Recount

I fell asleep for the last 15 minutes of Recount last night but I kind of know how it ends. I’m not going to review too much of this quirky film. You can do that in the comments. But I will say that we probably underestimated the level of absurdity in the 2000 election.

The most effective feature of the film for me was seeing the recount from both sides and how each side approached it. The Gore side wanted to play by the rules, initially, and took a diplomatic approach as exemplified by the almost cluelessly passive Warren Christopher. The Bush side was in full haka mode and was going to fight to the death. The weren’t especially bright but man were they vicious.

There was one particular scene that is instructive for the pro-Hillary bloggers and French Foreign Legion types that we are. Almost immediately, James Baker banned newspaper Op/Ed pages from the premises while Warren Christopher used them for guidance. And how did that work out? This is my point about disconnecting yourself from the media. The media, Obama campaign and the DNC are now engaged in a type of psychological warfare on us. I’m not being paranoid. Every one of you has experienced in one form or another even as recently as yesterday at the hands of Big Tent Democrat. And where is HE getting it from?

You have to protect yourself, immunize yourself, don’t take it personally. They are desperate to get Hillary to drop out and their intent is to undermine our resolve in any way possible. If you pay attention to the media, you will think that all of the forces of the universe are arrayed against her and that her cause is hopeless. But if you talk to your friends, you will find that a good many of them genuinely like her, want very much to vote for her in the general election and are depressed about her chances but not quite willing to give up hope. So, it isn’t true that everyone in the universe wants her to quit. It is just the people who stand to lose the most power who are screaming Surrender Dorothy.

The newest meme from them is that by staying in the race, she is hurting Obama’s and the Democrats chances in the fall. But the exact opposite is true. The longer Obama stays in the race, the more he hurts *her* chances and the Democrats chances in the fall. He is a walking, talking disaster waiting to implode the party on election day. The Superdelegates have to be watching the numbers and know that he starts out not with a wide lead over McCain but nearly dead even if not a bit behind. And this is before the media turns on him. Before the evils that lurk in the mud hatch out. Before half of the party walks off in disgust because it no longer has anything to offer us. He is toast. We can all see it. We know that the sun rises in the east and will set in the west and that Obama will lose this fall.

But Hillary can win. We just have to make sure that the rest of the country knows that we aren’t giving up. We’re not into diplomacy or negotiation in FL or MI. Both delegations must be seated fully with power to affect the outcome. We need to make a ruckus to show we are not going to passively hand over our votes and then disappear so Obama’s young undisciplined hooligans can throw a kegger in Denver. We are going to stick this out to the bitter end and we will be in their face until they recognize that Hillary is the best candidate we’ve had since 1992 for the presidency.

Now, I don’t want to hear about anyone spending this Memorial Day crying into their glass of Sangria in a box. Turn off the news, put down the paper and recuperate for next week. Have a picnic, barbeque or join me in Somerville, NJ for the annual Tour of Somerville Bike Race. We’re going to be OK if we stick together.