Arnold Vinick
Encyclopedia
Arnold Vinick is a fictional character
on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda
.
senator
from California
and Republican presidential
nominee, he is narrowly defeated by Democrat
Matt Santos
in the 2006 presidential election, with Vinick winning the popular vote but Santos winning the electoral college.
He is a social moderate and fiscal conservative with a maverick streak and a direct manner whose politics are loosely based on those of former Arizona
senator Barry Goldwater
. Vinick is pro-choice
. He is, however, opposed to partial birth abortion and in favor of parental consent laws. He is also in favor of immigration reform and is reluctant to use gay marriage as a campaign issue. Vinick (like Goldwater) opposes the Religious Right
's influence in the Republican Party, and wants to return to more traditional, limited government
conservatism
. Vinick has also been described as a deficit hawk
, supporting "two-for-one" tax and spending cuts, and he also favors free trade
agreements, school vouchers and tort reform
, while opposing ethanol subsidies
in the Midwest as corporate welfare. He is also conservative on law and order issues, such as gun control
, border security and the death penalty. Vinick is mixed on foreign policy, as he believes in a strong national defense and supports tough action against Iran
, but was also described as an ally of Democratic President Josiah Bartlet
on foreign policy issues and potentially an advocate of loosening the embargo on Cuba. It is stated that in his 2006 campaign, Vinick has strong support from corporate conservatives, neoconservatives, libertarians
, Independents and "Bruno Gianelli" moderate Democrats, but that his support is weak among social and religious conservatives (7.06).
In one episode, Vinick mentioned growing up in a "citrus
-growing" community. In response to this, the town of Santa Paula
, which is famous for citrus growing and is often referred to as the "Citrus Capital of the World", wrote to The West Wings production company, asking that Santa Paula be made Vinick's hometown. The production company promised to keep Santa Paula in mind for any campaign filming. In the meantime, the city council
decided to organize a campaign for Vinick, including the opening of an Arnold Vinick presidential campaign headquarters. The town was eventually mentioned as Vinick's hometown in the episode "Two Weeks Out
," broadcast on March 19, 2006.
School District
, and Patricia Vinick, a community activist, Vinick was born in New York Methodist Hospital
in Brooklyn
. Four years later, his younger brother was born and the family relocated to the southern California town of Santa Paula to farm orange
groves. In Santa Paula, Vinick volunteered at the public library
. Vinick was married to Catherine Vinick for around 30 years before she died. According to the NBC
website, she died in 2004, and according to dialogue in "In God We Trust
" Vinick stopped attending church with her "five or six years" before Vinick won the Republican nomination, because she was too sick to attend with him. He has one brother, four children and nine grandchildren.
After graduating from Yale
and Stanford Law School
, Vinick opened a law practice in Santa Paula. He was eventually elected to the city council in the town's first write-in victory. He served one term on the council before being elected to the California State Assembly
. He then moved on the United States Senate where he won election with 6.9 million votes—the highest total for any Senate candidate at the time (Barbara Boxer
in 2004 is the only Senator to have ever matched this number in the real world). Vinick has served in the Senate for 24 years as of the 2006 election (thereby, eliminating the terms of Pete Wilson
, John F. Seymour
, and Dianne Feinstein
in the real world), meaning he won election in 1982.
Vinick was offered the post of Ambassador to the United Nations
by President Josiah Bartlet
's Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh Lyman
, but declined as he intended to run for President. Lyman and former White House Chief of Staff
Leo McGarry
were concerned that Vinick, as an articulate and appealing centrist
who might carry California
in the Electoral College, offered the Republicans a real chance to win back the White House after two terms of Bartlett, a Democrat. However, both wondered if he was conservative enough to win the Republican nomination.
Vinick opposes federal funding for ethanol
as an alcohol fuel
, considering it a political boondoggle
. He once told Josh Lyman
, half-seriously, that he doesn't trust anyone who doesn't shine his own shoes. In the primaries, Vinick defeated the Reverend Don Butler
and former Speaker of the House and Acting President
Glen Allen Walken
for the Republican nomination in the 2006 presidential election. Shortly after winning the nomination, Vinick met with Bartlet, whom he has a mutual measure of respect for, to discuss a deal to raise both the federal debt ceiling and the national minimum wage
.
After the Reverend Butler declined to be his running mate in the 2006 election, due to Butler's strong pro-life
views, Vinick, who felt he needed a staunch conservative
to balance the ticket
, selected Governor Ray Sullivan
of West Virginia
.
It is hinted in several episodes that Vinick is an atheist, agnostic or other religious skeptic. Though this has been hinted it in his public statements, he has not actually made an explicit statement on the matter. Vinick may also be a book collector
, having received a 17th century King James Bible
from his late wife. Her death, and the harsh requirements of Old Testament
Judaic law which he discovered when he read the Bible
in depth, made him question his own religious beliefs.
Matt Santos
of Texas
, the Democratic
nominee, and his running mate, former White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Labor
Leo McGarry
. Democratic political consultant Bruno Gianelli is a consultant on his campaign, initially with an ambitious plan to win all 50 states.
Throughout the campaign, Vinick and Santos treat each other with mutual respect. (In the episode "King Corn," it is revealed that, two years before the election, Vinick and Santos co-sponsored an immigration reform bill that was defeated in committee on Capitol Hill.)
At the outset of the only Santos-Vinick debate, Vinick proposed to have "a real debate," without time limits on speaking; i.e. to ignore the rules to which their campaigns had agreed. Santos agreed. During the debate, Vinick tried to paint Santos as a typical liberal
Democrat who would raise taxes to pay for intrusive big government programs while still leaving the federal budget unbalanced. The senator laid out a moderate agenda and reiterated his support for tax cuts, proposed tax-deductibility for health insurance
costs, explained why he had voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, opposed a moratorium on the federal death penalty, promised to open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
to oil exploration
, and declared his strong support for nuclear power
. He was heckled by a member of the audience for claiming that Head Start didn't work, but perhaps his most surprising comment and show of blunt honesty was his remark that he would not create any new jobs, saying that in a free society entrepreneur
s, not the government, created jobs.
In the middle of the campaign, as Vinick enjoyed a huge lead over Santos, a nuclear reactor
in Southern California comes close to meltdown, creating a panic for millions living in the vicinity. In the episode "Duck and Cover" it is revealed that Vinick, as a Senator from California, pushed for the plant's opening and speedy approval by regulators. The reactor did not melt down, although when the story broke that Vinick was a major supporter of the plant, his poll numbers dropped dramatically, putting numerous states, including California
(which, despite leaning Democratic in presidential elections in both reality and the show, was thought to be safe for Vinick, given that was his home state), into play and causing the election to become too close to call.
After a staff shakeup prompted by the Republican National Committee
, Vinick decided to go to California
on the heels of the Santos
campaign, and hold a press conference outside of the San Andreo plant in order to defuse the political fallout from the incident. His strategy seems to have been effective, as he returned to his straight-talking style, exhausting reporters of their questions and commandeering live news coverage from his opponent's campaign.
Despite this strategy's success (the Senator won his home state of California), Vinick lost the presidential election to Santos by 272 electoral votes to 266. Vinick conceded the election after Nevada, the decisive state, was carried by Santos by about 30,000 votes. Although Vinick was urged by his staff to contest the election, he refused to do so, saying "I will be a winner or a loser, but I will not be a sore loser."
. Vinick initially turned him down, but his top aides, persuading him that a next run at the presidency would be futile, told him he could go down in history as "the last honorable Senator and a great Secretary of State". He then accepted when Santos also assured him that he could perform the job on his own terms, without partisan politics. The last scene in which Vinick is seen is when he and Santos are discussing the situation in Kazhakstan.
, Vinick would have won the election. According to the article, the writers felt it would be too depressing for Santos to lose his running mate and the election in one day, so the plot was changed to have Vinick lose, but narrowly.
Statements from executive director
John Wells
, however, contradicted claims about a previously planned Vinick victory. The script showing Santos winning was written long before the death of John Spencer
. In 2008 executive director
Lawrence O'Donnell Jr.
stated to cameras "We actually planned at the outset for Jimmy Smits
to win, that was our .. just .. plan of how this was all going to work, but the Vinick character came on so strong in the show, and was so effective, it became a real contest ... and it became a real contest in the West Wing writer's room.
Senator John McCain
, who was the Republican presidential candidate in the 2008 Presidential Election. However, West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie
insists that the character is not based on any real-life politician, but was simply a function of the casting of Alan Alda
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
.
Biography
A RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Republican presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
nominee, he is narrowly defeated by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Matt Santos
Matt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
in the 2006 presidential election, with Vinick winning the popular vote but Santos winning the electoral college.
He is a social moderate and fiscal conservative with a maverick streak and a direct manner whose politics are loosely based on those of former Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
. Vinick is pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
. He is, however, opposed to partial birth abortion and in favor of parental consent laws. He is also in favor of immigration reform and is reluctant to use gay marriage as a campaign issue. Vinick (like Goldwater) opposes the Religious Right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
's influence in the Republican Party, and wants to return to more traditional, limited government
Limited government
Limited government is a government which anything more than minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy is generally disallowed by law, usually in a written constitution. It is written in the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 8...
conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
. Vinick has also been described as a deficit hawk
Deficit hawk
Deficit hawk is an American political slang term for people who place great emphasis on keeping the federal budget under control. Deficit hawks believe the best way to reduce the deficit, pay off national debt, and balance the budget is by a combination of increasing taxes and cutting government...
, supporting "two-for-one" tax and spending cuts, and he also favors free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
agreements, school vouchers and tort reform
Tort reform
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
, while opposing ethanol subsidies
Ethanol fuel in the United States
The United States became the world's largest producer of ethanol fuel in 2005. The U.S. produced 13.2 billion U.S. liquid gallons of ethanol fuel in 2010, and together with Brazil, accounted for 88% of that year's global production...
in the Midwest as corporate welfare. He is also conservative on law and order issues, such as gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
, border security and the death penalty. Vinick is mixed on foreign policy, as he believes in a strong national defense and supports tough action against Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, but was also described as an ally of Democratic President Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
on foreign policy issues and potentially an advocate of loosening the embargo on Cuba. It is stated that in his 2006 campaign, Vinick has strong support from corporate conservatives, neoconservatives, libertarians
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, Independents and "Bruno Gianelli" moderate Democrats, but that his support is weak among social and religious conservatives (7.06).
In one episode, Vinick mentioned growing up in a "citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
-growing" community. In response to this, the town of Santa Paula
Santa Paula, California
Santa Paula is a city within Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 29,321 at the 2010 census, up from 28,598 at the 2000 census...
, which is famous for citrus growing and is often referred to as the "Citrus Capital of the World", wrote to The West Wings production company, asking that Santa Paula be made Vinick's hometown. The production company promised to keep Santa Paula in mind for any campaign filming. In the meantime, the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
decided to organize a campaign for Vinick, including the opening of an Arnold Vinick presidential campaign headquarters. The town was eventually mentioned as Vinick's hometown in the episode "Two Weeks Out
Two Weeks Out
-Plot:With the election fourteen days away and both candidates polling even in California, both the Santos and Vinick campaigns scramble to the state to try to gain earned media from public events. Sheila, Vinick's assistant in previous episodes, had stepped down in favor of hard line right winger,...
," broadcast on March 19, 2006.
Personal life
The son of Richard Vinick, a public school teacher in the New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
School District
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
, and Patricia Vinick, a community activist, Vinick was born in New York Methodist Hospital
New York Methodist Hospital
New York Methodist Hospital is a hospital located in the historic brownstone neighborhood of Park Slope in Brooklyn, New York. between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, on Sixth Street. The hospital is a 651-bed voluntary, non-profit hospital and serves over 35,000 inpatients each year. Another 200,000...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. Four years later, his younger brother was born and the family relocated to the southern California town of Santa Paula to farm orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
groves. In Santa Paula, Vinick volunteered at the public library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
. Vinick was married to Catherine Vinick for around 30 years before she died. According to the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
website, she died in 2004, and according to dialogue in "In God We Trust
In God We Trust (The West Wing)
-Plot:Senator Vinick wins the Republican nomination for the Presidency and begins working on his campaign and senior Republicans are knocking on his door to vie for the VP slot on the ticket. He gets political advice from Bruno about choosing a vice president and how to deal with the latest...
" Vinick stopped attending church with her "five or six years" before Vinick won the Republican nomination, because she was too sick to attend with him. He has one brother, four children and nine grandchildren.
After graduating from Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
, Vinick opened a law practice in Santa Paula. He was eventually elected to the city council in the town's first write-in victory. He served one term on the council before being elected to the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
. He then moved on the United States Senate where he won election with 6.9 million votes—the highest total for any Senate candidate at the time (Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
in 2004 is the only Senator to have ever matched this number in the real world). Vinick has served in the Senate for 24 years as of the 2006 election (thereby, eliminating the terms of Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton "Pete" Wilson is an American politician from California. Wilson, a Republican, served as the 36th Governor of California , the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator , eleven years as Mayor of San Diego and...
, John F. Seymour
John F. Seymour
John F. Seymour is an American real estate investor and politician.Seymour attended the public schools in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1955 to 1959 and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1962...
, and Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
in the real world), meaning he won election in 1982.
Politics
According to the NBC website, Vinick serves as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and serves on the Committees on Foreign Relations and Environment and Public Works. However, when he is first introduced, it is also mentioned that as freshman senator he served on the Judiciary Committee and befriended then-committee staffer Eric Baker, who would later become the Governor of Pennsylvania and a Democratic presidential/vice presidential contender. In the same episode, it is also stated that Vinick is the chairman of a committee which has been continually investigating the Bartlet Administration (a role he does not like), implying that he may be the Chair on Judiciary and possibly contradicting the website account, as senators generally only chair one committee. However it is possible that over the course of his twenty-four years in the Senate he was the Chairman of the Finance and Judiciary Committees at different points. And that in the course of the twenty-four years the control of the Senate changed hands from Democrat to Republicans more than once (it is known that the Republicans gained control of the House and Senate in the fictional 1996 Midterm Elections and that the Democrats held control of the House and Senate before this) possibly making it so that Vinick was the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee prior to the Democrats gaining control, after which he might have opted to become the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the Republicans gained control of the Senate in 1996. As this type of situation has occurred more than once with senators in the real world it is reasonable to believe that the type of situation happened with Vinick as he was a popular, honorable, and intelligent senator.Vinick was offered the post of Ambassador to the United Nations
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is more formally known as the "Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador...
by President Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
's Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
, but declined as he intended to run for President. Lyman and former White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
were concerned that Vinick, as an articulate and appealing centrist
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
who might carry California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the Electoral College, offered the Republicans a real chance to win back the White House after two terms of Bartlett, a Democrat. However, both wondered if he was conservative enough to win the Republican nomination.
Vinick opposes federal funding for ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
as an alcohol fuel
Alcohol fuel
Although fossil fuels have become the dominant energy resource for the modern world, alcohol has been used as a fuel throughout history. The first four aliphatic alcohols are of interest as fuels because they can be synthesized chemically or biologically, and they have characteristics which allow...
, considering it a political boondoggle
Boondoggle (project)
A boondoggle is a project that is considered to waste time and money, yet is often continued due to extraneous policy motivations.- Etymology :...
. He once told Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
, half-seriously, that he doesn't trust anyone who doesn't shine his own shoes. In the primaries, Vinick defeated the Reverend Don Butler
Don Butler
Reverend Don Butler is a recurring character on the American television show The West Wing, a conservative televangelist from Virginia played by Don S. Davis. He was a candidate for the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States in the 2006 election, but was defeated by...
and former Speaker of the House and Acting President
Acting President of the United States
Acting President of the United States is a reference to a person who is legitimately exercising the Presidential powers even though that person does not hold the office of the President of the United States in his own right....
Glen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken
Glen Allen Walken is a fictional character on The West Wing played by John Goodman....
for the Republican nomination in the 2006 presidential election. Shortly after winning the nomination, Vinick met with Bartlet, whom he has a mutual measure of respect for, to discuss a deal to raise both the federal debt ceiling and the national minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
.
After the Reverend Butler declined to be his running mate in the 2006 election, due to Butler's strong pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
views, Vinick, who felt he needed a staunch conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
to balance the ticket
Ticket balance
In United States politics, balancing the ticket is when a political candidate chooses a running mate with the goal of bringing more widespread appeal to the campaign. It is most prominently used to describe the selection of the U.S. Vice Presidential candidate.There are several means by which the...
, selected Governor Ray Sullivan
Ray Sullivan
Ray Sullivan was a fictional Republican governor of West Virginia, played by Brett Cullen. He was a recurring character on the American television show The West Wing. He was the Republican Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 2006 election, and the running mate of Arnold...
of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
It is hinted in several episodes that Vinick is an atheist, agnostic or other religious skeptic. Though this has been hinted it in his public statements, he has not actually made an explicit statement on the matter. Vinick may also be a book collector
Book collecting
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given individual collector. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and collect...
, having received a 17th century King James Bible
King James Version of the Bible
The Authorized Version, commonly known as the King James Version, King James Bible or KJV, is an English translation of the Christian Bible by the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611...
from his late wife. Her death, and the harsh requirements of Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
Judaic law which he discovered when he read the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in depth, made him question his own religious beliefs.
Presidential Campaign
In the seventh season of the show, Vinick and Sullivan are running against CongressmanUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Matt Santos
Matt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee, and his running mate, former White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Labor
United States Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....
Leo McGarry
Leo McGarry
Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White...
. Democratic political consultant Bruno Gianelli is a consultant on his campaign, initially with an ambitious plan to win all 50 states.
Throughout the campaign, Vinick and Santos treat each other with mutual respect. (In the episode "King Corn," it is revealed that, two years before the election, Vinick and Santos co-sponsored an immigration reform bill that was defeated in committee on Capitol Hill.)
At the outset of the only Santos-Vinick debate, Vinick proposed to have "a real debate," without time limits on speaking; i.e. to ignore the rules to which their campaigns had agreed. Santos agreed. During the debate, Vinick tried to paint Santos as a typical liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
Democrat who would raise taxes to pay for intrusive big government programs while still leaving the federal budget unbalanced. The senator laid out a moderate agenda and reiterated his support for tax cuts, proposed tax-deductibility for health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
costs, explained why he had voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement, opposed a moratorium on the federal death penalty, promised to open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...
to oil exploration
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
, and declared his strong support for nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
. He was heckled by a member of the audience for claiming that Head Start didn't work, but perhaps his most surprising comment and show of blunt honesty was his remark that he would not create any new jobs, saying that in a free society entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
s, not the government, created jobs.
In the middle of the campaign, as Vinick enjoyed a huge lead over Santos, a nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
in Southern California comes close to meltdown, creating a panic for millions living in the vicinity. In the episode "Duck and Cover" it is revealed that Vinick, as a Senator from California, pushed for the plant's opening and speedy approval by regulators. The reactor did not melt down, although when the story broke that Vinick was a major supporter of the plant, his poll numbers dropped dramatically, putting numerous states, including California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(which, despite leaning Democratic in presidential elections in both reality and the show, was thought to be safe for Vinick, given that was his home state), into play and causing the election to become too close to call.
After a staff shakeup prompted by the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
, Vinick decided to go to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on the heels of the Santos
Matt Santos
Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance is as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas. According to West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie, Santos was based on the then...
campaign, and hold a press conference outside of the San Andreo plant in order to defuse the political fallout from the incident. His strategy seems to have been effective, as he returned to his straight-talking style, exhausting reporters of their questions and commandeering live news coverage from his opponent's campaign.
Despite this strategy's success (the Senator won his home state of California), Vinick lost the presidential election to Santos by 272 electoral votes to 266. Vinick conceded the election after Nevada, the decisive state, was carried by Santos by about 30,000 votes. Although Vinick was urged by his staff to contest the election, he refused to do so, saying "I will be a winner or a loser, but I will not be a sore loser."
Secretary of State
After the election, Vinick appeared to be positioning himself to run again in 2010 against Santos, but his advisors tried to convince him that there were other Republicans who should run and that his age would be a hindrance. It is stated that Vinick would be seventy by the 2010 election. Impressed by his foreign policy acuity, President-elect Santos asked Vinick to join his administration as Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
. Vinick initially turned him down, but his top aides, persuading him that a next run at the presidency would be futile, told him he could go down in history as "the last honorable Senator and a great Secretary of State". He then accepted when Santos also assured him that he could perform the job on his own terms, without partisan politics. The last scene in which Vinick is seen is when he and Santos are discussing the situation in Kazhakstan.
Background
A New York Times article published on April 10, 2006 reported that, if not for the death of actor John SpencerJohn Spencer (actor)
John Spencer was an American film and television actor. He was most widely known for playing White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing, which earned him an Emmy Award in 2002.-Early life:Spencer was born as John Speshock, Jr. in New York City, and...
, Vinick would have won the election. According to the article, the writers felt it would be too depressing for Santos to lose his running mate and the election in one day, so the plot was changed to have Vinick lose, but narrowly.
Statements from executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
John Wells
John Wells (TV producer)
John Marcum Wells is an American theater and television producer, writer and director. He is best known for his role as executive producer and show runner of the television series ER, Third Watch, and The West Wing. His company, John Wells Productions, is currently based at Warner Bros. studios in...
, however, contradicted claims about a previously planned Vinick victory. The script showing Santos winning was written long before the death of John Spencer
John Spencer (actor)
John Spencer was an American film and television actor. He was most widely known for playing White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry on the NBC political drama series The West Wing, which earned him an Emmy Award in 2002.-Early life:Spencer was born as John Speshock, Jr. in New York City, and...
. In 2008 executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
Lawrence O'Donnell Jr.
Lawrence O'Donnell Jr.
Lawrence Francis O'Donnell, Jr. is an American political analyst, journalist, actor, producer, writer, and host of The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, a weeknight MSNBC opinion and news program that formerly aired at 10 p.m. Eastern, but moved to the 8 p.m. slot, replacing Keith Olbermann's...
stated to cameras "We actually planned at the outset for Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits
Jimmy Smits is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing...
to win, that was our .. just .. plan of how this was all going to work, but the Vinick character came on so strong in the show, and was so effective, it became a real contest ... and it became a real contest in the West Wing writer's room.
Inspiration
Comparisons have been made between Vinick and ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, who was the Republican presidential candidate in the 2008 Presidential Election. However, West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie
Eli Attie
Eli Attie is a writer and political operative. He served as chief speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore from 1997 until Gore's concession of the 2000 election, and before that worked for President Bill Clinton and House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt....
insists that the character is not based on any real-life politician, but was simply a function of the casting of Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
.
See also
- The West WingThe West Wing (TV series)The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
- List of characters on The West Wing
- List of politicians on The West Wing
- List of The West Wing episodes
External links
- Santa Paula for Vinick from the Internet Archive
- Candidate issue analysis from the Internet Archive