Democrats are moving indiscriminately through their five stages of post-election grief. First came stage two, anger, which manifested itself in mob violence and hot tears of rage.

Now, almost a month after Election Day, the tears and violence have just about subsided but Democratic grief and denial are still with us. Denial is supposed to be stage one, but that presupposes that it is spontaneous and sincere, whereas today's Democratic denial, in the form or recounts across the Rust Belt, is coolly calculating and disingenuous. Demand a recount and you can clothe yourself in the garb of an honest seeker after facts, when in truth you a cynically trying to delegitimize a result you know to be true.

Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has filed for recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton's top campaign lawyer recently said he will aid in that effort. The Wisconsin recount has already started. The others are awaiting court decisions.

President-elect Trump, speaking for his supporters, objects to this charade, saying, "The people have spoken, and the election is over." He called Stein's effort a "scam," and his surrogates mocked the "crybabies" and "sore losers."

Republicans criticize the Clinton and Stein camps for wasting time and money. Republican Rep. Sean Duffy told CNN, "They're putting a stain on our state and our electoral system." They further object to Stein's attempt to force Wisconsin to conduct their recount by hand, which will add to the cost.

Trump preemptively undermined his position by denouncing the election process as rigged in the weeks before Election Day when he and most other people thought he would lose. He refused to commit to accepting the results, saying he'd "look at it at the time." That's what the losing losers from Loserville (Democrats) are doing now.

The chance of these recounts overturning the election results are zero. There is no evidence of malfunctioning voting machines or widespread voter fraud. And the results of previous recounts have typically confirmed the original margin. Polls suggest most of the public believes the election was conducted correctly and accepts the results.

But let the recounts proceed. If Democrats, Greens and sundry others sulking over their defeat wish to squeeze every drop of ignominy and bitter gall out of their cataclysm, they should be allowed to do so.

It will confirm that American elections work properly. Trump should leave the Democrats to their recounts and help them toward the final stage of their grief by, oh, about Election Day 2020.