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Moore's Jihad Sets the Tone for Kerry Campaign
By Doug Patton
July 12, 2004

"It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." - Macbeth

Act V, Scene V

One wonders if Shakespeare's inspiration for that line was a person like Michael Moore, the filmmaking anarchist whose hatred of America places him dangerously close to sedition.

Ever since he waddled onto the national stage with his first couple of films ("Roger and Me" and "Bowling for Columbine") and his book ("Stupid White Men"), Moore has been manipulating the truth and omitting any facts inconvenient to the perpetuation of his radical message. However, manipulation does not even begin to describe what he has done in his much ballyhooed mockumentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11," which clumsily splices together bits and pieces of mostly pilfered video clips with a few on-the-street interviews to tell a story that just isn't there.

Moore is a determined propagandist and a chronic liar who is on a jihad against his own country. It is one thing to express an honest difference of opinion on the facts. In "Fahrenheit 9/11," Moore simply makes up the facts as he goes along, showing just enough film to justify his point. Michael Moore's idea of a documentary is to take a statement and completely change the meaning to suit his agenda. For example, suppose President Bush were to utter these words on camera: "You know, I would be a very sick and evil person if I raped my grandmother." By the time Michael Moore had finished editing the tape, the president's statement on screen would be, "I raped my grandmother."

We could dismiss Moore as just another member of the loony left riding the tide of Hollywood's hatred for the president. But the filmmaker's tone has become Hollywood's tone and, by extension, the tone of the Kerry-Edwards campaign. After winning best picture at the Cannes Film Festival, Moore became the toast of the entertainment elites, who in turn brought in a cool $7.5 million for the Johns in a recent celebrity-laden, anti-Bush hatefest masquerading as a fundraiser.

Some of the more printable comments at the event: Chevy Chase called the president a liar and compared his IQ to that of an egg timer. John Mellencamp referred to Bush as a thug. Whoopi Goldberg made crude references to her anatomy while describing the president. The vitriol was flowing at a rate that would have made the nastiest anti-Clinton talk show host sound like a choirboy.

John Kerry's response was that every person on that stage was expressing "the heart and soul of America." Think about that statement for a moment. The heart and soul of America? If those hateful lyrics and vile comments are the heart and soul of America, then John Kerry's America needs a heart transplant.

Recent polls indicate that the politically ignorant among us, who apparently get their news from Entertainment Tonight ("Which ticket has better hair? Stay tuned to find out what America thinks!"), tend to look at Kerry and Edwards without regard to their liberal voting record in the United States Senate. These people seem to think Kerry is conservative because he is rich, boring and stuffy. They look at Edwards and believe he is a moderate because he has an easy smile and because he ran a positive primary campaign.

Some of these political ignoramuses are buying the propaganda being peddled in "Fahrenheit 9/11," a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Thank God most of them don't vote.

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Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a speechwriter and policy advisor for candidates, elected officials and public policy organizations at the federal, state and local levels. He is a senior writer for GOPUSA, and his weekly columns are published in newspapers across the country. He also writes for Talon News Service. Readers can e-mail him at dpatton@neonramp.com.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.