Michael Moore Has Freedom of Speech, Even When He Is Wrong (Like Here)

Earlier today I defended Michael Moore’s right to free speech, but that does not mean I necessarily agree with him. Michael Moore is often wrong, such as at his web site where he headlines a story in John Kerry’s support for anti-war candidates with, “John Kerry Puts His Money Where His Mouth Should Have Been All Along.”

John Kerry is putting his money where his mouth has been all along. Did Michael Moore never hear the phrase “Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time” during the campaign?

Kerry’s opposition to George Bush’s foreign policiy did not begin during the Presidential campaign. Following his early opposition to Richard Nixon on Vietnam and Ronald Reagan on Iran Contra, John Kerry was one of the first to stand up to George Bush, even when other Democrats were afraid to following 9/11. In July 2002 the New York Times wrote, in an article entitled By Attacking Bush, Kerry Sets Himself Apart:

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was cruising through a Senate hearing on arms control, charming his Democratic adversaries and deftly parrying their questions, when Senator John Kerry, a Democrat from Massachusetts, took the microphone.

In the aggressive style he honed as a prosecutor two decades ago, Mr. Kerry unleashed a barrage of criticism against President Bush’s nuclear arms treaty with Russia, saying it “neutered” previous pacts and included a “huge contradiction.” Twice, he interrupted a clearly irritated Mr. Powell in midsentence.

For many Democrats, the war on terrorism has made that kind of frontal assault on Bush foreign policy seem risky, if not politically suicidal. But not for Mr. Kerry. A decorated Vietnam veteran and potential presidential candidate, he has lustily attacked the administration on policies like trans-Atlantic relations, Pentagon spending, Middle East negotiations and even Mr. Bush’s greatest triumph, Afghanistan.

John Kerry opposed George Bush’s policies in Iraq from the beginning. At the time of the IWR vote, Kerry spoke out against going to war unless we were proven to be threatened to WMD in his Senate floor statement. He explained his views in articles in Foreign Affairs and the New York Times, writing, “If we are to put American lives at risk in a foreign war, President Bush must be able to say to this nation that we had no choice, that this was the only way we could eliminate a threat we could not afford to tolerate.”

In January 2003 John Kerry spoke at Georgetown, urging George Bush not to “rush to war.” At the onset of the war, Kerry protested by arguing, “What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States.”

In December 2003 Kerry spoke before the Council on Foreign Relations and accused the Bush administration of pursuing “the most arrogant, inept, reckless and ideological foreign policy in modern history.”

John Kerry was among the first Democrats to stand up to George Bush on the war, and is now one of the leading opponents of the war. Karl Rove knew that John Kerry was a threat as he spread the lies that Kerry supported George Bush’s policies. It is a shame that so many opponents of the far fell for this.

4 Comments

  1. 1
    democrafty says:

    Linked, because you’re absolutely right. Michael Moore is free to make whatever argumeent he wants about this, but the the truth of the matter is, just claiming that JK was late on this doesn’t bring anyone home any faster.

  2. 2
    Nick says:

    Michael Moore has gone from being an intersting film maker (e.g. Roger and Me) to just another table pounder. It’s like if you were against the war but didn’t get so angry that you pounded tables (figuratively or literally) then you are or were some kind of sellout to BushCo.

  3. 3
    Ron Chusid says:

    I wish people would just see Michael Moore as a film maker. He is not a leader of the Democrats as some conservatives portray him as.

    Being a documentary film maker, Moore has opinions. Sometimes he is correct, such as in his opposition to the war. Sometimes he is wrong, such as in the topic here. Regardless, what he says is his opinion, and not the official viewpoint of the Democratic Party or all liberals.

  4. 4
    Marcus says:

    I’ve actually never seen Fahrenheit 911 because as much as I found Moore interesting he just seemed to always go to far. Although he’s on our side he’s kinda like an Ann Colter, an angry loose cannon.

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