Bush makes a huge mistake by hammering Michael Moore with a subpoena

The federal government’s decision to lay a subpoena on Michael Moore provides a psychological insight (not a new insight) into the Bush Administration. The suboena probably has something to do with Moore’s visit to Cuba.  

American law doesn’t prohibit Americans from visiting Cuba, but it does prohibit American citizens spending their own money in Cuba.   As I understand the law does allow certain non-profit organizations to take your money before you land in Cuba and they can spend money to feed and house you.  So, perhaps, Bush is trying to nail Moore on this law.   Or maybe it’s something else.  We just don’t know yet.  It is interesting that numerous Americans visit Cuba every year without a subpoena (just Google “Cuba” and “vacation,” yet Moore gets nailed when he goes to Havana. 

The “why” is obvious. Michael Moore has driven a harpoon through a gaggle of corrupt politicians with Sicko.  And we do know that Bush & Co. are vengeful, small-minded megalomaniacal and fascist control freaks. 

The question on my mind is how many insurance company executives can the federal prosecutors possibly finagle onto a jury?  I ask this because the prosetor will desperately need them to convict Moore of anything. But there just aren’t enough of those high-salaried executives out there to outnumber the millions of common citizens who know from personal experience that Moore is largely speaking truth when he tells us that the American health care system is inefficient, incredibly expensive, exclusionary, and often corrupt.  Oh, and here’s another thing.   Many of the competent federal prosecutors have been fired anyway–because they were competent.   So who’s going to try this federal case against Michael Moore?

And what will result from this subpeona, no matter what it is really about?   It will make Michael Moore into a victim/hero.  It will be a world-class promotion for people to go see Sicko.  The prosecution of Michael Moore will go nowhere.  What is accomplished by this new subpoena is that Americans have been reminded of what a petty-minded vindictive man sits in the Oval Office.  We saw this same vindictiveness before, when the Administration outed Valerie Plame.

Moore dared to embarrass the Republicans (and many Democrats) with Sicko. He did his work in a way that is resonating across American.  Millions of Americans are now asking why we can’t afford to guarantee every American citizen a decent level of medical care.  In Sicko, the scene with six- and seven-figure healthcare campaign contributions superimposed over many of our most powerful elected officials drew gasps and derision at the theater I attended.  That’s political blood in the water and the citizens are moving in.   

Here’s another thing that Moore did to embarrass Bush:  By going into Cuba and showing (by walking down the street and being treated kindly by the people, including the doctors) Moore exploded the myth that Cuba is a hideous place, simply because it remains “Communist.”  If anything, Moore’s scenes from Cuba made me want to visit Cuba for an extended stay. 

In sum, Bush allowed his reptilian emotions take over when he gave the OK to send out that subpoena (if you don’t think the decision to send it wasn’t cleared on high, think again).   The bottom line is that Bush is going to pay for this one.  Almost no one CARES about technical laws regarding visiting or spending money in Cuba.  This is Michael Moore’s dream to get attacked by the federal government.   It was Osama Bin Laden’s dream to successfully bait Bush enough to cause Bush to expand the war beyond Afghanistan.  

Being easily baited is not the mark of a strong leader. 

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Erich Vieth

Erich Vieth is an attorney focusing on civil rights (including First Amendment), consumer law litigation and appellate practice. At this website often writes about censorship, corporate news media corruption and cognitive science. He is also a working musician, artist and a writer, having founded Dangerous Intersection in 2006. Erich lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his two daughters.

This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. Avatar of ConcernedCitizen
    ConcernedCitizen

    Amen to that! Being easily baited is not the mark of a strong leader? Heck, being easily baited is not the mark of a decent human being! It's the sign of a person who craves revenge like the rest of us crave food, simply because he or she can't have things THEIR way. Most of us got over the stage of throwing tantrums and fits and wishing death upon our enemies when we were 9 years old. I'm sorry to see this craven attitude alive and well in the leader of the "free" world.

  2. Avatar of WordOfWisdom
    WordOfWisdom

    Bush should not only be impeached, but also tried for crimes against humanity.

  3. Avatar of Turadg
    Turadg

    My understanding is that these subpoenas are routine. You say, "if you don’t think the decision to send it wasn’t cleared on high, think again." Are you implying that each of these subpoenas goes across Bush's desk, or that the lower down people issuing the subpoenas should give Moore special treatment and suggest that the President exempt him?

    I'm no fan of Bush, nor of paranoid theories that corrupt rational debate.

  4. Avatar of Erich Vieth
    Erich Vieth

    Turadg: Most subpoenas are routine. Any subpoena issued post-Sicko to Michael Moore would not be routine, however. It could potentially blossom into a highly charged political situation. I have no evidence to prove that the Bush Administration OK's the Moore subpoena, but I would be AMAZED if a low level prosecutor just decided to serve Michael Moore with a subpoena without running it way up the ladder.

  5. Avatar of Tim Hogan
    Tim Hogan

    If Bush keeps pushing this, he'll turn Michael Moore into Thomas More. I guess Karl Rove is just too pissed off to think clearly about the whole thing.

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