Just like the Iowa Caucuses, filmmaker Michael Moore is known to visit Ames once every four years.

Moore (“Roger and Me”) first visited Ames in 1996, when he spoke at the Memorial Union the day before the caucuses.

This year, Moore not only gave another speech, but he arrived in Ames with a camera crew from his television program “The Awful Truth.”

Moore’s plan was to entice the presidential candidates to join in a mosh pit filled with ISU students. Any candidate filmed in the pit would be endorsed by “The Awful Truth.”

Moore decided to use a mosh pit to greet presidential candidates because “it’s what the kids do these days.”

“If the politicians want the youth vote, they should get in the pit with them,” Moore said.

Welcome Back

It was no coincidence that Moore began the 2000 presidential campaign in Ames.

“I really enjoyed my experience during the caucuses last time,” Moore said. “Ames is a cool place.”

Participants were equally eager to help Moore with his idea.

Jen Hirt, graduate student in English and managing editor of The Drummer, was a mosh pit coordinator for both days of the shoot.

“I knew he was coming to speak here, and I asked Pat Miller from the Committee for Lectures if I could meet him before he spoke,” Hirt said.

After Hirt supplied Moore with copies of The Drummer, United Broadcasting (producers of “The Awful Truth”) called her and asked if she could be a production assistant for the shoot.

Hirt agreed, but she was left wondering exactly what her job entitled.

“The producers gave me a call and asked, ‘ Can you round up 50 punks for a mosh pit?’ I just had to send out an e-mail,” Hirt said.

Out in the cold

It was anything but balmy when 44 participants began their tour of duty on the moshmobile Sunday afternoon at the Scheman Building. The group was waiting for Steve Forbes to arrive at a rally.

Where exactly Forbes was going to arrive was in question. The bus transporting the moshers arrived at the front of the building, but the moshers were directed to the back of the building, where they were met by an angered campaign worker.

The man claimed that the production was blocking Forbes’ entrance. “Awful Truth” producer Nick McKinney convinced the man to let the shooting continue.

After the group made one more rotation around the building, they found Forbes entering the Scheman Building through the back entrance. The moshers rushed over to greet him, carrying small American flags and signs with slogans such as “Dive Into the Political Process.” Some were singing “America the Beautiful.”

They quickly began to mosh, chanting, “Get In the Pit!” and “Forbes!” They continued until Forbes passed, waving and giving the crowd a thumbs-up.

Quiet on the set

“This is a stealth mission. We need absolute silence,” Hirt said. The school bus had just arrived by Bill Bradley’s campaign headquarters in Des Moines.

The group waited while Moore interviewed Bradley’s director of communications. The plan was that Moore would lead him to the group, and Rage Against the Machine’s “Guerilla Radio” would play while the group moshed.

As the moshers left the bus and set up the “pit” (an area of orange fencing held up by four volunteers) it quickly became obvious that passing cars on University Avenue wouldn’t allow the group the privacy it needed.

Some motorists stared, while others honked. One passenger in a Toyota Camry with a South Dakota license plate took a picture of the group while waiting at a stoplight.

Before Moore could surprise the campaign workers with the moshers, Bradley’s director of communications, Jim Farrell, and a campaign volunteer looked over the group. Bradley was nowhere to be seen. While the group moshed, Hauser told Moore that Bradley couldn’t join them due to his recently disclosed heart condition.

Next up for the group was Gary Bauer’s campaign office in Des Moines. While “Guerilla Radio” played, Moore tried to talk to someone from the campaign. Moore claimed that a campaign worker didn’t want to talk to the moshers, the reason claiming that none of them were registered voters.

After Moore relayed this information to the group, their chants became even louder. Shortly thereafter, four Des Moines police cars arrived on the scene.

“They really wanted to arrest us, but they couldn’t keep a straight face,” Moore later said.

Keyes takes a dive

The group’s next stop was at the Val-Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, where Alan Keyes was holding a “Giant Rally.” As the group set up shop in front of the venue, they easily fell into the routine.

Soon, they were joined by a well-dressed, unidentified man who dove off the platform and bodysurfed through the crowd. The elated man quickly brought out a man dressed as Uncle Sam, who joyfully jumped into the incredulous crowd.

The moshers quickly moved to the back entrance of the Val-Air when they heard that Keyes was leaving through that door.

A crowd of rally attendees gathered around the pit, taking pictures of the moshers. Then Alan Keyes was spotted descending the stairs.

Before the moshers even knew what was happening, the talk show host was on the flatbed and dove into the waiting group.

By Monday morning, Keyes’ literal dive into the youth demographic had made national news outlets from the L.A. Times to “Good Morning America.”

Conscience raising

The atmosphere between the moshers was both serious and silly. In between discussions of Swedish punk rock and Simpsons episodes, candidates’ platforms and ideals were tossed out and alternately praised or dismissed.

Some of the participants had just learned about Moore and his work. Kevin Crotty, senior in computer engineering, had come along at his friend’s urging.

“What little bit I’ve managed to see of Moore is pretty cool,” Crotty said.

“I didn’t know who Michael Moore was until last week, when I saw ‘Roger and Me.’ That made me excited,” said Amanda Fields, graduate student in creative writing. “I’m here to promote Michael Moore. More people should be aware of what he’s doing.”

The day turned out to be something the moshers would never forget.

“I think we brought respectability back to the political process,” said Rob Deisz, senior in biochemistry..

“It was a unique opportunity,” Crotty said. “I wanted to see the presidential candidates — it was easier than watching C-Span.”

More moshing for Moore

After Moore’s two-hour speech Sunday night, a crowd of about 100 people went out to either participate in or witness “the biggest mosh pit Iowa has ever seen.”

Monday saw another group of about 50 moshers down in Des Moines. Highlights of the day included the group chasing Orrin Hatch down a downtown street.

“It seemed like he was trying to relate to us,” said Melissa Leek, junior in construction engineering.

The group moshed for about a half-hour in front of the hotel where Bradley and Gore were staying. “Bradley turned us down again,” Jen Hirt said.

“The Awful Truth” plans on airing the caucus episode either in May or June on the Bravo Network, which is only seen in Ames by digital cable subscribers and satellite dish owners.