In 1985, a group of plucky renegades banded together to take on the political culture in the Democratic Party—demolishing Jesse Jackson's "Rainbow Coalition" to create a coalition that could win elections. That's the thesis of CRASHING THE PARTY (2016), a hagiographic documentary that chronicles the rise of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council and its star candidate, Bill Clinton. We discuss how funny it is that the documentary came out in mid-2016, just when it appeared that the Clintonite project was almost complete.

"In Anthony Banua-Simon’s Cane Fire, Hawaiians Are No Longer the Extras" by Alex Press: https://jacobinmag.com/2020/11/anthony-banua-simons-cane-fire-hawaii-documentary

"Atari Democrats" by Lily Geismer: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/02/geismer-democratic-party-atari-tech-silicon-valley-mondale

"The Obamanauts" by Corey Robin: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-obamanauts

Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

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