The West Wing (TV Series)

In God We Trust (2005)

Alan Alda: Senator Arnold Vinick

Photos 

Quotes 

• Sen. Arnold Vinick : Help me keep a secret.

  Jed Bartlet : What's that?

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : That I just gave you more than you asked for. Let me hang around for awhile, as if we're really slugging it out in here.

  Jed Bartlet : Can I get you anything?

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : Where's the ice cream?

• Sen. Arnold Vinick : What do you know about Republican politics?

  Bruno Gianelli : I don't care about Republican politics.

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : Well, that I believe.

  Bruno Gianelli : I don't care about Democratic politics, either. Okay, I do care about the Democrats. Look, they don't know it yet; you are the best thing to ever happen to them. You're moving the Republicans away from the right wing. You're not saying Democrats are not patriotic; you're just saying that your approach is better than theirs. You are making politics a fair fight again. What? You think I'm a spy? I snuck in here, I'm trying to steer you wrong?

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : The thought has crossed my mind.

  Bruno Gianelli : I have spent the last 20 years ripping this country apart, finding wedge issues to separate the voters, you don't have to do that to win; not this time. You do this right, you can do a lot more than win. You can stop using politics to divide this country. You can show us how much we agree, instead of how much we disagree. You can put this country back together.

• Jed Bartlet : I went to mass every Sunday long before I went into politics.

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : I did, too.

  Jed Bartlet : Why'd you stop?

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : One Christmas, my wife gave me a very old edition of the King James Bible - 17th century. It was a real find for a book collector. It was a thrill just to hold it - then I read it.

  Jed Bartlet : You can't take it literally.

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : Yeah, that's what my priest friends kept telling me, but the more I read it, the less I could believe. I could not believe that there was a God who said that the penalty for working on the sabbath was death. I couldn't believe there was a God who said the penalty for adultery was death.

  Jed Bartlet : I'm more of a New Testament man myself.

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : I couldn't believe there was a God who had no penalty for slavery. The Bible has no problem with slavery at all. Lincoln could've used a little help from the Bible.

• Sen. Arnold Vinick : If you can't drink their booze, take their money and then vote against them, then you're in the wrong business.

• Sen. Arnold Vinick : I guess you've seen this problem develop today about my going to church.

  Governor Ray Sullivan R-WV : You mean not going to church. Yeah. That's all right. I go enough for both of us.

  Sen. Arnold Vinick : I've been reading about your positions on a lot of things, but there are some environmental issues you haven't had to deal with in West Virginia.

  Governor Ray Sullivan R-WV : Here's the deal with the issues, Arnie: I can get in line with you on everything except abortion. Nothing's going to make me change my mind on that, but I'm guessing you wouldn't want me to.