Al Franken left politics due to his own misconduct. He is the only person responsible for his own behavior, nobody else, so he wasn’t “run off.”
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I think she was following the speech on her cell… and checking herself out?
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American here. The American brand of patriotism is just weird.
I dunno, I quite prefer the British parliament and it’s unique brand of decorum.
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I love West Wing, don’t get me wrong, but it was a fantasyland representation of the US government - especially its notion of Congress being filled with a kind of “honorable Republicans” that haven’t existed for decades.
I will say that Jen Psaki is about as close to a real life C.J. Cregg as we’ll ever get, though. (Sure she’s nowhere near as tall as Allison Janney but she’s got the requisite attitude, snark, and snappy comebacks.)
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Yes, Sorkin sure played the aspirational card, eh? Gosh he’s good at it, though. Having said that, I think it was probably the ‘less-than-100% pure’ characters I liked the most. Amy Gardner, Bruno Gianelli, even Toby to a degree… I could believe they might really exist somewhere. Well, and Marion Cotesworth-Haye, of course.
I think TWW beautifully showed the American political sphere for what everyone would like to think it is, its own valour and aspirational qualities perfectly illustrating the same optimism I find weird in all the applause during those real SOTU addresses.
On this side of the pond, and a year before the end of The West Wing, we were graced with The Thick Of It. If The West Wing is a perfect example of America’s stereotypical optimism shown in SOTU addresses, The Thick Of It is our own version, swimming in the bile and cynicism of Prime Minister’s Questions.
Am I saying that Armando Iannucci is our Aaron Sorkin? I think I problay am, actually. My goodness, can you imagine a crossover episode?
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It’s great as a spectator sport, but there are too many people for whom it would present a barrier to becoming a member of parliament. Normally from groups who deserve better representation, too. I mean listen to the response Caroline Lucas gets when she’s asking perfectly reasonable questions: https://twitter.com/CarolineLucas/status/1496479726512263172. She’s the only MP from her party in there, and I cannot imagine for a second that good old-fashioned misogyny doesn’t also play a huge part in her treatment.
I like that those in power get to properly keep eachother in check in a frank environment, but it too often just feels like bullying.
I feel as though the debates in Wales’ Senedd or in the Scottish Parliament are often a bit less nasty, which is probably a fine thing.
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A friend was listening to a series of podcasts about the show and I think it was Sorkin who said something like, during the GW era, he needed to create something hopeful and noble. One of the actors called it “democracy porn.” 
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Yeah. That was pretty great.
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She just intently checking up on the AmITheAsshole sub-Reddit.
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The clip is 8 seconds long ffs
I hope i never get judged for what my face is doing for 8 seconds
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I’m judging what your face is doing right now! And it took less than 8 seconds. 
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That’s really what it was for sure. An optimistic and rose colored look at the potential for American politics and how it should be. Imagine, an articulate and intelligent president who agonizes over the responsibilities of the job. A Congress of opposing opinions but everyone has honor and can meet in the middle. A White House staff full of passionate go-getters who want nothing more than progress for the country. A chief of staff who actually does their job.
Especially during the horrors of the Bush and Trump years it was a welcome respite.
Makes sense. Our Congress is so staid and formal that there’s something somewhat satisfying about the hoots and jeers from the MPs. But your points are well taken and I admit I’m definitely not an expert in the intricacies of British politics.
Yup. He did the right thing by falling on his sword. He did the Bad Thing, and he actually took responsibility for it. If he were an R he would have first done something far worse, and then he would doubled/tripled/etc down and made the whole thing even more of a spectacle causing even more pain for the victims and others.
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