As I've confessed previously, I reluctantly voted for Al Gore.

And I've used this space to support his request for a manual recount and his right to go to court to clear up any disputes.

Despite all that, I was ready to join the voices who would be urging Gore today to concede in light of the certified Florida vote totals. Enough is enough, I was planning to say, for the good of the country, Al, hang it up.

That is, that's the direction I was headed until I suffered through a holiday weekend of Republican protesters on television.

Now I say, the heck with it. Fight on, Al.

I make no pretense that this is a reasoned position. This is a gut reaction, churned up by the sight of frothing protesters intruding on my turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes.

I can give myself a bellyache on Thanksgiving with a second helping. I don't need guys in button-down collars conveying the notion that anarchy is at hand if their side loses the election.

What is a Republican protester anyway? Where do you buy one? Had you ever seen one prior to last week's assault on the offices of the Miami-Dade County canvassing board? Now they're everywhere.

Prior to the scene at the doorway of the Miami-Dade elections office, I would have thought a Republican protester was an oxymoron like military intelligence.

Republicans don't protest. It's too messy, too unseemly . . . too Democratic. Republicans hire the right people to fix things. They don't take to the streets.

But there they were, suddenly swarming the television cameras all across Florida as if Jesse Jackson himself had been training them at a secret boot camp in the Everglades.

They showed up in Broward County and Palm Beach County and even Pensacola, some of them sporting Bush Recount Team ballcaps.

For novices, they were pretty good. The "Sore/Loserman" signs were a nice touch. Chanting "Bush in the White House" to the tune of "Who Let the Dogs Out" showed some originality.

They quickly mastered the art of making a small group look like a big mob by crowding close to the cameras. The angriest ones must have gained experience through anti-abortion protests.

Reporters on the scene said the protesters were a mixture of local Floridians and Republican activists from around the country.

Many of the Miami-Dade County demonstrators were Cuban Americans, probably some of the same folks who brought us the daily Elian Gonzalez protest scenes.

The GOP acknowledged footing the bill for 200 out-of-town volunteers to stay at the Fort Lauderdale Hilton, Florida newspapers reported. Many of those volunteers attended the rally you may have seen featuring former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, and some were part of the raucous Miami protest that ended in Miami-Dade County officials deciding not to recount.

Democrats claimed they were a "rent-a-mob" whose intent was to intimidate vote counters in the various recount venues.

"Because someone paid for my hotel room, because someone paid for my plane ticket, I'm a thug?" Arkansas lobbyist Terry Benham responded to the Associated Press.

In Chicago, where we have a long tradition of buying Democratic protesters for various causes, the Republican tactics in Florida should be a special concern. The usual price here is a bus ride and a free meal. How can we expect to afford airfare and hotel lodging?

Our local political leaders are especially adept at mobilizing senior citizens. They line the buses up at the senior residences, promise a free lunch and maybe a game of bingo, and rile them up if necessary with scare talk about Social Security. Poor people are exploited with similar tactics.

Some Democratic protesters are already bought and paid for, ready to be mobilized in a minute.

These include city employees, who are especially available for rallies during regularly scheduled work hours, and labor union members, who often receive a stipend for their political work.

We can see though their baloney, just like we saw through Jackson's unhelpful Florida protests two weeks ago.

But I think the Democrats are wrong about what the Republicans are doing in Florida. I don't think they want to intimidate Florida election officials as much as weaken the resolve of fence-sitting Gore supporters everywhere.