The Swamp (documentary)

Last updated
The Swamp
Directed by
Written by
  • Daniel DiMauro
  • Morgan Pehme
  • Marc Vives
Starring
CinematographyStefan Wiesen
Edited byMarc Vives
Music byKyle Scott Wilson
Production
companies
Distributed by HBO Films
Release date
  • August 4, 2020 (2020-08-04)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Swamp is a 2020 American documentary film about the fundraising and political culture on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Released in August 2020 on HBO, it chronicles the activities of three Republican congressmen. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ken Buck of Colorado are portrayed as outsiders to the dominant party patronage system. The film takes place largely in 2019 and chronicles their reactions to the biggest political stories of that year along with commentary on the political climate of Washington D.C.

Contents

Synopsis

The film details how heavily the Republican and Democratic parties rely on lobbyists for financial support. It describes a system where those members of Congress who are most effective at fundraising for their party are rewarded with committee assignments. [1] The film uses interview clips and narration from Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School to provide background information. Lessig primarily faults former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich for the political climate of Capitol Hill, alleging he shifted Congress's priorities from legislating to fundraising in the 1990s and deprioritized bipartisanship. [1] The Swamp proves critical of the Trump administration, despite the film's three main characters being staunch defenders of it, with the administration's ties to various lobbyists portrayed negatively. [2]

Of the three congressmen profiled, Matt Gaetz receives the most attention. His upbringing, unsuccessful attempt to amend the National Defense Authorization Act with Democrat Ro Khanna of California and interactions with supporters and detractors are featured. [1] [3] In The Swamp, Gaetz is contrasted with the film's critiques of Gingrich and the Trump administration, with his refusal to accept PAC money and work with California Democrats Khanna and Katie Hill, who had resigned from Congress due to a scandal which Gaetz defends her from, providing examples of bipartisanship and "draining the swamp" of Washington, D.C. [1] [2]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Swamp holds an approval rating of 67% based on 15 reviews with an average rating of 6.4 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Interesting but unfocused, The Swamp's multi-subject approach opens the floor for a lot of questions - and answers very few." [4]

Hank Stuever of The Washington Post was complimentary of the documentary for its willingness to utilize Matt Gaetz's perspective, writing: "This candid glimpse into Gaetz’s world may come as something of an unctuous surprise to HBO’s typical documentary viewer, who is used to being served agreeable agenda items from the left side of the menu." [5] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film a 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing: "It turns out to be all talk for the most part, but it is an interesting conversation, and an intriguing, if sometimes flawed, film." [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Lessig</span> American legal scholar and activist (born 1961)

Lester Lawrence Lessig III is an American legal scholar and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. He is the founder of Creative Commons and Equal Citizens. Lessig was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States in the 2016 US presidential election but withdrew before the primaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Doolittle</span> American politician (born 1950)

John Taylor Doolittle, is an attorney and an American politician. Elected to Congress in 1990, he served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, representing California's 4th congressional district. In the 109th Congress, he held a leadership role as the Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House. He was succeeded in the House of Representatives by Tom McClintock. Before being elected to Congress, he had served in the California State Senate from 1984 to 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Livingston</span> American politician and lobbyist (born 1943)

Robert Linlithgow Livingston Jr. is an American lobbyist and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana from 1977 to 1999. A Republican, he was chosen as Newt Gingrich's successor as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a position he declined following revelations of an extramarital affair. He served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana from 1977 to 1999 and as the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee from 1995 to 1999. During his final years in Congress, Livingston was a strong supporter of Bill Clinton's impeachment. He is currently a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist. Livingston's memoir, The Windmill Chaser: Triumphs and Less in American Politics, was published in September 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Armey</span> American economist and politician (born 1940)

Richard Keith Armey is an American economist and politician. He was a U.S. Representative from Texas's 26th congressional district (1985–2003) and House Majority Leader (1995–2003). He was one of the engineers of the "Republican Revolution" of the 1990s, in which Republicans were elected to majorities of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades. Armey was one of the chief authors of the Contract with America. Armey is also an author and former economics professor. After his retirement from Congress, he has worked as a consultant, advisor, and lobbyist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Paxon</span> American politician and lobbyist

Leon William Paxon is an American lobbyist and former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. From 1989 to 1999, he served five terms in Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vin Weber</span> American politician

John Vincent Weber is an American politician, lobbyist and former Republican Congressman from Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert H. Michel</span> American politician (1923–2017)

Robert Henry Michel was an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years. He represented central Illinois' 18th congressional district, and was the GOP leader in the House, serving as House Minority Leader during his last 14 years in Congress (1981–1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lobbying in the United States</span>

Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interest groups hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. It is often perceived negatively by journalists and the American public; critics consider it to be a form of bribery, influence peddling, and/or extortion. Lobbying is subject to complex rules which, if not followed, can lead to penalties including jail. Lobbying has been interpreted by court rulings as free speech protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Since the 1970s, the numbers of lobbyists and the size of lobbying budgets has grown and become the focus of criticism of American governance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Gaylord</span> American political consultant

Joseph Gaylord is a political consultant formerly closely linked to former U.S. Representative and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He was executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee in the mid-1980s and worked for GOPAC, a political action committee which was "Gingrich's main vehicle for the long campaign that in 1994 resulted in the Republican takeover of the House after years of Democratic domination." Gaylord was one of the people behind the Contract With America that won the Republican Party control of the United States Congress in the 1994 midterm elections.

Morgan Pehme is an American filmmaker and journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Change Congress</span> Organization

Change Congress was a project aiming to end corruption in the United States Congress by reducing what it considered the distorted influence of money in that legislative body. Founded in 2008 by Lawrence Lessig and Joe Trippi, Change Congress aimed to organize citizens to support political candidates who do not take contributions from PACs and lobbyists, oppose earmarks, support public financing of campaigns, and support more transparency in Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt K. Lewis</span> American political pundit

Matt K. Lewis is an American conservative political writer, blogger, podcaster, and columnist for The Daily Beast, formerly with The Daily Caller, and has written for The Week. He has also appeared on CNN and MSNBC as a political commentator.

How's Your News? is an American television series and also a feature film. It aired Sundays on MTV in the United States, and the feature film based on the same concept was released in 2003. It stars a group of reporters with developmental disabilities who interview celebrities and politicians. It is the continuation of a documentary film project started in 1999 by Arthur Bradford at Camp Jabberwocky in Martha's Vineyard, which was made into a movie of the same name and shown on HBO in 2003. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone serve as the show's executive producers. Season One had a total of 6 episodes.

The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), established by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2008, is a nonpartisan, independent entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of the House of Representatives and their staff and, when appropriate, referring matters to the United States House Committee on Ethics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Gaetz</span> American lawyer and politician (born 1982)

Matthew Louis Gaetz II is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district since 2017. The district includes all of Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, and portions of Walton County. A member of the Republican Party, he is widely regarded as a staunch proponent of far-right politics as well as an ally of former president Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Problem Solvers Caucus</span> Bipartisan group of U.S. representatives

The Problem Solvers Caucus is a group in the United States House of Representatives that has included members equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, with the Caucus' stated goal of fostering bipartisan cooperation on key policy issues. The group was created in January 2017 as an outgrowth of meetings held by political organization No Labels as early as 2014. It is co-chaired by Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) as of 2021.

Daniel DiMauro is an American documentary filmmaker from Brooklyn, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian E. Zelizer</span> American political historian

Julian Emanuel Zelizer is a professor of political history and an author in the United States at Princeton University. Zelizer has authored or co-authored several books about American political history; his focuses of study are the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century.

The Congressional Blockchain Caucus is a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives and staff. The caucus was founded during the 114th United States Congress to be a platform for industry and government to study and understand blockchain technology, and the role Congress can play in its development.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gleiberman, Owen (2020-08-06). "'The Swamp' Review: An HBO Documentary About Three 'Drain the Swamp!' Republicans Who Can't See Their Own Swamp". Variety. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  2. 1 2 3 Goodykoontz, Bill (2020-08-04). "How Matt Gaetz makes HBO's documentary 'The Swamp' more interesting, and more maddening". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  3. Lowry, Brian (2020-08-03). "'The Swamp' wades into what's wrong with Congress but doesn't find a way out". CNN. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  4. "The Swamp (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  5. Stuever, Hank (2020-08-03). "'The Swamp' looks at political reform through the eyes of an unlikely hero: Rep. Matt Gaetz". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-01-03.