HBO’s “Recount”: a “reminder” of things to come?

Let’s pray not. But “Recount” should stand as a timely warning that we need to avoid another national election nightmare. And a possible outcome that undermines what shreds of democracy we have left in America. If you saw the film, it was an honest portrayal of the contentious and unfair battle that was waged, right up to the U.S. Supreme Court. At the center of it was the former Florida Secretary of State, Katherine Harris (in cahoots with Jeb Bush), who had no problems underhandedly handing the election to W. on a silver platter.

Laura Dern seemed to capture the narcissistic opportunist that was Harris. Although I think the real Harris was probably a much more shrewd and calculating viper behind the scenes – as opposed to the more naive/ignorant caught-off-guard character they portrayed her as. Think Glenn Close in the role, someone seething with ambition and ready to grab the reins, the spotlight, and the glory. Because Harris knew what she was doing when she got those voter rolls purged before the voting even began. May she be reborn as the sewer rat she truly is.

In 2004, we still did not have a clean election. Ohio might have gone to John Kerry. There were so many polling problems that never got resolved to many voters’ satisfaction.

It should scare the bejesus out of us that we could run into problems yet again this November. Let’s hope the election does not once more rely on Florida and Ohio to decide things. (Will we ever scrap this ridiculous dinosaur, the Electoral College?) I pray Obama sweeps the map by a landslide. He needs to do to McBush what Reagan did to Mondale in ‘84. There can be no room for the Republicans to steal another election and run this country further into the ground.

On a final note, one line of dialogue that stuck out for me near the end of the film was delivered by the former Republican Secretary of State, James Baker. Speaking about the democratic Counsel Ron Klain and his desire to exact voting standards from the Florida supreme court after the U.S. Supreme Court already gave its ruling, Baker utters, “Sometimes a soldier can’t stop fighting, even when he knows the war is done.” Someone should quote that to McBush on Iraq. Hopefully McBush’s unrealistic dogged determination for a victory in Iraq will be his own downfall. We can only hope for the best.

UPDATE:

Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin just eerily echoed the point that McCain’s worldview has been shaped too much by the military. “He has a hard time thinking beyond that,” Harkin told reporters. “I think he’s trapped in that. Everything is looked at from his life experiences, from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous.” Myopic might be the word.

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Tags: 2000 election, 2004 election, African Amercians, Al Gore, Barack Obama, Constitution, election, election 2008, Electoral college, Florida, Florida supreme court, George Bush, HBO's Recount, Iraq war, James Baker, John Kerry, John McCain, Katherine Harris, landslide, Laura Dern, military, Ohio, Political, Politics, Recount, Ron Klain, Senator Tom Harkin, Tom Harkein, U.S. Supreme Court, voting