Looking at the name "House of Cards", in addition to the superficial metaphor of the fragility of the "architecture" made of cards, it is more to illuminate the theme of the plot. "House" is the representative name of the House of Representatives in the United States. "The House of Representatives Card Game", as the name suggests, the plot revolves around the House of Representatives and other power institutions in Washington, depicting a large number of obscure power games. And the curiosity for prying into political insider conspiracy theories is almost a universal hobby regardless of nationality and race. Especially for Chinese audiences who have seen enough of the internal struggles in the Qing Dynasty and the endless defeats of the Kuomintang, they can finally see a rare drama that reflects modern politics.
The background of the opening of the first season is that the Democratic candidate Garret Walker won the presidential election, and Francis Underwood, the Democratic party whip of the House of Representatives, made great contributions to Garret’s victory. Garret promised in advance that he would be conferred the position of Secretary of State if he seized power, but the new president and his team of staff broke their promises after taking power, allowing Frank to still guard the Congress. For this kind of perfidy, crossing the river and tearing down the bridge, the male protagonist was naturally angry. Revenge against the president, which means advancing to the highest point of power, opened the curtain.
A very important issue is to find out the original position of the male protagonist Frank-"Party Whip". The term "party whip" is derived from hunting terminology. In the ancient fox hunting activities in England, someone specially stood behind a large group of hounds and brandished their whips to point out the direction of the hunting dogs. The person responsible for maintaining the formation of the hounds during hunting is called the "Whipper-in" (Whipper-in). In the future, when the parliamentary caucus needs to set up a position to maintain the unity of the party and allow its party members to "maintain the formation" in the parliamentary game, people will call it a "party whip."
In real politics, the main responsibility of the party whip is to coordinate within the party. For example, in the legislative activities of the Congress, all parties need to concentrate their efforts to try to make their own members of the party "think in one heart and move the other way" when voting, and maintain a consistent position on specific issues and bills. The main task is to be responsible for "unifying thinking" before voting, urging party members to actively vote for politically correct votes, while minimizing the emergence of "traitors". For those congressmen whose positions are inconsistent with the party and renegade, a strong party whip will Threaten to "mobilize the entire party to support your opponent in the next election" to force the opponent to submit.
In addition to the work of persuasion, an important task of the party whip is to "headcount" (headcount), that is, to find out how many persuasion is invalid and not implement party resolutions before voting on important bills. Of Members. The result of "counting people" is often a key factor in determining the fate of a bill in Congress. If an important bill is determined to be unable to receive sufficient support before voting, the party leadership can prevent it from entering the voting process to avoid the bill being Direct veto, thus retaining the chance of breaking through the barrier again when the time is right in the future.
And if you vote rashly with inaccurate intelligence, you are likely to face huge legislative setbacks. On April 17, 2013, the "New Gun Control Act" that US President Barack Obama tried his best to promote was only six votes short and failed to pass the Senate. This is an example of the failure of "Counting Heads".
So, let’s get back to the subject, formally introduce the specific plot analysis of the first season of House of Cards.
The first article: The Secretary of State's counterattack
Frank was originally the secretary of state's default candidate. After being released, he naturally aimed at the new secretary of state candidate Michael Kern (Michael Kern). Frank's staff, Douglas Stamper, found him. A past editorial in the "Williams Bulletin" on the Camp David agreement stated that the then-U.S. President Carter should ask Israel to move out of Gaza and the Israeli citizens of the West Bank. Israel has illegally occupied the area since 1967. Chacha Cohen was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper at the time.
We know that Israel and the United States have a 24k pure buddy alliance. Jews have considerable energy in American society. No normal American high-ranking official will make remarks that offend Israel. Otherwise, they will definitely not be able to go around. In the play, it is specifically emphasized that the Middle East policy is the top priority of the foreign policy of President Walker's government. So Frank exposed the editorial through Zoe Barnes, a beauty reporter for the Washington Herald, and caused an uproar. Diaosi, she desperately needs to report the news to counterattack in the press...so she and Frank formed a relationship with each other for what they needed). Furthermore, Frank intimidated Congressman Peter Russo to contact one of the communique editors of the year and also Kern's college classmate-Roy Kapeniak framed Kern as the author of the editorial. , Of course, this matter was exposed through Zoe's report. As a result, public opinion questioned Kern's foreign policy reached a peak, and eventually led to his exit under the weight.
Here’s an interrupt. Although Peter Russo is a member of Congress, he is also a drug addict. Because his own drunk driving, prostitutes, drug use, office romances, etc. fall into the hands of the party whip Frank, he can only let him drive. , Gan Dang eagle dog.
If it is only to fight against the enemy to vent private anger, it would be too small to look down on our male protagonist. After Kern's general situation was gone, Frank instructed Zoe to publish an article thinking that Catherine Durant (Catherine Durant) would take over as Secretary of State, and successfully guided public opinion. The White House went smoothly, so Frank successfully arranged for Catherine Durant to be the Secretary of State. She will also inevitably return to the throne in the future tenure, and contributed to Frank's defeat of President Walker in the final decisive battle of the second season.
In short, this bureau Frank mainly caught Michael Kern’s past and some far-fetched taints, and through fabricated framing and Zoe’s media channels, he formed public opinion pressure, so that although he did not become Secretary of State, he was still Secretary of State. The actual controller of power is not very technical.
Chapter 2: Education Reform Bill Tug of War The
"Education Reform and Achievement Act" has been promoted with twists and turns. The bill is of great significance to Frank, the White House, and the Democratic Party as a whole. Just like in the real world, Obama's medical reform is a landmark achievement.
President Walker hopes that he can promise to the people during his inauguration speech that the bill can be voted upon 100 days after his inauguration, and he appointed Congressman Donald Blythe to preside over the drafting of the bill, and ask Frank to help him. Operate so that the bill can be passed smoothly in Congress. Donald Blythe is an expert in the field of education and a leftist at the same time, while President Garret Walker is taking a moderate route in the middle. Frank wanted to squeeze Donald away, so he was able to take care of the job. So he gave the first draft of the bill Donald handed over to Frank to Zoe for exposure, so he ignited a shocking bomb in public opinion. Because Donald's draft bill was too "left-leaning", it caused dissatisfaction with right wing and middle forces. Donald's plan was in huge public opinion Miscarriage under pressure, Donald Blythe was out of the game by a dark arrow, and Frank successfully took over the glorious and hot fat.
Frank personally convened education experts to draft the education reform bill and negotiated with the public school teachers’ union in the United States on the education reform bill. However, the teachers disliked the provisions of the bill’s "Teacher Performance Standards and Charter School Allowance" (this is very It’s easy to understand. If you are also a public school teacher, you definitely hope that the government's education expenditures can be more focused on federal public schools, and you don’t want to have assessment indicators linked to student performance to constrain yourself), and these Disputed clauses have also become the difficulty and focus of negotiations. During the difficult period of the negotiation, Frank had some accident in his electorate (the Big Peach incident) and had to go back to his hometown of South Carolina to deal with it in case of a fire in his backyard. In order to stabilize the teachers' union negotiation delegation during the period of his departure, he pretended to compromise on the terms of the bill and deceived Marty Spinella, the chief lobbyist hired by the teachers' union, and induced Marty to stay. The union delegation that has decided to leave.
After tossing for a long time, the bill finally came out. However, for a bill to take effect, it must be voted by Congress. Frank and the White House have made a certain compromise on the content of the bill in order to obtain cooperation from the Republicans out of pragmatic considerations. They added clauses on collective bargaining. In line with the Republican Party’s views. Another Democrat, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bob Birch, believes that this clause violates the basic spirit of the Democratic Party or violates the spirit of the "party constitution" and does not support it. Unless this collective bargaining clause in the bill is removed, it will not be pushed into the legislative process. In order to prevent Linda Vasquez, the president's chief of staff, from stealing credit, Frank opposes the president's compromise, that is, without deleting the clause, he is prepared to fix Bob Birch himself.
So Frank persuaded the Democratic leader of Congress, David Rasmussen, to conspire with the Republican Party to get rid of Speaker Birch and let Rasmussen replace him. Rasmussen, who lacked ambition, refused. So Frank turned to contact the black party group. In order to persuade the leader of the black party group Terry Womack (Terry Womack), Frank once again long sleeves and dances well. The Mecarton Air Force Base in the Womack jurisdiction employs 3,000 people, but it may be closed by the Ministry of National Defense this year (the Ministry of National Defense must control its own huge defense expenditure by abolishing unnecessary military bases). In order for Womack's base to be preserved, it is necessary to find another military base that can be used as cannon fodder to "help" the Ministry of Defense balance its revenue and expenditures. So Frank chose Peter Russo, who was under his orders, and forced Peter to refrain from fighting and resisting at the hearing of the Military Base Integration Committee, resulting in the closure of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (employing 12,000 people) in his district.
After everything was ready, Frank faked this conspiracy into a conspiracy led by David Rasmussen in a close conversation with Terry Womack, targeting Bob Birch, pulling the black party into the gang, and letting the Republican Party be a foreign aid conspiracy. As a reward, Frank promised that Terry Womack will be the new majority leader after the event is completed, and the McCartton Air Force Base will remain intact. Womack readily obeyed.
Later, Frank went to confuse Speaker Bob Birch and disguised himself as a whistleblower, claiming that David Rasmussen was plotting wrongdoing. In order to replace it, the black party group led by Womack also joined the "rebel", plus the fact that it was obtained by foreign countries. The Republican Party supports it, and the number of votes for the re-election of the Speaker is sufficient. Under his intimidation, Birch and Frank reached an agreement to abolish David Rasmussen's position of majority leader, arrange Terry Womack as the next majority leader, and compromise on the education bill. David Rasmussen, who was originally cautious and even honest, eventually died of Frank's conspiracy. In any case, the education reform bill led by Frank passed Birch, and he won again. However, although the collective bargaining clause was added to the bill, it also annoyed the union and its chief lobbyist Marty Spinella, because in the previous negotiations between Frank and the union, this clause was not mentioned at all. In the face of Frank's backlash, Marty Furious, he launched the largest teacher strike in American history in protest. The protracted strike demonstrations have brought great trouble to the American society (you can refer to the current political chaos in Thailand and Ukraine, but of course it is not that fierce). During this period, Marty led more than 200 truck drivers disguised as teachers. The water purification project’s celebration dinner was overwhelmed by the food distributed by Frank and Claire. Frank took advantage of the attack on his home by throwing bricks and breaking windows to make a fuss about the issue of "disorganized labor". Marty and Frank's CNN TV debate, and so on, the wonderful confrontation stage, the two sides have each other's victory and defeat. But in short, in the protracted demonstrations, the two sides battled their wits and courage, but the government's support rate continued to decline. Frank was privately accused by President Walker, and the pressure was extremely high.
However, Frank is determined and determined to fight to the end, but it is not a passive defense. He is like a commander who has experienced many battles, waiting for a good opportunity to counterattack. The so-called "when the situation is exhausted, there will be changes" is also true. He and Doug have been keeping a close eye on whether any criminal cases that can be used to "hype" can be exploited. "Finally", a third-grade child was shot and killed by mistake outside his home at noon, so Frank passed himself again. Zoe’s mouthpiece sent out a tweet, “The eight-year-old Washington boy was killed by a gang stray bullet, and he was supposed to be at school. Is Marty Spinella to blame?” Then Frank made a big noise and called on teachers to stop. Strikes and let the children go back to school, this kind of tragedy will not happen again. This forced Marty to go to Congress to talk with Frank to end the chaos of the strike.
In the Congressional Office, Frank gave Marty the final fatal blow. He angered Marty with his arrogant attitude and provocative words, and revealed that the previous "brick and broken window case" was actually self-directed and performed by Frank, Claire and Doug. A bitter trick is to plant Marty and the striking teachers under his leadership. Marty, who couldn't bear the truth, started from his heart and hit Frank with a punch. This happened to him because it was a crime to attack a member of Congress. Under the threat of Frank's prosecution, Marty, who was clumsy, succumbed. The strike ceased and the "Education Reform and Achievement Act" was finally passed, and Frank became famous and won.
Part Three: The Battle of the Vice Presidents
Because the former Pennsylvania Governor Jim Matthews became the current Vice President, Pennsylvania needs to elect a governor. Frank persuaded Patricia Whittaker, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to let Peter Russo be the Democratic candidate for the governor of New Pennsylvania. As for why Frank was involved in this affair when the education reform plan was at its worst, his ostensible reason was that "it’s better to control this campaign than to watch." But in fact, his real intention is to target the vice president. The former Governor of Pennsylvania.
After Peter's naval shipyard in his electoral district was closed, he was criticized by voters in his hometown, and his mental will almost collapsed. Frank once again appeared in front of him as a "life mentor", promising to help him run for governor and guide and supervise the election throughout the process. Peter, who is addicted to the bad habit of alcohol and drugs, was greatly inspired and determined to change his career and usher in a new life.
Because Peter's past was bad, the tone of the campaign was set on salvation, the return of the prodigal son, a fresh start, and so on. But these are not enough. The core selling point of his dry goods policy is to pass the Delaware River Basin Act, which is to develop and close the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in a way that does not damage the environment. The government has invested in the construction of parks and green spaces, green business districts, family houses, garbage disposal sites, etc. It is expected to create 5,000 jobs within three years, with a target income of about 200 million U.S. dollars. The fundamental purpose of this move is to re-engage the shipyard unions. These people were originally Peter's loyal loyalists, but because Peter allowed the dock to be closed before, the unemployed dock workers now turn from love to hate him, so how to comfort them and give them new job opportunities is very important. Claire Underwood, as the person in charge of the environmental NGO water purification program, is considered an expert in this area, so Frank asked Claire as the actual operator of the bill to participate in this matter. However, Pennsylvania contains a large amount of shale natural gas, and this bill is a green environmental protection card, which will restrict and supervise the natural gas extraction in the basin. Therefore, this action has angered oil and gas companies and the Republican Party. On the other hand, some Environmentalists within the Democratic Party believe that the plan is not satisfactory and the environmental protection measures are not strict enough, so it is a waste of taxpayers' money, so they are not prepared to support it.
Among all opposition forces, the most threatening is San Corp Industries and its lobbyist or agent Remy Danton. Remy is a partner of Glendon Hill (Glendon Hill), and Sanke Industries is his major client. Sanko Industrial has always had a history of close cooperation with Frank. In addition to sponsoring campaign funds, it also funded the construction of a new library building that Frank donated to his alma mater Sentinel Military Academy (Sentinel Military Academy). In return, Frank promised After serving as Secretary of State, he will help Sankoh Industries get the contract for the mining of the Argentine offshore oil field, but after Frank was let go by President Walker, the matter had no choice but to give up. And in terms of personal relations, Remy used to be Frank's press spokesperson for 8 years, and knew each other well. But on the issue of the Delaware River Basin Act initiated by Peter, Frank had a conflict of interest with Remy and Sankoh Industries, which he represented. So Remy ran vigorously in Congress, wooing lawmakers to vote against the bill. Just at this time, the $200,000 water purification equipment belonging to the CWI (Water Purification Project) led by Claire was to be shipped from South Sudan to Sudan, but due to human rights issues The United States and Sudan were about to sever diplomatic relations, so the equipment could not be shipped into Sudan. Clarie asked Frank to find a way to help, but Frank, who was overwhelmed by the River Basin Act, rudely refused. So Claire personally went to Remy in person, and Sankoh Industries had extensive contacts in the South Sudan government through oil exploration business. Remy said that it was okay to help this, but as a deal, the water purification plan should provide Sankoh Industries with environmental protection. At the same time, Claire is required to obstruct the passage of the bill in secret.
On the other hand, Frank and Peter's team were in the final canvassing sprint. Vanderburgh and Abrams, the leftist members of the left in the Democratic Party, are full-fledged environmentalists. They believe that this bill is meaningless to environmental protection. If the government is to inject 250 million yuan, the money should be used more. For projects with environmental protection significance, the measures in the bill must be improved, otherwise they will not be supported. Frank then asked Claire, an expert in the field of environmental protection, to explain the bill to them one by one, persuading him to vote for it. But Claire, who had a deal with Remy, decisively turned his back on Frank for his own cause, instead implying that the two congressmen could vote against it. So on the day of voting, the Delaware River Basin Act was not passed by two votes.
It can be said that the incident was a major setback for the entire Peter campaign, or that Frank's conspiracy was implemented in advance. What I have to mention here is the relationship between Frank and Claire, a political couple. It can be said that Claire stabbed in the back and ruined Frank's bill. To trace the roots, Remy had previously proposed to provide Claire with Claire's water purification plan on behalf of Sanke Industrial. A donation of US$1.5 million, but Frank knew that he was short-lived, and he was afraid of being controlled by Remy and Sanko Industrial. He insisted that Claire refuse the donation. This matter cast a shadow over the relationship between Underwood and the couple. After that, Claire was free of charge. Labor drafted the river basin bill for Frank's cause, but Frank failed to reciprocate the problem of Sudan's water purification equipment, which eventually led to Claire's defection. Of course, it is impossible for Claire to ignore the relationship between Frank and Zoe. But it can also be seen from it that Mr and Mrs Underwood are strongly independent of each other. No one will sacrifice their careers for each other. The relationship that maintains their cooperation is more of a covenant than a relationship.
well, let's get back to business. It has to be said that Peter was indeed reborn before this. His election campaign can be said to have flourished, but the abortion of the River Basin Act made all this meaningless.
An angry Peter threatened that Frank must solve this problem, otherwise he would expose Kapeniak and Kern's Israeli editorial (see the Secretary of State's counterattack above for details). Faced with the out of control Peter Russo, Frank and Doug decided to implement it in advance ( The election is still two months away, and the White House has done enough review.) So Frank persuaded Peter to turn to seek cooperation with Sankoh Industries to support natural gas extraction, and promised to build a refinery in Philadelphia. And Doug instructed Rachel Posner (Rachel Posner) to lure Peter into drinking again at a social dinner. In fact, at 7:45 the next morning, he would have a live interview with the local radio station in Pittsburgh and prepare to publish an interview. Fan's remarks in support of natural gas extraction. But under Rachel's drunkenness, Peter finally fell, drinking and having fun all night until 7:15! So delirious Peter bit his head and did a radio interview, but he was slurred, made mistakes, and confused... As the interview was completely messed up, news of Peter being drunk again exploded. The election battle and he himself are completely over.
Peter Russo was out, and Frank immediately proceeded to the next stage. At this time, it was only two months before the Binzhou governor general election. It is almost impossible to find a candidate and start the campaign from scratch. As a very important "swing state", the attribution of the Governor of Binzhou has a significant impact on the Democratic Party's mid-term elections and the presidential election, so Frank contacted Vice President Jim Matthews, who was the previous Binzhou. The governor, persuade him to condescend to run for governor again. At first glance, the position of governor is obviously not as good as vice president, but the position of vice president is only high in name, but the actual power is extremely limited, and Jim Matthews is just a proud person, or a vain person, and he feels nothing. He has received due respect and has been at odds with the president and his staff. In his heart, he is deeply dissatisfied with his position as the vice president mascot, and misses his glory days as the governor of Binzhou. So Frank opened a breakthrough by instigating the relationship between the vice president and the president, prompting Jim to make the determination to return to the governor. After getting the vice president, Frank turned to do the president’s ideological work, or by instigating the discrepancy to aggravate Garret Walker’s relationship with Jim Matthews. Disgust, of course, we must persuade the president. The final thing is to persuade the president’s think tank Linda Vasquez. Just before Peter messed up the interview, Frank made arrangements in time. Linda’s son Ruben did not take the test. At Stanford University, it happened that Claire’s colleague Gillian Cole was an outstanding alumnus of Stanford University, so Frank asked Gillian to give Stanford Dean Warren Tynsdale to Warren Tynsdale. ) Called, the trust relationship recommended Linda's son to study. And when Peter’s incident broke out, although Linda recognized Frank’s intention-to succeed Jimmy as the vice president, and to get the presidency in the 2020 general election, he owed Frank to Frank for his children’s schooling. His favor, so this time Linda helped him persuade the president.
But on the other hand, according to the original plan, Frank wanted Peter Russo to mess up the campaign, announced the launch, and then cheered up with help and left silently, acting as a perfect stepping stone. But in fact Peter is more fragile than the "planned". Under the torment of great guilt and frustration, he has a complete mental breakdown and intends to make all his past evil deeds public, and Frank is afraid that he is related to it. Some of the scandals that have been exposed (such as the excuse of Peter’s drunk driving away, the editorial about Israel, and the coercion of Peter to close the dock), this undoubtedly poses a fatal threat to Frank, so Frank does nothing but kills Peter. Quit your mouth! And disguised the scene as suicide.
After the only mutation in the plan was repaired, the story unfolded as designed. Since the president, the vice president, and the president’s chief of staff had been persuaded, Jimmy decided to abdicate and run for the governor of Pennsylvania. Within a month of searching for a successor, after a personal election was rejected, the President unexpectedly decided to appoint Raymond Tusk, a super rich man with a net worth of 40 billion US dollars, although he was A successful businessman, but never held a public office. The president needs to send an envoy to St. Louis to interview him and let him accept the appointment. Although Frank was quite surprised and disappointed, he took the initiative to accept the task of discussing with Raymond in detail. However, after seeing Raymond, the other party has been entangled in official duties and avoided Frank's problem. Substantive talks have been difficult to start, although Frank has continued Tentative, but Raymond kept talking about him, and instead asked Frank if he was interested in this position. Just as Frank was puzzled, Doug discovered that Raymond was in a personal relationship with President Walker. He immediately revealed the news to Frank. It was then that Frank discovered that he was being tricked. In fact, the President did not let Frank go to St. Louis. He censored Raymond, on the contrary, he asked Raymond to censor Frank. That's why the two of them had a truly meaningful dialogue. Raymond had a great say in front of the president. The president's failure to appoint Frank as Secretary of State was originally from Raymond's suggestion. In this meeting, Raymond said that his recommendation came at a price. He hoped to make a deal, but did not specify the specific requirements, and Frank must agree to it first. And Frank doesn’t want to write a blank check to Raymond so vainly. Frank’s disposition is very disgusting to be controlled by others. If the position of vice president is "charited" by others and controlled by the other party, this is what he does. I can't stand it. So Frank resolutely rejected Raymond's proposal. After returning to Washington, he began to oppose the client, trying to obtain a favorable bargaining position by threatening his huge fortune, rather than being manipulated by him.
So Frank contacted Remy and warned him that Raymond Tusk was about to become vice president, and that one-third of his assets were invested in nuclear energy. If he were allowed to enter the White House, it would definitely be detrimental to Sankoh, who is exploiting natural gas energy. So Frank persuaded Remy to persuade Sankoh to launch a hostile acquisition against Raymond's subsidiary systems for refining and transporting uranium. Since Remy did not have any substantial follow-up operations, Frank personally flew to Atlanta to meet Sankoh Industries' executives Scott Scott Cunningham (Scott Cunningham), but the other party has no interest in getting involved in such a scene. Just when Frank hoped to block Raymond Tusk by playing Sankoh's hostile takeover card, Sanko Industrial's stock price soared. When Frank was at a loss, Raymond Tusk invited Frank to have a private conversation for the last time, which was the time of the showdown. It turned out that Remy knew that Raymond’s assets were three times that of Sankoh Industries, so he had seen the wind turn the rudder, changed hands and served him, and told Frank’s plans and plans, so Raymond ruled him in his own way. In fact, it acquired 3% of Sancor’s shares, and it is expected that the shareholding ratio will reach 10% next weekend, which is enough to relieve Raymond’s worries. Frank had very little negotiating weight left at this time, so Raymond had a showdown. His company’s nuclear power plant reactor requires Samarium 149 (Samarium 149 is a powerful neutron absorbing substance that can effectively absorb the freedom released by the reactor fuel rods. It is an important raw material used to make nuclear reactor control rods.) However, China controls 95% of the supply of Samarium 149, an important rare earth resource, plus the currency exchange rate issues between China and the United States, and the United States’ Foreign debt issues, etc., made Raymond worry that hidden dangers in Sino-US economic and trade relations would affect his business, so he hoped that Frank would do what he wanted on such issues as trade tariffs, but the specific content of the cooperation was still not allowed. It was revealed that Frank had to agree first. But Frank remained unmoved and refused to write a bad check. However, he did not simply walk away this time. Instead, he suggested that the two sides can cooperate on an equal footing with reason and affection, but he will not advance in advance. Given guarantees, the two parties finally reached a deal. Of course, in the second season they became a pair of mortal enemies.
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