Michael Moore to Wesley Clark: RUN

[Coyul]

Sorry if this is a dupe...should draw fire from both right and left...but is interesting none-the-less:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?messageDate=2003-09-12


Michael Moore to Wesley Clark: Run!

A Citizen’s Appeal to a General in a Time of War (at Home)

Dear General Wesley Clark,

I've been meaning to write to you for some time. Two days after the Oscars, when I felt very alone and somewhat frightened by the level of hatred toward me for daring to suggest that we were being led into war for "fictitious reasons," one person stuck his neck out and came to my defense on national television.

And that person was you.

Aaron Brown had just finished interviewing me by satellite on CNN, and I had made a crack about me being "the only non-general allowed on CNN all week." He ended the interview and then turned to you, as you were sitting at the desk with him. He asked you what you thought of this crazy guy, Michael Moore. And, although we were still in Week One of the war, you boldly said that my dissent was necessary and welcome, and you pointed out that I was against Bush and his "policies," not the kids in the service. I sat in Flint with the earpiece still in my ear and I was floored -- a GENERAL standing up for me and, in effect, for all the millions who were opposed to the war but had been bullied into silence.

>>>SNIP>>>

In addition to being first in your class at West Point, a four star general from Arkansas, and the former Supreme Commander of NATO -- enough right there that should give pause to any peace-loving person -- I have discovered that...

1. You oppose the Patriot Act and would fight the expansion of its powers.

2. You are firmly pro-choice.

3. You filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the University of Michigan's affirmative action case.

4. You would get rid of the Bush tax "cut" and make the rich pay their fair share.

5. You respect the views of our allies and want to work with them and with the rest of the international community.

6. And you oppose war. You have said that war should always be the "last resort" and that it is military men such as yourself who are the most for peace because it is YOU and your soldiers who have to do the dying. You find something unsettling about a commander-in-chief who dons a flight suit and pretends to be Top Gun, a stunt that dishonored those who have died in that flight suit in the service of their country.

>>>>SNIP>>>

Much More here:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?messageDate=2003-09-12

[calimary]

1. That is a kick-ass letter.

[dfong63]

2. don't forget this part

This is not an endorsement. For me, it's too early for that. I have liked Howard Dean (in spite of his flawed positions in support of some capital punishment, his grade "A" rating from the NRA, and his opposition to cutting the Pentagon budget). And Dennis Kucinich is so committed to all the right stuff.

in the part you snipped. funny how the Clarkies seem to want to overlook the part where Moore explicitly says, "This is not an endorsement."

[Lefty48197]

3. Moore said that ONE person came to his defense

and he was referring to Clark.

[Coyul]

6. Hey let's jump to conclusions why don't we?

I happen to be a Dean supporter, in charge of meet-ups in my area, and I left that part out because I wasn't trying to draw attention to the fact that Dean is Pro-death penalty, and has a good NRA rating...congrats on drawing attention to that.
I never intimated that Moore was endorsing Clark, and in fact that endorsement alone might cost him the nomination, with all the Nader-haters and everything.

But congratulations, you have done everything you didn't want to! A new high water mark for futility!

Put the flame thrower away, nothing flamable here! ;-)

[Cathi]

4. Who is Clark, Really??

We need to know a whole lot more about GENERAL Wesley Clark than his ability to wage war! Jumping on the Clark bandwagon is not necessarily what is best for America.

This is a fantastic read: The Scourge of Militarism

http://motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2003/38/we_546_01.html

We need to consider the consequences of jumping from one military regime to another.

We need to know the heart of this man. Is he more than a General? Or does all that military training make him just another pusher for Pax Americana???
:shrug:

[cprise]

5. And how do the Clark-ites explain splitting the anti-war vote?

Or is this not supposed to matter in the primaries?