Bob Russell (The West Wing) - Background and Views

Background and Views

Before ascending to the Vice Presidency, Russell represented a Congressional district in Western Colorado, most likely the Colorado 3rd. He justified his close relationship with the local mining interests because the local mining company, West Co, employed five times as many of his constituents as any other company in the district, but was attacked in the 2006 Democratic primaries by the Hoynes campaign and Common Cause for his support of mining interests. Russell also had an in-depth knowledge of nuclear weapons technology, because the Colorado Plateau is the US's leading source of uranium, and was able to assist in the Bartlet Administration's efforts to discover which nation carried out a nuclear test in the Indian Ocean. Bartlet said that Russell's voters had re-elected him four times, which indicates that he is a fifth term congressmen and was probably first elected in 1994. This was confirmed when it was stated that Russell had voted to renew the embargo on Cuba in 1996, meaning he would have been first elected in 1994.

As Vice President, Russell was often used by the Bartlet Administration to work with the Republicans during disputes, due to his relationships and relative popularity with Republican leaders such as Speaker Haffley. On such issues, Russell would sometimes disagree with the Bartlet Administration, including during the government shutdown, the Gaza Crisis and on gay marriage during another budget dispute. Russell's position on gay marriage was that while gay rights were advancing gradually, pushing for marriage rights too quickly would cause a backlash, so he was inclined to oppose the amendment. As a Congressman, Russell also had a strong reputation for his opposition to flag burning, co-sponsoring the Flag Burning Amendment every time it came before Congress, and strongly considered speaking out when a flag was apparently burnt in the White House. During the primaries, Russell campaigned on his support for ethanol fuel and abortion rights. Russell also supported gun control, attacking rival John Hoynes for his strong pro-gun record, although Russell was also an avid hunter who often hunted with the Governor of Montana. When the California legislature passed a law to allow illegal immigrants to have driver's licenses, Russell came out in favor of it. When US foreign policy in relation to Cuba became a campaign issue, Russell took a hardline stance, re-affirming his support for sanctions and saying he would not rule out military action in order to bring about democratic change there. Russell was popular in the West and Midwest and was able to win many states in those regions in the primaries, believing that he would also be able to do so in the general election against Arnold Vinick (with his prospective running mate, Baker, hopefully being able to secure Pennsylvania and the traditional blue states in the Northeast, thus winning the election).