It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/The Gang Runs for Office

The Gang Runs for Office
Season 2, Episode 8
Airdate	August 3, 2006
Production Number	1P02006
Written by	David Hornsby
Directed by	Daniel Attias
← 2x07 The Gang Exploits a Miracle	2x09 → Charlie Goes America All Over Everybody's Ass
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia — Season Two

The Gang Runs for Office is the eighth episode of the second season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The gang decides that Dennis should run for office after Frank tells them about politicians who solicit bribes in exchange for dropping out of races. However there is in fighting about who should be the campaign manager and soon the group is splintering and running against each other.

Guest Stars: Damian Young (Jack Stanford), Patrick Thomas O'Brien (Associate), Kelley Birney (Woman with Baby), Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick (Eddie), Goliath Gregory (Marvin), Edward James Gage (Phil), Catherine Schreiber (Angry Woman), Dona Hardy (Old Woman), John Rosenfeld (Morris)

Plot Overview

Mac comes into the bar angry about the beer tax they have been hit with. Frank comments on how he's always seeing politicians who run for office and then quit after getting brided out of the race. So the gang decides that Dennis should run for office to get a bribe. Mac quits the campaign when the gang votes him out of the campaign manager position for Frank. Frank's strategy includes using hobo advertising. Charlie doesn't like the way Frank does things and convinces Dennis to fire Frank in favor of Charlie.

Frank comes to Dee and tells her that he wants her to run for office. Mac goes to a union and tries to convince them to back Dennis so that he can then solicit a bribe, but they say they are not a criminal organization. Mac thinks they are being bugged by the Feds and plays along. After he leaves the union guys are angry and decide to get back at him for calling them nerds. Mac meets up with Dennis and Charlie at the mall and wants back on board. He tries to force a woman to give her baby so that Dennis can kiss it, and Dennis and Charlie pretend like they don't know him and leaves.

Meanwhile Frank is putting excessive makeup on Dee in an effort to make her a popular candidate. Mac is picked up by the union leaders who threaten to stab Mac in the neck if Dennis doesn't drop out. Mac goes back to Charlie's and tries to convince Dennis to drop out. Dennis and Charlie don't care about a bribe anymore and think he can be a real politician. Frank takes Dee to try and extract as a bribe from the competition in the election. The politician hits on Dee and so she fires Frank.

Mac meets up with Frank at the bar and the two of them come up with an attack ad accusing Dennis of being a baby rapist. Frank has left a note at Charlie's telling the two of them to meet Frank. Charlie meets Frank at a parking lot and forces Charlie to trade his card collection for the attack ad tape. Meanwhile Dee is meeting with the politician and he's encouraging her to drink a lot. His wife shows up and throws a drink in Dee's face.

Back at the bar, Dennis decides to drop out of the race because he finds out that the job is too much work for him. Charlie gets mad and meets up with Mac at a parking lot. Mac suggests taking Dennis to Atlantic City to get him out of the race. He finds out that Dennis has already dropped out and decides to collect the bribe. He's picked up by cops who tell him that the union guys ratted him out. They try to solicit a bribe in exchange for not bringing him in.

Arc Advancement

• Dennis notices that Charlie only has one futon and asks what the sleep arrangement is between him and Frank.
• Charlie might have dyslexia. He writes a speech for Dennis that turns out to be gibberish, and when Frank leaves a note he has difficulty reading it.

Trivia

The Show

• David Hornsby who plays Father Matthew from The Gang Exploits a Miracle is the writer of this episode.

Quotes

• Mac (narrating an attack ad): When Dennis Reynolds was a counselor at Camp Cumberland, he was sent home for the statutory rape of a teenage camper. A vote for Dennis Reynolds is a vote for underrage rape. Dennis Reynolds: baby rapist. Don't let him rape you, Philadelphia.