Michael Moore links Hurricane Gustav, GOP convention

Yet another lesson in what should be a simple truth -- if one must wish ill of one's political foes, leave the weather out of it.

Earlier this summer, a Christian conservative couldn't resist publicly calling upon the higher power of his belief to deliver a downpour upon Barack Obama as the Democrat accepted his party's presidential nomination. (As it turned out, the Rocky Mountain evening could not have been lovelier.)

Now, as Hurricane Gustav threatens to disrupt the proceedings of the Republican National Convention, filmmaker and enfant terrible Michael Moore couldn't resist seeing divine intervention at work.

He made his foolish comments to Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, and our colleague Mark Silva has the details at the Chicago Tribune's Swamp blog.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[Mark O]

Michael Moore is an idiot. But he's in good company. I remember McCain backer Paster John Hagee saying that Katrina was God's punishment and that New Orleans basically deserved it. Neither side has a monopoly on crazies.

[Daisy]

Ok you want to bring up Moore. Let's bring up your crazy Ann Coulter. Then one of your leaders from focus on the family told you all to pray for rain. Well, where did that get you all? Hurricane's a comin...

[George]

Uh, folks, clearly Michael Moore is being ironic. A little over your heads, perhaps?

[Boom]

Uh, Mark, Moore is deliberately using the reference to mock
the distasteful assertions by radicals like Hagee and his far rightwing cabal.

[t]

remember Katrina:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/images/20050829-5_p082905pm-0125-515h.html

Let them eat cake

[Anthony]

George wrote:
"Uh, folks, clearly Michael Moore is being ironic. A little over your heads, perhaps?"

Uh, George, no he wasn't being ironic. I watched it live yesterday and he clearly meant what he said and Keith Olberman's facial expression had the look of "I'm not touching that one"

I think Moore realized the magnitude of the insensitive hate he just spewed and then said he of course hopes nothing will happen to anyone.

His true colors shown

[Chris]

Whatever, to anyone with a brain he was clearly being ironic.
Right-wingers mock God as hypocrites with prayers of "torrential downpours"...then, in classic Republican fashion, the Republicans will attempt to turn it around.
Pathetic, and typical for the right wing when it feels desperate and demoralized.

[David]

I am a proud bleeding heart, God-hating Atheist liberal, and I find Moore's comments reprehensible, disgusting, horrible etc. I have a lot a respect for what Moore does, but his arrogance leads him to be a little cruel at times. My family had to abandon their home for 6 months after Katrina, and they were one of the lucky ones. Apparently, Moore enjoys seeing the people of Mississippi and Louisiana suffer if it furthers his political objectives. How dare you Moore. You should come publicly apologize to the people of Louisiana and Mississippi and work to help rebuild New Orleans.

[TS Gordon]

Last Thanksgiving I went to see the conditions that persisted for the 20,k people who were sleeping under the bridges and wondered if maybe neither canidate (Hillary or Obma) would be brave enough to face the music about New Orleans. And, aside from Obama's photo-op, neither one has. The fact remains there is no communications network to protect those at risk, they're on their own.

[MJ Parlier]

I hated it when Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell blamed everything from 9/11 to Katrina on gay people, when they claimed that those disasters were part of God's wrath. And I certainly don't think it's ironic or funny when Michael flips the coin.

[Don]

I am appalled at the attitude of NBC, MSNBC reporters, Keith Olberman, and Michael Moore in regard to the hurricane and Gustuv. If these are the type of people who support Obama, you can count me out!

[mike]

Problems in New Orleans were due to a Democratic Mayor, Democratic Gov. We have a Republican Gov. now and things are much better this time.

[Joe Mac]

I don't wish hurricanes on anyone but, it has helped New Orleans in the past. I have been to NO. and it was filled with lazy, suck off the government tit Dems. Now 1/3 of those people are forced from the comforts that we pay for. A big change. Moore is still a big fat disgusting pig.
Also, I don't think the government was resposible for katrina, all those lazy dems were.

[PJ]

I listened to Michael Moore's comments live and saw the context of the converation. I was shocked by such a moronic set of comments - irony or not. If Moore wanted to be ironic in a tacful way and he had half a brain, he would say, 'how ironic and sad that this hurricane is going to cause devastation the same week as the republican convention'. He clearly wasnt event smart enough to cover his tracks by his half assed attempt to make amend, namely declaration his hope that no one gets hurt - as if loss of property was acceptable

Keith Olberman could have held him accountable or at least offer More Moore a comment like 'come on Michael, I suppose what you are trying to say is.... and you really dont think that a Hurricane slamming into anywhere is divine intervention. But being the biased coward that he has turned out to be, he didn't. Olberman has been given way too much slack by his bosses and is pulling down the entire NBC network for lack of focus and balance.
As for Moore, please get this egotistical pathetic little man (er, correction, fat man) off our screens.
-Obama/Biden voter.

[Bryson Brown]

Moore's comments were just a clumsy effort at ironic humour; his work is explicitly comedic and satirical. Attempts to portray him as somehow equivalent to the hate-filled people who proclaimed Katrina 'God's punishment' for New Orleans are way over the top-- they reflect the delusion that left and right in the U.S. today are equivalent, that Coulter and Falwell and the rest, with all their hatred and demonization of anyone who disagrees with them, are just the same as a left-wing comedian like Moore.

[kenmattos]

Foolish comments? He struck me as being appropriately ironic. Of course he and no others would ever pray for a hurricane, but Dobson and others were leading a prayer for rain the night Obama would speak. And they were serious. How many times have we heard the likes of Hagee, Dobson & Robertson say real sufferings here were our due for "liberal" policies?

[scootmandubious]

Don wrote:
I am appalled at the attitude of NBC, MSNBC reporters, Keith Olberman, and Michael Moore in regard to the hurricane and Gustuv. If these are the type of people who support Obama, you can count me out!
-----------------------------------------------
Gee Don. And we thought up until now you really were gonna vote for Obama. Stop the phoniness. Who do you think you're kidding?

Appalled are you? Were you equally 'appalled' when the right-wingers were praying for rain to disrupt the Obama speech? Didn't think so.

Were you 'appalled' when Pat Robertson wanted Orlando to get hit by a hurricane as punishment for allowing a gay day at Disneyland? No? You don't say.

As dumb as Moore was for saying it, he was turning the irony of the right-wingers on its head. Democrats (though, Moore belongs to no party) are not the party that prays for misfortune to befall others. That is an exclusively Republican attribute.

You never were gonna vote for Obama anyway. In fact, if Bush were opting for a 3rd term, you would be probably be one of the 27% that would be actively seeking his re-election.

[OH]

What Moore or Hagee think or say is totally unimportant.
The destruction that is happening in this world, whether it be from natural disasters caused indirectly from human behavior, or human’s directly destroying themselves and each other is nothing but a BIG sign that everyone needs to wake up, shake off their ego, and start seeing that the problems start within themselves! If each of us looks at our own errors, and our own incorrect thoughts, behavior and intentions behind our every move and see that WE need to make the change and correct our own selves, then perhaps we will find a new dawn approaching. Fix yourself and you fix more than just a part in this world. I recommend taking a look at this to get a new perspective on the crises the world is facing today. I hope it will offer clarity to some questions and frustrations.