Ron Swanson’s take on … government.

And from Maureen Ryan’s time on set … (more here)

How has the show avoided partisan rancor while portraying their friendship and realistically (not to mention humorously) depicting the trade-offs and compromises that politicians and bureaucrats must make? I asked the show’s co-creator and executive producer, Michael Schur, about those things in a recent interview.

“We have never said the words Democrat or Republican on the show, and we never will,” Schur said. “We are aided by the fact that many city council elections don’t have party affiliations, so that’s one thing that’s good. We don’t try to avoid issues at all. In fact, I think we try to use them. But we use them in a way that’s hopefully equal-handed and satirical instead of preachy or soap-boxy.”