A Republican 'West Wing'?

[Aragorn]

On the show, Robert Ritchie was a Republican stereotype but Glen Allen Walken was a badass. Don't know if the first one being written by Sorkin and the second one being written by Wells had anything to do with that They would also give common party line talking points to the other candidate (Santos is against abortion but won't legislate against it, Vinick is pro-choice and butts heads with the Religious Right).

 

[Snaploud]

The West Wing occasionally showed non-liberal ideas in a positive light. This pro-defense spending scene comes to mind:

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[Mr. Laser Beam]

Was that Christian Slater?

 

[danellis]

Was that Christian Slater?

It was indeed.

dJE

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Ainsley Hayes (mentioned in the OP) was unapologetically Republican and conservative.

 

[Australis]

After watching Grammer in that drama he did (Boss), I think he'd have the chops to pull off being President, a protege of Vinick, say. And as an actor, I thin k he'd he willing to represent what is good abou the Republican ethos.

 

[urbandefault]

The thing is, any show like that trying to portray a "Republican" slant would quickly become a parody or caricature. Conservative viewers would check it out, but would stop watching after a while.

"Hollywood" can't wrap its head around the mindset of conservatives, so it eventually would become just another show like all the others.

 

[MacLeod]

Unfortunately true.
The "real" conservative platform is:
Small government; efficient at doing what needs to be done but not overly bloated
Low taxes on the individual
Generally, more textualist-constitutional thought and policies.
Last, but most importantly, a willingness and desire to govern fairly and broadly.
- things like healthcare and food stamps shouldn't be major issues; the fact that Obamacare is really expensive (causation or correlation?) on most consumers, many who can hardly afford it, means that the GOP had an opportunity to dive into healthcare and find common ground to keep the benefits and find ways to reduce costs. Instead, they scrapped it.
For a very short time, the Tea Party seemed to embrace the above, until they went radical and off the deep end. The fact that todays congress seems intent on allowing lobbyists and corporate "campaign donors" to run the show is a sad testament to what our country has become.

Governments role is to serve the best interests of all of it's citizens, and whilst I suspect that no one really wants more government that is absolutely needed. Without Government regulations and the enforcement/oversight bodies that come with that people/corporations will often do what is in the best interest of their themselves/shareholders rather than the people/community.

The PPACA is actually based on a Republican idea so one would have thought the GOP might be more open to it, as for expense prior to the PPACA even more American's couldn't afford Healthcare. Premiums for Insurance tend to go up more often than they come down. Yes the HNS isn't free it's paid through taxes but should I need treatment I don't have to worry about finding thousands of pounds to cover treatment. But we have debated the PPACA several times on this board and this isn't the thread for yet another debate.

 

[Refuge]

That is very reductionist, overgeneralizing and selectively vigilant.

I've personally had some very nice, rational, evidence-oriented discussions with people who are right wingers. That's what happens if you don't open the conversation with an insult.

Exactly. However there is a very limited and biased left viewpoint often expressed as the one you were responding to.

 

[Refuge]

While the idea of a program that gives Righties an example of the best that they can be-- nurturing is usually more effective than satire-- is a good one, I have a feeling that it would quickly devolve into propaganda, especially if Right-Wing creators were involved. Plus, you'd probably have to go back as far as Teddy Roosevelt to find a really positive Right-Wing role model.

You know I see every portrayal of Leftie politics as false and propaganda too. It just doesn't ring as being authentic. Maybe that is the nature of fiction.

 

[Gaith]

It's late and I'm not looking up the source at the moment, but Sorkin said early on in TWW's run that a Republican version of the show wouldn't work, because they fundamentally don't believe that government is the best place to better society, so if they were running said government, they'd basically always be arguing against the more idealistic Democratic characters, and that'd just be a bummer.

Sure, Vinnick seems like a nice guy - but just picture the meeting in which a female Democratic Senator pleads for money for a program to curb domestic violence against women, and he says "Sorry, I think cutting rich peoples' taxes will trickle down to the rest of society, putting more money in regular peoples' pockets, which they'll then willingly donate to their local church instead of buying that fancy new TV, and then the church will have the funds to reach out to local women in harm's way - provided they don't mind hearing about how great Jesus is, of course. And, once we pass this tax cut, we won't have any money left over for your program. And yeah, some people probably won't donate to their churches, even if the tax cuts' benefits do get passed down to them. But I'm sure your battered women friends will take solace in the thought that some of their neighbors were able to buy that fancy new TV a few months earlier, and that this White House respects the freedom of rich people to give up less of their earnings than middle class people do. Freedom may not be free, but in this Administration, for the rich, at least we can make it cheap!" *Bum-BUM, ba ba bum - ba ba BUM, ba bum, ba bum... !*

So why not a series with the better bits of Reagan, both Bushes, even Nixon (who did good things)?

Take all the better bits of Gopper presidents, and you get a moderate Democrat - as history has shown.

 

[Guy Gardener]

the fact that Obamacare is really expensive (causation or correlation?) on most consumers, many who can hardly afford it, means that the GOP had an opportunity to dive into healthcare and find common ground to keep the benefits and find ways to reduce costs. Instead, they scrapped it.

Obama care is shitty because Republicans fought it tooth and nail the whole way, leaving in it's place a shadow of what the Democrats originally intended.

 

[Australis]

Here's an idea.

It would require a guarantee of 7 seasons from the network, but let's try this.

As with the original, the government is moving into its second year, and has many fronts to fight on, and then there's an election campaign.

But instead of two Democrat terms, what about the second term of a Republican government, followed by the first term of a Democrat government?

We get the different political viewpoints.
We get what Republicans really believe (as in a Vinick-style goverment with a few outliers reminiscent of the current government).
We get a real race.
We get a change in government.
We get to see what a transition really looks like.
We get to see the different policies being amended.
To be blunt, we also get to see how the more conservative policies have to be changed to help the less economically fortunate.

It would make for pretty dramatic television, right through its run.

ETA: And the new President? Sam Seaborn. Which means we can rekindle the enthusiasm for the character, as well as see some old characters, like his (possible) Chief of Staff, Charlie Young.

Some said they like to see Josh as his CoS. Yeah, that'd never happen, he'd be burned out after two terms under Matt Santos.

 

[suarezguy]

BTW, the show did seem silly or dated to think that a Republican being pro-choice would shift a lot of voters and states. Most voters seem to be both socially liberal & fiscally liberal or conservative on both rather than split and, even among those who are split, to prioritize fiscal rather than social issues.

It's late and I'm not looking up the source at the moment, but Sorkin said early on in TWW's run that a Republican version of the show wouldn't work, because they fundamentally don't believe that government is the best place to better society, so if they were running said government, they'd basically always be arguing against the more idealistic Democratic characters, and that'd just be a bummer.

Well it would be pretty dramatically interesting to hear and have support for the admittedly rather cynical viewpoint that the government trying to improve things is making things worse, things would be at least relatively better if it would just get out of the way but it's really hard for even the people running the government to get it to do that. Though maybe less interesting than people trying to get not just a better society but a great one (then again maybe not if it's presented that getting that supposedly great society can come without pain and injustice to many of those who aren't benefiting).

Sure, Vinnick seems like a nice guy - but just picture the meeting in which a female Democratic Senator pleads for money for a program to curb domestic violence against women, and he says "Sorry, I think cutting rich peoples' taxes will trickle down to the rest of society, putting more money in regular peoples' pockets, which they'll then willingly donate to their local church instead of buying that fancy new TV, and then the church will have the funds to reach out to local women in harm's way - provided they don't mind hearing about how great Jesus is, of course.

That Republicans emphasize the most cutting taxes, including or especially for the rich, is pretty unlikeable. It would be better, in reality as in fiction, if they genuinely favored cutting the taxes of the middle class or they weren't for cutting taxes but keeping them at the same level and for cutting spending to reduce the deficit. Rather than cut taxes even if that increases the deficit and also say we've got to reduce the deficit.

As with the original, the government is moving into its second year, and has many fronts to fight on, and then there's an election campaign.

But instead of two Democrat terms, what about the second term of a Republican government, followed by the first term of a Democrat government?

Could be interesting but probably not balanced-a party shift would probably be because the first was portrayed as messing things up, on one major issue if not on most things.

 

[Australis]

Keep in mind Vinick was supposed to win, but Leo's death (because of real-world John Spencer's death) would have swung people to support Santos.

As I said in my original post, I'd like to see a Republican govt that provided a good example of what a Republican govt could really be instead of the current shitshow (and whichever way you slice it, it is a shitshow). I'd like Republican viewers to see what a real Republican can be, and hold the people running in elections to a higher standard, even if only a subconscious level.

You raise an interesting point about the tonal shift in govt, that could be a great dramatic aspect as well.

 

[Guy Gardener]

We'd need a time machine.

 

[Refuge]

Republicans have been and are in power all the time. I don't see the problem with portraying that on a TV show.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Republicans have been and are in power all the time. I don't see the problem with portraying that on a TV show.

I learnt from Yes Minister that if Government is working correctly, then nothing changes.

 

[Refuge]

I learnt from Yes Minister that if Government is working correctly, then nothing changes.

James Hacker: The Opposition aren't the opposition.

Annie Hacker: No of course not, silly of me. They're just called the opposition.

James Hacker: They're only the opposition in exile. The Civil Service is the opposition in residence.

(Such great writing in that show).

 

[Australis]

Conservatives nearly always want to do things like cut medical services, child welfare and anything of that ilk. It looks really bad, and there's no way to spin it that it doesn't look bad. There's so much more I could say but I'll leave it there for now.