Fabula

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)

Description

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) presses White House staff to add revenue enhancements—a dedicated levy on local businesses—and binding targets for nonpoint pollution sources to the Chesapeake Bay cleanup bill. It coordinates with the Congressional Black Caucus chair to advance these Democratic priorities amid partisan negotiations. Beyond policy advocacy, the DCCC hosts black-tie fundraising galas where figures like Mrs. Bartlet deliver speeches on House nutrition votes and poverty, prompting staff debates over optics and re-election scheduling.

Event Involvements

Events with structured involvement data

6 events
S4E17 · Red Haven's On Fire
Afterparty Optics: First Lady's Gaffe and Campaign Tone

The DCCC is the institutional context for the First Lady's planned remarks; its black‑tie fundraising environment creates the optics problem that sparks staff intervention and debate about message suitability.

Active Representation

Through the event itself (DCCC black‑tie), and as the platform Mrs. Bartlet intends to use for revised remarks.

Power Dynamics

The DCCC exerts agenda-setting power over social/political optics; staff must weigh the committee's platform against administration messaging concerns.

Institutional Impact

The DCCC's staging choices force White House staff to reconcile populist policy messaging with elite fundraising imperatives, highlighting tension between policy advocacy and donor optics.

Internal Dynamics

Implicit tension between programmatic urgency (nutrition vote) and fundraising optics; staff must reconcile competing priorities quickly.

Organizational Goals
Secure high-profile donor engagement through Mrs. Bartlet's appearance. Keep the event's message aligned with party priorities without alienating donors.
Influence Mechanisms
Hosting a high-profile fundraising stage (platform for message) Curating guest lists and controlling the event's visual tone
S4E17 · Red Haven's On Fire
Toby Pushes 'Flamethrower' Messaging

The DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) is the institutional backdrop for the black-tie event and the First Lady's potential remarks; its presence raises stakes about donor perception and intra-party messaging discipline.

Active Representation

Manifested through the hosted black-tie event and staff references to its forum and audience.

Power Dynamics

Exerts soft power over candidates' optics and messaging priorities while relying on White House staff for coordination and strategic alignment.

Institutional Impact

Shifts in what is said at the event ripple into party fundraising and public narratives, constraining how the White House and allied campaigns can speak on sensitive topics.

Internal Dynamics

Tension between principled messaging and donor optics; competing priorities between activist messaging and fund-raising decorum.

Organizational Goals
Protect party fundraising relationships and donor goodwill at the black-tie event. Avoid headline-making missteps that could harm party messaging during election season.
Influence Mechanisms
Control of high-profile event platforms and donor presence. Norm-setting about acceptable rhetorical tone for party representatives.
S4E19 · Angel Maintenance
Staged Cover for a Covert Air Force One Landing

The D-triple-C (DCCC) is invoked by Leo as a political force pushing for revenue enhancements on the Chesapeake bill; its demands are part of the concurrent political negotiations that run alongside the aviation crisis.

Active Representation

Through policy demands and coordination with the caucus chair (referenced in conversation).

Power Dynamics

Political pressure-exerting body that can influence White House legislative decisions; functionally subordinate to the White House's desire to secure votes but able to impose political costs.

Institutional Impact

Serves as a reminder that domestic political negotiations continue even in the face of national-security incidents, complicating decision-making.

Internal Dynamics

Factional leverage vs. White House pragmatism; tension between progressive demands and legislative pragmatism.

Organizational Goals
Secure revenue enhancements to the Chesapeake cleanup bill. Drive policy outcomes that will be defensible to donors and constituencies.
Influence Mechanisms
Political pressure on White House staff. Control over campaign resources and messaging. Coordination with House Democrats to demand concessions.
S4E19 · Angel Maintenance
Leo Demands Levy — and a Cover Story

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is invoked indirectly through Leo's policy demands; its pressure for revenue and enforceable targets informs the requested Chesapeake changes.

Active Representation

Through the caucus chair's demands and party-level policy pressure during legislative negotiations.

Power Dynamics

Assertive intra-party influence on White House policy priorities; exerts leverage over staff to secure electorally beneficial provisions.

Institutional Impact

Shows party machinery shaping policy content even during concurrent national security crises; reinforces the primacy of electoral calculations.

Internal Dynamics

Tension between policy ambition and political calculus; potential friction with staff balancing legislative feasibility and crisis response.

Organizational Goals
Lock in revenue mechanisms favorable to Democratic priorities Secure binding targets that translate into tangible environmental accomplishments to use politically
Influence Mechanisms
Political pressure via caucus leadership Threat of withholding campaign coordination or support to enforce demands
S4E19 · Angel Maintenance
Angel Maintenance and the Chesapeake Levy

The DCCC (D-triple-C) is referenced as co-sponsoring or backing the Caucus Chair's demand for revenue enhancements; its pressure amplifies the political weight behind the levy request and forces White House staff to take it seriously.

Active Representation

Represented indirectly through the eviction of policy demands into the Roosevelt Room conversation and via Donna relaying political pressure.

Power Dynamics

Electoral/political pressure on the White House: can threaten legislative prospects and compel concessions to preserve party unity.

Institutional Impact

Illustrates party machinery's ability to insert electoral priorities into policy negotiations, forcing trade-offs between governance and political strategy.

Internal Dynamics

Implied alignment with the Caucus Chair but potential tension with pragmatic operatives worried about passage and optics.

Organizational Goals
Advance Democratic fundraising and electoral priorities by securing visible revenue measures. Apply leverage to shape the cleanup bill to reflect DCCC priorities.
Influence Mechanisms
Political pressure via party machinery and coordination with caucus leaders Threat of withdrawal of support or public framing that affects electoral narratives
S4E19 · Angel Maintenance
Angel Maintenance Interrupts the Caucus Walkout

The DCCC (D‑triple‑C) is referenced as a co‑source pushing for the dedicated levy on the Chesapeake bill, representing national party pressure that compounds the caucus' local demands.

Active Representation

As a policy pressure group and backer of the levy request—represented indirectly through Josh's mention of party demands.

Power Dynamics

Acts as a national party lever, pressuring the White House to adopt politically advantageous but potentially contentious funding mechanisms.

Institutional Impact

Creates tension between national party strategy and on-the-ground legislative feasibility, complicating staff tradeoffs.

Internal Dynamics

Represents a top‑down pressure that may conflict with caucus priorities and committee realities.

Organizational Goals
Secure popular policy wins that can be sold to donors and voters. Shape legislative language to reflect national Democratic priorities.
Influence Mechanisms
Political pressure and party coordination Fundraising and electoral leverage

Related Events

Events mentioning this organization

30 events
S12E13
The Doctor’s Apocalypse: A Warning Ignored at Humanity’s Peril

In a dimly lit, high-stakes strategy room—shielded from prying ears by Mogran’s secrecy—the Doctor stands before a skeptical Kaled council, his voice a blade of …

S1E3
Morning Briefing: Mood, Menace, and Measured Response

Leo returns from the Oval to a room keyed up about the President's temperament. Josh's blunt "How's his mood?" fixes the anxious tone; Sam produces …

S1E3
Transcript of Threat Splits the Staff

Sam produces a radio transcript in Leo's office revealing Congressman Coles — speaking with military officers — threatening the President's safety. Toby erupts, demanding the …

S1E3
Containment and the Address: From Outrage to Operational Focus

Leo convenes senior staff after the President's fury, and Sam produces a damning transcript of Congressman Coles threatening the President alongside military officers. Toby erupts, …

S1E3
A Private Plea Interrupted by the Press

Sam quietly asks Toby whether C.J. already knows about his entanglement — a request for discretion that exposes the vulnerability at the heart of the …

S1E3
Measured Silence: Toby Deflects the Press

Sam tries to grab a private moment with Toby about a delicate personnel matter, but Toby is pulled into the lobby by reporters pressing about …

S1E3
Laughter Between Thunder: Bartlet and Leo Recalibrate

In Leo's office, Bartlet's grief-tinged fury about the downed airliner erupts into a moral argument about retribution versus responsible power. Leo grounds him with pragmatic …

S1E4
Josh Declares Hardball

When the President's gun-control bill is found five votes short, Josh pivots immediately into a ruthless posture: he argues, invoking L.B.J., that they must win …

S1E4
Forgotten Anniversary and the Hardball Green Light

Leo panics when he realizes he’s forgotten his wedding anniversary, juggling embarrassment and grand, half-absurd remedies—a violinist, a Harry Winston choker—while Margaret alternates dry ribbing …

S1E4
Authorize the Hard Line on Katzenmoyer

In Leo's office, a domestic panic (Leo realizing he forgot his anniversary) is undercut by urgent political crisis: Josh bursts in determined to confront Congressman …

S1E4
Primary or Perish — The Air Force One Ultimatum

On the Capitol steps Josh turns persuasion into coercion, methodically dismantling Congressman Katzenmoyer's fundraising rationale and exposing the political cost of dissent. He punctures policy …

S1E4
Josh Presses Wick — Priorities Over People

Fresh off reclaiming three defections, Josh announces his next target—Congressman Chris Wick—and bulldozes straight into the Mural Room. A curt backstage exchange with Donna exposes …

S1E4
Humiliation and the Chess‑and‑Brandy Bargain

Josh drags a young Congressman, Chris Wick, into a closed‑door dressing down that exposes Wick's ignorance about the very gun bill he's defecting from. By …

S1E4
Four Votes — Leo Goes It Alone to Richardson

The mood shifts from playful to urgent when Josh bursts in with the big news: they’ve pulled four of the five votes but need one …

S1E4
The Cost of Compromise at the Lincoln Memorial

Outside the Lincoln Memorial Leo pleads with Congressman Richardson for the crucial vote, arguing political reality and incrementalism. Richardson answers with a blistering moral rebuke: …

S1E4
Hoynes Delivers the Vote — and a Quiet Lifeline

Leo arrives at Vice President Hoynes' office emotionally unmoored after the gun‑control bill falls five votes short. Hoynes immediately neutralizes the political crisis—promising to see …

S1E6
Donna Claims Her Surplus

Donna stops Josh in the bullpen to demand "her" share of the unprecedented budget surplus—a deceptively comic exchange that crystallizes larger tensions about entitlement, ownership, …

S1E6
Janice's Seat — Willis's Grief and the Swing Vote

In the Roosevelt Room the meeting opens as light banter peels back into hard politics: Toby and staff bring the hulking Appropriations Bill while Mandy …

S1E6
Willis Holds His Ground

In the Roosevelt Room the White House team tries to cajole and intimidate a newly appointed, grieving Congressman into dropping his amendment banning statistical sampling …

S1E6
Admitting Ignorance: C.J. Asks Sam to Teach the Census

C.J. unexpectedly strips away her press‑secretary armor and asks Sam, humbly and awkwardly, to teach her the basics of the census. The moment shifts their …

S1E6
Gladman's Partisan Shot and Josh's Night-Out Assignment

In the Roosevelt Room the legislative fight sharpens when Congressman Gladman publicly frames Mandy's statistical-sampling pitch as naked partisanship, injecting combustible tension into the White …

S1E6
C.J. Gets Schooled on Sampling

Alone in the briefing room, Sam patiently gives C.J. a concise, practical lesson on why a simple head count fails the census—homeless populations, language barriers, …

S1E6
Three‑Fifths Riposte: Toby Reads the Constitution and Wins Willis

In a high‑stakes Roosevelt Room standoff, Toby and Mandy counter technical, cost‑based arguments for statistical sampling with hard numbers — then Toby deliberately pivots to …

S1E6
Willis Chooses Fairness

In a late, high-stakes Roosevelt Room confrontation, Toby undercuts the opponents' constitutional posture by having Article I, Section 2 read aloud and exposing the three‑fifths …

S1E6
Willis's Quiet Conscience

In the Roosevelt Room a tense negotiation collapses into a quiet moral reckoning. After a technocratic clash over census sampling and constitutional strictures, Toby forces …

S1E6
Legislative Victory, Personal Rupture

Moments after Leo brings the good news that the census amendment will be left in committee and the Appropriations bill is safe, the triumph collapses …

S1E6
Roll Call Relief / Willis' Yea

After the night's dangerous detour, the Roosevelt Room decompresses with banter, sandwiches and small triumphs. The team thanks Toby and Mandy for buying time in …

S1E7
Midnight Ultimatum: Bartlet Threatens to Nationalize the Truckers

In the Roosevelt Room President Jed Bartlet abruptly cuts off an economic briefing and announces he will nationalize the trucking industry at 12:01 a.m., invoking …

S1E8
Breakfast Reckoning — Opera Tickets as an Olive Branch

In a cramped hotel restaurant, Leo and his daughter Mallory sit across from one another and trade the small talk that shoulders a lifetime of …

S1E8
Public Praise at a Private Table

Leo and Mallory's tense hotel breakfast—an attempt at a brittle, private reckoning about Mallory's mother— is punctured when Congressman Skinner breezes in to publicly congratulate …