So tell me, how did they buy you, the Shepherds? House of Cards US s6e3: Chapter 68, Supreme Court nominee
I can find the opening, the crack, the weak spot. ibid. Doug
We don’t write any more. We come up with feed for the trough. ibid. editor Washington Herald
I hear they have you on a short leash. How could you let that happen, madam President? House of Cards US s6e4: Chapter 69, Claire to Vice-President, Petrov
Playing incompetent is so exhausting. ibid. Claire
Every time I plan to quit, something happens. ibid. Claire to Doug
You are nothing but a communist in a hand-made suit. A pig. ibid. Jane Davis to Petrov
Presidents aren’t allowed to be human. You have to choose – power or love. That was very clear from the beginning. ibid. Claire, exit Petrov
This Russia debacle – it’s essentially a 20% tax on American companies that are just over there trying to help out the region. It’s the latest in a series of disastrous steps taken by this White House … We can do so much better. House of Cards US s6e5: Chapter 70, Bill Shepherd
She might be the worst thing that has ever happened to this country. ibid. Beltway tv ad
Our only concern has got to be the survival of our nation. ibid. Vice-President
Repeat after me: I do solemnly swear to take no prisoners. ibid. Claire with new all-female cabinet
Sit down please, Mr Stamper. House of Cards US s6e6: Chapter 71, Annette Shepherd
You were the only other man who truly knew what his wife was capable of. ibid.
It’s important to be organised and ruthless. ibid. Claire
The American oligarchs out there – they are coming for us. They are trying to strip me of my constitutional power as your commander in chief. House of Cards US s6e7: Chapter 72, Claire addresses women’s conference
I want to bring her down but not Francis. ibid. Stamper to Annette Shepherd
Transparency is the cornerstone of my presidency. House of Cards US s6e8: Chapter 73, Claire’s press conference
The most ruthless woman I have ever met. ibid. online publication of Frank’s audio diary
When a tyrant is pretending to be transparent, country beware. ibid. Bill Shepherd
Me and you have to have a ‘Come to Jesus’. ibid. Claire to Stamper
He made you. Say it. ibid. Stamper to Claire
Mistrust that may just have its roots in a chapter one decade ago: MPs accused of being on the take when a national newspaper blew the lid on their expenses system, in a country still reeling from a financial crisis. Expenses: The Scandal that Changed Britain, BBC 2019
How much did those events rewrite the relationship between parliamentarians and the public? How much did it redirect the whole course of British politics? ibid.
The job of redaction took place in secret. ibid.
‘From porn films to bath plugs’ … ‘chandeliers, horse manure, swimming pools, housekeepers’ … ‘It’s a classic smear this’ [Mandelson]. ibid.
The moat belonged to Douglas Hogg; the expense was for cleaning it. ibid.
Another kind of second home: a duck house. ibid.
Five Labour MPs and Two Conservative Peers who were eventually jailed. ibid.
In 2018, record numbers of women, people of colour and political outsiders set out to transform Congress. Many established Democrats face primary election challenges from other Democrats running for the first time. Knock Down the House, Netflix 2019
650 of the most despised people in Britain … I can’t think of a time when the people who rule our country have been so uniformly useless: they seem dreary uncharismatic jobsworthies, whose priority is looking after number one … This place has been an omni-shambles for years. Jeremy Paxman, Why Are Our Politicians So Crap? BBC 2019
Boris Johnson is a charlatan. ibid.
Jeremy Corbyn is useless, isn’t he? ibid.
Has it got worse than it used to be? ibid.
‘Far worse than in my political lifetime.’ ibid. Ken Clarke
‘I don’t think there ever has been anything this bad ever.’ ibid. Hattersley
Only 7% of people think the system is working pretty well. ibid.
Surely there are some good people in there somewhere? Surely they can’t all be bad? ibid.
£80,000 a year and a nice pension. ibid.
Who could forget the duck house … An intolerable abuse of the public purse. ibid.
People have lost faith in the two-party system. ibid.
On 24th July 2019 Boris Johnson entered Downing Street. But waiting inside was a lesser-known figure who long harboured a radical vision for the future of the country. Dominic Cummings had led the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union. And it was to him the Prime Minister turned to help shape a vision for a post-Brexit Britain. But Cummings’ controversial career hadn’t sprung from nowhere: it’s a story of over two decades of British politics. Taking Control: The Dominic Cummings Story, BBC 2020
Cummings joined the Euro-sceptic fight as director of research at a pressure group opposing the Euro. ibid.
‘You’re just a young politician on the make.’ ibid. Colin Perry, Euro debate 5 Live radio November 1999
Cummings, who claims never to have belonged to a political party, now sat at the heart of the Tory establishment. ibid.
This gross-looking Jabba-the-Hutt drunk. And you think, Oh my God. The Brink, 2019, Steve Bannon
As chairman of the far-right website Breitbart News, Bannon was a controversial late addition to the Trump campaign. Bannon’s main policy victory as White House Chief Strategist was the Muslim travel ban. ibid. captions
Just days after the deadly ‘Unite the right’ rally in Charlottesville, Bannon resigns from the White House. ibid.
Actually, I thought I was doing the Lord’s work. ibid. Bannon
On the anniversary of Trump’s victory, Bannon is giving remarks at Republican fundraisers across the country. ibid. caption
The Christian Right is a foundational layer of this populist movement. ibid.
Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad! ibid. Trump text
Bannon is ousted as executive chairman of Breitbart News and fired from his radio show. He also loses financial backing from his benefactors, Robert and Rebekah Mercer. ibid. captions
With an eye towards the 2019 EU elections, Bannon holds meetings with members of far-right parties to propose a unified ‘populist’ agenda. ibid.
Italy’s Matteo Salvini joins Bannon’s European populist group: Interior minister pledges support to the Movement after meeting in Rome. ibid. Guardian online article
A French revolution – that’s what’s coming. ibid. Bannon to US road-meeting of faithful
Meeting Gobachev by a German is burdened by History. The Nazi invasion left Russia a devastated country with some 25 million dead. Mikhail Gorbachev witnessed the war as an adolescent. Meeting Gorbachev, Werner Herzog reporting, Sky Documentaries 2020
He was 87 years now … [born] 1931 as the son of peasants … All of his family has been laid to rest … He lived much of his time with his maternal grandparents who treated him with tenderness. ibid.
‘I entered politics in my final year of school. That’s when I joined the communist party.’ ibid. Gorbachev
‘He proposed, as we all remember, Perestroika and Glasnost. He really believed that he could reform communism.’ ibid. Lech Walesa
‘The proposals to end the Cold War first came from the Soviet Union.’ ibid. Gorbachev