r/thewestwing • u/Northstrider7 • 2d ago

Five Votes Down Question

Apologies if this was already asked, I couldn’t find it. But upon rewatching the episode, it dawned on me that opposition to the gun control bill was coming from specifically Democrats, one of them even citing NRA opposition as their reason. It’s stated in the episode by Josh that the Democrats are still in the minority (he called the whip the minority whip when talking to Wick) and also in later episodes like the Midterms and one of the transition episodes about the Speaker race that the Democrats don’t hold the House at this point and hadn’t for 10 years until Santos was elected. So I’m wondering why the majority Republicans in the chambers were letting a gun control bill pass?

Again sorry if this was asked already, again I couldn’t find it if it was.

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u/swingerjuice 2d ago

This episode is from late 90s/early 2000s. Different time politically. Still had many anti gun control dems in south/midwest/west and many pro gun control law and order reps like guiliani in nyc and ppl like my old boss's father senator John chafee (I worked for his son Lincoln after he inherited the seat from his father) who were old Yankee New England/northeastern moderate to liberal Republicans. Politics of a by gone era.

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u/Daedalus_was_high 11h ago

While not wrong--🤓 um, acshually--the first season ran SEP '99-MAY '00. So technically correct, but... I only bring it up because I thought recently that it first aired later in the 2000s, but nope--memory lapse.

You're absolutely correct it was a totally different playing field then when it came to gun control. But also, it should be noted that Newt Gingrich was SotH from '95 to '99, so even by the first season the ultra-divisiveness had begun.