"I want to get Americans to talk about stuff that is important. It doesn't matter to me whether they're pro-Bush or anti-Bush. I just think it's important that they have a place to meet and talk about it in person," he says. And for this, he's not only rare--he's practically extinct.

At least, that's what it seemed like since the moment Michael Moore's new documentary made its way into the media. People squared off immediately, praising or condemning it while the movie was still in production. But the rhetoric reached a fever pitch in mid-June, when a conservative group called Move America Forward issued a call to action. It posted a list of theater companies on its Web site, and urged its members to contact the theaters and express themselves. In response, liberal groups asked their members to do the same. The digital war was on.

E-Activists Unleashed

Milwaukee-based Marcus Theatres was on that list, as were the e-mail addresses of its top executives. In two weeks, the company received "several thousand" e-mails from both sides, according to spokesman Carlo Petrick. He said he couldn't remember a time when any movie provoked such a response.

For many, the e-mail campaigns were a matter of survival. The right felt it was being marginalized by the movie, and the left feared theaters would be scared out of showing it. They were both angry--and even after Move America Forward took the theater list down last week, and even as the movie was set to open in 868 theaters nationwide, it was a feeling that wasn't going away.

"These people, they just don't want to hear anything bad about Bush," says Benjamin Royce, founder of the Liberal Students Organization of Milwaukee School of Engineering. He said he got in arguments with people who sent negative e-mails to the theaters, although he decided not to join the fray and send positive ones.

But not every liberal Michael Moore fan was as reserved.

"It just makes me really mad that people are going to tell me I can't watch something," said Rhonda Greenhaw-Wood, a stay-at-home mother in Milwaukee. She said she interpreted the conservative group's action as attempted censorship, and she wanted to do her part to counter it. So, she called the manager of her local theater to thank him for showing the film.

"Usually you don't have to thank someone for just showing a movie, but with all the pressure to keep it out of the theaters, I really felt like they should know I appreciate choices and the ability to select for myself what I do."

Spinning the Message

But according to Siobhan Guiney, Move America Forward's executive director, its intention wasn't to stop the movie. It only wanted to make the point that not everyone wants to hear Moore's viewpoint. "Mr. Moore certainly has his right to make his movie, and as consumers we have the right to disagree with its message," she said. She believes she did that successfully, and claims victory because people are talking about the group's efforts. "The dialogue has opened," she says.

It's a message similar to that of Carlson from Bucketworks, but with a decidedly different spin. Carlson wants people to discuss their differences; Guiney wants people to focus on them.

Ultimately, though, Move America Forward may have only moved Moore forward. Marcus Theaters planned to release the movie in 16 theaters in four states, and its spokesman said the conservative group's campaign did nothing to change that. Moore even credited it with helping the film. After he learned the movie made $21.8 million on its opening weekend--a record for a documentary--he was quoted in the Associated Press as thanking right-wing groups for the added publicity.

As for what kind of dialogue comes after the movie, that's yet to be seen. Critics have said it could swing voters, and Moore hasn't been shy about his hopes for influencing the election.

On Monday, people across the country gathered in homes to take part in an open forum with Moore, hosted by the progressive group MoveOn.org. Many people planned to use the gatherings as a way to harness Moore's momentum--to touch base with other liberals and organize events to defeat Bush in November.

That may not quite be a Bucketworks-style dialogue with conservatives, but Milwaukee's Greenhaw-Wood, who hosted one of these parties, views it in a larger context. "I think these are important discussions to have--what sort of direction for this country to take. I want to be part of that dialogue. I feel like the extreme right has been monopolizing the conversation, and I think it's time for everyone to have input."