When political fiction becomes reality
Brendan Carlin, George Jones and Toby Helm report in the Daily Telegraph that the defeat of Tony Blair’s proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill was in part due to defections from his Labor party — and in part due to The West Wing. Really. I’m serious: The television series The West Wing about the life ...
Brendan Carlin, George Jones and Toby Helm report in the Daily Telegraph that the defeat of Tony Blair's proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill was in part due to defections from his Labor party -- and in part due to The West Wing. Really. I'm serious: The television series The West Wing about the life and times of a fictional US president was the inspiration for the "rebellion by stealth" that humbled Tony Blair and his Chief Whip, Hilary Armstrong. Slumped in front of the television on Sunday night, one of the leaders of the revolt watched with growing interest as Democrats won a key vote on stem cell research by pretending not to be around. The congressmen hid in an empty office and then triumphantly emerged in force when the vote was called by the unsuspecting Republican speaker. "That's where the idea came from," the MP, who declined to be identified, told The Daily Telegraph. "We had no big press conferences, no events announcing the coming protest. It was directly inspired by the West Wing," he said. The Tories toasted their success with champagne on Tuesday night. Not only had the Labour whips blundered by failing to appreciate the scale of the rebellion on their own side: they had also been outsmarted by a classic "under the radar" whipping operation by the Tories. As a result, Labour crashed to only its second and third Commons defeats since Tony Blair came to power in 1997. I actually saw this episode, and remember snorting in derision that this could actually happen. Then again, what do I know -- I'm just a political scientist.
Brendan Carlin, George Jones and Toby Helm report in the Daily Telegraph that the defeat of Tony Blair’s proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill was in part due to defections from his Labor party — and in part due to The West Wing. Really. I’m serious:
The television series The West Wing about the life and times of a fictional US president was the inspiration for the “rebellion by stealth” that humbled Tony Blair and his Chief Whip, Hilary Armstrong. Slumped in front of the television on Sunday night, one of the leaders of the revolt watched with growing interest as Democrats won a key vote on stem cell research by pretending not to be around. The congressmen hid in an empty office and then triumphantly emerged in force when the vote was called by the unsuspecting Republican speaker. “That’s where the idea came from,” the MP, who declined to be identified, told The Daily Telegraph. “We had no big press conferences, no events announcing the coming protest. It was directly inspired by the West Wing,” he said. The Tories toasted their success with champagne on Tuesday night. Not only had the Labour whips blundered by failing to appreciate the scale of the rebellion on their own side: they had also been outsmarted by a classic “under the radar” whipping operation by the Tories. As a result, Labour crashed to only its second and third Commons defeats since Tony Blair came to power in 1997.
I actually saw this episode, and remember snorting in derision that this could actually happen. Then again, what do I know — I’m just a political scientist.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Twitter: @dandrezner
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