The politician’s handlers tried their best to kill her with their eyes. One flapper came over and whispered something in the frowning congressman’s ear. Her interview style might be effective with executives in the business world, but it was an incredible breach of political protocol in DC. A Washington reporter’s job was either to push an agenda or to help push the interviewee’s agenda. Relentlessly pursuing facts was far more shocking than spouting conspiracy theories. As great a social faux pas as showing up to the interview naked.
Jessica wasn’t stupid. It was clear she’d crossed some invisible line. She changed course to what was surely a safe subject. “Let’s come back to that. How do you respond, sir, to the Supreme Court’s ruling that the House’s candidate of choice is ineligible for the presidency?”
Back on familiar and prepped-for ground, he wasn’t so shy. “First, Mr. Pierce is not a ‘candidate.’ He is now the legally chosen president-elect of the United States and will be sworn in later this month. The House of Representatives is the only government body empowered to select the president in the event of a hung Electoral College. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution is clear-cut and not open to interpretation.”
“But Congressman, isn’t it the job of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution? They didn’t simply decide the House’s chosen successor is ineligible. The Court ruled that the Republican National Convention failed to nominate Pierce properly in those hasty hours between Scott’s death and Election Day. They have firmly and definitively stated that, due to this technicality, Senator Dimone is the rightful winner of the election.”
She pushed her luck and went on as the congressman opened his mouth.
“According to the highest court in the land, this isn’t a constitutional question at all. As such, Congress has no say in the matter. If you look at the opinion polls, nearly 30 % of the population sides with the Supreme Court. A further 40 % agree with the current president’s call for new elections and only 30 % think Congress should choose the next president.”
The righteous indignation in his voice seemed genuine. His deviation from the carefully defined talking points was further proof. The congressman shifted his wry bulk in the “statesman” padded leather chair. Not to try to dissemble, but to appear calmer than he felt.
“This isn’t about poll numbers. I know it might sound trite to you, but I came here to clean up Washington. Whatever supposed corruptions some people accuse us of, that’s small change compared to what the Court is trying to pull off. A tiny cabal of nine old, unelected judges is blatantly defying the will of the people and their elected representatives. They are mounting a historic and direct challenge to democracy in this country.”
Jessica wasn’t so easily swayed. “Some would argue it was the historic levels of corruption among our elected representatives that forced the Court to act.”
One of the staffers couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Who? The same people that published a three-page conspiracy nutjob piece about Dimone ordering the assassination of his rival? You ran that crap on the cover of the largest paper in the country! Even when the FBI finished their investigation, where was the retraction? Was that headline news? No, you buried it on page 30 something between lingerie ads! Where was your vaunted investigative journalism there?”
Jessica blushed deeply, more from anger than shame. For a change of pace, it was the congressman that spoke up and defended her. “Cut the camera off. Look, I understand. Whether in business or politics, reality is complicated. We’re forced to compromise our principles sometimes. No one here is a saint. Politicians need to do some unsavory things to stay in office so they can make a real difference later. Don’t smile; we do more good than bad.”
He patted her knee this time, instead of her upper thigh like usual. Jessica raised an eyebrow at the strange sympathy in his eyes.
“And you news people need to do the same, if you’re going to stay in business long enough to expose real corruption. It’s a screwed up world we live in. Sure, the game’s crooked, but it’s the only game in town.” He looked about as close to a normal human being as a politician could.
“Here, and it should go without saying that this is way off the record. If this gets into print, your entire paper will never have a chance to report inside the Beltway again.”
He leaned close and whispered, but kept his hands to himself. That shocked Jessica as much as if he’d groped her. “Honestly, I don’t want to see Pierce become President of the United States any more than the Supreme Court does. The man is an old-school political operator embodying everything that’s wrong with our governing system. Sadly, the cold reality of the current political situation is that we have no choice. The only way to break the gridlock in Washington is to bring in a strongman. Someone that can bring both parties together and force them to cooperate.” He stretched back into his chair and puffed out his cheeks. “Even if the only reason is because he knows where all the bodies are buried.”
The congressman forced out a smile, his eyes pleading with Jessica for understanding.
“Look on the bright side. By caving in, we’ve already won the key legislative points on our agenda. The leadership of each party hammered out the details of who gets what as part of the ‘Grand Bargain.’ Both liberals and conservatives just hit the political jackpot. If we had gone with Dimone, we would have seen another four years of hopeless legislative stagnation. The political ill will would be unrepairable.”
A staffer tried to shut him up and Jessica pumped him for more questions, but he was in the zone. Some of that idealism and energy from the campaign trail seeped back into his voice.
“It may be the stereotypical ‘smoke-filled backroom deal,’ but that’s the only way to make progress nowadays. I don’t mean just more convenient, but the only way. Come on, you’re in the news business. You know the effect those cameras have on people: instant radicalization.”
Jessica chewed on her pen. “So this is just business as usual?”
“Not at all. We’re on the verge of a renaissance in American politics. You’ve seen how things have been. If the Japs had attacked Pearl Harbor this last year, we never would have declared war. We’d still be debating and accusing each other of this and that while the Japanese occupied California. Our legislative system is a joke these days, but we finally figured out how to break the logjam. How to usher in a new golden age, and this black-robed mafia wants to throw away all that progress.”
He sprang out of his chair, shaking his fist harder than his head. “That cannot be allowed. I tell you all this because I want you to understand what’s really at stake when you’re spinning your coverage. Congress and the American people have little to lose and everything to gain. No matter how things turn out, the presidential succession won’t be decided in the courts this time. It’s with us or in the streets, and wouldn’t you prefer an orderly, even if distasteful election, to mob rule?”
If her networked had aired the entire interview her cameraman secretly obtained with his hidden digital recorder, people would have been relieved at his honesty. Since Jessica’s chief editor decided to run with a few cherry-picked blurbs, the context was thoroughly lost. Of course, that didn’t matter as much as the spike in sales generated by the headline: “Congress has nothing to lose and everything to gain” by defying the Supreme Court.
Inauguration Day