Michael Moore. Taking back the country by exposing why "The Little Guy is always treated like A Little Guy."
Thank you, Michael !
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Michael Moore predicted Enron with his insight of Corporate America.
BROWN: I'll buy all that. And we'll take one more look at the magazine and see. Thank you, Anne.
FLEMING: All right.
BROWN: As always, Anne Taylor Fleming in Los Angeles. We'll talk with Michael Moore in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, it's one of those moments I'm glad to be the anchor and not the chief executive. Actually I'm always glad to be the anchor and not the chief executive. Michael Moore is probably best known for his documentary, "Roger and Me," a guy from Flint, Michigan unhappy with the decline of his hometown, spent a lot of time really trying hard to get an interview with the head of General Motors, the company. They cut a lot of jobs back in Flint.Moore's gone on to be a scathing critic of corporate America, how money corrupts politics, and generally, how the little guy always seems to get what the little guy always seems to get. His new book is called "Stupid White Men."And Michael joins us now. It's nice to see you.
MICHAEL MOORE, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks for having me here, Aaron.
BROWN: What ever happened to liberals?
MOORE: Oh, I think they're still here.
BROWN: Are they? I thought you were the only one left.
MOORE: Oh, no, I think it's the majority of the country, in fact. I don't think people call themselves liberals, but if you look at any of the polls, if you ask people how they feel about the environment, on women's issues, the majority of the country is pro- environment. They're pro-women's rights. They're pro-labor.Last Labor Day, I saw a poll, 53 percent of the American public support labor unions. Go down the issues. They're very liberal on the issues. They don't like to vote for liberal leaders.
BROWN: Well, why is that then?
MOORE: Because it's almost an oxymoron, a liberal leader. Liberals are usually pretty wishy-washy and don't have a whole lot to -- I mean, the Republican leaders are -- these are people who like, you know, they believe in what they believe in. And they're not afraid of it. And the Democrats and liberals oftentimes are like, well I guess we could do that, you know.It's like, well we could give in a little bit to the president. Well, let's give in a lot, you know. But geez man, come on, it's like where do you find a liberal that has the courage of his or her convictions these days? That's the rare thing.
BROWN: All right, a little word association. Enron?
MOORE: I'm reconsidering my position on the death penalty.
BROWN: You've been thinking about it. You actually, I think it could be argued you were thinking about Enron before any of us was thinking about Enron.
MOORE: Yes, I wrote about it in my book.
BROWN Yes.
MOORE: And I wrote this book last spring and summer. I wrote about Enron, Arthur Andersen, all these things.
BROWN: Yes. The president?
MOORE: Waiting for him to resign.
BROWN: He's not going to, Michael.
MOORE: No, that's not going to happen?
BROWN: Why do you think he's going to resign? Why do you think he should resign? I don't think he's going to.
MOORE: Because I believe that somebody here at CNN, or some modern day Woodward or Bernstein is going pull it all together in terms of how this corporation, Enron, bought this administration, you know, Ken Lay and what he had to do there in terms of picking the regulatory people that were supposed to oversee Enron, the Arthur Andersen attorney that became the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Enron VP that's the Secretary of Army, the Enron lawyer that's the White House counsel. Are we running out of time?
BROWN: Not yet.
I mean, the list goes on forever. And this was a bought administration, bought by essentially now what we understand a phony company with phony stock prices. And frankly. when this all comes out, I think that, I don't think we're going to go through another impeachment, but I just hope that he has the good graces to say, you know what, this wasn't right. And I'm sorry. And I'm going to leave now. He better take Cheney with him.
BROWN: I'm not sure if you're thinking or wishing. About a minute left, tell me about the book. What's the book about?
MOORE: The book is sort of -- it's a book of political humor, the way I look at things these days and what's going on. And it's not just about Bush. It's about lots of things, like you know, I'm sitting next to a guy in an airport. He's an American Eagle pilot. And he says to me, you know, how much our first year pilots make? I says, "No." He says like $15,000-$16,000. I said, "You've got to be kidding me."
BROWN: Yes.
MOORE: And I'm thinking, "Oh, my God." He says, yes, one of our guys just applied for food stamps. I'm on a plane with a guy flying me up in the air, and he's making less than the kid at Taco Bell? I mean, I just think, what is going on here? I mean, so the book is full of a lot of good information like that, scary information. But at the same time, I think you'll have a good laugh at the expense of all the right people.
BROWN: Fifteen seconds, do you feel good or bad about your country these days?
MOORE: I love this country and I love the people in it. And I think that we've been through a very difficult time. And we're going to identify where the real evil is, root it out, and make this country a better place.
BROWN: It's always nice to see you.
MOORE: Thank you, Aaron. Thank you for what you do here.
BROWN: Well, thank you. You're very kind.We'll be right back, Segment 7 is next.
FLEMING: All right.
BROWN: As always, Anne Taylor Fleming in Los Angeles. We'll talk with Michael Moore in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, it's one of those moments I'm glad to be the anchor and not the chief executive. Actually I'm always glad to be the anchor and not the chief executive. Michael Moore is probably best known for his documentary, "Roger and Me," a guy from Flint, Michigan unhappy with the decline of his hometown, spent a lot of time really trying hard to get an interview with the head of General Motors, the company. They cut a lot of jobs back in Flint.Moore's gone on to be a scathing critic of corporate America, how money corrupts politics, and generally, how the little guy always seems to get what the little guy always seems to get. His new book is called "Stupid White Men."And Michael joins us now. It's nice to see you.
MICHAEL MOORE, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks for having me here, Aaron.
BROWN: What ever happened to liberals?
MOORE: Oh, I think they're still here.
BROWN: Are they? I thought you were the only one left.
MOORE: Oh, no, I think it's the majority of the country, in fact. I don't think people call themselves liberals, but if you look at any of the polls, if you ask people how they feel about the environment, on women's issues, the majority of the country is pro- environment. They're pro-women's rights. They're pro-labor.Last Labor Day, I saw a poll, 53 percent of the American public support labor unions. Go down the issues. They're very liberal on the issues. They don't like to vote for liberal leaders.
BROWN: Well, why is that then?
MOORE: Because it's almost an oxymoron, a liberal leader. Liberals are usually pretty wishy-washy and don't have a whole lot to -- I mean, the Republican leaders are -- these are people who like, you know, they believe in what they believe in. And they're not afraid of it. And the Democrats and liberals oftentimes are like, well I guess we could do that, you know.It's like, well we could give in a little bit to the president. Well, let's give in a lot, you know. But geez man, come on, it's like where do you find a liberal that has the courage of his or her convictions these days? That's the rare thing.
BROWN: All right, a little word association. Enron?
MOORE: I'm reconsidering my position on the death penalty.
BROWN: You've been thinking about it. You actually, I think it could be argued you were thinking about Enron before any of us was thinking about Enron.
MOORE: Yes, I wrote about it in my book.
BROWN Yes.
MOORE: And I wrote this book last spring and summer. I wrote about Enron, Arthur Andersen, all these things.
BROWN: Yes. The president?
MOORE: Waiting for him to resign.
BROWN: He's not going to, Michael.
MOORE: No, that's not going to happen?
BROWN: Why do you think he's going to resign? Why do you think he should resign? I don't think he's going to.
MOORE: Because I believe that somebody here at CNN, or some modern day Woodward or Bernstein is going pull it all together in terms of how this corporation, Enron, bought this administration, you know, Ken Lay and what he had to do there in terms of picking the regulatory people that were supposed to oversee Enron, the Arthur Andersen attorney that became the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Enron VP that's the Secretary of Army, the Enron lawyer that's the White House counsel. Are we running out of time?
BROWN: Not yet.
I mean, the list goes on forever. And this was a bought administration, bought by essentially now what we understand a phony company with phony stock prices. And frankly. when this all comes out, I think that, I don't think we're going to go through another impeachment, but I just hope that he has the good graces to say, you know what, this wasn't right. And I'm sorry. And I'm going to leave now. He better take Cheney with him.
BROWN: I'm not sure if you're thinking or wishing. About a minute left, tell me about the book. What's the book about?
MOORE: The book is sort of -- it's a book of political humor, the way I look at things these days and what's going on. And it's not just about Bush. It's about lots of things, like you know, I'm sitting next to a guy in an airport. He's an American Eagle pilot. And he says to me, you know, how much our first year pilots make? I says, "No." He says like $15,000-$16,000. I said, "You've got to be kidding me."
BROWN: Yes.
MOORE: And I'm thinking, "Oh, my God." He says, yes, one of our guys just applied for food stamps. I'm on a plane with a guy flying me up in the air, and he's making less than the kid at Taco Bell? I mean, I just think, what is going on here? I mean, so the book is full of a lot of good information like that, scary information. But at the same time, I think you'll have a good laugh at the expense of all the right people.
BROWN: Fifteen seconds, do you feel good or bad about your country these days?
MOORE: I love this country and I love the people in it. And I think that we've been through a very difficult time. And we're going to identify where the real evil is, root it out, and make this country a better place.
BROWN: It's always nice to see you.
MOORE: Thank you, Aaron. Thank you for what you do here.
BROWN: Well, thank you. You're very kind.We'll be right back, Segment 7 is next.
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