Veep: Congressional Ball

June 6, 2016 7:52 AM - Season 5, Episode 7

The 50 Hottest Staffers list has a few surprises, but that's just background noise as Tom James' plan is revealed... along with something else of Tom's.

In the meantime, Jonah continues to fumble through his Congressional race (and the deleted scenes feature Peter MacNicol hammering his way through several choice insults for Jonah, including "upright narwhal" and "giant condom full of cutlery").

posted by Etrigan (11 comments total)

As noted in the tags, Tom James' plot is... constitutionally suspect. The Senate would never pick the president as such in this scenario. What would happen is that the Senate elects a VP, and if the House hasn't elected a President by Jaunary 20th, "then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified" (20th Amendment). The House can't just say "Nope, we're deadlocked -- Senate, you take care of it." They have to keep trying.
posted by Etrigan at 8:00 AM on June 6, 2016

God, JLD going back and securing her congressional votes after the Tom James interlude was amazing. I really want to read her full speech to Congresswoman Nickerson just so I can memorize it and speak it into a mirror to psych myself up for something. Anything.
posted by gladly at 10:22 AM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]

That was a thing of beauty.
posted by LizBoBiz at 4:42 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Well. That just guaranteed JLD her next Emmy.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 7:39 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

Can I hear an okey-dokey, Annie Oakley?
posted by Superplin at 9:49 PM on June 6, 2016

"Sentient enema" is phrase of the year and Selina destroying those abstinent Congresspersons was exquisite. Another excellent episode - it really is bringing the zing and crackle we were promised at the beginning of the season.
posted by turbid dahlia at 10:07 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]

Wow.
Wow.
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:22 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm not searching for it now, but one of the recent MeFi election threads discussed the fact that promising a cabinet position in exchange for support is super-duper illegal. Adds an interesting wrinkle to the tiff about who gets to be Secretary of Treasury.

Also, via AV Club comments section, Selina's thunderous threat:

"You're playing a very dangerous game of chicken with the head fucking hen. 'Cause if I don't win the White House, O'Brien is gonna sink your stupid boats, and you're gonna look like a hair-sprayed asshole in your 1980s mother-of-the-bride dress. And if I do win, I will have my administration come to your shitty little district and shake it to death like a Guatemalan nanny. And then I'm gonna have the IRS crawl so far up your husband's colon, he's gonna wish the only thing they find is more cancer."

"Good God."

"So, can I count on your vote? Or do I need to shove a box of White House M&Ms up your stretched-out six-baby vag?"

"Yes, you can count on my vote."

"I think I wanna hear a... okey-dokey Annie Oakley?"

"Okie dokey, Annie Oakley..."

"Aw, super duper trooper! Now get the fuck out of here, Congresswoman!"

posted by Rhaomi at 12:25 AM on June 7, 2016 [9 favorites]

The first half of this season seemed a bit off to me as if the blade was a little duller after Iannucci left. However, this episode and the one before it have been prime Veep. I love when JLD channels Malcolm Tucker and we got a lot of that this episode. Also, every time I just see Richard Spelt's face I laugh - always a highlight of even the worst episodes this season. Sam Richardson is a stand out even among the many great talents on this show.
posted by Falconetti at 7:40 AM on June 7, 2016

promising a cabinet position in exchange for support is super-duper illegal

This is one of those things where I pay homage to the writing of Selina Meyer, Skilled Politician, because she always seems to execute promises and volte-faces and all that stuff with a mix of sterling sincerity and plausible deniability. She may be exceedingly unlucky, venal, and a magnet for humiliations, but she usually knows exactly where the line is and toes it.
posted by psoas at 3:05 PM on June 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

turbid dahlia: ""Sentient enema" is phrase of the year and Selina destroying those abstinent Congresspersons was exquisite."

This is my new go to insult that I never knew I needed.
posted by Dr. Zira at 7:22 PM on June 10, 2016