10) Continuity With Change
Selina Meyer’s campaign slogan throughout season 4 is “Continuity With Change,” which is exactly the kind of hollow piece of political rhetoric this series loves to mock. That three-word phrase sounds vaguely important, but it basically just means, “Some things will stay the same, and some things will change.” How inspiring!
Well, recently a real-world politician was apparently emboldened by HBO’s fictional vice president. Though it wasn’t his campaign slogan, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull began using Selina’s phrase in interviews earlier this year, making the following comments to various publications over the course of one week:
There is continuity and there is change.
As you go from one Liberal prime minister to another, you have continuity and you have change and there has been a lot of change.
The bottom line is there is continuity and there is change.
Veep writer Simon Blackwell took to Twitter to share the hilarity with his followers, noting that “continuity with change” was the most meaningless election slogan the writers could think of. Meanwhile, Julia Louis-Dreyfus barely even knew what to say, simply tweeting, “I am dumbstruck.” A note for politicians: before incorporating a talking point into your daily routine, have an intern verify that the phrase wasn’t ruthlessly mocked on a comedy series.
