From filmmaker to troubador, Michael Moore leads the way

Sometimes the easiest way to judge the effectiveness of an advocate is to see how much people on the other side hate him.

1989

When it comes to representing ordinary working people against the elite 1 percent, there aren't many people more effective than Michael Moore. Every since 1989, when his debut film "Roger and Me" chronicled his efforts to meet with General Motors CEO Roger Smith, he has been an extremely effective voice for the left.

GM's downsizing in the '80s had caused severe economic damage in Moore's home town of Flint, Mich., and while Moore wasn't able to bring those jobs back, he did shine the spotlight on how good working-class jobs were beginning to disappear from this country.

He was active in numerous projects in the '90s, but his real breakthrough came in 2002 when his movie "Bowling for Columbine" won the Academy Award for best documentary.

2002

Moore used the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado to shine his light on America's love affair with guns. Add to that the fact that he used his acceptance speech to attack George W. Bush's war in Iraq and it was the night he became a full-fledged demon to the American Right.

His next film, "Fahrenheit 911," wasn't as successful critically, but it became the first documentary ever to make more than $100 million at the box office.

After that he went after health care in "Sicko" (2007) and "Capitalism: A Love Story" (2009). Those last two completed his ascension to the role of No. 1 target of the right-wing media.

Of course, the first thing they always say about him is that he's fat. To be fair, his counterpart on the other side -- Rush Limbaugh -- always seems to attract the same criticism. Of course, Limbaugh has a criminal record for drug use and has been married four times. You can certainly tell which side I'm on.

Over the last few years, Moore has been working to help the Occupy movement, and when they put together an album to raise money ("Occupy This Album"), Moore himself was a pleasant surprise with his rendition of Bob Dylan's legendary "The Times They Are a-Changin'."



How about that?

I'll bet Limbaugh can't sing like that.