Parties in Congress (29 page)

“It sounds bad when you say it.”

“Because it is! This isn’t how things are supposed to work. Politicians are supposed to
stand
for things, not make up ridiculous lies that appeal to the most frightened and base aspects of human nature. Government should not be like
Lord of the Flies
. It’s supposed to make our lives better and safer.”

“Bij, why aren’t
you
running for office?”

“Huh?”

“I’d vote for you.”

Bijal shook her head as she downed what was left of her first whiskey so she could economically transition to the next. “You would not.”

“I would! Because you’re sincere, which makes you better than ninety-nine percent of the people currently seeking office in
all
parties.”

“Including Janet Denton, apparently,” Bijal said cheerlessly.

“So she totally Nixoned out on you?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t even seen her since we got our new marching orders this morning.”

Fran’s left eyebrow arched. “Hmm, so it may be more your new campaign manager or the NRCC?”

“I don’t know, Fran. Ever since I signed on I’ve been giving Janet a pass. First I blamed Donna, then I blamed the NRCC. But it’s Janet’s voice at the end of this appalling ad saying she approved it, not anyone else’s.”

“It’s that bad?”

“Like
Hindenburg
-oh-the-humanity bad, yeah.”

“Wow, what’s it say exactly?”

“It calls Colleen a ‘deviant’ and spews some ridiculous shit about how if gay marriage is legalized, it’ll force schools to teach second-graders about strap-ons and donkey shows.”

“Damn, did you say anything to anyone?”

“I said it wasn’t true and mentioned that Janet supports gay marriage just as much as Colleen does.”

“Did you walk out?”

“I thought about it…but no.”

“What’s the plan now?” Fran asked seriously. “Swallow your ethics?”

“I plan to try to talk to Janet tomorrow, to find out if she’s completely onboard with this. I mean, Colleen wouldn’t entertain something like this for a second.”

“Aha.”

Bijal started to speak, but just then Chuck delivered their food. Once they’d assured him they didn’t need anything else, Bijal said, “What did that ‘aha’ mean?”

“That’s what this is really all about—what Colleen would approve of.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Bijal tore off a piece of cornbread in irritation.

Fran jabbed her meat loaf forcefully with her fork. “You had no qualms creeping around and following your opponent like she was Lindsay Lohan with no panties on, hoping to catch her doing something gay.”

“I did so have qualms—all kinds of crazy qualms. I was practically swimming in…qualminess.”

“But apparently not quite enough to tell your bosses to take their witch hunt and stuff it up their fat, bigoted asses.”

“They would just have gotten someone else to do it. Maybe I was fighting them via sabotage. Did you think of that?”

“Or maybe you can’t admit to yourself that not only do you no longer support your candidate, but at this point, you don’t even qualify as impartial.”

Bijal stared at Fran. “Bullshit.”

“Bij, listen to yourself. You’re clearly in the bag for O’Bannon, which I’m sure is exactly what O’Bannon wants. Honestly, what could be handier than a sympathetic insider in the opposition’s camp who just so happens to be fascinated by your rack? You don’t think she might be using you?”

“No, I don’t.”

Fran continued her conjecture. “And now in response to your shitty ad, all she has to do to mount a valid defense is to out you—show what a collection of hypocrites y’all are with your fake outrage against gays.”

Bijal suddenly had a sinking feeling in her gut.

“You see where I’m going with this?”

“I think so. Hopefully Colleen wouldn’t do that.”

“But Denton would if she was in the same position, wouldn’t she?”

Bijal ran her hand through her hair as she pondered the possibilities Fran was posing. “This completely sucks.”

“I believe I predicted some kind of suckage quite some time ago, did I not?”

“Yeah, yeah, what do I do now, though?”

“Whatever you do, don’t contact O’Bannon.”

“Um…”

Fran looked incredulous. “Jesus, are you under
hypnosis
? What the hell?”

“I just wanted to give her a heads-up,” Bijal explained, regretting the admission as soon as she spoke the words.

“Which is completely what a loyal Denton supporter would do, right?”

“I can’t help it if I had a momentary pang of conscience when my boss decided to suddenly ally with the Klan.”

“Uh-huh.” Fran was clearly not buying it.

“Look, maybe my expectations of Colleen are totally unreasonable. For all I know, she could be just as shady as everyone else in this town. It’s possible I’ve been nothing more than a naïve idealist who never should have entered politics without the blanket assumption that I’d have to sell my soul just to cheat someone into office whom I neither support nor respect.”

Fran chewed, then swallowed. “I don’t disagree with any of that.”

“So, yes, I texted her about it, but she’d already seen it.”

“How’d she take it?”

“Bad.”

“
Hindenburg
bad?”

“Well, I didn’t hear her voice, but it sure seemed that way.”

Fran sat back and stared at Bijal for a moment. “Now what?”

Bijal rubbed her tired eyes. “I wish I knew. Part of me wants to tell Eliot to fuck off and just storm out on principle. But then I couldn’t pay my bills. And what, do I just go back to waiting tables for the rest of my life and hope the tips will cover my student-loan payments? Or do I adjust my scruples to be more realistic and stay in the fight to try to make a difference? Do I quit before I’m outed and unwittingly take down not just myself, but the whole Denton congressional campaign as well? Or do I refuse to let them make my sexuality an issue—because it shouldn’t be?”

“You sure have a lot of questions. Regardless, I think you need to stop this little side fling with O’Bannon.”

“I think she beat me to it,” Bijal said morosely.

Fran cleared her throat. “Not to be callous, but you really should take advantage of the opportunity. Every time you two interact, you compromise yourself.”

Bijal buried her face in her hands. “I know. You’re right.”

“And maybe when this is all over you can look her up and ask her out—once there’s nothing left to hide.”

“Doubtful. I think I blew it,” Bijal replied wistfully as she stood up. “I need to run to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

She had painfully hobbled only a few steps when Fran stopped her. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Hiking.”

“I told you that healthy shit will kill you.”

Bijal stared at her monitor as the video clip ended. She’d watched Colleen’s
Tank Guzman Show
appearance from the previous evening twice already since she’d gotten to work and could find little to use from a campaign perspective.

Colleen had apparently accomplished exactly what she’d intended by going on national television to talk about the pending bill. She’d been very specific about why she opposed the Saturday Amendment, explaining that pro-choice and pro-sex-education voters needed to understand exactly what effects the legislation would have before the House rushed it through a vote next week.

This was essentially the last piece of major business on the docket before the House adjourned prior to the election, and Colleen was taking a big risk by publicly crossing her party’s leadership and trying to pressure other progressive Democrats to do the same. If she succeeded in peeling off some of the representatives who’d pledged a “yes” vote, as well as eroding some of the public support of the bill as written, she could claim a huge victory. But either way, she’d just made a lot of very powerful enemies, many within her own caucus.

Janet came through the front door, encumbered by her enormous purse and hiding behind her trusty sunglasses. She apparently wanted to go unnoticed, not addressing anyone as she slunk by them on the way to her office. Bijal quietly stood and followed her, trying to be just as unobtrusive.

Janet tossed down her bag and glasses and threw herself into her desk chair. With a tired groan, she slowly spun to see Bijal lingering in her doorway. “Oh,” she said with a start. “Good morning, Bijal.”

“Good morning. I’d ordinarily have given you a few minutes to settle in, but I know you have a hectic schedule today, and I thought I’d get you while I could. You have a minute?”

Janet glanced at her watch. “Sure, though I don’t have much more than that. Come on in and close the door.”

Bijal did so and took the chair directly across from her. “I know you’ve had a lot to deal with over the last month or so, and that we’re running out of time to make up the ground we’ve lost.”

“But?”

“But I have a real problem with this new ad we’re running.”

Janet nodded slowly, as though she expected the contention. “I know it may not feel right,” she said.

“Because it’s
not
right, Janet. It’s reprehensible.”

“Look, this campaign is bigger than one thirty-second commercial, and while I certainly understand your feelings—”

“I don’t think you do understand. I was really excited to work for you. Not just because this was my big break into politics, but because you believe a lot of the things I do. You’re a moderate who opposes government overreach and inefficiencies, regardless of what may be polling well. When you and I met, you supported civil unions, and that meant a lot to me.”

“Bijal—”

“It meant a lot to me because I’m gay, Janet. I’m a lesbian.”

Janet’s red eyes were immense and unblinking. “Uh…”

“While it’s possible that you lied to me initially, you’ve now decided to endorse a statement that’s shamefully homophobic and inflammatory—one that sends a message that the LGBT community is subhuman or abnormal to the degree that children need to be shielded from us. Is that what you really think?”

“No,” Janet replied softly, appearing still somewhat stunned. “This is just politics.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s clearly more than that. I need to know if you have a problem with gays—one that impacts my job.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, am I any less qualified now that you know I’m a lesbian? Will I get a pay cut? Be fired?”

Janet looked mortified. “God, no, of course not! Why would you even think that?”

“Why
wouldn’t
I think that, Janet? You’re obviously fine with me not having equal rights. You have no issue with using me as your boogeyman du jour to frighten voters into thinking that all gays want to destroy democracy and eat the flesh of the righteous—all in the hopes that they scurry out to the polls to cast their ballot for the candidate who’ll keep them safe.”

“I’m very sorry about all this,” Janet said, her voice tinged with what sounded like a combination of depression and fatigue. “I meant it when I told you that I support civil unions. I don’t believe in discrimination of any kind.”

“Then why have you let yourself get pulled so far off-message?”

Before Janet could craft an answer, they heard a knock.

“Come in,” Janet called, making Bijal wonder if Janet was secretly thankful for the interruption.

The door swung open, revealing Kristin, wearing a rather serious expression. “Y’all need to come see this.”

“What?” Janet asked.

“O’Bannon’s camp has just issued a response to our latest ad. We’ve got it all cued up for you.”

Bijal followed Janet out to the main office area. Carl, who’d been given Ted’s old job after Eliot inexplicably fired him, was sitting at his desk, his mouse finger at the ready. “Everyone here?” he asked.

“Eliot’s not here yet,” Janet replied. “But let’s not wait for him. Go ahead.”

The rest of the staff gathered around Carl’s screen as he clicked Play. After the sponsorship message, the camera simply showed Colleen sitting, looking both stoic and beautiful.

“Hello, I’m Congressional Representative Colleen O’Bannon, incumbent candidate for Virginia’s twelfth district. I believe that a politician should run a positive campaign that focuses on what he or she stands for and will work toward. Unfortunately, my opponent is now running an attack ad that’s not only virulently homophobic, but also provably untrue, clearly intended to appeal to your emotions and your need to protect your children. I’ve asked several independent fact-checking organizations to evaluate Mayor Denton’s claims, and I encourage you to visit their websites, now displayed on the screen, to review their findings. Just as important, though, I suggest that you consider the character of an elected official who would purposefully lie in an attempt to scare people into voting for him or her. If you think you deserve honesty and transparency from your government, then demand it. Your politicians owe it to you.”