Republicans Continue to Try to Reference ‘Parks and Recreation’ and Fail
Every time MAGA or a Republican try to make a Parks and Recreation reference, I get full body chills in a bad way. Because they always make a fool of themselves and show they learned nothing from the show. Like Alex Clark talking about Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Clark is complaining online, like many conservatives, about the new Mayor of New York City. From making videos about the bus fares that former mayor Eric Adams implemented before he left or just making things up about Mamdani, they’re not happy with the progressive Democratic mayor. To be clear, this is his 5th day as the mayor.
On X, Clark wrote “Mamdani pretending he’s some sort of mini president when he’s just a city mayor is giving Parks and Rec.” Well, Clark, that’s not what Parks and Recreation was about at all and as the mayor of the biggest city in the United States, he has a right to know what is happening!
Part of what makes Parks and Recreation so special is that it showed audiences that everything can start in your local government. A government employee like Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) always wanted to make the world a better place. So she would go out of her way to fix Pawnee because of the people who inspired her in Washington. From Pawnee, she went on to be the Governor of Indiana before becoming President of the United States.
So to discount politicians who are elected to try to make their city a better place isn’t a “bad” thing, like Clark insinuated. But more importantly, her response shows how people like Clark (the conservative types) watch a heartwarming show like Parks and Recreation and have the worst takes about it.
Do MAGA people just not watch things they’re referencing?
There are people in this world who see a show like Parks and Recreation and don’t see it as anything other than a “dumb comedy.” The show itself was always more than a typical sitcom but for conservatives who think compassion is a weakness, it is a laughable look at politics. To them, Leslie Knope is a joke. And not a woman who is trying to make the world a better place as the rest of us view her.
It really is sad that the MAGA persuasion cannot understand a character who isn’t driven by selfishness but instead, a need to help. Leslie Knope is determined and can be a lot. But it comes from a place of love for what she does. If Pawnee is a better place but she’s miserable, so be it. So the fact that people like Clark see a politician who wants to help those who elected him and think it is a bad thing is just sad.
Mamdani wanting answers on the state of the world when New York is often a target isn’t him acting bigger than his britches. So maybe stop making jokes you don’t understand and rewatch Parks and Recreation, you could learn a thing or two.
(featured image: NBC)
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