DrSmellThis
10-10-2004, 02:05 AM
If convicted of vote buying, Moore's punishment should well fit the crime
By
Laura Berman / The Detroit
News (http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0410/07/c01-296543.htm)
It could be the next Trial of the Century. . . The famous Slacker Trial of 2004, when Michael
Moore defended himself against election law charges, fighting for the right to hand out clean underwear to grungy
college students.
Moore, the Flint-born provocateur who left Michigan 20 years ago to annoy people on a grander
scale, returned here briefly last week to bother the home base.
And, boy, did it work.
For a few days of his
so-called Slacker Tour, Moore toured Michigan college campuses, signing up voters and handing out free underwear and
corn chips to prospective voters.
Moore’s pitch was theoretically nonpartisan — he gave away gag gifts like
Ramen noodles and promised to clean dorm rooms in exchange for voting — but he’s been clear about his political
preferences.
The filmmaker who backed Ralph Nader’s candidacy in 2000 showed up at this summer’s national
Democratic Party convention: For the moment, he’s playing Mr. Mainstream, and plunked himself down in the
Kerry/Edwards camp.
Moore’s on-campus hijinks generated publicity and added new voters to the registration
rolls. It helped rouse apathetic college students from their three-decade-long slumber, at least momentarily, and
created some buzz for the electoral process.
But the Republicans were not amused.
The Michigan Republican
Party dispatched letters to prosecutors in four counties, seeking action. The party wants Moore charged with
violating election law by buying votes — a misdemeanor that could get him 90 days in jail or a $500 fine. Or both.
Rather than resort to a spirited response — humor, say — the party opted to condemn Moore for “making a mockery of
the election process,” as Chris Paolino, a spokesman for the state party, said.
“While ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ was an
abuse of the editing process, this was an abuse of the election process,” he added.
So far, none of the
prosecutors has taken the bait. And Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said the party
had not complained to the office, which administers election law but has no prosecutorial powers.
In the
meantime, even Moore isn’t sounding particularly amused. “I intend to keep distributing a free, clean change of
underwear to all slackers and college students who promise to vote in this election,” he wrote me, by e-mail.
As
spectators to the democratic process, we can only hope the case eventually goes to trial before a jury of Moore’s
peers.
Envision, please, the scene in court: the Court TV cameras keeping watch, while Moore’s legal defense
Dream Team, commanded by Geoffrey Fieger and O.J. Simpson defender Johnny Cochran, seize the opportunity for
national exposure.
And an array of questions that some over-eager prosecutor couldn’t quite resist asking.
“Did you, Mr. Moore, offer to clean Suzy Smith’s dorm room in exchange for her agreeing to register to vote?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Are these the Tostitos you offered, in exchange for voter registration?”
Convict him, sure,
but offer an appropriate, painful punishment: a job writing humorless press releases for the GOP.
By
Laura Berman / The Detroit
News (http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0410/07/c01-296543.htm)
It could be the next Trial of the Century. . . The famous Slacker Trial of 2004, when Michael
Moore defended himself against election law charges, fighting for the right to hand out clean underwear to grungy
college students.
Moore, the Flint-born provocateur who left Michigan 20 years ago to annoy people on a grander
scale, returned here briefly last week to bother the home base.
And, boy, did it work.
For a few days of his
so-called Slacker Tour, Moore toured Michigan college campuses, signing up voters and handing out free underwear and
corn chips to prospective voters.
Moore’s pitch was theoretically nonpartisan — he gave away gag gifts like
Ramen noodles and promised to clean dorm rooms in exchange for voting — but he’s been clear about his political
preferences.
The filmmaker who backed Ralph Nader’s candidacy in 2000 showed up at this summer’s national
Democratic Party convention: For the moment, he’s playing Mr. Mainstream, and plunked himself down in the
Kerry/Edwards camp.
Moore’s on-campus hijinks generated publicity and added new voters to the registration
rolls. It helped rouse apathetic college students from their three-decade-long slumber, at least momentarily, and
created some buzz for the electoral process.
But the Republicans were not amused.
The Michigan Republican
Party dispatched letters to prosecutors in four counties, seeking action. The party wants Moore charged with
violating election law by buying votes — a misdemeanor that could get him 90 days in jail or a $500 fine. Or both.
Rather than resort to a spirited response — humor, say — the party opted to condemn Moore for “making a mockery of
the election process,” as Chris Paolino, a spokesman for the state party, said.
“While ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ was an
abuse of the editing process, this was an abuse of the election process,” he added.
So far, none of the
prosecutors has taken the bait. And Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said the party
had not complained to the office, which administers election law but has no prosecutorial powers.
In the
meantime, even Moore isn’t sounding particularly amused. “I intend to keep distributing a free, clean change of
underwear to all slackers and college students who promise to vote in this election,” he wrote me, by e-mail.
As
spectators to the democratic process, we can only hope the case eventually goes to trial before a jury of Moore’s
peers.
Envision, please, the scene in court: the Court TV cameras keeping watch, while Moore’s legal defense
Dream Team, commanded by Geoffrey Fieger and O.J. Simpson defender Johnny Cochran, seize the opportunity for
national exposure.
And an array of questions that some over-eager prosecutor couldn’t quite resist asking.
“Did you, Mr. Moore, offer to clean Suzy Smith’s dorm room in exchange for her agreeing to register to vote?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Are these the Tostitos you offered, in exchange for voter registration?”
Convict him, sure,
but offer an appropriate, painful punishment: a job writing humorless press releases for the GOP.