Dear Netflix-watching liberal friends who have a weakness for House of Cards. I like it too, but please stop prefacing your discussions of it with “of course it’s not at all realistic . . . ” Besides being a the-sky-is-blue kind of statement, it covers up the fact that the realistic details that make the series so watchable draw from a particular reality, namely the fact that our government is overrun by people who behave with disdain for democracy, that too many of our politicians use the mechanisms of democracy for mere advancement or gain. If our democracy was not in crisis, the show wouldn’t be interesting, it wouldn’t exist. The series (and its British predecessor) are not depictions of reality, but they are OF a reality where politicians, reporters, and bureaucrats constantly maneuver in ways that undercut the public’s concerns and interests. Frank and Claire are over-the-top Machiavellians, but the legislative maneuvering, kowtowing to big money, too-intimate relations between journalists and politicians, and many other bits are straight out of reality.