Home > Michael Moore On Tour; Slackers of the World, Unite!

Michael Moore On Tour; Slackers of the World, Unite!

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 26 September 2004
13 comments

Edito


by Michael Moore

Tomorrow I begin a little 20-state, 60-city tour to try and convince the
fed-up, the burned-out, and the Nader-impaired to leave the house for
just a half-hour on November 2nd and mark an "X" in a box (or punch a
chad or touch a screen) so that America and the world can be saved.

(I don’t mean "saved" as in all workers will henceforth control the
means of production. That’s, um, going to take a few more years.)

What I’m asking is that our fellow Americans, as the collective landlord
of a public housing project at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., take just a few
minutes to evict the tenant who is currently wrecking the place (not to
mention what he’s doing to the rest of the neighborhood). After all,
isn’t this one of the coolest things about a democracy, getting to give
some payback to those in power? "YOU’RE FIRED!" Oooh, that feels good —
especially if the recipient of the pink slip is someone who wants to
send your kid off to war.

So, having nothing better to do for the next month (and eager to visit
such swinging states as Iowa! Ohio! Arkansas!), I have decided to go to
every battleground state in the country and do whatever it takes to get
out the vote. I will do your laundry, I will clean your house, I will
give you a year’s supply of beer nuts if you will commit to me to go to
the polls on Tuesday, November 2.

I’m calling it "The Slacker Uprising Tour," a coast-to-coast effort to
bring the non-voting majority out of hibernation and kick some political
butt. My goal is to get as many of the 100 million non-voters in America
as I can to give voting a try — just this once. I want at least 56% of
all eligible voters to vote and thus set a modern-day turnout record.

I’m putting out the red alert call to slackers everywhere to help me
lead this revolt. I want everyone in their teens and twenties who exist
from one packet of Ramen noodles to the next bag of Tostitos to take
your fully-justified cynicism and toss it like a Molotov right into the
middle of this election. As "non-voters" you have been written off. But
if only a few thousand of you vote, it could make all the difference.
You literally hold all the power in your hands. That’s even cooler than
holding a TV remote.

I, the original slacker — I, who have endured all sorts of attacks for
my slacker demeanor — yes I am coming to an arena or stadium just
outside your dorm room (or that little space off the furnace room where
your parents still let you stay, rent-free). Why arenas and stadiums?

Because there are so many of us — AND they serve beer and chips. From
the Sun Dome to the Key Arena, from the Patriot Center to the Del Mar
Race Track, I will be there and I will bring prizes and presents and
clean underwear for all in need.

Before I arrive, I have arranged for free screenings of "Fahrenheit
9/11" in each city. When I get there I will have with me dozens of voter
registrars who will register new (or recently transplanted) voters
(please check here for voter registration deadlines — they are fast
approaching in most states in the next 10 days!). Absentee ballot
applications will also be available. And the good people of Move-On, ACT
and other groups will be present at each of my appearances to sign up
volunteers to get out the vote on election day.

Details of where I will be appearing will be available in your local
media. Many venues, due to advance word already out there, have "sold
out" (at most stops, students get in for free and community people pay a
nominal fee — usually $5 — to cover costs). Again, check your local
media to find out the times and dates and how to get advance tickets.

A partial list of the cities I’m visiting includes: Seattle, Big Rapids
(MI), Mt. Pleasant (MI), Tucson, Dearborn, Phoenix, East Lansing,
Detroit, Ann Arbor, Albuquerque, Toledo, Columbus (OH), Ames (IA),
Cleveland, Fairmont (WV), Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Bethlehem (PA),
Fairfax (VA), Carlyle (PA), State College (PA), Minneapolis,
Gainesville, Nashville, Miami, Memphis, Orlando, Salem (OR),
Jacksonville, Tampa, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Madison, Green
Bay, Las Vegas, Reno, Denver, and, of course, Tallahassee, Florida.
Others will be posted later.
While on the road, I will try to keep my blog up-to-date and post some
pictures we take in each city. The three campuses on the tour which
register the most students to vote (or who have the most non-voters
committing to me to vote) will receive a special scholarship from us at
the end of the tour.

Thanks, in advance, to everyone out there who is working hard during
this election. I know it will make a difference.
Let’s leave no non-voter behind.
Yours,

Michael Moore

mmflint@aol.com

www.michaelmoore.com

www.michaelmoore.com/vote

P.S. Good news! This current weekend our distributor has added an
astounding 600 new theaters to the list of those still showing
"Fahrenheit 9/11." This is highly unusual for a film entering it’s
fourth month of release, but the demand has been strong to bring it back
in many areas and our wonderful distributors have responded. This is a
perfect time to either see it again on the big screen or take a friend
who hasn’t seen it, as it won’t be around in theaters for long. The DVD
and home video come out October 5!

Forum posts

  • You are wasting your time.

    The six-packers in the US get what they richly deserve.

    VOTE for Bush, Chaney in 04
    So they can kill some more.

    Dave Henrie

    • Dave, Michael is NOT wasting his time. He’s an intelligent, patriotic man who knows what he’s doing. Bush has deceived us all and voting for him in 2004 will result in more deaths, more losses of jobs etc. etc. I give Mike credit for speaking out because he’s an individual, and everyday he has to deal with people calling him a traitor, even trying to get him arrested! If you want to know the TRUTH, go see Farenheit (or rent it). NOW! We all deserve to know what is really happening and those of us who are deneying any problems about this president obviously don’t want to know the truth. If you know some undecided voters or Bush voters, encourage them to see all of Mike’s work.

      Dave, Michael taught me a lot from his work. And I’ll say it again. FARENHEIT 9/11 WAS NOT A WASTE OF TIME. It was a great film and deserves an Oscar.

  • Stop in Omaha. Visit Creighton University and UNO. Nebraska’s not a battleground state BUT as a fellow - "I want to evict Bush" voter - your visit would cheer me up. Trapped and surrounded by too many non-thinkers. J. Leeds

  • "I, the original slacker — I, who have endured all sorts of attacks for my slacker demeanor —"
    As you obviously believe yourself, attacking people for their major and choosen faults is absolutely honorable. So please cut the pendantic whining about all the attacks you have "endured" copmliments of your consistant failure to subscribe to professional standards of work and research.

  • I voted for Gore in 2000. Have been just disgusted by the pathetic campaign of the Democrats, they might as well just concede the presidency now and spend the rest of their money on close Congressional races. Winning one or both houses of Congress could be much more useful than having another prowar party hack in charge of the patronage strings. The silver lining is that after the Kerry’s debacle in November, the rank and file Democratic voters will probably rise up en masse at local party precinct meetings for the next 4 years and systematically eviscerate the neoliberals and neocons now running their party.

  • "The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not ‘insurgents’ or ‘terrorists’ or ‘The Enemy.’ They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow—and they will win."

    Michael Moore 4/14/04

    An we can see what iraqis really think about that "resistance" though their blogs...

  • Michael Moore needs to loose weight and quit telling so many lies then maybe credible people will listen instead he has a following of young un-informed college students and then there is all of his marxist non working non worthy me me me bums. Hey Michael if what you clip and paste is really the truth, why aren’t you going to Iraq to spread your lies to the muslims. Are you afraid that you will look like Paul Johnson. That would be a pretty site your ratings would definately ski rocket.

    • Name one lie he has told. Are you saying that a person’s weight should make a difference in wheather they are credible or not, what about race should that be considered, what if they are unattractive, what if they have no boobs, what if their bald, what if they wear false teeth? What gives you the right to judge a person’s credibility on their looks? ARE YOU SO PERFECT THAT WE WOULD ALL AGREE IT IS UP TO YOU TO DETERMINE IF A PERSON SHOULD BE LISTENED TO?

  • Come on Mr.Moore! You are what most of other Americans are.The Great Pretender.You are getting rich while pretending to do public service (vote registration drive this time).Hm, sounds familiar. You have you own Halliburton.The package is different but it is the same old inside and smells just as bad! And all that,to keep up with tradition,because of your congenital inferiority complex."Kids did not like in school because you were fat...Employers did not like you because you were lazy..."etc. You call yourself a slacker but I see you as petty soul thief.

    • Please post your photo, we need to see how handsome and viril you are so we can see how that qualifies you to be the judge.....

    • I guess your mama did not like you euther.

    • Michael Moore has demonstrated in his reaction to swupporters of the only anti-war candidate, Ralph Nader, in several locations, that he can dish it out,but can’t take it. Moore struck it rich and left his serious working class roots far behind him. He supported General Clark and now Kerrty who will keep the killing going for at least four more years. What a pathetic rich boy, Michael has become. If you are anti-war vote antiwar. Vote Nader.