Characters:
DC, a Democrat Congressman
BD, a Big Donor
Belinda, BD’s secretary
Scene:
BD’s office.
Act 1
BD: Fred! Long time, no see. What brings you here?
DC: Well, you know how things are in Washington. Busy, busy, busy. Meetings, meetings, meetings. Every evening is politics: restaurants, pubs, secret meetings. I hardly have time for my family. Missing birthday parties of my grandkids.
BD: So, let’s get to the point. You are not in my office to socialize. Why are you here?
DC: Well . . .
BD: Belinda, can you come in please for a second?
Belinda: Yes, boss.
BD: Belinda, I’m having an important meeting with Fred right now. I have Dr. Johnson from the university coming in 10 minutes. When she comes, treat her nicely until Fred and I are finished.
Belinda: Yes, boss
BD: Oh Belinda. Please close the door before you leave.
Belinda: Yes Boss
BD: Sorry about that. I don’t want Dr. Johnson coming into our conversation.
DC: No problem. This should be quick . . . . . . . . The polling firm we hired says I’m behind by two-and-a-half percentage points. My campaign manager says we cannot make this up without a lot more TV commercials. The campaign needs some money for more exposure time. The amount you gave two years gave us the edge in the last election.
BD: Yeah, that was a nail biter, wasn’t it? There were two recounts, right?
DC: My opponent was all set to challenge the result. Fortunately, some of my poll watchers caught his workers harassing voters and poll workers on video. We threatened to release the video to the public, and they backed off.
BD: I heard rumors to that effect. I guess it was true.
DC: But that was in the past. Now we are in a new election. The margin is too great to blame on a little cheating.
BD: And your campaign needs some cash injection?
DC: That’s why I’m here.
BD: Well . . . . . . You know I have a successful business. It is successful because I’ve made some good investments for many years.
DC: I understand that.
BD: I consider my political donations as investments.
DC: And I think my position on a strong civil society helps firms like yours earn a profit.
BD: I’m not so sure on that matter. I’ve built my business by bootstraps, not handouts. There’s too many freeloaders in America. My factory is short of workers. We cannot seem to find them. I could find illegal immigrants, but I don’t want to go there yet.
DC: Maybe if you raised your wages?
BD: No, we are already paying a competitive wage. If I have to pay more, my competitors will take away my market share. This means jobs will move out of our state. My factory just cannot go in this direction.
DC: But I haven’t said anything bad about your business — even your industry — in the past two years.
BD: Yes, I and my senior staff have noticed this. But it’s those other sayings of yours.
DC: Like?
BD: How about taxing American businesses that have offshore banking accounts?
DC: You realize that I have to say these things to keep my base happy. The chances of passing any legislation to this effect is next to zero.
BD: Maybe. Some of us are a little scared of this idea growing its own legs. It would be best for fewer Congressmen to not mention it. . . . . And my competitors all have offshore bank accounts as well. I have no choice. If I have to start paying federal and state corporate taxes, I would have to shut my factory down. Good-paying jobs will leave the state. Not good for politicians, I would say.
DC: Well, my campaign is in trouble. I think my base would prefer me getting elected than my competitor. They might not understand, but that’s just politics. . . . . Anything else?
BD: Yeah, there is. You’ve talked about student debt forgiveness?
DC: It keeps the base happy.
BD: Yeah, it does. I looked into supporting someone else in the Democrat primary, but you are popular with the base. . . . . But you know what? I am paying for my own kids’ university education. Other Americans should be doing the same. It’s only fair.
DC: But . . .
BD: This is a deal breaker!
DC: . . . . . OK . . . . I guess.
BD: Good, no more talk about offshore banking or student debt forgiveness. Right?
DC: (dejectedly) OK.
BD (picking up the phone): Belinda? . . . . Can you cut a check for $75,000 for Fred’s campaign? . . . . He’ll pick it up when he leaves (phone returned). . . . Fred, you can still champion those other left leaning causes like sensible gun laws and abortion rights. Those will keep you busy enough. Just leave those other two causes alone. You understand this is just politics.
DC: Well, I’m not happy. But it’s better for America for me to win this seat. Compromises need to be made. . . . By the way, one of my staffers did some research into public campaign records. She noticed that you have already made a similar donation to my opponent.
BD: It’s just politics. I can win regardless of who wins.
THE END
Published on Medium 2022
