Democratic Politicians Depicted Negatively
Table Of Contents
Conservative Trope Examples
- The FBI interviews a woman at a catering company who says "things have slowed down a lot because of COVID, the economy" in an episode that filmed 18 months after Biden took office. In fact, however, the economy was doing fantastic and covid was no longer a problem when they started filming in July of 2022 and the episode aired later that September.Staff AsideThey say the economy is bad when Biden happens to be president when the opposite is actually true. Companies are having some troubles but it's because the economy is so hot and the unemployment rate so low, they are having trouble finding workers. Little things like this make a HUGE different as conservative audiences are told the economy is doing poorly when Democrats are in charge, and they will believe it no matter how good things are.
- Democratic Arkansas Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta) is depicted as a deeply flawed and manipulative person who will do anything it takes to become President, even if it means pushing the boundaries of what is legally and politically acceptable. Worse, his character impregnates an underage girl and then he and his campaign try to cover it up.Historical ContextThis movie was based off an anomalously written book purported to be loosely based off then Governor Bill Clinton's 1992 Presidential campaign, but many aspects of the book, and later film, veer wildly off course and can lead an otherwise neutral person to falsely believe it's a true story.
- Gutter (Jon Favreau) hallucinates a mock Congress scene after smoking pot in which he says, "I didn't exhale."Historical ContextThis makes fun of Bill Clinton who on March 29, 1992, admitted he "experimented with marijuana a time or two" but "didn’t inhale." The movie released in 1994, six months before midterm elections in which Republicans regained the house and senate by large margins. Jokes like this about a Democrat in election years help Republicans.
- Chuck Rhodes is a Democratic federal prosecutor who often engages in unethical behavior, dirty politics and often breaks or flouts the law in an overzealous attempt to indict billionaire Bobby Axelrod and other wealthy Wall Street money managers.
- Frank & Claire Underwood are Democrats depicted as ruthless, unethical and amoral who will do anything to win elections.