enough Greens to Congress
a dozen or so -- and they'll hold the deciding votes because
neither the Democrats nor the Republicans will have the majority.
It'll be a friggin' Knesset!)
PPS. If you're still worried this letter might convince a weak-kneed
Gore voter to flip over to Nader - and thus lead to President
George W. stacking the Supreme Court to make abortion illegal,
well, it's all a bunch of hooey. Please read my latest grassroots.com
column entitled, "I Ain't Fallin for That One Again"
at: http://www.michaelmoore.com/aint.html
PPPS. Wednesday July 19, on "The Awful Truth" (Bravo,
10 p.m. ET/PT), Crackers the Corporate Crime Fighting Chicken
makes a surprise return visit. Don't miss it!
PLEASE PASS THIS LETTER ON TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. PERMISSION
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