Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore let loose a barrage of attacks against the Republican Party in front of thousands of cheering fans in a speech at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday.

Claiming the GOP is now the minority in America, Moore urged voters in Iowa to turn out en masse to tip the balance in a battleground state The New York Times called a deadlock.

“Here’s the good news, my Republican brothers and sisters … we won’t treat you the same way you’ve treated minorities,” he said.

After arriving more than 90 minutes behind schedule, Moore walked out to thunderous applause, and immediately went into pushing for more youth voters. More than 400 of the more than 8,000 attendees tired of waiting and left before Moore arrived.

The stop was one of many on his “Slacker Uprising Tour,” which is aimed at encouraging the “nonvoters and slackers” in America to vote. Moore said the tour was intended to increase the number of young voters for this election, which he said is extremely important.

“Young people are the largest non-voting bloc in history,” he said. “Mainly, we’d be happy if people got out and voted because they can’t stand [President Bush].

“I think this election is going to come down to the state of Iowa,” he said.

Most recently known for his film critical of the president, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Moore was not without opposition in the arena.

“Hey, it’s my heckler,” he said, when someone in the crowd yelled in opposition to Moore’s speech. “He’s always here, but usually where I can see him. This is going to make this a bit more stressful.”

Moore also used the opportunity to draw a distinction between Republican and Democratic rallies.

“This is the difference between our rallies and Bush rallies — everyone is welcome,” he said.

“Let’s be nice to them, because they only have a few more weeks in power.”

Without missing a beat, Moore also used the heckler’s comments to make stabs at the president.

“We have to feel their pain,” he said. “Winning something you didn’t win is pretty good. You lose but you win. To anybody who’s a loser in their life — wouldn’t it be cool to win something you didn’t win?”

Despite having walking pneumonia a week ago, Moore said he was feeling better and that this election was too important to be bedridden.

“We can’t have Clinton and I both in the sick bed,” he said.

Fans of Moore’s work started showing up as early as 4 p.m.

Jean Logan of Des Moines said she arrived in Ames at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Logan, a nursing teacher at Grandview College, said she was tired of what she called partisan broadcasters like Bill O’Reilly, Tony Snow and Rush Limbaugh, and that she thought Moore gave a voice to the other side.

Logan shows “Fahrenheit 9/11” as much as she can in her classes because she said she thinks it is an important movie.