Elijah Cummings Was a Fighter

By Michael Moore, Michael Moore's Facebook Page

17 October 19

ne of the great members of Congress in my lifetime passed away this morning — Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland. He was a fighter for those who weren’t allowed a seat at the table. A strong, powerful voice for the voiceless. He was always willing to give of his time for me, offer his guidance, tell me what was really going on in ways few others would. When he agreed to be in my film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” he pulled no punches about the Crash of ‘08 when Congress bailed out the banks and Wall Street but let millions of families lose their savings and be evicted from their homes. He told me it was all a ruse, a giant robbery of the American people.

“The word that we got in Congress was that if we didn’t act ‘immediately’ the ‘whole economy would collapse - no doubt about it.’ This whole fiasco shows you there’s some powerful forces (that are not democratic) that are in control here in this building — big time.” His point was that it was the top one-percent who owned the politicians and the government — and that we’d never be a true democracy until ‘we the people’ controlled the economy. Elijah Cummings was the real deal — authentic to his core, honest to a fault, and a peoples’ representative in the truest sense of the word. I am stunned and saddened by his death. He couldn’t have been taken from us at a worse time. Much love and gratitude to his family. We will all honor him best by carrying on his work with our own passion and an unrelenting commitment to real justice and equality. Rest In peace, my friend. We, though, will not, until your work - our work - is done.