Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?

I just finished watching the movie, "Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?" (Instant watch on Netflix.) It's an enthralling documentary about one man's struggle from obscurity to becoming a real contender for his congressional district.

It reminded me of my brief introduction to politics, which has left me simultaneously disgusted and hopeful. Bonk the link below for my take.

I was involved in Steven Vasquez's 2008 campaign for the 21st Congressional district in NY. I was not in the core group, but I volunteered for some of the publicity events. We ended up with 30% of the primary vote, which is 20% less than we hoped for, but a good result with the odds stacked against us. I can tell you the feeling in the movie of running against a well-known well-funded opponent is the same as real life. I felt as though if people would just listen to the things that Steven was saying, it was a no-brainer to vote for him. Unfortunately the people don't listen, unless you're a celebrity or a career politician.

In the movie, Jeff Smith faced an uphill battle with the voters. A number of things didn't go his way:

• People did not support him because they felt he could not win. What self-fulfilling crockery! Yes, right now, the people who can win are the ones corrupt enough to win the high-level endorsements, or rich enough to buy them.
• People did not support him because he is pro-choice. Again, what a crock! The abortion matter has been out of Congress's hands for decades. If I was running, I would point out that The Constitution doesn't give Congress any authority on that issue, so my personal opinion on the topic is irrelevant.
• His opponent was the son of a former governor of Missouri, which matters for some reason.

Surprisingly, funding was not a problem in his campaign due to his robust grassroots support.

Spoiler Alert

Stop reading if you're going to watch the movie.

In the end, his opponent squeaked out a narrow victory. Jeff Smith apparently applied the lessons learned, as he now serves as a Missouri State Senator. Maybe one day we'll see him in US House after all.

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