The season for movies about voting

Spencer Collins · #1 (**permalink**) 07-31-2008, 05:03 AM

The season for movies about voting

By JEFFREY RESSNER

Quote:

Opening this week is Walt Disney’s “Swing Vote,” featuring Kevin Costner as a drunken single dad who gets to decide the winner of the presidential race after a voting machine error throws the entire election into disarray. And, a few weeks back, the HBO telefilm “Recount” scooped up armfuls of Emmy nominations for its lively re-creation of the Bush v. Gore controversy of 2000, bringing back memories of hanging chads and other voting irregularities.

Needless to say, ’tis the season for movies about voting. But no recent film comes closer to showing the horrifying potential glitches in the electoral process than the new documentary “Stealing America: Vote by Vote.” The low-budget, fact-packed movie debuts at the Quad Cinema in New York City on Friday before opening in Los Angeles and other cities in August. Filmmakers will be flooding the media with DVDs of the film during the two political conventions, and it will also be distributed via grass-roots marketing.

Despite the budgetary constraints and talking-heads content, the film is a must-see for anyone interested in the future of democracy and the ugly truth behind voting irregularities. Narrated by hip actor Peter Coyote — who performed the same role for the 2005 doc “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” — the 90-minute movie was directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman and features a nonpartisan lineup of experts ranging from Ronald Reagan economics adviser Paul Craig Roberts to liberal activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The season for movies about voting - Jeffrey Ressner - Politico.com

Sounds like some interesting entertainment..

tristanrobin · #2 (**permalink**) 07-31-2008, 08:38 AM

I know two people who have already seen it - they said it's a fascinating - and scary - movie.

I'm hoping they bring it here to New Haven ... they might - we often get a lot of not-first-run-movies-and-documentaries here at Yale.

faithful_servant · #3 (**permalink**) 07-31-2008, 10:36 AM

From "Stealing America: Vote by Vote" website.

Quote:

Q: What could possibly motivate so-called “malicious insiders” at the voting equipment companies to risk getting caught?

A: Our elections determine those leaders who command the world's only superpower military, set the agenda for federal law enforcement and who control the world's largest checkbook: our federal budget. By the “Willy Sutton” rule, voting systems are truly "where the money's at." Common sense tells me that constant, ruthless and highly sophisticated attempts by insiders to subvert voting software must be assumed to be currently underway, given such a valuable target.

It's an assumption that has yet to proven in any way shape or fashion. My guess is that this is fear-mongering piece and not a real documentary.

Mikeyy · #4 (**permalink**) 07-31-2008, 12:47 PM

I like Mr Smith goes to Washington. I see it play out over and over. Look at the last lieberman campaign. Only with the other ending. The one where the good guy loses to the tricky pol.

saltwn · #5 (**permalink**) 08-01-2008, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faithful_servant

From "Stealing America: Vote by Vote" website.

It's an assumption that has yet to proven in any way shape or fashion. My guess is that this is fear-mongering piece and not a real documentary.

It's a thought I had back when the hanging chad thing was still news. I said to myself. Is this more than a red herring to take our minds off the real vote count and open a door to easier fraud?
It is SO easy to screw with anything computerized. The possibility is staggering.
We all know some amount of fraud goes on every election cycle. Computers make it easier to do that on a grand scale.

Spencer Collins · #6 (**permalink**) 08-01-2008, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikeyy

I like Mr Smith goes to Washington. I see it play out over and over. Look at the last lieberman campaign. Only with the other ending. The one where the good guy loses to the tricky pol.

Same here,one of my all time favorite flicks...

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