Hey folks. Sorry to take over the top spot for this stuff, but really, I feel strongly about voting. Whether it is in this country or any other. It is a right that Frank Capra really made me listen to. I was brainwashed by that guy, he made me never want to not vote. And well, a lot of times I think we film lovers, geeks and internet types are grouped together as being a big part of that terrible thing called VOTER APATHY. But the one thing I have learned from doing this site is we do count, especially when we all stand up and demand to be heard from.
Now I'm not going to say vote Republican or Democrat. I do have my personal choices and usually they are not a straight party ticket. Hell I even pick an independent from time to time in my local elections, but the point is I vote. I get to be part of that 18% to 40% of the public that calls the shots in this country. I'm not a part of the 82% to 60% that sit back and figure the world will just do as it will. I believe firmly in being a voice in things. Maybe it was HIGH SCHOOL BAND, where I played my notes and it went on to become a larger piece of music, but being a part of what is going on is important to me. To me our voices count, whether they are here talking about whether or not POLAR BEARS should guard the FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, the quality of the title THE PHANTOM MENACE or if they are at a local voting stand. I hope all of you that are of voting age have registered, and I hope that those of you that are, will have already voted by the time you read this. If not... take a long lunch break, stop by after work, eat thirty minutes later.
So get out there and get that groovy sticker they hand ya when you vote. And demand to get the sticker after you vote, I always do. Make a difference, that's what counts.
ROBOGEEK SAYS: "Listen, the one thing I wish is that I were human. We robots don't yet have the right to vote. All you water sacks take it for granted. Oh for a world with artificial skin!!! Technology will ADVANCE!!!"
Harry here again. The following is a letter that Michael Moore sent out a while back. He's about as subversive as they come, but I figured I'd pass along at least one filmmaker's thought on today's election. He's a character, but the basic premise of getting out to vote is what I like and his views are not necessarily my own. I tend to vote for the best candidate, but hey it's the only movie/political tie I had... So here's Michael...
So get out there and get that groovy sticker they hand ya when you vote. And demand to get the sticker after you vote, I always do. Make a difference, that's what counts.
ROBOGEEK SAYS: "Listen, the one thing I wish is that I were human. We robots don't yet have the right to vote. All you water sacks take it for granted. Oh for a world with artificial skin!!! Technology will ADVANCE!!!"
Harry here again. The following is a letter that Michael Moore sent out a while back. He's about as subversive as they come, but I figured I'd pass along at least one filmmaker's thought on today's election. He's a character, but the basic premise of getting out to vote is what I like and his views are not necessarily my own. I tend to vote for the best candidate, but hey it's the only movie/political tie I had... So here's Michael...
Harry here again. The following is a letter that Michael Moore sent out a while back. He's about as subversive as they come, but I figured I'd pass along at least one filmmaker's thought on today's election. He's a character, but the basic premise of getting out to vote is what I like and his views are not necessarily my own. I tend to vote for the best candidate, but hey it's the only movie/political tie I had... So here's Michael...
IT'S TIME FOR ACTION
Dear Friends...
Ok, I've had it. The right wing is trying to overturn a national election because... they didn't like the results! This must be stopped. I would like to propose a radical act of "civil obedience," which is in fact disobedience to the powers currently ruling the US congress --- an act which could send the right wing into near oblivion.
I am not a member of the Democratic Party. To me, they are a barely-tolerable version of the Republicans. I did not vote for Clinton in 1996. I had voted for him in '92, but could not in good conscience vote for him again (NAFTA, etc.). We had the lowest turnout ever in 1996, but the majority who could stomach that pathetic choice on the ballot went and voted for Bill Clinton.
That was the will of the people. And that is the will the Republicans are trying to subvert. All the public opinion polls -- New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN -- have said the same thing over and over: The American public does NOT want impeachment. Yet, Congress has decided to tell the public to take a flying %$#& and has moved ahead with the impeachment process anyway.
This is their fatal mistake and it will be their undoing. I have never seen the American public so fed up and disgusted that they are ready to do anything now to stop this madness. I wish our members of Congress had listened to the polls. But they haven't. So, now we have to make them listen to the other polls, the only ones they understand -- the polls that are filled with voting booths on November 3.
The act of civil "disobedience" I am calling for is for each and every American to go to the polls on November 3 and vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress on your ballot. That's right, my fellow cynics and progressives -- the only way to send a true message to the right wing is to throw every Republican out of office. I'm talking about a backlash the likes of which American politics has never seen.
If you think this is something that can't happen, I need only point to the national election in Canada in 1993 when the voters threw all but two members of the Conservative Party out of Parliament. In 1995, in Great Britain, the people of Scotland and Wales removed every single member of the Tories from Parliament -- that's right, EVERY SINGLE ONE. Now it's our turn in America. Each of us must do all that we can to get our fellow citizens out to vote on November 3. The Republicans are hoping and praying that the turnout will be low, figuring that the public, especially those who had voted for and trusted Clinton, is so burned out on politicians and politics that they are just going to stay home. They know, though, that their own diehard conservative supporters WILL be at the polls, come hell or high water.
I realize a lot of you have had it and probably want to turn your back on the whole damn thing. I don't blame you. But if we don't vote, we're essentially placing our democracy in the hands of some very bad people and we will surely suffer the consequences of this for years to come. Yes, most of the Democrats suck. I rarely vote for the sorry, wishy-washy losers. But this election is not about how I feel about them -- it's about US using THEM to whack the right wing for good. Imagine if the Democrats are voted in by overwhelming numbers (when all the pundits are predicting a Republican landslide). The message would be loud and clear to all these new Democrats -- THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WANTS THE AGENDA OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT REMOVED FROM THE HALLS OF OUR UNITED STATES CONGRESS!
Yes, we would then have to stay on these Democrats to make sure they behave and vote the way we want them to. But that's a whole lot better than allowing individuals to stay in office who want to subvert the will of the American people because they would actually prefer a theocracy over a democracy. I wish we had more than two political parties and I will continue to work toward that goal. Two parties cannot represent the broad spectrum of political thought in a country of 270 million people. But that is not the mission before us. If you want to stop this witch hunt, if you want Congress to start focusing on the REAL problems facing the country and the world, then the ONLY way this nonsense is going to stop is to throw the bums out.
Find out who the Democrat is who is running in your district (www.democrats.org/action/) and then call up his/her headquarters and volunteer to help turn out the vote. If you aren't registered, there is still time to do so in 22 of the 50 states (www.netvote98.mci.com), though the deadline for many of them was Friday, October 9. Then get out and vote November 3. Hold your nose if you have to. This is a one-issue election and if you want the impeachment stopped -- and I assure you, you have the power to stop it at 8:01 PM that evening of November 3 -- you must remove the Republicans in your districts.
I can think of a lot of reasons why Clinton should not be President. Staining a blue dress from The Gap is not one of them. Enough is enough.
Yours,
Michael Moore
