On Tuesday’s Larry King Live on CNN, after guest Michael Moore joked about there being possibly 100 million Sarah Palin fans in America who "want to, you know, shoot moose from a helicopter or whatever else that they think that's cool that she does," King questioned whether there are really 100 million people who approve of moose hunting and then joked, "I think that there’s 100 million moose who’d like to shoot up to the helicopter."
Earlier in the same show, as the conversation focused on the new law cracking down on illegal immigration in Arizona, after making a Nazi reference by joking that the measures remind him of Hogan’s Heroes, he ended up charging that a "bunch of bigots in the Republican Party of Arizona" are to blame for the law. Moore: "I think it's the result of a bunch of bigots in the Republican Party of Arizona. That's, that's what it's the result of. And it's sad that they're behaving that way and it makes the rest of us look bad as Americans."
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Tuesday, April 27, Larry King Live on CNN, with critical portions in bold:
LARRY KING: The attorney general, Eric Holder, says the federal government may challenge Arizona's immigration law. What do you make of this story?
MICHAEL MOORE: Good. I don't understand Arizona. I mean, I didn't think it would be possible for them to embarrass themselves more than they did 20 or so years ago when they were the only state that wouldn't have Martin Luther King Day. This law of theirs, it's, I don't know what to say. It's kind of like if, I don't know if you've read the language. My position usually is, is any time something sounds like dialogue from Hogan's Heroes, it shouldn't become law. I mean this is really, they could just go up to anybody who looks Hispanic in a state that's one-third Hispanic and demand papers from them, this is not the American way. And I can't believe it will hold up constitutionally.
KING: Do you think they, do you agree that they have a problem? That they're trying to deal with a problem? You don't think they're a fascist state, do you?
MOORE: I don't, well, I don't know. What is the problem, really? I mean, most of these immigrants who come here work very hard. They don't-
KING: They should have come legally.
MOORE: And they, no, even the illegal immigrants, they work very hard. They do the jobs Americans don't want to do. Frankly, I, I think, I mean, personally, that, if they, any illegal immigrant they catch in Arizona, they should let him keep doing his job because he's adding to the economy. For every one they catch, they should one Goldman Sachs guy to Mexico. That's, that's how I would try restructuring the law.
KING: Will an economic boycott, and some people are trying it in San Francisco, trying to economically boycott Arizona, like telling people not to go there. Boycotts can be effective, but they can also hurt the people they're trying to help.
MOORE: That's true. But I think, I think there was a similar boycott on the Martin Luther King Day. And they eventually came to their senses. So, yes, those boycotts do work.
KING: Would you boycott Arizona?
MOORE: I have family in-
KING: Would you not stay in a hotel there?
MOORE: Yeah, probably, yeah, I mean I have family-
KING: If you had a scheduled vacation there next week?
MOORE: I wouldn't vacation there. But I go to their film festivals. I have family there. My girlfriend from kindergarten lives there. Does that count? I don't know. It's a wonderful state. There's great people there.
...
KING: Are you surprised at John McCain's change? He was so in line with Bush's kind of progressive immigration status.
MOORE: I think that there’s a general feeling of sadness about John McCain amongst all kinds of people. People used to think very highly of him, people who maybe disagreed with him, but respected him. And I, you know, you always hate to see somebody in the final stage of their career do crazy things. I mean that's-
KING: This was Tweeted to "King's Things."
MOORE: Yeah.
KING: We have people Tweet to us.
MOORE: Okay, yeah.
KING: Ask Michael if he thinks the new Arizona law is the result of the federal government failing to reform immigration policy.
MOORE: No, I think it's the result of a bunch of bigots in the Republican Party of Arizona. That's, that's what it's the result of. And it's sad that they're behaving that way and it makes the rest of us look bad as Americans. And they should start acting like Americans and not, not do that. I guess that's the simple answer.
KING: Did you ever consider immigration as a documentary?
MOORE: You know, I've thought a lot about it, mainly because, Larry, we are all immigrants. We are all the children or grandchildren-
KING: Fellow immigrants, right.
MOORE: Unless you're an African-American or a Native-American, everybody else came essentially by choice as an immigrant. And we are the beneficiaries of what our forefathers and mothers did.
KING: Correct.
MOORE: And we dishonor them, we dishonor them by treating the new immigrants so poorly. We're a big country, Larry. There's lots of room for people. If you don't believe that, drive across Kansas some day.
KING: All right. You have often fought for protest as the American way -- for standing up for what you feel. What do you think of the Tea Party?
MOORE: I think it's been given a lot more attention than it deserves. It's not really that big of a movement. It doesn't have that much support.
KING: But they're doing what Michael Moore would stand up for.
MOORE: Well, no, actually, they're not. I mean the irony of their, you know, populist movement against, you know, the bailout and the banks and all that, here's my question. And if you, anybody in the control room, if you have some tape, you can roll it. Show me one Tea Party demonstration that's taken place on Wall Street or in front of a local bank or any financial institution. If they're really so upset about that, why aren't they demonstrating there? Instead, what they're doing, they're running around with placards of Obama with a Hitler mustache on him. It's a, it's a nutty, nutty movement. I, here's what, here's what I'd like to see. I'm going to check this out, too. On Thursday of this week, a bunch of unions across the country have called for a massive rally and march on Wall Street, on this Thursday afternoon. They're going to meet at City Hall Park and then they're going to march down to Wall Street. I'd like to see if that gets as much attention as the 600, 1,200 people Tea Party gatherings have received around the country.
KING: I didn't know that. This is this Thursday?
MOORE: You see, you didn't know that. It's this Thursday. These are major U.S. unions that represent millions of American workers. They're going to be marching on Wall Street.
KING: What are they calling it?
MOORE: They're calling it Showdown on Wall Street.
KING: We'll ask Michael about Sarah Palin next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: ... Sarah Palin, why is she so polarizing?
MOORE: Well, first of all, I don't think there’s anything wrong with her standing up for what she believes in. And a lot of people like what she believes in. And, fortunately, the majority of the country doesn't like what she believes in.
KING: How do you explain the phenomenon?
MOORE: Because we're a big country. If you got 309 million people, it’s very possible that there’s a good 100 million that are going to want to, you know, shoot moose from a helicopter or whatever else that they think that's cool that she does.
KING: You think 100 million people want to shoot moose from a-?
MOORE: I think they find that pretty hot that she’s doing that.
KING: I think that there’s 100 million moose who’d like to shoot up to the helicopter.
MOORE: Well, no, see, but being from Michigan, I've always advocated that when deer season comes, it would be a much fairer fight if we armed the deer. And then let’s just see how many hunters want to-
KING: You want a fair fight?
MOORE: I want a fair fight between the hunters and the deer.
