Move on! Nothing to See Here...

November 24, 2001

by Paul Winkelmann



The Florida ballot count is in and, just as was the case a year ago, Gore won.

But Bush's surrogate liar, Ari Fleisher, insists that everybody has gotten over the election (if five Supreme Court Justices count as an election) fiasco that occurred barely a year ago. Like a broken record, he repeats over and over again that "America has moved on." Is Ari that out of touch? Has he been hiding in the same cave as Osama bin Laden?

It's almost as if he's acting out that scene from Naked Gun. You remember the one where Det. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielson) is trying to convince a group of fascinated bystanders to disperse. That a tank driving through a fireworks factory, setting off a series of spectacular explosions, is a common everyday occurrence. He tries to shoo them off by telling them "there's nothing to see here." Like the bystanders in the movie, we see the conflagration Ari. We noticed the criminal damage your boss committed and we can't, won't, and shouldn't move on just because you say "there's nothing to see here."

It was only a year ago when our already disgraceful election system was further perverted by Bush, his brother Jeb, Katherine Harris, local Republican election officials, James Baker, and the Supreme Court. All of who conspired to ensure that King George II would be given his father's legacy, his destiny, his inheritance, and his birthright, all on his customary and overly used silver platter.

So much for all that self-righteous talk about bringing honor and respect back to the White House. From day one, the intentions of the voters were crystal clear. Fancy lawyers, political appointees, and nepotistic charity bypassed the will of the nation. Honor and respect went out the window when the heir apparent chose to accept his unearned crown, against the wishes of the populace. Sonny boy finally got revenge for daddy's failure to beat Clinton, and no morals or integrity are gonna get in the way of that.

And after all the shenanigans that were pulled in Florida, we are all supposed come down with self-inflicted amnesia, forget that our government was hijacked by a cabal of Bush's inner circle, and reward the pResident with our full support. Sorry, but I save my support for ELECTED leaders, not those illegally imposed on me. I've never endorsed dictatorships in any other country and I'll be damned if I'm going to start with my own.

You've got to hand it to Ari though. If nothing else, he's very persistent. He never stops trying to fool us into believing that our feelings of betrayal aren't real. He'd like us to think that our gnawing inner ache is nothing more than those "phantom pains" that amputees' get from non-existent limbs. There is no scientific explanation for your pain. Your limbs are long gone. The election is over, a winner was appointed, you will be content.

But it's no "phantom pain" we are feeling. Our legs were unceremoniously cut out from underneath us by black robed disciples, paying back George I and Ronnie Reagan for their prestigious appointments. Time does help heal the severed raw nerves and the acute suffering may evolve into a dull throbbing pain, but it's no phantom. It's a fact.

And on occasions such as this, when we are reminded of the Non-election, the scab is torn open, the wound is exposed and a gangrenous stench surrounds us. We get to relive the experience of hacksaw on thighbone. Intense pain is the only respite from our "phantom pain."

So I am not going to accept my anguish being misdiagnosed by the professional mouthpiece of a professional con-artist.

I am not going to be hurriedly ushered past the scene of the crime by a presidential spokesmodel (even as the conservative forensic team continues it's non-stop and destructive dissection of the previous administration).

No amount of trickery, spinning, smoke and mirrors, or propaganda is going to erase my vivid memory of the dubious events that transpired during Selection 2000.

I will not be led to the slaughter like so many docile sheep.

Ari, the deed is done. Our pain is real. It's not going away. You and your boss are just going to have to get used it. I had to.