Inside the Beltway: House of Cards: Welcome back President Underwood

By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times - Thursday, March 3, 2016

NEWS AND OPINION:

Hollywood is obsessed with presidential culture, and Kevin Spacey’s portrayal of fictional President Frank Underwood for the brooding, smart Netflix series “House of Cards” is no exception. The fourth season goes public Friday and will rattle social media from top to bottom for the entire weekend. Mr. Spacey, meanwhile, has taken his artful presidential-ness to another level. With input from “Cards” executive producer Dana Brunetti, the actor himself has produced a significant six-part original series for CNN titled “Race for the White House,” which uses archival news footage and dramatic re-enactments to document what he deems “the most iconic presidential elections in U.S. history.” Mr. Spacey, who says that media and money have transformed politics, is also the narrator of the edgy series, which spans the “backrooms deals, punishing attacks and ruthless deeds that seal victory.” Yikes. It premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.

And President Underwood? He is still very busy. There is now an oil-on-canvas portrait of “President Underwood” installed in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. This same “president” has an official candidate’s site — FU2016.com — which stands for Frank Underwood in 2016, by the way. Then there are intricate campaign messages which are, in reality, promotions for “House of Cards.” One aired during the first Republican presidential debate, in fact.

“Kevin Spacey has spent so much time around the American presidency that he should have his own Secret Service code name,” suggests Stephen Battaglio, a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. Insiders have advice about the new season for “Cards,” however. Don’t overthink it.

“It’s fiction. If we wanted real politics, we’d just tune into C-SPAN. And that’s no disrespect meant for C-SPAN,” says Kevin Frasier, co-host of Entertainment Tonight.

THE CONSERVATIVE MISSION, IN 140 WORDS

A round of applause, please, for indefatigable Matt Schlapp, president of the American Conservative Union, and the cheerful pointman behind the Conservative Political Action Conference — CPAC — now underway just south of the nation’s capital. It is a melee of speeches, enthusiasm, socializing, intense moments and even more intense media coverage. But there is an essential mission behind it all.

“Are conservatives ready to rumble? They’ve got pitchforks in their hands. They are ready to take back their country, to be actively involved in the legislative process — and they’re in the mood to nominate an outsider. Conservatives are in a very interesting state of mind,” Mr. Schlapp tells Inside the Beltway.

“This year’s CPAC is all about unifying conservatives — defining their commonalities, their goals, what matters to them on a very basic level. But this is also a reminder about heritage here. The theme this year is ’our time is now,’ taken from a speech Ronald Reagan made before CPAC in 1981. I believe many conservatives are convinced their time is now. Right now. Conservatives believe if they don’t win during this important election year, they’re going to wake up one day and not recognize America. It’s given people a strong incentive, and lots of energy,” says Mr. Schlapp.

And what was it Reagan told his audience 35 years ago? Here it is: “Our time is now. Our moment has arrived. We stand together shoulder to shoulder in the thickest of the fight.”

THE GIGANTIC GOP AUDIENCE SO FAR

TV Newser analyst Chris Ariens has done all the math here on the Republican presidential debates: Over 157,377,000 viewers have watched the first 10 GOP bouts. Repeat: 157 million people. No wonder Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson is pining to be included in the mix. When the Nielsen numbers arrive for the 11th debate that aired on Fox News Thursday evening, that total, of course, is going to go up. Mr. Ariens has the history too.

“We took a look at debate ratings the last time the GOP candidates got together in their run for the White House. Between May 5, 2011 and Feb. 22, 2012, there were 20 GOP debates across 8 networks. All in, those debates drew 87,400,000 viewers,” he notes.

WEEKEND CANDIDATE TRACKER

Despite big election punctuation marks like Super Tuesday, CPAC and primaries in 10 states in the next week, the candidates journey ever onward. Republican front-runner Donald Trump will be in Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida — and has an 8:30 a.m. appearance Saturday at CPAC in Maryland. Ever-energetic Sen. Marco Rubio is also in the Sunshine State, along with Idaho, Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas and Louisiana. Ditto for Sen. Ted Cruz, who adds an appearance in Maine. Gov. John Kasich is all about Michigan: He has seven events through Monday, including two Lincoln dinners and a visit to a brewery.

Among the two Democrats, Hillary Clinton will spend time in Michigan; former President Bill Clinton will journey to Nebraska and Louisiana on behalf of his spouse. Sen. Bernard Sanders is in the Midwest: His territory this weekend is Kansas, Nebraska and Illinois.

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

For sale: The Flintstone House, built in 1976 in Hillsborough, California by architect William Nicholson. The iconic 2,730 square foot home design is based on the 1960s cartoon series. “Organic” shapes constructed of concrete, steel, mesh frames formed over inflated aeronautical balloons; orange and purple exterior, multiple domes. Three bedrooms, two baths with custom stone work, a “free form biologic kitchen”, curved and textured walls throughout, custom steel doors, multiple arches, amoeba-shaped windows, game room, dining room, conversation pit, multiple terraces overlooking reservoir, garage. Priced at $3.8 million through FlintstoneHouse280.com.

POLL DU JOUR

• 64 percent of Republicans say Donald Trump is best able to handle the U.S. economy; 17 percent cite Sen. Marco Rubio, 13 percent Sen. Ted. Cruz.

• 61 percent say Mr. Trump is best to handle the federal budget deficit; 16 percent cite Mr. Rubio, 16 percent Mr. Cruz.

• 52 percent say Mr. Trump is best to handle immigration; 25 percent cite Mr. Marco Rubio, 18 percent Mr. Cruz.

• 46 percent say Mr. Trump is best to national security and terrorism; 24 percent cite Mr. Rubio, 22 percent Mr. Cruz.

Source: A Gallup poll of 681 self-identified Republicans conducted Feb. 26-28.

• Sighs of relief, annoyance to jharper@washingtontimes.com.

• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.