On the June 17 broadcast of MSNBC's Scarborough Country, Howard Kaloogian, former Republican member of the California State Assembly and chairman of Move America Forward, accused author/documentarian Michael Moore of lining himself up with Hezbollah and of intending to “demoralize the troops” through his film Fahrenheit 9-11, which is to be released in the United States on June 25.
Kaloogian stated, “Hezbollah ... is supportive of this [Moore's] movie. Now if you're [Moore] lining yourself up with Hezbollah, then you're the domestic enemy.” Kaloogian referred to a June 17 report in the London newspaper The Guardian that stated, “Meanwhile, in the United Arab Emirates, the film is being offered the kind of support it doesn't need. According to Screen International, the UAE-based distributor Front Row Entertainment has been contacted by organisations related to the Hezbollah in Lebanon with offers of help.” The Guardian did not report that Moore was aligning himself with Hezbollah. Further, The Guardian did not even state that Hezbollah itself had contacted Front Row Entertainment (rather, The Guardian used the words “organizations related to the Hezbollah in Lebanon”).
Kaloogian also claimed that “Michael Moore's stated intention is, is to demoralize the troops” and that "[h]e's [Moore] been quoted as saying that he hopes more American soldiers come home in body bags from Iraq." MSNBC host and former U.S. Representative Joe Scarborough (R-FL) also asserted, "[H]e [Moore] hopes more Americans come home in body bags so that America can learn its lesson in Iraq." What Moore actually said is:
There is a lot of talk amongst Bush's opponents that we should turn this war over to the United Nations. Why should the other countries of this world, countries who tried to talk us out of this folly, now have to clean up our mess? I oppose the U.N. or anyone else risking the lives of their citizens to extract us from our debacle. I'm sorry, but the majority of Americans supported this war once it began and, sadly, that majority must now sacrifice their children until enough blood has been let that maybe -- just maybe -- God and the Iraqi people will forgive us in the end.
Howard Kaloogian currently serves as chairman of Move America Forward, which has launched a campaign to "Stop Michael Moore." Its website urges supporters to "Contact the Following Theaters and Stop Michael Moore's Propaganda Film 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'"
Kaloogian credits himself with launching the "Recall Gray Davis Committee", “an effort which ousted Democrat Governor Gray Davis from office and resulted in the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger to the governor's office.” He also led the "Defend Reagan Committee," a campaign urging CBS, Showtime, and their parent company, Viacom, to refuse to air a miniseries, titled The Reagans, about the late former President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy. Kaloogian attributes CBS's decision not to air The Reagans (which was broadcast on Showtime instead) to the complaints of Reagan supporters.
Kaloogian served as a Republican member of the California State Assembly from 1994 to 2000. He also ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in the upcoming November election. Kaloogian was defeated by Bill Jones in the Republican primary.