Politics in my TV: Veep and Parks and Recreation

Holy Crap, has it really been a year since I posted on here? Looks like nobody has exactly missed my screeds. Anyway, I've built up a year's worth of thoughts on all things TV, Movies, and Books, as well as the usual bloviating and story ideas. Expect me to post more frequently from now on, or at least post a few half-assed things about Leslie Knope and Brandon Marshall, and then go quiet for another year.
SPOILER ALERT FOR BOTH PARKS & RECREATION AND VEEP. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I like politics. Well, I'm not exactly sure I like politics. Politics is basically a colossal mess of horseshit, interspersed with a few miniscule diamond flakes of transcendent beauty. Even if you or your candidate wins the election, they then have to try to govern. In this day an age trying to govern is like putting out a bunch of fires, as others start more fires around you, or pour gasoline on the existing fires, or parade through the fires setting off fireworks fueled by their petty grievances. If you get one thing accomplished, change one mind on either the campaign trail or while in the clusterfuck that is governing, you can consider it a good day. Frankly, it's wearying just following it all, especially when too often your side seems to be the ones getting burnt. To actually be a part of it would take almost superhuman energy and an preternatural ability to ignore failure. And that's just to tread water.

In much fewer words, politics is a drug I can't quit. Thinking about it consumes far too much time for a sane human being, but I just can't pull myself away from it. Hell, it might get so bad at some point that my fevered thoughts will end up spilling onto the pages over at August Prairie. Because I spend so much time obsessing over this most crucial yet somewhat irrelevant part of everyday American life, you'd think my entertainment choices would be less demanding, less related to politics.

Ha!

My favorite show on television right now is Parks and Recreation. Of the new shows that debuted either last fall or this spring, my favorite by far is Veep. Both deal with politics and government, the former with local government and the latter with Washington. There tones couldn't be more dissimilar, as Parks is rather genuine, while Veep is incredibly cynical. Still, I think both demonstrate very well what an uphill battle it is to get things accomplished in this day and age.

As heartfelt as the victories of Leslie and the rest of the gang in Pawnee are, they weren't easily won. To get that pit filled in, or get the harvest festival off the ground, or win a seat on the town council, Knope had to work hard. She had to suffer the fickle nature of her fellow Pawneeans, a boss who diametrically opposed her agenda, and employees that ranged from apathetic (April) to self-absorbed (Tom) to incompetent (Andy and Jerry). Whether it was an antagonistic or brain-dead media, the glacial pace of a modern bureaucracy, or the anarchy of one Greg Pikitis, she fought through it all. And she did it all with a smile on her face. Not because there was riches or glory in it for her, but because it was her job and because she believes in the town and in the parks.

Sure, the raccoon problem is merely contained and not solved. Eagleton still looks down upon the town, and the budget woes that brought Mr. Traegar and Mr. Wyatt to town are still there. The Parks department will still have to fight for every penny they need, and Tammy #2 and the rest of those dastardly librarians will sit in their stale halls full of books, plotting their next move. As she moves to the City Council, that battle will become tougher, as there will be more mouths to feed, and she will have to make tougher choices. After all, they play with live ammo there. If she isn't careful, the pressures of the job may overwhelm her, and snuff out that enthusiastic love of accomplishment and public service. Eventually Leslie might view getting elected, rather than governing, as her primary occupation.

A few levels of government up and a quarter of the country to the east, the office of Vice President Selina Meyer serves as a cautionary tale for Councilwoman Knope. Throughout Veep there have been hints that at one time Meyer was principled, talented, and effective in her job. Now, as the person one heartbeat away from the most powerful job in the world, she is not exactly effective nor powerful. What fire and drive she might have had has clearly been driven out by the soul-grinding world of Washington politics, made worse by being relegated to a do-nothing position in the current Administration.

To be fair, the Vice Presidency is not an office to which power is naturally given. Sure, there have been powerful veeps like Dick Cheney or Al Gore, but far more often they've been relegated to playing a rather pointless Robin to the President's Batman. To her credit, Meyer does try to get a clean jobs task force started, as well as championing filibuster reform. Unfortunately, the feckless world of Congressional politics renders her first priority toothless, to the point she is basically forced to vote down her pet policy when the Senate ties and she has to exercise one of her few Constitutionally mandated roles.

If that wasn't bad enough, she has to do deal with a sensationalistic media and a staff that often borders on complete incompetency. It is hard to get anything done when you have to spend all of your time dealing with "crises" that dominate the news cycle, especially when the President sends some low-level caveman looking flunky to ride herd on you. It's totally unfair when just dealing with the process and horse-race obsessed media. And that is before you get to their sexist double standard, going overboard to create controversies between the First Lady and the Vice President, or how they would have torn her apart if her pregnancy had been discovered.

Granted, the world of Veep seems much colder, much meaner than Pawnee. Of course, it is the major leagues of politics, while Pawnee is at best a tee-ball league. The main characters, from Chris, Ben, and Ron, on down to April, Andy, and even Jerry seem to like and respect each other. In contrast, outside of Gary and possibly Amy, Selina doesn't really have much in the way of a support structure of friends and co-workers. I suppose it is true that if you want a friend in Washington, you have to get a dog.

In the end I prefer the slightly more optimistic bent of the little show in Pawnee, even though I suspect reality is far closer to the crushing pessimism of Veep's Washington. One of my favorite stories from last season was April's pet adoption fair. In the end only one dog was adopted, while some heartless woman dropped off two additional cats. The event was a failure based upon almost all metrics, as it resulted in a net gain of abandoned animals. April felt justifiably discouraged, and was completely ready to give up. However, Tom convinced her the effort wasn't in vain, as because of her efforts one young girl received a new friend, and one dog received a new home. It wasn't much in the big scheme of things, but to that girl and that dog, it meant everything in the world. Truly it was a good day's work. If every day our leaders and civil servants were so effective, maybe things would be better.

Or at least it would be, if that fucking secret service agent would stop smiling. You better make sure he gets reassigned. Now excuse me, I have to go deal with Yoghurtgate and go vote my conscious, which my staff will help me decide on during the drive over to the Hill. And by the way, make sure NOAA changes the name of that fucking hurricane. Did the President call?

The Part Where I Encourage you to Watch These Shows

Veep is wrapping up its first season on HBO this weekend. If you have HBO, go check it out HBOgo. If you want more political fun by the creator of Veep that makes you laugh because it hurts to cry, check out In the Loop or The Thick of It. Parks and Recreation will return in the fall, and can be viewed on Netflix and Hulu Plus. If you gave up on its weak first season, or have yet to watch it, do so now. I SAID DO IT. There is no reason zombie The Office should have higher ratings than it.