Mr. Smith Movie Blog

Congratulations, Emily, Matt, Will and Henry! One more progressive voter in the fold.....

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 06:21:00 -0700

The Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? team has a new addition today. Noah Joshua Coen, 7lbs 4 oz., was born last night. Mom, baby and the rest of the Coen family are doing great today, a little tired, but in great spirts. We don't have any pics to post yet, but as soon as I get some from Matt we will put them up here. Congratulations to the Coen family!!!! Mike

Family Business....financed with our money.

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:53:00 -0700

Wife In a second blow to House Republicans this week, the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation into the three-term lawmaker. Details of the raid on Patriot Insurance Agency in Sonoita, Ariz., were not immediately available. Renzi's most recent financial disclosure form lists the business as an asset belonging to his wife, Roberta, and valued at $1 million to $5 million. Dad In 2003, Rep. Renzi sponsored legislation that dealt hundreds of millions of dollars to his father's business while, according to environmentalists, devastating the San Pedro River. A key beneficiary of Rep. Renzi's legislation was ManTech International Corp., a Fairfax, Virginia based defense contractor where Rep. Renzi's father, Retired Major General Eugene Renzi, is an executive vice president. The company, which has an office in Sierra Vista, Arizona, was the largest contributor to Renzi's 2002 congressional campaign and the second largest in his 2004 campaign. If Rep. Renzi accepted campaign contributions from ManTech in exchange for pushing through legislation benefitting the company, he would be in violation of federal bribery laws. His actions on behalf of his father may have also violated conflict-of-interest rules and the requirement that Members of the House conduct themselves "at all times in a manner that reflects creditably on the House."

I'll vote for you, but I am giving money to the other guy.

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 07:06:00 -0700

Jeff heard that over and over again in his campaign. Campaign contributions are the life-blood of a campaign. Anyone who wants to be considered a viable candidate has to prove that he or she can raise funds, and lots of them, first. That is a tall order for someone not tied to the political establishment. When you go into the voting booth and cast a ballot, no one knows what you are doing, but everyone knows when you write a check to a campaign. There are a lot of people out there who have been investing in the current political machines and dynasties for a long time. The ability to go back to these donors election after election is a giant advantage for these dynasties. The last thing many of the donors want is to have their name pop up on the list of donors to a rival campaign. All of that prior investment would be for naught then. So in addition to having the advantage of a rolodex filled with the names of potential donors, dynasties have the added advantage of being able to chill donations to rivals simply because of the fear of retribution should the rival not be victorious. Obama and Edwards seem to be running into this same dynamic. Are people giving out of loyalty or fear? "Both, says Hindley. 'When [Clinton fundraiser Terry McAuliffe] gets up there and says, 'If you don't give, and she wins, we'll remember you, 'that's very unnerving.'" Mike

Mr. Smith goes to Paris and London and brings home awards from both places!

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:52:00 -0700

I just got back from screening Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? at the Oxdox International Film Festival in London/Oxford/Milton Keynes and the International Human Rights Film Festival in Paris. I was very worried about how European audiences would react to the film....would the Brits laugh at our jokes...will the French translation capture the essence of the movie....will anyone in Europe care about an American Congressional election.... As it turns out they love the film in the UK and in France. CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE? took the Audience Award at Oxdox and at the International Human Rights Film Festival of Paris, it brought back a Special Jury Prize. If the Paris fest had given an award for most screenings of a single film, we would have won that one hands down. In addition to three regularly scheduled screenings in the fest itself, we had a pre-screening at one of the public universities. MR. SMITH also opened the festival when it screened before a sold-out house at the opening night ceremony (attended by the Deputy Mayor of Paris among other dignitaries). One of the reasons we got such high profile treatment in Paris is that the French are weeks away from the first round of elections for picking their next president. So politics is very much on everyone's minds. But discussions after each screening were fascinating because they showed some of the differences between the two systems, the most prominent being gerrymandering. The whole notion of a seat in the house of representatives being determined in primaries where districts are drawn either Democratic or Republican was positively mind-blowing to the Europeans. One woman at a screening in the UK presumed that those responsible for re-districting house seats in the Congress would go to prison (hello Tom Delay). Eyes rose when I explained how gerrymandering is legal in our political system. Some of the more memorable questions included: "Do we have the moral authority to try and spread democracy around the world when this film shows how it is broken in your country?" "Are young people elsewhere in the U.S. as active as they appear in this film?" "Jeff Smith speaks with eloquence, passion and intelligence. Why can't George Bush seem to be able to speak at all?" All in all the audiences were very engaged and asked some very difficult questions about the film and American democracy. I wish more Americans were asking the same questions of themselves. Frank

Money trumps principles in American politics......

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:57:00 -0700

This is a bit of old news, but it is so relevant to the message of Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? that we would be remiss to ignore the fact that while we were in Europe, Tom Vilsack endorsed Hillary Clinton for President. This is a critically important endorsement for the 2008 Democratic primary, not because Vilsack has national import, but because he has one of the best political machines on the ground in Iowa. A good ground game is necessary to win the caucus set-up in Iowa. Winning Iowa is a big first step to winning the nomination (see what it did for John Kerry in 2004). It may seem strange that Vilsack, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, would so quickly endorse Clinton, who is without question the most pro-war of all Democratic candidates. It would seem strange at least if our politicians actually held the principles they espouse in greater regard than money. Vilsack said the endorsement was in part a result of the former first lady's fund-raising efforts on his behalf during his first campaign for governor in 1998. Are the American people going to let Hillary Clinton buy the presidency, just like they let George Bush? Our democracy should not be for sale. Mike

Don Imus must go...time to get rid of the Good Ole Boys Club.

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:49:00 -0700

For years the Imus show on MSNBC and CBS radio has been the morning stop for all the members of the Good Ole Boys Club. Any given morning you could flip on the show and see the DC insiders chumming it up with Imus. In between Imus' frequent tirades and often offensive remarks, the insiders yucked it up and acted like Imus was a real news show. I often wondered how any legitimate politician could ever appear on that gas bag's show, but there they were every morning lining up to trade barbs with Imus. This isn't Imus' first foray into racist and sexist slurs. He has a long history of these, yet political insiders still treated his show like it was legitimate. Now we see those same political insiders, James Carville, John McCain, Howard Fineman...., lining up to tell us what a great guy Imus is. See, regular folks out in America should not be offended by Imus' racist and sexist nonsense, we just don't get it. Imus is a great guy....can't you all see that. Now move on to another issue. Kind of like how we just don't get why lobbyists and special interests need to have such a cozy relationship with Congress. Or why it isn't a conflict of interest to do government business with friends and family members. Us regular Americans just don't get it. It is time for Imus to go away and never be heard on the public airwaves again. When he does, it would be awfully nice if he would take all his insider buddies with him. The continuing support for Imus is just one more example of how the elites in DC are completely out of touch with ordinary Americans. Mike

What could I do with all that money.....

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:24:00 -0700

Whenever the lotto prize gets up around $100 million, I always go buy a ticket. Being a finance guy who works with numbers all day long in my regular job, I know the odds of winning are so long that I am throwing away a dollar every time I do it. Since I am a really cheap person, it is difficult for me to throw away a dollar, but I do because it is worth the price of admission just to be able to daydream for a little while about what I would do with all that money....I have pretty much settled on starting a community garden program; I know it's not your fast cars, fancy boats and high fashion, but none of that stuff really suits me anyway, whether or not I could afford it. Now I can be true to my cheaper self because all I have to do is look to the 2008 Presidential Primary to be able to daydream about all that money. $125 MILLION, that is what the 2008 Presidential candidates raised collectively in the last quarter. The Washington Post says that the price of admission for the 2008 primary is $100 Million per candidate. Wow!!!! What could we do with that money??? I grew up in New Orleans; the people down there could put some of that money to good use. I'm sure there are a few school districts around the country that could use some of that money as well. Charities all over the country are struggling to get people to make donations to support their good work, yet we decide as a society that it is more important to plow hundreds of millions of dollars into political campaigns. On one hand, I am very happy to see candidates like Barack Obama and John Edwards raise money from ordinary people. It is a great way to engage people in the political system. When someone has donated money to a candidate, they have a vested interest in the candidate and are more likely to volunteer or engage others in the campaign. We need lots more of the latter in America. Still it makes me sick to see the amount of resources we collectively throw away on political ads, paid consultants, and other needless campaign spending. There is a whole industry of parasitic insiders that has grown up around the piles of cash we throw at campaigns. Do you know that Democratic political consultants get paid a significant percentage of the amount candidates spend for political advertising on television? Is it any wonder that they all recommend running TV ads with poll tested platitudes? I remember hearing of the millions that Joe Trippi made from the money we all contributed to Howard Dean at the same time Howard was struggling for money to continue his campaign. It made me furious; that's our money they are stealing (albeit it legally). While many political consultants start their careers with good intentions, most quickly become jaded by the cash and power. It has been interesting to see how the DC insiders react to Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?. Most call us naive. They think it is a cute movie but not the way the world really works. Mr. Smith can only get to Washington in their world if he raises a bunch of cash and hires them to tell him how to do it. I think they are wrong. Most Americans are sick and tired of the cynicism and cronyism in DC. That is why John Edwards and Barack Obama are keeping up in the fundraising race so far. Americans in the heartland are ready and willing to use their own money in the Presidential Race if there is a chance of kicking the insiders out. We saw this same sentiment in the last Congressional election. So, while it would be nice to have all that money ($125 MILLION in one quarter) to spend on schools, invest in alternative energy or use for the multitude of other pressing needs in America, we may have to wait a few years. For now let's use our money, our time and our voices to help kick the cynical insiders, the special interests and the lobbyists out of our government. Don't just give money, volunteer for the candidates that represent YOUR interests. Nothing is more powerful than the heart of a volunteer. If we succeed, it will be money and time well spent. Then we can start working on changing the campaign finance laws and the way we run elections in this country so that any Smith, Jones etc. can get to Washington if she or he is the best representative for the PEOPLE and not special interests. Now, back to daydreaming about what we will do with all that money when we kick the special interests out of government....... PS Sorry for the long time with no posts. We were in Europe showing the movie and just got home. More on that soon. Mike

MR. SMITH Goes to the UK

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 06:28:00 -0700

Moments after CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE? won the Audience Award at Silverdocs, I was approach by Alberto Vendemmiati, an Italian filmmaker whom I had met several days before. Every European must see this film he said. We all hate you. It was bad enough that you had to elect Bush once. But twice? This documentary will show that your whole country hasnt gone insane. Albertos comment held weight for me: He had won the top prize at IDFA in 2001 for his documentary on Afghanastan. That was back in June of 06. Today is March 19, 2007. Im on a Boeing 777 headed for the UK where MR. SMITH will have its European premier at OXDOX, the documentary film festival held in Oxford, UK. Next week will be the French premier when it shows at the International Human Rights Festival in Paris. Well see what the festivals bring. Frank

Mr. Smith goes to England....and France too.

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 07:01:00 -0700

Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? will be making its International premiere at two film festivals in Europe in the coming weeks. We will have five screenings as part of OxDox in London, Oxford, and Milton Keynes from March 20 through April 12. Then on April 2, the movie plays in Paris as part of the International Human Rights Film Festival. We have been overwhelmed with the reaction to the film outside of the United States by festival directors and others who have seen the movie. There is a hunger for positive images of Americans. It seems that many of our longtime friends and allies find it hard to believe that we have lost our bearings so badly over the past several years that we elected George Bush as our President not once, but twice. More than one international viewer has told us that our movie confirms for them that not all Americans have lost their minds.

Hey that's our money you are stealing!!!!!!

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:52:00 -0700

I ran across this today, Beyond Tom Delay "In the following report, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) documents the unethical activities of 25 members of Congress: 17 House Members and three Senators and five members whose known conduct isnt severe enough for them to make the list, but bears notice. The biggest problem: the members on this list have abused their positions for the financial benefit of themselves, their friends and their families. Some do this by hiring unqualified family members, some allow family members to lobby them and many use the legislative process to earmark for the financial benefit of themselves and specific individuals. Members need to be reminded that a career in public service is not intended to be lucrative. If members want to get rich, they should become lobbyists." The whole report is well worth reading.

Here's how you can Buy Dave Krull's music.

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:22:00 -0700

From Rocko (Dave's Manager) I manage David and we are getting his website, davidkrullblues.com set up with a Paypal account for online ordering. Or, you can send a check for $18 to Bob Rhodes, 1111 Peach Street, Alameda,CA 94501. Please feel free to contact me with inquiries - rocko@shamelessselfpromotion.biz Thank you. * * * * One of the best ways anyone can help artists is to buy their works directly from them. When you buy a CD from Dave, a DVD from us, or the works of the many other independent artists trying to make a living at their craft, you do more than get a product. Buying direct from artists funds our work. When we sell our work at retail, independent artists see a tiny fraction, if any, of the sales proceeds. When we sell direct to you, we make a decent return. If we sell enough, we may actually get to keep making our art, whatever it may be. If you have the choice, always buy direct from the artist and forego retail outlets.

Clintons and Obama to appear in Selma this weekend...the power of Dynasty on display.

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 16:09:00 -0700

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are vying for the black vote this weekend in Selma, Alabama. From NPR: The political news of the week includes this Sunday's Selma, Ala., commemoration of the 42nd anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march. Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and former President Bill Clinton will all be in attendance. Without question, political analysts say, Clinton comes to Alabama and elsewhere with powerful tools: more money to spread her message, a tested campaign organization and the advantage of being seen as the early front-runner. Her campaign machine was on display recently in South Carolina - which is slated to hold the South's first Democratic primary on Jan. 29 - when Clinton picked up key endorsements from two black politicians. Clinton Machine Isn't it interesting that Bill has been scacely seen on the campaign trail until this weekend when he will be front and center? Without question, Hillary knows how to use her powerful name and the machine she inherits to their fullest potential. It will be interesting to see if any of the contenders can overcome her formidable advantages. At screenings of Mr. Smith more and more people are telling us how tired they are of the same families controlling our government election after election. Maybe the tide is changing out there. It is interesting how the obstacles that Jeff Smith faced in his race are popping up again in the Democratic primary for 2008. Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?

Giving Crazy Uncle Ernie a Job in the Family Business?

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:20:00 -0700

Most people know that kid in college who never really worked that hard, partied a lot and never really seemed to care about his/her future because they knew they had a job locked up with their family's business. Personally, I was jealous of that kid back then. That was the way I wanted to go through college; damn the luck of being born to a single mother who is a teacher. On some levels, I could never fault a parent for wanting to give their child every opportunity in life to succeed. If I owned a family business, I would want my children to work with me. It's just that when our elected officials start to treat our government like their own business and use it to enrich their family members, I start to get upset. Most Americans who do not call themselves members of Congress agree. An overwhelming majority of Americans believe it's wrong for lawmakers and their staffs to have contact with relatives who are lobbyists regarding government matters. But a survey of lawmakers suggests they don't see a problem. USA Today PollA USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows that 80% of respondents believe such actions are inappropriate. By contrast, few members of the House and Senate appropriations committees say they have policies that prevent lobbying by relatives. For example, Karen Weldon, an inexperienced 29-year-old lobbyist from suburban Philadelphia, seemed an unlikely choice for clients seeking global public relations services. Yet her tiny firm was selected last year for a plum $240,000 contract to promote the good works of a wealthy Serbian family that had been linked to accused war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. Despite a lack of professional credentials, she had one notable asset - her father, U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), who is a leading voice in Washington on former Eastern Bloc affairs. It is easy to pick on the Republicans since they have held power for the past several election cycles, but since Democrats took control of the House and Senate, we haven't been hearing a whole lot about campaign finance reform from them either, and they ran on a platform of addressing corruption. Lobbying reform seems like a good place to start. Talk is cheap, action counts. It doesn't take an act of Congress for an individual member of Congress to adopt a policy that she/he will not do business with lobbyists that employee family of Members of Congress. We can put pressure on our individual members of Congress to do this. Call your Congressperson and see if they have such a policy. If they don't, ask why. Let us know what they say? Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? is a movie about the power of individuals to take back our government from powerful special interests. Here is something each of us can do that will help move us in that direction. "It would only take $3.25 per person a year to fund every House and Senate campaign in America. Thats a small price to pay to get your Democracy back." From Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?

Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? on PBS

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 08:49:00 -0700

Our movie started playing on PBS last night. For us, the producers, we have all seen it over 100 times, but last night there was palpable excitement in the air when we got together to watch it on PBS. The thought that so many people nationwide were sharing the experience with us was overwhelming. To everyone who watched last night...thank you very much. Please tell us what you thought or ask us any questions about the film; we will try to answer any questions you have. We hope the movie inspires people to get involved in working with political campaigns and supporting candidates who stand for their core beliefs as we move into this new election cycle. If there are any campaigns or other groups who would like to do showings of the film, please contact us. We will try to accomodate the needs for your group if at all possible. We want as many people to see the movie as possible. If anyone wants to buy a copy, send them to our online store at the website. Thank you again!

The Next President Bush

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:09:00 -0700

It seems impossible to imagine but some people believe that another Bush could be on the ticket as soon as 2008! Eleanor Clift of Newsweek has a column this week that speaks of The Christian Rights Dream Candidate and his name is Jeb Bush. She writes, "Watching the Republican candidates elbowing each other for position on the right is a classic Washington spectator sport. Nobody quite measures up, and they all look a little craven trying. The prize theyre seeking: theevangelical vote, which is crucial to success in the GOP primaries. Republicans cant win the White House without them, and social conservatives so far have been lukewarm toward everybody in the field. Theres one politician the Christian right could get excited about: John Ellis (Jeb) Bush." Clift recounts a recent talk at Politics and Prose in D.C. By S.V. D?te, the Tallahassee bureau chief for the Palm Beach Post and author ofJeb: Americas Next Bush. "Jebs ambition, his intellect and his tenacity have not dimmed. Combine these personal characteristics with his ability to raise money and youve got a potent political force". D?te wrote a piece for the Washington Post in January before the State of the Union titled What Would Jeb Do? which is a must read for those that rule out a run by Jeb in the future or even in 2008. She concludes, "and ultimately, if Jeb is hobbled by the myth or reality of "Bush fatigue," one cure seems certain: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Should the junior senator from New York run away with the Democratic nomination, Jeb would have a ready answer for those who lament a Bush Dynasty. "We're going to have a dynasty either way," he could respond. "The question is: Which one do you want? My family or hers?" 2008 could take the rise of political dynasties and the political establishment to a whole new place. Hopefully people will find Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? As an alternative vision for how we can not limit our choices to a few families. There are lots of talented new voices that deserve to be heard.