Chapter 6

Representative Sidney Smith walked to his office pleased that he had an entire afternoon without a single appointment. Between public speeches, committee meetings, time spent on the floor of the House of Representatives, and smooching with businessmen for funding, he felt that he never had time to think through the issues. It was his standing order that no appointments were to be scheduled Friday afternoons. That was his time to catch up on the issues of the day.

Entering his office, Sidney froze and looked at the two men seated in front of his desk. He swallowed and asked, "What can I do for you?"

"Ah, Representative Sidney Smith, allow me to introduce myself. I am William Redman Carter and the gentleman to my side is my father, Ed Biggers."

Sidney stared at the black robes and gold medallions around their necks. Stating the obvious, he said, "You're Druids."

"That is correct," Ed said giving Sidney a curt nod of his head. He figured that was the last fully honest sentence he would hear for the day.

Gesturing to the chair behind the desk, William said, "Have a seat. We have come here to talk with you."

"About what?" Sidney asked. He wasn't sure what it meant when two Druids showed up, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't good. He had heard that the Druids weren't going to wear their robes anymore unless it was part of their service. His mouth seemed to dry up as he edged towards his chair.

"About your past and then about your future," William answered glancing down at the small notebook that was on his lap.

"Okay," Sidney said wondering what they thought he might have done in the past. The bit about his future sounded a lot like a threat.

"I'd like to start off by asking you some questions. Although you might not want to answer them, it is important that you answer them and do so truthfully. Hearing lies gives my father headaches and we wouldn't want that to happen," William said while opening up a small notebook.

Uncertain if he was making a wise decision, Sidney said, "Okay. Ask away."

William looked down the list of questions for a few seconds and then said, "Let's get the big ones out of the way. Have you ever committed a felony?"

"No," Sidney answered suddenly concerned that they were going to frame him for something he hadn't done. Being a moderate politician he knew that his position often put him at odds with religious fanatics.

"Good. Have you ever committed any criminal act?" William asked glancing up from his notebook on the final two words of his question.

"No," Sidney answered.

Ed cleared his throat and said, "That's not quite true."

Looking around as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Sidney said, "Well, there was the normal kind of stupid stuff you do when you're a teenager."

Smiling at the admission, William said, "I need to know everything. Don't forget traffic violations."

Sidney wondered if he needed to get a lawyer. He frowned and asked, "What's going on? Why should I tell you anything?"

"Well, I'm asking some questions to discover what kinds of skeletons you have in your closet. If I like the answers that I believe we'll get from you, then I'll ask you about your political positions on a number of issues of national importance," William answered. He smiled at Sidney before he said, "If I like those answers, then I'm going to get you elected to the House of Representatives."

"I'm already in the House of Representatives," Sidney said with a snort.

"I'm not talking about the Ohio House of Representatives. I'm talking about the one in Washington," William said.

"Bah. The guy who holds the office in my district has been there forever. There's no way that I can win against him," Sidney said.

William leaned forward and said, "That's where you're wrong. If you answer my questions, I'll show you how to beat him in a clean straight up campaign."

Sidney stared at William trying to see if the man was lying to him. After a long thirty seconds, he said, "You're serious."

Ed said, "William is the most serious person I know."

Back at the hotel, William and Ed went out to a patio bar and ordered iced teas. While a very helpful waitress ran off to fetch their teas, they went over to a table well away from everyone else so that they could talk without being overheard. Upon taking a seat, Ed said, "I don't understand what you are doing."

"I'm trying to fix the Crisis of Followership and save the world," William said.

"How?" Ed asked.

"Last election I predicted the winner of every national and state race based on a very simple formula. Would you like to know something very odd about that election?" William asked.

"Sure," Ed answered.

"The winners at the state levels had positions that were supported by the majority of their constituents. The winners at the federal levels had positions that were supported by only ten percent of their constituents," William said.

"What?" Ed asked unable to believe what he heard. He knew that William was telling the truth, but that didn't mean he understood why it was the truth.

"The people elected individuals to the national offices who didn't represent their interests," William said smiling at his father.

"I'm sorry, but you are going to have to convince me. I just don't see how that is possible," Ed said.

"There are a dozen major issues that are important at any given time. Of course a candidate has a position on each of those issues. Now, a candidate could have a position on one of those issues that is supported by a majority of people within his district. If he runs on that issue, he's likely to be elected. Right?"

"Sure," Ed said.

"What if his position on the rest of the issues is not supported by the majority of people within his district? Does he lose?"

"Not if those issues are never raised," Ed said sitting back in his chair. He could see exactly where William was going in his explanation.

The waitress came by with their iced teas. The two didn't talk while she placed the glasses on the table. William signed the bill adding it to his tab at the hotel without noticing the telephone number on the slip of paper with the bill. The waitress glanced down at the tip and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," William answered.

"Can I do anything for you?" the waitress asked bending over to William. Her blouse billowed open.

"No," William said.

The waitress handed him the slip of paper that had been with the bill and said, "Here's my number. Give me a call if anything comes to mind."

Looking down at the slip of paper, William said, "Wow, that's a brilliant service idea. I never would have thought of giving the customers a cell phone number so that they can call for service."

Ed rolled his eyes while the waitress stared at William. She knew that he was rich and good looking. She couldn't imagine someone that rich being that dense. Finally, she said, "That's my personal number. If I can do anything for you, just give me a call."

Handing the number back to the waitress, William gestured to a table across the patio and said, "The woman seated over there is my secretary. Usually she runs all of my errands, but she might appreciate your help. Give her this and she'll call you if we need you."

"Okay," the waitress said backing away from the table wondering why he would want her to give the number to his secretary. Thinking that rich people did things their own way, she decided that the woman was in charge of his entourage or something.

William waited for her to leave before he continued his discussion with his father, "As I was about to say, a candidate runs on the one issue that he thinks will get him elected and ignores all of the other issues. Of course, the other candidate runs on the one issue that he thinks will get him elected. The voters choose between the two candidates never realizing that neither candidate actually represents their positions on the majority of the issues."

"I can see how that happens. Why are you interested in Sidney Smith?" Ed asked.

William smiled and answered, "Like I said. The situation is a little different at the local level. His position across all of the issues actually captures the position of more than sixty per cent of the people within his district."

Ed had found the man's positions to be fairly moderate. He didn't discuss any of the issues with an extreme dogmatic position. He said, "I'll accept your word on that."

"I've studied the demographics of this area very thoroughly. He's the best representative of the electorate in his district."

"How does that relate to the Crisis of Followership?"

"If he wins, the people will be able to follow him because they agree with him on the issues. It isn't a matter of the leadership qualities that he displays, but that he is the right man for the followers," William answered.

"What about the forty percent that don't agree with him?" Ed asked.

"They will agree with him on enough of the issues that the others won't matter that much. Less than ten percent will be opposed to him across all of the issues," William answered.

"What about his opponent?" Ed asked.

"Ah, that man campaigns on one issue and it is a very polarizing issue. The majority of voters doesn't know his position on the rest of the issues and would be disturbed to learn what he really represents. There is a hardcore ten percent who agree with him and a hardcore ten percent who disagree entirely with him. They know where he stands on the rest of the issues," William said.

Ed took a long sip of his iced tea while thinking about what William was saying. There were a lot of questions that remained unanswered. He asked, "How does this support what Oscar did?"

William answered, "That's a good question. The problem amongst the majority of individuals who are in office at the federal level is that they represent one of two extremes in terms of international policy. There's the world government crowd and the America first crowd. Because our politics have become so divisive, the leadership oscillates between the two extremes almost every election. The tension between those two groups leads to a very inconsistent foreign policy that will again drive the world to a state of global war."

Ed nodded his head. He said, "You know that Druids have been advising members of the government for a long time to prevent that from happening."

"Yes, but we've never been able to solve the underlying problem. The voters are electing people who don't really represent them. The situation has changed. The Bards have returned, the Druids are strong, and the graduates of the Druid College are moving into positions of influence around the world. Now we are in a position to get a more moderate class of politician in office," William said.

Ed shook his head and said, "I really don't like the idea of getting that involved in politics. Religion and politics don't mix."