Is it real life or reality TV?
That is the question in 2025. The comedy of errors that led to the election of 45 as 47 is not surprising. The fury with which 47 is unleashing unconstitutional executive orders to flood the judicial branch is by design. The blitzkreig of 47’s budget without any discussion is by design. No review by the MAGA House Republicans or Senate is not going to benefit the average American. Hold a government shutdown over the country if a budget extension isn’t reached or blame it on the Democans. It really is a bad movie script. I’m not sure if we have reached Atlas Shrugged, Billions, or House of Cards. This post is focusing on House of Cards Chapter 56.
Lets start with season 5.
Wikipedia:
Remember season 4?
Lucas Goodwin is released from prison, and seeks revenge against Frank for having him framed and Zoe Barnes killed. He explains his story to Dunbar, but she turns him away. Desperate, he attempts to assassinate Frank, severely wounding the president in the abdomen and killing bodyguard Edward Meechum, but not before Meechum fatally wounds Lucas. While Frank remains comatose, Donald Blythe is sworn in as Acting President of the United States. Blythe is indecisive during a military crisis involving Russia, and turns to Claire for guidance. Claire goes against Frank’s wishes by convincing Blythe to involve China and secure a meeting with Petrov, where she brokers an ambitious peace deal. Doug leaks information about Dunbar’s secret meeting with Lucas and forces her to suspend her campaign. Frank recovers and resumes his position as president, agreeing to put Claire on the ticket for the upcoming election.
Season 5 (2017)
Main article: House of Cards season 5
In the weeks before the 2016 election, Frank uses ICO as a pretext to enacting martial law in urban areas and consolidating polling places in key states. Done mainly through back channels with Democratic governors, this is officially done in the name of safety, but in practice disenfranchises rural Republican voters. To keep the strategy of fear going, Doug blackmails hacker Aidan Macallan into launching a massive cyberattack on the NSA, slowing down Internet traffic and wiping out hundreds of thousands of files. The Underwood Administration pins the attack on ICO. On Election Day, the result hinges on Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Ohio. The early returns seem to favor Conway. Underwood’s political machine stages a terrorist attack in Knoxville, Tennessee, which is pinned on a local suspected ICO sympathizer. With Pennsylvania secured by Conway and Ohio seeming to swing his way, Frank unofficially calls Conway directly to concede. However, this is merely a tactic to put Conway off guard, as the Underwoods contact Ohio’s governor and convince him to close the polls early on the pretense of a terrorist threat. Ohio and Tennessee refuse to certify the election, and neither candidate reaches the requisite number of electoral votes.
Nine weeks after the unresolved election, the Twelfth Amendment is invoked, with the vote being put up to members of Congress. During a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus, cracks begin to appear in Conway’s façade as he loses his cool. In spite of this, Frank’s own baggage and 12% approval rating only allows him a tie with Conway in the House, while Claire manages to secure the Senate vote, becoming Acting President of the United States. In light of the tie, Claire orders a special election for Ohio and Tennessee. Meanwhile, Jane Davis, a low-ranking Commerce Department official who has a wide-ranging network of connections and influence, begins working closely with the Underwoods. As a private citizen for the time being, Frank attends a meeting of powerful men at a secret society known as Elysian Fields, in an effort to secure their influence for votes in the upcoming special election. Meanwhile, Conway has a mental breakdown on his private plane due to feeling that the election was stolen from him. Eventually, this and other leaks from his campaign are slowly dripped to the media in a manner that seems unconnected to the Underwoods. Seeing that his candidate is losing, Conway’s campaign manager, Mark Usher, switches sides to the Underwoods. The Underwood ticket wins both Ohio and Tennessee, and Frank is sworn in as president and Claire as vice president. So Frank Underwood has that much power on the night of the election to start messing with polling places. I know he has been extorting governors, but the people he has such great disdain for are rounded up like cattle. This terrorism threat based on one incident is enough to cause a ripple bigger than a tsunami. Of course, like with Trump, Pennsylvania and Ohio are critical. I suppose one could figure out a way to freeze them out. While I found this an intriguing episode and Frank a purely fictional character, it’s the ease with which he maneuvers. Also, so much is dependent on a computer guy, an insider, who seems to do more than the tech savvy people of the entire government. Once again, Doug, the sycophant and sociopath, is at the center of things. For a guy with so little spin when it comes to Underwood, he certainly can throw his weight around.
Claire Underwood: [takes deep breath] And what a relief that will be – for both of us.
Francis Underwood: The American people don’t know what’s best for them. I do. I know exactly what they need. They’re like little children, Claire. Children we never had. We have to hold their sticky fingers and wipe their filthy mouths. Teach them right from wrong. Tell them what to think and how to feel and what to want. They even need help writing their wildest dreams, crafting their worst fears. Lucky for them they have me, they have you.
What is important right now? Staying grounded. Finding time to connect with the people in my life that matter. Today on the pitch I ran into a college teammate who’s son was playing on one of the teams I was officiating. The world of football can unite us. It is a simple. way to connect the world. If you are not into football take some time to binge watch House of Cards, Billions, or re-read Atlas Shrugged. Do not get caught up in the non-sense that is happening right now. Breathe. Move.
Crawford
