Bipartisanship, Cajun Style

This post most likely will not conclude anything about bipartisanship that you don't already know, but I thought the episode about it, "Secrets and Lies," was hilarious. The premise: hardcore Republican, pro-big business Jack has been secretly dating Democratic Congresswoman from Vermont C.C., and they consider taking their relationship public. 

C.C. is trying to get the US government to sue NBC's parent company GE (specifically, its subsidiary the Sheinhart Wig Company) for "allegedly turning a bunch of schoolchildren orange." Liz somehow/ accidentally convinces C.C. to compromise for Jack, and she convinces the Sheinhart Wig plaintiffs to settle for $5 million each (Jack: that's NBC sexual assault money!), thinking that now that the controversial case was over they could stop sneaking around. Jack is still hesitant, though, because he's up for a big promotion at NBC/GE.

Jack complains to Liz that he doesn't know what to do, and that "nobody understands what I'm going through!" by dating across party lines when James Carville steps out of the elevator. [James Carville is a Democratic campaign manager, strategist, and TV pundit who is married to Republican political consultant Mary Matalin.] Carville advises Jack, as well as a few other characters, in what to do with their problems with clever references to Carville's political career. [e.g.: "True love weathers any storm. Even desert storm," and many, many references to doing things "Cajun style"] 

I think what this episode does best is take shots at both parties. Jack calls C.C. out as helping the orange kids not only for humanitarian reasons but also for a leg-up politically. He refers to Carville (to his face) as a "pinko nutjob," and C.C. as his "liberal, hippy-dippy mama," his "groovy chick," who wants to "tax us all to death and make it legal for a man to marry his own dog" [seriously, that's a thing!]. The Republicans go through the episode relatively unscathed, besides a reference to Karl Rove's alleged professional ties to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth organization that made TV commercials questioning John Kerry's war record during the 2004 elections, until Jack announces his relationship to C.C. in his executive dining room. It's hilarious. Jack begins, "Gentlemen, token ladies... I have an important announcement," and then proceeds to reveal his relationship. Other Republicans in the room stand up to confess their own transgressions against the party: "I gave to NPR last year," "My children go to public school," "I'm gay," and my personal favorite "I'm black." Finally, in an gesture of bipartisanship, C.C. reveals that "In 1984, I voted for Ronald Reagan."