Smoke-filled room
In U.S. political slang, a smoke-filled room is a term for a secret political gathering or round table style decision-making process. The phrase is generally used to suggest a cabal of powerful or well-connected, cigar-smoking men such as the Bilderberg Group meeting privately to nominate a dark horse political candidate or otherwise make decisions[1] without regard for the will of the public.
The origin of the term is an Associated Press report describing the process by which Warren G. Harding was nominated as Republican candidate for the 1920 Presidential Election. After many indecisive votes, Harding, an unlikely and little-known candidate, was chosen by Republican senators and party power-brokers in a private meeting at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago.[1][2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "Smoke-Filled Room". Encyclopedia of Chicago. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3217.html.
- ^ Wolfe, Gerard R. (1996). Chicago In and Around the Loop: Walking Tours of Architecture and History. McGraw-Hill. p. 176.
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