Democratic Party

pragmatic loyalty-contested partisan loyalty-focused swing-voting ideologically prescriptive

Congressional Democrats hold the balance on the Foreign Operations bill after Senator Clancy Bangart adds a global gag rule amendment. Abbey Bartlet questions President Bartlet on their defection count, revealing how their votes dictate the bill's survival amid tensions between free speech promises and urgent humanitarian aid. Their potential flip forces White House staff to weigh veto threats against aid disruptions, marking them as a pivotal bloc whose numbers drive high-stakes legislative outcomes.

6 appearances

Congressional Appropriations Votes

Also known as: Democrats, the party

Democratic Party's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

6 moments

S4E9 · Swiss Diplomacy

Triplehorn's Ultimatum in the Lobby

Portrayed as endangered and contested; the party's future is the emotional lever Triplehorn uses.

The Democratic Party is evoked by Triplehorn as the institutional stake under threat — he frames his demands as protecting the party's ideological future from being 'dragged to the middle.'

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S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Midnight Deadline: C.J.'s Press Ultimatum

Anxious about potential loss of legislative momentum; seeking reassurance.

The Democratic Party (as cited) is implicated when a senator's warning about momentum is read into the press; it provides context for intra-party stakes.

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S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

C.J.'s Quiet Summons — A Pressroom Pivot to Private Leverage

Imprecisely present; anxious about legislative momentum and political optics.

The Democratic Party is indirectly present via a reporter's reference to 'a Democratic senator' warning that losing the vote will stall momentum — the party's legislative prospects are thereby evoked …

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S4E12 · Guns Not Butter

Vote Night: Optics Unravel — The Goat Is Canceled

Not physically present; cast as flummoxed and ineffective by Danny.

The Democratic Party is invoked by Danny as the collective whose messaging is 'bumfuzzled'—a target of critique rather than an active presence in the room.

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S4E18 · Privateers

Wake-Up Call: Intimacy and the Gag Rule

Uncertain and potentially self-interested (implied in the discussion).

Mentioned as the swing votes whose defection would determine the bill's fate; invoked to quantify the risk of a veto or political stand.

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S4E18 · Privateers

Morning Standoff: The Gag Rule on the Breakfast Table

Ambivalent and politically calculating; their potential defections are a source of anxiety for the President.

Mentioned as the decisive votes whose defections could sink the bill; their (unknown) leanings create the arithmetic uncertainty driving Bartlet's caution.

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Affiliation

Bartlet Administration (Executive Office of the President)

Executive governance, West Wing operations, presidential communications, crisis management, and logistical coordination