You can almost hear Oliver Stone on the typewriter working on his next script. The working title for his next movie could be called Dj vu. It would be the story of how the Republicans once again conspired to stop a Democratic candidate from winning a chance to defeat its Republican Governor.
So what does the famous conspiracy theorist have to do with politics this time around?
This is a story of what is going on Florida right now after the recent Democratic Primary elections.
It is certainly becoming eerily similar to what happened during the 2000 Presidential Elections.
As the news comes out from the appendage of America known as Florida, the story is this: Democratic candidate Janet Reno is complaining that not all of the votes during the election were counted. There were also serious polling problems, which in turn, look like they could possibly cost her the election.
And where are the biggest problems happening?
In areas that a certain former Clinton cabinet member has the largest amount of supporters in the state.
“A larger problem was that some polling places, including Reno’s, were opened late or closed early by poll workers.
The problems occurred in scattered parts of the state but were concentrated in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, both Reno strongholds,” (Washington Post, Edward Walsh).
Continuing on what looks more and more like a Republican conspiracy to hold down the former Attorney General, the last outlet Reno would have to appeal to is a panel of politicians made up of all Republicans.
Surely Florida’s Republicans and Governor Jeb Bush are playing with matches and gasoline on this one.
It appears that they are just hoping that it does not blow up in their faces. However much they are putting themselves out on a limb though, the Democrats are put in the worst position.
The other Democratic candidate, Bill McBride, is in a precarious position if he tries to stop Reno and her recount, but he also has a lot more to lose if a recount was to happen.
If McBride does end up the winner, this controversy is only going to slow down his chances to campaign and beat a very popular governor.
If a recount was to happen and Reno was to come out on top, it might look like that the Democrats just cannot get their act together through no fault of their own.
The blame here falls directly on the shoulders of the governor.
After what happened two years ago, a more concerted effort should have been put into making sure that the voting process was more efficient and had the appearance of being unbiased.
The solution was so simple however, it was beyond the grasp of the Florida Governor to pick up.
Because of Bush’s inaction, he once again looks like a governor who has no control over the people who are working for him.
Whether true or not, this has the feel of a conspiracy to hold down one popular Democratic candidate.
This could, however, end up hurting Bush more in the long run.
This fiasco has highlighted the inefficiencies in his own state and could be exploited as November 5th rolls around.
Either way, this election has all the earmarks for a tale of deceit, cheating, and inefficiency.
You can almost hear Oliver Stone salivating as he punches each key.
Editor’s Note: Former attorney general Janet Reno conceded defeat on Tuesday, Sept. 17, clearing the way for Democrat Bill McBride to officially begin his general election campaign against Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R).