S06.E04: Oppo Research

[possibilities]

Alicia has always been a judgmental asshole about her kids' sexuality. I recall in the first season, she found condoms in Zach's room and confiscated them. What idiot would take condoms away, and then be surprised when her kid didn't tell her about an unwanted pregnancy?

 

I also think that Alicia is angry because she (supposedly) broke up with Will because she thought their relationship was interfering with her role as mother. So, now she sees that she "gave up the love of my life for those children, who now reward me with lies and humiliation." It's total bullshit, but I think that she does act that way, thinking she martyred herself for the good of her children, who are now behaving in ways that make it seem like her martyrdom was not effective nor was it appreciated. She's resentful of Zach because she's blaming him for her loss of Will. It's ridiculous, but displaced emotions are totally in character for her.

 

RE whether or not the PAC is funding Alicia's campaign, I think the whole point of PACs is that even though they claim to not be directly funding or coordinating, they are in fact funding the election of whoever it is they are in support of. The candidate may not technically control the money, but it's used for the purpose of that candidate's election, which amounts to the same thing.

Edited October 18, 2014 by possibilities

[CleoCaesar]

Alicia has always been a judgmental asshole about her kids' sexuality. I recall in the first season, she found condoms in Zach's room and confiscated them. What idiot would take condoms away, and then be surprised when her kid didn't tell her about an unwanted pregnancy?

 

Didn't she also ask Grace something like "are you being a good girl?", i.e. are you abstaining from sex. It was something squicky and judgy-sounding like that. I could be misremembering.

[possibilities]

You're not misremembering at all. And then she's baffled when Grace adopts the Christian point of view. Grace might have thought she was doing what her mother wanted her to do!

[heavysnaxx]

 

Alicia must have a staff (way down the hall or a couple of floors away from Eli's prized slot near the Governor) but tptb haven't needed them to create conflict and tell her story.

Not to be argumentative but I just don't see how I would surmise that, even taking the need for narrative economy into consideration. There's never been -- to my knowledge -- so much as a throwaway line of dialogue about Alicia needing, resisting, getting, avoiding, getting to know any staff she's gotten as First Lady. Eli consistently functions as best he can as her FL staff -- and that hasn't seemed realistic to me.

 

Then again, I'm also always seeing an immaculately groomed middle-aged woman with a spotless home who works super-long hours yet doesn't have to manage cleaning people, a personal shopper, an assistant, and whoever else it takes to produce such incredible orderliness. The FL stuff is just more of The Magical Self-Running Life that's typical on tv. 

[rainsunmoonshine]

...But I guess St. Alicia believes in "just say no to drugs" and "just abstain from premarital sex".   

Lots of people believe in saying no to drugs and premarital sex. It doesn't make them bad people or poor parents.

[CooperTV]

Lots of people believe in saying no to drugs and premarital sex. It doesn't make them bad people or poor parents.

 

Well, probably not. But Alicia's biggest client is drug dealer and the head of drug mob, and she was using her marriage like useful tool to get her things for a very long time when she was supposed to be reconciling with her husband. She's not a bad person. Just huge hypocrite.

[BearCat49]

Well, all of this is certainly true, rules are different with Super PACS, especially after the Citizens United ruling. If he started a 527 or 501©4 (which are diffrent types of Super Pacs and are also non-profits), they are not required to disclose donors to the FEC. And Bishop is smart enough to do something like that, to effectively hide himself from the prying eyes of Castro.

 

 

That's all well and good but the purpose of opposition research (IMHO) is to uncover the hidden and then use it to your candidate's advantage.  It doesn't matter how many corporate shells or the type of campaign organization Bishop tries to hide behind;  someone can peel back the onion and expose the layers.

 

Someone filed the papers to organize the PAC on Bishop's behalf and someone else (probably) set up the website and yet another individual may do the bookkeeping and so on ...  The SA discovered that the source of Cary's bail was health club dues paid for dead people.  Likewise, the FEC (or IL version thereof) or another agency can peel back this onion. 

 

To the extent Bishop laundered funds through this shell or violated election laws in any way, shape or form, the government will attempt to depose him about this and his other business activities, legitimate or otherwise.

 

So, initially, the opposition research would benefit Castro but then, indirectly, possibly lead the government back to Bishop.  Wow, if Castro pulled that off, using this information to defeat Alicia and then prosecute Bishop during his next administration, he might set himself up to win this seat in perpetuity until he either retires or is term limited out.  And, if he's seen as drug kingpin slayer, even if term limited, he could potentially bootstrap into another position and another and ..

Edited October 19, 2014 by BearCat49

[BearCat49]

I would think that a man like Peter would consider paying a prostitute for sex totally different to blackmailing a woman to sleep with him. The former involves a woman who has made a choice to exchange sex for money, the latter involves forcing a woman to do something she really doesn't want to do. 

 

From Peter's vantage point, both blackmail and the cash paid to a prostitute might be considered forms of currency proffered in exchange for sex, IMHO. 

 

The previous poster (on this topic) indicated that Peter would consider the use of blackmail in exchange for sex to be beneath him.  If Peter believes that only his manly charms are required and he doesn't need to pay for sex, I believe he'd consider the use of any form of currency exchanged for sex to be beneath him. 

Edited October 19, 2014 by BearCat49

[BearCat49]

Even if you can explain that in TV world a nurse or someone might say yes I saw the governors son in the office with a woman who was getting an abortion, and here is her name (which is a pretty huge 'if'), how do the investigators even figure out that Zack and Nessa went to the clinic in the first place? Did they call around to ever clinic in Chicago and ask if anyone had seen someone who looked like the governors son.

 

The Florrick's (definitely the parents and to a lesser extent, the kids) would be considered celebrities in Chicago.  If Grace appeared on the hottie website, it wouldn't surprise me if Zach had his own following of teenage girls.  If someone saw Zach in an unusual neighborhood and told someone, who told someone else, etc., then, eventually, that info might reach a member of the press who would probably contact Eli (and/or the Governor's press secretary) for comment.

 

We know Eli was bird dogging this relationship when things were hot and heavy between Zach and Nisa.  Eli (or one of his surrogates) might have formed a bond with say, Nisa's best friend or even a sibling, and paid that individual for information.  (That's why some celebrities plant fake stories with various "friends" to determine the source of a leak.) 

 

There's various ways that the info might have found its way to Eli.

Edited October 19, 2014 by BearCat49

[BearCat49]

Not to be argumentative but I just don't see how I would surmise that, even taking the need for narrative economy into consideration. There's never been -- to my knowledge -- so much as a throwaway line of dialogue about Alicia needing, resisting, getting, avoiding, getting to know any staff she's gotten as First Lady. Eli consistently functions as best he can as her FL staff -- and that hasn't seemed realistic to me.

 

Then again, I'm also always seeing an immaculately groomed middle-aged woman with a spotless home who works super-long hours yet doesn't have to manage cleaning people, a personal shopper, an assistant, and whoever else it takes to produce such incredible orderliness. The FL stuff is just more of The Magical Self-Running Life that's typical on tv. 

 

You posted previously that you'd had personal dealings (IRL) with a deputy of the FL of CA's office.  Why would the FL of CA (in absentia) have a large staff but the FL of IL (also in absentia, coincidentally) have no staff, whatsoever?  And if we don't see it on camera, either it didn't happen or doesn't exist?

 

If the Kings considered information about Alicia's staff to be a "throwaway line", then perhaps they did just that, i.e. left those lines on the cutting room floor.  I haven't ever believed, even for a moment, that Eli was fulfilling both roles.  Instead, I believe Eli was merely a conduit for information from Alicia's staff to her.

 

Needless to say, I disagree.  If they need another character or two to create more drama, then we might meet Alicia's staff.  if not, we won't.

Edited October 19, 2014 by BearCat49

[BearCat49]

I've been reminded of Maria Shriver, too, but for the opposite reason. When Shriver was CA's First Lady, I had to connect briefly with her staff on a women's economic equality event for the legal and policy community. Our event rated involvement with her *deputy* chief of staff only, and negotiating her appearance -- versus simply lending her name and title -- was really hard, she was in such demand. In subsequent years, she was heading up at least one big summit on women's issues, too. Obviously, Shriver and Alicia (a fictional character, of course!) differ in that Shriver's status as a public figure was never dependent on her marriage but I've noticed how utterly unstaffed Alicia as a First Lady is, by comparison.

 

This is that previous post, referenced above.  If/when Alicia (via the Kings) decides to place more emphasis and/or importance on her (informal) position as FL of IL, then we might meet her COS.  At this time, she probably has a relatively weak COS who allows Eli to filter information, control her calendar and in general, interfere with everything. 

 

Here's hoping that Alicia eventually brings in a stronger personality to fill the COS role and we see a few sparks between the FL's COS and Eli fly!

[GHScorpiosRule]

Finally got caught up to this episode last night and GOOD GOD, I never realized what a narcissistic BITCH Alicia could be.

 

Because it's ALL.ABOUT.HER. And how things affect HER. Whatever. There was nothing to like about her in this episode. Not a damn thing.

 

And good GOD, what has Stockard Channing done to her face?

 

And I'm hoping beyond hope, that Peter is only just friends with Lauren's mother.

 

I was cheering when Eli fired Lauren, especially with her disrespectful "WHAT?" When he had come up to her, to fire her skanky ass.

[Guest]

Lots of people believe in saying no to drugs and premarital sex. It doesn't make them bad people or poor parents.

Bad people, no.  But I think most educated people would argue that "Just say no" to drugs and sex is like telling a clinically depressed person to just snap out of it.  It's a naive oversimplification.  

[Janimo]

Thank you so much for your articulate comments above, GHScorpiosRule. I just finished watching this episode and.........I'm starting to......words fail me....
Alicia is a bitch, and I don't understand why the hell she would even consider running for any political office with all the baggage she and her family have.

[webruce]

Eli and Johnny Elfman come to see Alicia about running. The laundry list of Skeltons in her closet. Ste. Alicia! Funny how Alicia was making a list of things to take care of in her family. And the non problem of Lauren, had Peter stop Eli from bringing it up. But she is moving on so that is ok. But we see her Mother, Ramona Lytton is an old friend of Peter's that he helped her out.
Liked how Alicia talked to her family about the problems. I wonder if she is short changing Zach? He was helping Nisa Delmar with an abortion.He didn't know her mom wasn't coming. It wasn't his kid, and yes he/she should have told mom.
Veronica's spanking the kid problems was good. I knew the little brat, Greg, would get in trouble again. Popping soda tabs, he should have been booted. Then we see the video of him knocking down the little old lady. Myra Weymouth,his mom couldn't get him out of there quick enough!
Also when Alicia was telling Owen and Veronica Cavanaugh about thier problems it was funny how they joked. Until Owen was pissed and left.

Alicia gave away to Eli about Kalinda and Peter too. But it was no big deal when Eli questioned Kalinda about it. But it answered a couple questions for Eli. But it had to make him not trust Peter more.

I'm not sure if Alicia meeting Finn Palmar was good or bad. He worried about tension and she said no.But now I wonder whether he set her up, or Castro had him followed? But Officer knew her name, so it was a setup. But was it only Castro?

Lemond Bishop meeting Kalinda and Diane about being dropped from the firm. But he says no, and then he wants to help Alicia's campaign. That don't seem like it will end well

Edited November 4, 2014 by webruce

[webruce]

My thought are, was the child Nisa was carrying, even Zachs? I was thinking for some reason that it was not, or it was in question. Did they even have relations? I thought that she wanted and he did not? I'm not sure. My memories maybe clouded. i know there was a thing about Grace not having them.

Edited November 5, 2014 by webruce

[izabella]

Zach was definitely having sex.  There was a tempest about condoms being taken from Alicia's drawer, and she thought it was Peter, but it turned out to be Zach.  Guess the condoms didn't work.

 

ETA, and yes, we had Alicia asking Grace if she was still a "good girl" but she never asked Zach if he was a "good boy" which he obviously wasn't but I guess "good" only matters for Grace.

Edited November 5, 2014 by izabella

[webruce]

Well my wife's family was the same way. Her Mom told her and her sister the do's and don'ts about dating. They had a curfew and all. Her 3 olders brothers did pretty much as they pleased in their teens. And their dad oked it.

[cheyz]

Also, Grace is younger than Zach. Aren't they two years apart?

[webruce]

Yes i believe so.

[John Potts]

Well it's nice to know that Alicia only cares about herself and her eventual rise (by Season 10) to the White House, by which time I'm sure she'll have got rid of all of those pesky ethics. My son got a girl pregnant? Didn't he realise how that might affect my political ambitions (that I was unaware of at the time)? And if you're getting upset at what Eli is digging up, I'm sure Castro will be far more restrained. And I bet Cary is glad that the firm he founded with you is going to be down a named partner without even consulting him.

 

webruce My thought are, was the child Nisa was carrying, even Zach's?

 

 

That was my thought too - it would put Alicia in an even worse light if the kid wasn't even Zach's. And I have no problem (plotwise) with Eli finding out about it - he may be legally barred from finding out, but that rarely stops Kalinda.