Daniel MacCulloch Goes To Washington Chapter 2

By DHMcCarty

Daniel grew up west of Asheville.  His Grandfather Angus owned 38 Acres in Leicester, 24 of it tillable.  Daniel was born for farm life.   Self Actualization is possible on a 9N.The rhythm on a farm fosters an active mind.  

His Father Davy provided every stimulus possible for Daniel and what he could not provide he encouraged Daniel to fabricate, to dream.  .  .  to suppose.
Davy had always encouraged an active mind, daydreaming and just plain wandering.  He wanted his child to be imaginative and self-sufficient.  To shoot for the stars.He had succeeded.

Daniel had faith in himself.He knew how to improvise.

.    .    .    .    .

"Daniel, there is a question  I've always wanted to ask of a Congressman.  I have the impression you wouldn't mind.."

"Ask away Ike.   I don't evade.  I promised myself I'd never go that route."

"Why did you want to be a Congressman?  This city eats well-intentioned people for breakfast."

Daniel stopped in his tracks.  He looked down at the toes of his Red Wings and then raised his eyes to Ike's.

"I didn't.  We felt good about what we were accomplishing in Western North Carolina with Greenfields and looked forward to expanding it.  We feel everyone has a right to a roof over their head and a full belly.  We had success at changing that equation on a local level but we were getting a lot of pushback from the state's political machine.  They were throwing every roadblock our way that they could devise.

They called what we were doing Socialism.  We were putting food in people's bellies and helping them find ways to obtain shelter.   There were no State or Federal funds that went into that.  It was collective funds.  Am I a Collectivist?  I'll take that label.  

We went to the Buncombe County Democratic Committee for advice, sort of shot in the dark.You know what they said?"

"Whatever it was it won't surprise me, Daniel."

"They said, 'Do it yourself.The four of us sat there in silence for a second.  Mr. MaCadoo had a smile on his face.

"Daniel, in 2011 the Republican legislature redrew the 11th Congressional District.  They added the majority of Asheville to the 10th which is solidly Republican and in a sense negated the Asheville Democratic vote.  

Typical gerrymandering bullshit.

The bottom line is we don't have a viable Democratic contender for the next election, at least no one that believes they have any possibility of getting elected.  Your name has come up more than a few times.  You'd be a long shot but a long shot with legs.  The fact that you showed up here today could be taken as a message from God."

"Needless to say, I was a bit shocked."

"I imagine so Daniel."

"My partner Frankie Bonilla reached over and tapped me on the knee."

"Daniel',  imagine what kind of voice that would give us?  They ran a feature story on WLOS and we got 75 calls the next day offering up vacant lots and unused farmland for the project."

Now when Frankie speaks, I listen.  But I am not political and never considered myself a Democrat."

Ike chuckled,

"Virtue or vice Daniel."

Mr. MaCadoo told us he had watched us pitch the Buncombe County Commission and had left highly impressed.  He doubted they would find any skeletons in any closets and I had a way with the people and to hold onto that because Congressman Davenport would come at me with a dozen labels that could prove quite effective in Western Carolina.

Frankie got up from his chair a walked over to the window.

'You know, I wouldn't worry none about that shit.  Too many people see you with your hands in the dirt and offering a box of food.  Don't worry none bout labels because people already know you get things done.  Anybody that doesn't know who you are, got a neighbor that does and that neighbor's got a good word for you.   You make this about character and you come out ahead.  

Davenport is a snake.   Even if you lose the election, you still come out ahead for Greenfields.'

Rae Anne was looking right at me, nodding her head."

"Sounds like your friends made up their minds in a hurry Daniel."

"My friends know what works for Greenfields, Ike. Frankie has a sixth sense for what plays out in the street.  When I turned and saw Rae Anne smiling at me and nodding, I knew I was cooked.  There was no decision to be made.

Mr. MaCadoo laid out the path for us and it was not pretty.

Frankie placed his hands on the front of Mr. MaCadoo's desk.

'Y'know. MaCadoo, I got a black mother and a Puerto Rican father.  I grew up on the streets of Brooklyn.  You telling me that the odds are against us.   They have always been against us.  My man Daniel was a millionaire by the time he was 18 and against all odds, he made it digging in the dirt.  Rae Anne went to 4 different elementary schools in 4 different countries.  

We don't shade.  We don't back down.  We do this heads up."

"The decision was made that day."

"Welcome to Washington Daniel.  From the Tea Party to Greenfields in six years.  This is a crazy town., you best not sleep in late"

"I'm a farmer Ike.  I don't know what that means."

.      .      .      .      .      .      .

Senator Hart reached out and patted Daniel on the shoulder.

"Everything I ever learned came from watching and listening, outside of  reflex learning, like burning my hand on a stove.  

That came from not watching and listening.  

I've been sitting back here in this chair for years, just observing the circus.We don't care about people as much as we used to.  We're not as polite as we used to be.We used to take care of each other. We were empathetic.  

I grew up in Pennsylvania listening in to  5 or 6 people discussing neighbors hard times, while the switchboard operator rerouted their calls.  It was called a party line, but it was usually more like a church social.

These days decisions are based on the bottom line, who paid for your support.  If you attempt to spread things around, you are called a socialist.  

I grew up surrounded by about 20 white-haired little old Socialists cooking in the kitchen at the First Baptist, to put together pot luck.  They wanted to feed everybody.  They looked after all the kids on their street, they contributed their resources to the local school and proudly sent their boys to service their country.  For the greater good.

They may not have understood outside influences, but they were polite.

Nowadays we come up with a million reasons to make greed sound better and its usually touting a theory that has never stood the test of time but continues to be trotted out under a new banner.  Same theory since the '70s. It still hasn't trickled down.

Let's call a sewer rat a sewer rat.  Dressing it up in a fur coat doesn't make it a mink.  It has had exactly the opposite effect.  Everybody bought into that give to the wealthy and it will flow to the poor.  Truth is, it only flows one way.

I've had my eye on you, Daniel.  

You ran a smart campaign.  You never got into a catfight.

The rules have changed since I was in office.  A lie told on cable TV, Facebook or some Right Wing or Left Wing Blog, can define you more completely than 50 years of a well-lived life.  So everyone gets down in the gutter and scraps it out.

It all comes down to one thing today.  

Money.

I don't see those dollar signs in your eyes.  Decide what it is you want to do, then never waver.  You won't get anywhere at first, freshmen never do.  That's all right.  Make friends and alliances but  don't compromise yourself."

Daniel. it was good to meet you.  Just do the right thing and make sure that it's the right thing for everybody.  

If you ever care to talk, you know where to find me.  

I see you met Officer Washington.  He's Old School, like me.  

Now if you'll excuse me, Tip O'Neill is waiting for me at The Old Ebbitt Grill.  I'm trying to remember what Scotch tastes like."

I was looking down at my shoes.  

When I raised my head to say goodbye, he was gone.

Hope he'll be back.

Chapter 3 - [agnostic.com]