Michael Moore Debates Union Busting with Stephen Colbert

March 30, 2011

By Hrafnkell Haraldsson

Moore Reframes the Conservative Narrative

Michael Moore appeared on The Colbert Report the other night and debated the famous “conservative” pundit on the war against the middle class and collective bargaining (hey, some conservatives still think Colbert is one of them so let’s play along). Colbert as is his way came right to the point  “Michael, you went out to Wisconsin to go out to that rally there where the unions are attacking the governor. Why are public sector unions attacking Republican Governors around the United States? Justify that.”
Moore counters, “I think it’s the other way around … ”

“That’s not how I framed it,” replies Colbert to laughter, immediately seizing upon the attempt of the Republican and Tea Parties to establish their narrative, to frame the argument in such a way that people unwilling to be reduced to serfdom are being unreasonable.

The Colbert Report
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Moore: “The governors of these Midwestern states, many states actually, are trying to take away bargaining rights the unions have…”
Colbert: “The states are broke.”
Moore: “The states are not broke.”
Colbert: “They are broke.”
Moore: “No, they’re not broke…”
Colbert: “No, no, no, millions of dollars in debt. The money is gone. Poof! Pensions, healthcare…”
Moore makes clear that the wealthy are waging war on this country. He makes it clear that the wealthy are sitting on money they “sucked out of the economy” bringing about a discussion of just whose money it is.
Colbert sadly laments, “Comrade, comrade,” and reminds him “the tractor does not belong to all of us in the village.” To which Moore retorts,
“The street and the bridge and the school in the library and this country does belong to all of us.”
He goes onto explain that the Governor of Michigan wants to cut corporate taxes while raising taxes on “old people and poor people.”
Colbert claims that Unions made working in the United States too expensive and says the solution is to drive wages here down to what they are in Guatemala.  I think Colbert is being overly optimistic.
Using the medium of humor, Colbert demonstrates how laughable Republican rhetoric and tactics truly are, holding them up to ridicule as Moore expertly and efficiently skewers them with the facts.