Some Thoughts on "Recount"

I just finished watching the premiere of "Recount" -- and I just need to get out some thoughts, and hope to hear from others too.

While I felt the movie was even-handed, I'm sure that there may have been some pro-Gore biases in there, which I didn't notice since I am (obviously) pro-Gore.

Of course, seven years later, history, reality, facts and common sense are also pro Gore too...

Anyway, here are my random thoughts (in no particular order):

Joe Lieberman is an effing dingleberry.

Man, I wish we had some more Jim Bakers on our side.

That Supreme Court opinion is borderline criminal.

Assuming that the film was accurate, Gore should have sued Warren Christopher for malpractice.

Joe Lieberman is SUCH an asshole.

Was Katherine Harris' position elected or appointed?  If elected, how did she survive a campaign?  What a train wreck...

Gore was right -- by the end, even if he could "win," it wouldn't have been viewed as a legitimate victory...Bush had won the PR war by that point; if Gore could have pulled it out, he would likely have been viewed as the winner of a stolen election (of course, with the benefit of hindsight, we all know that would have been better than the alternative...)

And finally, F*&! Lieberman!

One final thought -- "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it" -- let's just remember the mistakes made in 2000; we can't allow another election to be stolen like this.

•  Additionally

  Lieberman is a shitbag.

  by bumblebums on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:13:19 PM PDT

  •  Good point...

    Maybe I should update my diary...

    by EF in NY on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:13:57 PM PDT

    •  Here's a Video

      that is only about 3 minutes long & explains Katherine Harris & all the FLA back-door-illegal garbage that the Republicans got away with.

      by Greg in TN on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:31:38 PM PDT

      •  Wow! worth the look...

        and Greg Palast's journalism.

        by 4thepeople on Sun May 25, 2008 at 10:10:40 PM PDT

      •  I second that WOW.

        This is the same lawlessness purpetrated on us by Bush for the past 8 years. These spineless Dems have to bring these crooks to account. WTF, where did our democracy go?

        by CitizenOfEarth on Mon May 26, 2008 at 04:36:50 PM PDT

    •  & say he's an ever-larger-growing

      sh*tbag.
      To think there was a time, 8 years ago, when I sort of liked him.  
      And has everyone seen that his stepson, who's a rabbi, is supporting Obama?!!  

      by Tamar on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:40:37 PM PDT

•  I agree

  the show brought be right back to 2000.  Elevated blood pressure and all.  And yes, Lieberman is a shitbag.

  by omahaliberal on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:15:37 PM PDT

•  The movie made me want to cry and scream

  It was extreme upsetting, but I'm glad someone finally could explain to me exactly what went on.

  But you know what, the sadder thing is that there are still Hillary Clinton supporters out there who want to forget all this and hand this one over to the Republicans again.

  This is so sad.

  by BlueGA on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:16:30 PM PDT

•  Informative and Entertaining

  I didn't know about the inside drama in the Gore team that kept him locked up.

  The people taken off the voter list was especially telling. I was saddened that legally there is nothing to be done.

  by fidel on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:18:34 PM PDT

  •  The voter list was incredible

    and you KNOW that is still going on to supress minority turnout in states....

    It's just sad and infuriating.  We deserve better.

    by EF in NY on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:23:53 PM PDT

•  No problem. The Democrats have given away

  Florida already.

  by valion on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:20:27 PM PDT

  •  Like hell they have

    FL will be very much in play this year.  Obama's 3 day swing removed all doubthttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/24/113658/170/748/522008] on the subject.

    My main concern is what the GOP will do to dampen AA turnout in '08 like Cruella did w/ her pre-election purge in '00.

    by RFK Lives on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:33:24 PM PDT

    •  Screwed up the link

      Here it is.

      by RFK Lives on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:36:43 PM PDT

    •  HOPE. n/t

      by valion on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:48:40 PM PDT

•  An important film

  A lot of people don't really understand everything that happened there (because things were, literally just insane and chaotic!), and this is pretty accurate in terms of the timeline and the events.  Yes, it's Gore Biased, but you can also say that it was truth biased.  

  by Hummingbird on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:21:56 PM PDT

  •  As I noted in the diary

    In the Bush v. Gore paradigm, it seems obvious now that Pro-Gore = Pro-Truth

    by EF in NY on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:25:22 PM PDT

•  I had no interest in politics

  Until after the voting. Then coming home from work and watching those Republicans with their bullshit on TV trying to lie about why they didn't want a recount caused me to understand that they're simply evil.

  And after it was all over, the evil morphed into violence against us, and then they released violence on Afghanistan and Iraq. They strive to eliminate our freedom, to gain wealth from the coffers of our government, to eliminate their political competitors through any means.

  It sure has been a long time since that election.  

  by GW Chimpzilla on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:22:02 PM PDT

•  I think you forgot to mention what

  a flaming a**hole Lieberman is. :>)
    The scene where the disenfranchised Pastor
  Whiting was watching Bush's acceptance speech, promising to represent all americans ,was certainly bitter irony.
    It was maddening to see, and yet, I'm really glad it is out there. This episode should never be forgotten.
    I have to give a shout out to David Grusin, who scored the movie. His piano playing was beautiful and evocative throughout.

  by jnhobbs on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:22:02 PM PDT

•  I agree, Lieberman is such an ass

  I yelled at my poor TV so many times tonight. How did we miss how much of an asshole Lieberman was?

  by Naijamama on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:22:57 PM PDT

•  You may want to delete this diary

  and add your comments to the first one here:
  http://www.dailykos.com/...

  by SarahLee on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:25:35 PM PDT

•  On any given day I think that Lieberman

  is another miserable failure

  But tell me what about him in the movie shows him even then to be such a tool??

  by sara seattle on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:27:25 PM PDT

  •  There was a controversy about absentee ballots

    and he caved in to Repub talking points about how Gore was trying to disenfranchise military members.  He went on MTP and essentially said, "Well that's not how I want this handled..." and threw Gore under a bus.

    Douchebag.

    by EF in NY on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:32:51 PM PDT

    •  Oh - I do remember that

      I remember how outraged i was when he said that - couldn't imagine what the hell propelled him to come out with that.

      now of course we know that it likely was his core being -- sleeze

      by sara seattle on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:42:24 PM PDT

      •  Considering his current behavior

        I almost think he's always been a Republican plant.

        Maybe he was there to help sabotage Gore?

        by Hummingbird on Sun May 25, 2008 at 09:29:18 PM PDT

        •  I suspect that

          Lieberman was bought off in the middle of the recounts. The turn may have come around the time he sabotaged the Gore campaign on those overseas ballots. Some deals may have been struck around then; that's my conjecture based on what I've seen.

          by NeuvoLiberal on Sun May 25, 2008 at 10:05:13 PM PDT

          •  Lieberman's always been kinda cozy to the GOP

            Remember, one of his biggest supporters when he first ran for the Senate in 1988 was none other than the late William F. Buckley (because Buckley absolutely despised Lowell Wiecker).

            by gf120581 on Sun May 25, 2008 at 10:24:51 PM PDT

            •  Buckley's personal enmity seems to

              have driven his support for Lieberman then. Even o/w, being "cozy" with Republicans is not the same as back-stabbing your own running mate and party.

              Lieberman did have a fairly strong record on the environment in 2000 (Gore metioned that as the main reason he picked Joementum when he appeared before the congress last year) and he had a good record on abortion and civil rights too, I think.

              Knowing what I know now, while even the 2000 version of Lieberman would not have been a favorite Dem/politician of mine (I liked him back then, prior to the overseas ballots issue because I didn't know too much about him), there is no comparison b/w the Lieberman of 2002-curent and the pre-August 2000 version. the latter was a moderate to conservative Democrat not unlike John Breaux or Ben Nelson; of course, that's bad for a Dem from CT (vs a Dem from Louisiana) , but still, he wasn't off the charts.

              My main qualm with Lieberman is his war-mongering which has been manifest at this level since 2002.

              by NeuvoLiberal on Sun May 25, 2008 at 10:34:04 PM PDT

•  It was sad to watch it again

  but I guess we need to "get over it" like our inimitable Scalia requests...

  These people were vile, abusive, and would not stop at nothing.  The Gore people were upset, demanded the recount but were respectful.

  I was there with Jackson before they recalled him back to where he came from. I can assure you, it was a lot uglier than it showed.

  It was a shame, and it was all televised!  They stole the election, and they got the Supremes to hold the bag.

  Al Gore was a gentleman, but gentlemen often lose to bullies.

  And so it was that our tragic long national nightmare started.

  by GUGA on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:29:12 PM PDT

•  Made me nervous...

  Bush cronies and fellow thugs are now everywhere deeply embedded in state and federal government. (Does anybody need more clues about the "Justice Department?")

  So I kept thinking through the whole depressing, infuriating movie: What exactly has changed?

  If they want to steal it for McSame next November, how big a trick would that be, for this crew?

  by prfb on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:32:42 PM PDT

•  STOP!

  Lieberman is a shitbag.

  This is the rudest thing I have ever seen written about shitbags. Seriously, shitbags have feelings too.

  by Seattlite on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:34:45 PM PDT

  •  It's True

    The other day, I heard two dildos talking, and one said to the other, "Quit it, you are acting like such a Lieberman."  The other dildo seemed quite offended...

    by EF in NY on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:37:39 PM PDT

    •  ROTFLMAO

      As well he should have...

      by sistermoon on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:57:00 PM PDT

•  Warren Christopher (God rest his soul)

  did not come across well - at all. I wonder how his surviving family members felt about the portrayal?  I'm assuming it's accurate.

  And may I say that there are two things I am particularly proud of in terms of my political activism (aside from supporting Obama). One was being a part of the massive protest in DC during Bush's first inauration.

  The second was working my tail off to get Lieberman out of office and Lamont elected Senator from CT. I canvassed every single weekend from June through November. I still haven't been able to remove the Lamont sticker from my car. Lieberman (who by the way is on the Board of the Republican's Obama swiftboating 527 committee) has been a blight on the Democratic party for years. So why the hell is he allowed to chair committees in the Senate? How can Reid justify not booting Lieberman out on his fanny after he writes inflammatory op ed pieces against the Dem party and is actively working to defeat the Democratic Presidential candidate?

  What am I missing here?

  by danbury6112 on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:35:34 PM PDT

  •  Actually, the WaPo was VERY critical of Warren

    Christopher's portrayal in the film. They had an article earlier in the week (I subscribe, so don't have link), saying the movie was entertaining, but took gross liberties with some of the characters. The paper cited the hit job on Christopher specifically as highly inaccurate.

    The larger point of the movie was well made, but read Jeff Toobin's book (upon which the film was based) to get greater historical accuracy.

    by kat68 on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:45:01 PM PDT

  •  Heard rumors of protests at Bush inaugural...

    ... but apparently the press abstained from covering them. Do you know of any good account of what really happened?

    As for Christopher, it wasn't very flattering, was it? But I've watched fellow Dems for decades, now -- and there's never been any great shortage of someone to wring their hands helplessly and Give Up.

    As for Lieberman... the time is long past to break his sword, tear off his stripes, and drum him out of town. Preferrably on a rail.

    by prfb on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:46:26 PM PDT

  •  i thought that

    Christopher should've played harder ball. I like him a lot, but I do think he was a bit too gentlemanly when his counterpart Baker was swinging hard.

    Ron Klain and Whooley were much better after WC left.

    FLSC did all it could to get the votes counted too. Enormous praise is due the 7 justices then.

    by NeuvoLiberal on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:51:14 PM PDT

  •  BTW

    he's still alive (since you seem to think o/w).

    by NeuvoLiberal on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:52:46 PM PDT

•  I wish you had at least mentioned...

  that Joe Lieberman is an assholian douchebag!

  by Viceroy on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:45:04 PM PDT

•  Another one WAS stolen - in 2004

  The preparations for THAT didn't seem to work so well...

  Funny how the documentary on that shows only at 3AM - I suppose we should be glad it got any air time.

  But why DIDN'T Kerry protest Ohio and New Mexico?

  by xrepub on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:54:30 PM PDT

•  When is this coming out on DVD, I'm too broke 4

  HBO

  by dlh77489 on Sun May 25, 2008 at 08:58:05 PM PDT

•  Kudos...

  Laura Dern as Katherine Harris.  Killer performance!

  by mikesbuddy on Sun May 25, 2008 at 09:06:15 PM PDT

•  On the question of Katherine Harris...

  ...I presume the Florida secretary of state post is elected and when she ran for that, Harris was not yet the nationwide joke that she became after the recount. After that, her chances of statewide office were done for. She got elected to Congress from a solidly GOP seat (or what used to be a solid seat), but once she ran statewide again, you know what happened: Bill Nelson crushed her.

  I did love Laura Dern's performance. She perfectly nailed Harris, right down to the ridiculous makeup and the deer in headlights look she always had. Harris was no diabolical mastermind, just a clueless foot soldier.

  by gf120581 on Sun May 25, 2008 at 09:09:12 PM PDT

•  Joe Allbaugh, Bush's campaign manager

  made out pretty well over the last eight years...

  by Tirge Caps on Sun May 25, 2008 at 09:14:15 PM PDT

  •  The whole Bush crime family has done well

    They looted the Treasury to the tune of 5 Trillion over the past 8 years. Everybody got their little cut. There won't be much left for the next president.  

    by CitizenOfEarth on Mon May 26, 2008 at 04:44:48 PM PDT

•  You missed one big point. 20,000 votes suppressed

  The Rethugs suppressed 20,000 people from voting by putting them on 'convicted felon lists'. So if John C Smith was a convicted felon, they also put John D Smith on the felon list becasue the name was a close match. And half of the names were blacks who vote Democratic in large numbers.

  So Bush margin of victory was a couple hundred votes after the bogus recount.

  20,000 votes would have crushed Bush. Why isn't voter suppression a Felony? Why isn't someone in jail?  Why aren't the Dems pushing this as an issue? I am starting to wonder if maybe a majority of Dems are on the wrong side too -- ignoring the crime is aiding and abetting.

  by CitizenOfEarth on Mon May 26, 2008 at 04:25:03 PM PDT