The Gang Runs for Office

"The Gang Runs for Office" is the eighth episode of the second season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Synopsis
After realizing the money-making potential of political corruption, the gang decides to help Dennis run for the position of a local comptroller.

Recap
10:15 AM on a Wednesday

At Paddy's, Mac whines about the alcohol sales taxes and how there is nothing they can do about it. Dee suggests voting, but Frank tells them that all politicians are dirty, and that only scumbags enter politics due to the high frequency of bribes. The gang decides to have Dennis run for an office so they can earn money from bribes. Frank replaces Mac as campaign manager, and Mac storms out.

When Frank suggest hobotisement (sandwich boards on hobos) Dennis fires him and names Charlie his new campaign manager. They go to the mall to talk to voters. Mac visits a local union's office and tries to solicit a bribe. He calls them nerds and leaves. He finds Dennis and Charlie at the mall and tries to help the campaign by convincing a woman to let Dennis kiss her baby, but he ends up chasing her through the mall. Later, the union officials pick Mac up in their car and tell him that if Dennis drops out, they will all get paid. If not, a large black man would hurt Mac.

At Charlie's apartment, Charlie prepares to film a campaign video for Dennis when Mac tries to convince him to drop out. Dennis believes he would be a good politician so stays in the race.

Meanwhile, Frank enlists Dee as another candidate for the comptroller's office. He dresses her up like a prostitute (thinking it represents real beauty) and tries to bribe the current comptroller. He charmes Dee and takes her out for drinks and she fires Frank. Frank joins forces with Mac to get Dennis to drop out. Together they make a smear campaign ad about how Dennis statutorily raped a girl at a summer camp.

Charlie must trade his entire collection of Garbage Pail Kids cards for the tape. When he returns the tape to Dennis, Dennis has decided to drop out because a comptroller is just an accountant who makes less than a teacher. Charlie gets infuriated. He meets with Mac to punish Dennis, where Mac learns that Dennis has already dropped out and his life is no longer in danger.

Mac walks to meet with the union officials but is picked up by two police officers. They charge him for soliciting a bribe and offer him one out: bribing them. They laugh and tell him "that's politics, bitch!"

Alliances

 * Charlie and Dennis - Team up for Dennis to run for public office, which Charlie as his campaign manager, though their objective is to get bribed to drop out of the race instead of actually being elected.
 * Dee and Frank - After getting replaced by Charlie as Dennis' campaign manager, Frank teams up with Dee to get her the bribe instead.

Starring

 * Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly
 * Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds
 * Rob McElhenney as Mac
 * Kaitlin Olson as Dee Reynolds
 * Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds

Guest Starring

 * John Rosenfeld as Morris
 * Donna Hardy as Old Woman
 * Damian Young as Jack Stanford

Co-Starring

 * Goliath Gregory as Marvin
 * Patrick Thomas O'Brien as Associate
 * Kelley Birney as Woman with Baby
 * Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick as Eddie
 * Edward James Gage as Phil
 * Catherine Schreiber as Angry Woman

Trivia
by Glenn Howerton. Charlie's illiteracy was first seen in "The Gang Goes Jihad."
 * This episode is written and filmed as episode 205 but was aired as 208. This is why it is on disc 2 of The Complete Seasons 1 & 2 DVD.
 * After the comptroller&apos;s wife throws the drink in Dee&apos;s face, the next camera angle shows the drink still full on the table.
 * As Mac is leaving the union office, a cameramen wearing a black shirt can be seen to the left of the screen (at 8:04.)
 * The scene when Dennis reads aloud Charlie&apos;s "election programme" - is completely an improvisation
 * This episode is a perfect example of how, on occasion, the show&apos;s cold opening sets up a joke that is paid off when we see what the title of the episode is. In this one, immediately after Frank says "You&apos;d have to be a real low-life piece of shit to run for office," the title is revealed to be "The Gang Runs For Office." (Other prime examples: "Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare", "Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire", "Sweet Dee Gets Audited", and "Mac Kills His Dad".)
 * In this episode, Frank calls Hillary Clinton "awful." In real life Danny DeVito contributed to her election campaign.
 * When Mac goes to meet the union officials to solicit a bribe, and they refuse, he says "In the movies, union guys are tough and shady and shit" - an example of such a movie would be Hoffa, directed by and co-starring Danny DeVito.

Quotes
"Hey, have you guys seen this? We are getting blasted in the ass by the state liquor tax."

- Mac

"Mac, we have the same conversation every year. There's nothing that you can do about taxes!"

- dennis

"When has voting ever helped? Who am I supposed to vote for? The Democrat who is going to blast me in the ass? Or the Republican who's blasting my ass."

- dennis

"You're going to get your ass blasted."

- charlie

"You have to be a real low-life piece of shit to get involved with politics."

- frank

"Deandra, a woman in politics is like a donkey doing calculus."

- frank

"Name one."

- frank

"Awful."

- frank

"Hates freedom."

- frank

"Hello fellow American, this you should vote me. I leave power... Good. Thank you, Thank you... If you vote me I'm hot.. What? Taxes, they'll be lower... Son! The democratic vote for me is the right thing to do Philadelphia, so doo!... This doesn't make any sense!"

- dennis

"[Narrating campaign video] When Dennis Reynolds was a councilor at Camp Cumberland he was sent home for the statutory rape of a teenage camper. A vote for Dennis Reynolds is a vote for underage rape. Dennis Reynolds - baby rapist. Don't let him rape you, Philadelphia."

- Mac