American Superhero

They'll probably never make an action packed Hollywood blockbuster about the heroes we've seen and heard about lately. But it will be hard to depict the quiet determination of everyday Americans who are making every effort they can to change the direction of this nation. Even if the movie was a 3 hour extravaganza starring Bruce Willis and Will Smith and written and produced by Lawrence O'Donnell I don't know how fiction could compete with reality.

All over The United States people are voting, trying to vote and working to protect their vote. In 21st Century America, this is no easy feat. When it comes to voting we are a banana republic with computers.

In Florida, were I voted, everyone is struggling to digest their plummeting home value, reorienting themselves after the shock of logging onto their 401K website, trying to stay at or find a job, taking care of their families, and making sure they show up for the kids soccer game and dance recital, they are voting with a vengeance. 30% of Florida's 11.2 Million voters have gotten in line and stayed in line for two hours, four and in some cases five hours just to make their vote count. With only 2 machines in each polling place the goal was voter suppression. Floridians are not the most patient people. It's 90 degrees and we chafe easily.

The determination and goodness of Floridians with whom I stood in line for 2 hours was not typical. Floridians complain about the Sweet n Low not being Splenda even when they ask for Sweet n Low.

The woman behind me in line was reading a Princess Diana biography. I thought "This isn't going to go well". She began complaining instantly about how there were only 11 polling places open in Palm Beach County for tens of thousands of voters. I explained to her quietly that our Republican Legislature designed early voting this way to tamp down voter participation. She stared blankly at me for a moment and went back to Buckingham Palace. In 20-minute intervals she'd lift her eyes from her half glasses and complain about the lack of polling places. This happened at least 4 times.

The man in front of me heard me talking and slipped me a note, "Are you Randi Rhodes"? I nodded and said "Yes". I asked him what he was reading. "Sci Fi" he said, I read all the Harry Potter books to my son." "Good for the imagination. Barack read all the Harry Potter books to Malia." I said. We then talked about the economy. He is a financial planner. Things were terrible for him and his clients but he wasn't complaining. He didn't understand how it all happened. I short handed the Phil Gramm insertion of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act into the Omnibus Budget on the last day of the Clinton Administration and synthetic mortgage securitization and credit default swaps. He was genuinely interested. The Princess Di reader asked him why there were only 11 polling places in a county this size. We giggled and went back to our conversation. Princess Di seemed lost but stayed in line.

In Philadelphia, people are excited to stand in 39 degree rain and sip hot coffee and stand some more and wait some more to show their fellow Pennsylvanians that it's ok to vote for Barack Obama.

In a nondescript telemarketing office in Indiana, ordinary people working at an unglamorous Telemarketing Company, for hourly wages, took a look at the script for their calls, saw virulent lies and abhorrent insults on the page and stood up and walked out en masse. Rather than tell hideous lies about a good man, they collectively walked off their job and forfeited their paycheck for the day. Money doesn't trump lies sometimes.

When it was finally time for me to enter the Library where we voted, the man with the Sci Fi book said "After you" even though he was ahead of me. I said, "No please, you were good company. Go ahead". When I finally got inside and had a seat at the registration table the man came up to my chair and said "You know I'm a Republican, but you changed my mind. I'm voting for Obama". I literally cried and thanked him.

When I got in the line to receive my optical scan ballot, "Princess Di" was in front of me. I told her "You know that man we were talking to in line, he's a Republican, but he told me I changed his mind. He's voting for Obama." In typical Floridian snark she said "Yeah, well you didn't change my mind!" So I told her "Maybe you like that there are only 11 polling places in a county this size" Who knows how she voted, but she voted. In Florida. Where they don't make it easy.

These people aren't celebrities. There are no hordes of photographers following them. They don't have their own cable show, they don't have a radio show, they don't make movies, or Tee Vee shows. They make America Good. And when America is good, America is GREAT.

Democratic voters walk past the smears and racist rants of others who threaten violence. They showed up early so they could help on Election Day. They go home after work and make hundreds of phone calls to get their neighbors to vote. They knock on doors. They educate themselves and others. They read, and they listen. They proceed with quiet dignity and the confidence that comes from being right. Republican voters seem to be voting against something rather than for something, but they are voting.

We've seen heroes everyday in this campaign of 2008. "Princess Di" was one of them. But the Super Heros are Obama supporters. Voters who made a decision to say no more Kings and Viceroys, no more BUSHWORLD "Tower of London". No more unitary executives, who take for themselves all the power and all the money so that we are just left reading about all the power power and all the money.

We want a fair deal and another chance at the American Dream. When you are deeply committed to making a difference, it seems to me there is no way you can chose to stay safely stuck in the Matrix, below the radar. Obama voters are Superheroes. Their Super Power is their ability to connect to REALITY.

Churchill famously said : "Democracy is the worst form of government.....except for all the others." It may not be perfect. It may not be pretty. It may be slow and tedious, and people may complain about it but today we thank the heroes who have brought their superpower to the long lines in the heat and the rain and the cold the snow. Now it's your turn.

GO VOTE.

Read more Election Day Liveblogs, Reaction and Analysis from HuffPost Bloggers

Comments

[voltometer]

YES WE CAN RANDI !!!

BFF and "I love YOU more" !!!

[NoFactsJustTruth]

I'm sure this won't be quite as satisfying, Randi, as if you popped my 'first time caller' cork for me, but I'm sure to recover - especially if your state turns BLUE tonight. This state is one of those battlegrounds also and we had five 'early' Obama votes in this house, but this state has those big bumpy granite things instead of ocean and beaches and hurricanes.

My county actually lets you check online anytime, like right before you go vote if you want, whether you're still on your precinct polling list. We had 2 weeks early voting at 3 locations in a city of a half million. I went on Wednesday after lunch in week 1, and was done in about an hour with about 100 people in line. My wife went to vote 2 days later and it took twice as long, with times increasing continuously until now. The grade school polling place down the street this morning had a line wrapped around the building, so I was sort of happy I didn't wait. My wife and I kept having a worry the 'earlies' would somehow get lost though.

Oh yeah, powder works well for the chaffing...

[veracity]

Great comment, Randi! I've been a _huge_ fan since you were local in Palm Beach during the 'wackadoodle' (as you would say) impeachment days.

I continually use the story of how send-the-m­aid-to-buy­-him-illeg­al-drugs Rush Limbaugh had you BLACKBALLED from syndicating your show nationwide (via ClearChannel) as an example of how the notion that the media has "a liberal bias" is complete lies. Clear Channel has also BLACKBALLED Big Ed Schultz from broadcast here in S. Florida ever since he (correctly) called John McCain "a WARMONGER." (CC still airs Ed from a few other stations nationwide.)

Thanks for supporting Congressman Wexler in his valiant fight to demand that ALL Florida counties use verifiable, RECOUNTABLE paper ballots.

And why is it that a "liberal" radio gal like you (and Thom Hartmann) knows more about the SELF-DESTRUCTION of America's financial markets... than TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS?

It's because you daily ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS, no matter where they may lead, while the majority of the media just follows the corporate Talking points (which is to say the rough-polish of the Limbaugh/Karl Rove talkikng points).

THANKS FOR 15 YEARS of GREAT WORK, Randi.... HOPE IT ALL PAYS OFF TONIGHT!

[JRsNana]

Amen!

[Mom4Choice]

Great read, Randi. I listen to your show every afternoon on XM, and have learned so much from you. I can see why the neocons are so afraid of you!

I live in Alabama, and was surprised to see so many Obama supporters at my polling place this morning. We had our thermal coffee mugs and our breakfast biscuits (Chic-fil-A for me), and chatted excitedly as we waited for the polls to open. I watched as those before me came out of the polling station, and it seemed I could tell how people voted based solely on their demeanor. And sure enough, the most negative expressions were on the faces of people who left rather hurriedly in McCain/Pal­in-sticker­ed vehicles. But I, like many of my fellow Obama supporters, savored the moment, still joking and laughing, and occasionally choking back tears as we greeted our friends still in line and assured them that the wait to vote will be worth it.

I know my state is as red as my beloved Crimson Tide, but today gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, it is on its way to becoming purple. Who knows? Maybe we'll be a nice shade of blue when Obama comes up for re-election in 2012.

[freshnotbitter]

Greetings, Randi, from someone from the Broooowwwwwaaaaard ! days (wiod)

Hope you have been doing well. I moved out of SOFLA.

If you're back in Palm Beach, please drive the big fat golfer crazy with a daily show.

I hope people realize that Obama has a big problem on day one with General Motors and we have to do the right thing so we don't have a Newt Gingrich problem two years from now. W, the big lame duck just told GM that he would not be assisting them like he had assisted the banks. I guess W is holding back the flood gates for the next two months til he can skip out of town.

I just mention GM because it is typical of the kind of thing that people want to sweep under the rug in all the hoopla over electing Obama. Then back room deals are made and then in 2 years you realize you have a monster on your hands and the euphoria days of November 08 are long forgotten.

I wouldn't mind a solution where the government takes GM's health care liabilities of their hands by funding a national healthcare plan that would be available to GM employees. GM's competitors abroad all have the state taking care of health care so GM is saddled with a truly uncompetitive burden.

[McMullen]

Eight years later on, we're STILL having this mess? It's criminal. And I mean that in the most literal sense of the word. The people responsible should be indicited, convicted and imprisoned. Not correcting the election problems in Florida after eight years cannot be put down to incompetence or negligence - it can only be called deliberate criminal intent to disenfranchise voters.

[DrPaulProteus]

Lets hope the Democrats in Congress prove to be as heroic going forward as the Democratic voters you describe, Randi. I'm pretty skeptical, based on their past performance.

[polfan]

Thanks Randi,
We've missed you here in Maine. As always you're right on.

[joebaggadonuts]

Thanks Randi. For all you do.

[Mnemanth]

The powers-that-be don't want to streamline the voting process, or implement an easy program which captures- objectively- the wishes of the population. By keeping it complicated, rule intensive, and non-standardized, they can stir the mud and come up with an outcome that falls in line with the wishes of their corporate keepers.
Yes- regardless of party affiliation.
The two party/ two extremes governence and choices that we have are preposterous. The lack of inclusion or coverage of the other far more moderate affiliations is transparently biased. The manner in which we "capture" the popular vote is, at best, convoluted and exasperating for the public. The "electoral college" is the government's version of a faceless corporation and should have no place in the voting system.
Until we demand better, prepare for another stolen election.

[HARVIN]

If Churchill could see what the USA has devolved into, he would certainly amend his statement to "American democracy is the worst, most corrupt form of government in the industrialized world, bar none."

[Provit2me]

Oh, Randi, I miss you. I wish MSNBC would give you your own show - Just think it would only be an hour (not 3 hrs). You teach us and show us so much. Thanks for the story. Looking forward to more - love Mic. (NYC)

[blackmouth]

It's about time you started expanding your horizons Randi. You belong in every type of media your can get on and you writing on the HuffPost can only be good so that your opinions can make people think. Thanks.

[TheHandyman]

Part 2

See, some things don't have to be hard unless the 545 people in Washington want them to be! Now let's work on the so called Debates that are run by the two ever merging parties that keep things this way. Had the media covered the third party candidates like they did the 2 people from the most incompetent institution in the US, the People would be in a position of getting to vote from a better choice of People. Until this happens the 545 people who run things into the ground at our expense will continue to do so.

I voted for Ralph and Matt. Didn't have to stand in line because my state allows absentee voting by mail! The people who got sucked into voting for 2 people with a record of not doing much for the People by this time next year will be arguing over who was right as Obama continues on down the path to oblivion. Those of us who voted our conscience because we understand where this country has been headed for years will continue to work to change this abhorrent system and demand more Saunders' and Kucinichs'. More people who actually keep their promises and don't blame the other side when they don't!