Capitalism: A Love Story Page #12

flooded Capitol Hill

with millions of messages

demanding that

Congress vote no.

The bailout package

was defeated today,

voted down in the House

of Representatives.

The stock market plunged--

plunged to the single

greatest point loss

in the Dow average

in one day ever.

The question is this:

is the failure of

the bailout reason enough

to vote all the incumbents

out of office in five weeks?

So did the voices of a lot

of the American people

who called their representatives

and said no.

Then Congress voted no.

Tonight Congress

has left town.

Moore:
lt was a rebuke that Congress

and Wall Street

had rarely,

if ever, experienced.

lt was what the Citibank

memo had warned against:

That if the peasants

ever chose

to exercise their

democratic rights,

the pillaging by the wealthy

would be over.

So Paulson and company headed

back up to Capitol Hill.

And faster than you can say

''Check, please,''

they cut a backroom deal

with the help of the Democrats.

This issue supersedes

an election.

We need to get this right.

We need to do it quickly.

l agree with the secretary.

lt's not gonna openly cost

all these hundreds of billions.

We will recover most of it,

maybe all of it.

Kaptur:

The Democrats became

the delivery man

for a bill

for the Republican

president.

The presidents and presidents-

to-be made phone calls

and members-- l know

at least two members

who have an interest

in the US Senate,

and promises were made.

Moore:

Within days, the Congress

did an amazing about-face

and gave the banks the 700-plus

billion they wanted,

the people be damned.

On this vote

the yeas are 263,

the nays are 17 1.

The motion is adopted.

lt was very carefully planned

to happen when it did,

to involve the players

that it did.

The message was carefully handled.

They had Congress right where

they wanted them.

You don't think it

was just happenstance?

No.

This was almost like

an intelligence operation

that had to be coordinated

at the highest levels.

This whole fiasco

shows you

that there are

some forces--

That are not democratic.

Right.

That are in control.

Big time.

They did a masterful job.

Very well executed.

Do you think it's too harsh

to call what has happened

here a coup d'tat?

A financial coup d'tat?

No, because l think

that's what's happened.

- A financial coup d'tat?

- Yeah.

l could agree with that.

l could agree with that

because the people here

really aren't in charge.

Wall Street is in charge.

Where's our money?

l don't know.

Reporter:

Citigroup is spending $50 million

on a luxury corporate jet.

You don't know?

But you're the person--

you're in charge of--

they put you in charge to find out.

Reporter:

Goldman Sachs has set aside

But Treasury followed

a don't-ask-don't-tell policy.

They didn't ask the banks

what they were going to do

with the money.

And not having asked them,

the banks are not required to tell.

AlG poolside meetings

at a Valley resort...

Doesn't make any sense.

We're getting word

that 73 people

received at least

$1 million apiece.

Why would the Department

of Treasury

not require the banks

to tell them

what they're doing

with our money?

You're going to have

to ask Secretary Paulson that question.

Because l've asked

that question

in my role as head of the Congressional

Oversight Panel,

and so far l haven't gotten an answer.

Maybe you'll get a better one.

( phone ringing )

Woman:
Good afternoon.

Hank Paulson's office.

Yeah, this is Michael Moore.

l'd like to talk

to Mr. Paulson.

- l'm sorry. Your name again?

- Michael Moore.

- Michael Moore?

- Yup.

- ( hangs up )

- Hello? Hello?

This is crazy what they're doing

with our money.

lf l could get them

to actually give the money back--

l'd be in favor of that.

We're here to get the money

back for the American people.

l understand, sir,

but you can't come in.

- Can you just take the bag?

- No.

- Take it up there?

- Absolutely not.

Fill it up.

l got more bags.

won't fit in here.

You can't help me

get the money?

l can't help you

get the money.

What would happen if l made

a run for it right now?

Moore:

So l went to another bank.

We want our money back.

l went to all the banks.

- You've seen this guy?

- Yeah.

Okay, we're here to make

a citizen's arrest, actually.

Just drop it

from the windows.

And everywhere l went...

l got the same reaction.

We're actually here

to make a citizen's arrest

of the entire board

of directors

and the executives here.

Why don't you speak

to my supervisor?

- That's him right here.

- Where's he at?

- ln the white shirt? Blue tie?

- Yup.

- That's him.

- Receding hairline?

They're using the money

to buy other companies.

This is our money.

Oh, this is

a police officer.

l wanted to make a citizen's

arrest of the CEO.

- Mr. Blankfein.

- ( chuckles )

But you're here, so maybe

you could help me.

- Let's do it outside.

- $170 billion of our taxpayer money.

- You're not allowed in the building, sir.

- But l'm here to make an arrest.

- l'm here to make an arrest.

- Make it outside, sir.

l can't make it outside.

They're upstairs.

l'll make an arrest, sir.

You can arrest somebody?

lf you can arrest somebody,

l can arrest somebody.

Sir, leave the building, sir.

Who else do you want

to leave the building?

Your cameraman and your crew.

Come on out, sir.

They don't speak English.

Donde?

These guys have broken

so many laws, you know?

This is money.

lt's theft, it's fraud.

l'm gonna take it back

to the US Treasury

right in this car.

lt's safe.

You can trust me.

( grunts )

There's just these little hints

that the unimaginable

could occur, which is that...

people in general

in the United States

could actually

become angry

at the wealthy.

Shame on you!

Shame on you!

Shawn:

People who became rich in this country

in the last decades

were not even making

the things

that everybody loved.

They were playing games

that ended up actually

harming everybody.

( chanting )

So some kind of disease

has entered into the economy.

Moore:
lt was unusual for Americans

to turn against the rich

because of the carrot that had

always been held out in front of us,

that we too could be

one of them someday.

People were starting not to believe that.

And that frightened the rich.

Because off in the distance

they heard something coming

and it wasn't another dry martini.

lt was the friggin' people.

We are ready to take this country

in a fundamentally new direction.

That's what's happening

in America right now.

Change is what's happening

in America.

Moore:

Holy sh*t.

This was not

what Wall Street wanted.

What if he won?

What would happen

to their way of life?

So they did what they always do.

They threw as much money

at him as they could.

Goldman Sachs became his

number-one private contributor

with nearly $1 million in contributions.

But yet they still weren't sure

what he would do.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes