novelnext Chapter 101 Kidnapping Washington
Chapter 101 Kidnapping Washington
Chapter 101 Kidnapping Washington (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)
The air in the mayor's office seemed to freeze.
The thick "Pittsburgh Urban Renewal Special Municipal Bond Issuance Plan" lay quietly on the coffee table.
Murphy stared at the document as if it were a nuclear bomb about to explode.
"Five hundred million dollars." Murphy's voice trembled. "Leo, you have no idea what you're talking about."
"Do you think the Democratic National Committee is your private bank? Or do you think those Wall Street vampires will ignore Pittsburgh's terrible credit rating just because of a party endorsement?"
"That's wishful thinking!"
"Those guys on Wall Street will tear this plan to shreds and throw the pieces in your face. They only care about returns and risk assessments, not political sentiments."
He stood up, ready to launch into another long speech, attempting to teach this mad young man a lesson using the financial common sense he had learned in Washington.
He wanted to tell Leo how rigorous the logic behind municipal bond issuance is, how stringent the risk control is, and how naive and dangerous the idea of trying to link party credibility with local debt is.
"John."
Leo suddenly spoke up, interrupting Murphy's impending sermon.
Leo's voice was soft, yet it possessed a strange penetrating power.
"How many years have you served in the House of Representatives?"
Murphy was taken aback. This sudden question instantly deflated half of the momentum he had just built up.
"What?"
"Eight years," Leo said to himself, leaning against the edge of his desk with his arms crossed, calmly looking at his ally. "Including your time on Capitol Hill, you've been playing this game called legislator for almost twenty years."
"What does this have to do with bonds?" Murphy frowned, feeling a strange sense of irritation.
"Of course it's related."
Leo straightened up and took two steps toward Murphy.
"The House of Representatives has 435 chairs, and you are only one of the 435."
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"Your daily job is to follow the whip's orders and press the 'yes' or 'no' button at specific times. You have to beg the committee chairman for even five minutes of speaking time, and you have to work tirelessly for the biennial re-election elections."
"You're invisible there, John. Nobody in Washington knows who you are except for people in this Pittsburgh district."
When you walk into that massive Capitol building, you're just a cog in a giant machine, ready to be replaced at any moment.
Murphy's face turned ugly.
This is a pain in the hearts of all members of the House of Representatives.
Although they are called "members of Congress," they are at the bottom of the power food chain in Washington.
"What do you want to say?" Murphy asked coldly.
"My question is, how much longer are you planning to stay there?"
Leo stared intently into Murphy's eyes.
"How much longer are you going to sit in that crowded waiting room?"
"That Senate seat in Pennsylvania," Leo suddenly said. "The incumbent Republican Senator Warren, who is Morganfield's proxy in Washington, is running for re-election this year."
“I know Warren is deeply entrenched in Pennsylvania, backed by Morganfield's money, and has a Republican base.” Leo looked at Murphy, a hint of provocation in his voice. “But John, are you really willing to watch him sit in that position for another six years? Haven't you thought about taking his place?”
"This is an opportunity, and this is definitely a battlefield worth fighting for."
Leo lowered his voice, his tone enticing.
"John, have you never thought about changing the title before your name from Representative to Senator?"
""
senator.
The word exploded in the air.
Murphy froze.
In the American political landscape, although both terms are called "senator," their significance is vastly different.
The Senate has only one hundred chairs.
That was a true "gentlemen's club," a necessary route to the White House, the core of power.
A senator can use this power to veto a president's nomination, to decide on national treaties, and to gain nationwide recognition.
That's the difference between a general and a soldier.
Murphy's Adam's apple bobbed violently.
He instinctively wanted to deny it, to mock Leo's wild ideas, but his body betrayed him. A glint of greed flashed in his eyes, an ambition that had been suppressed for too long.
"You—you're insane."
Murphy finally regained his voice, but it sounded incredibly dry and lacked any of its previous strength.
"That's a statewide election! Leo, you have no idea what that means!"
Murphy began pacing rapidly around the office, his speech quickening as if trying to persuade Leo, or perhaps more like trying to persuade his own already swayed self.
"To run for Senate in Pennsylvania, you need at least $50 million in campaign funds! Fifty million! That's not something your small donations can scrape together!"
"Furthermore, Pennsylvania's political landscape is fragmented. While I have name recognition in Pittsburgh, I have absolutely no roots in Philadelphia, the largest Democratic stronghold! The bigwigs in Philadelphia don't even know me!"
"Most importantly, it's the party nomination!" Murphy waved his arms. "The Democratic National Committee already has its favorite. That lieutenant governor from Philadelphia, he's a darling of the establishment, young, good-looking, obedient—the people in Washington have already decided on him!"
"Me? I'm just an old-school congressman from the Rust Belt. What do I have to compete with them? My candidacy would be a joke!"
'
Murphy rattled off a long list of difficulties.
Funding, geography, and party support.
Each one is an insurmountable mountain.
"Look into his eyes, Leo."
Roosevelt's voice echoed in Leo's mind.
"He listed the difficulties, but he didn't say he didn't want to."
"If he really didn't want to, he would have just laughed at your ignorance and turned away. But his current exasperated state is precisely a sign that he's been tempted."
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"Fear is the shadow of ambition."
"The longer the shadow, the greater the object called ambition."
"He's just terrified by the huge stakes. You need to help him overcome that fear, or rather, you need to use a greater temptation to help him swallow that fear."
Leo looked at Murphy, who was rambling on about the difficulties.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed Murphy's shoulder, forcefully interrupting his complaining.
"John! Look at me!"
"Leo shouted."
Murphy stopped and looked at Leo in surprise.
"It's precisely because you're just a congressman that you think this $500 million bond is a joke."
"It's precisely because you're just a congressman that you're intimidated by that lieutenant governor of Philadelphia."
"It is precisely because you are just a member of Congress that you cannot solve my problem, nor can you solve your own problem."
""
Leo released his grip and pointed to the bond proposal on the table.
Do you think I'm talking to you about money?
"No, I'm talking to you about votes, the votes of the whole state."
Leo walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and drew a rough map of Pennsylvania on it.
"You just said that you have no name recognition in Philadelphia and no foothold in the whole state."
"Yes, that's you now."
"But what if you take that $500 million back to Pittsburgh?"
Leo forcefully drew a circle on the western part of the map.
"This $500 million means we will start the expansion of the inland port, we will renovate three large communities, and we will hire thousands of workers."
"This is not just an engineering project; this is employment. It's real, high-paying jobs with union protection."
"Do you know who lives in that vast expanse of rural and small-town areas in Pennsylvania, besides Philadelphia and Pittsburgh?"
"They are the forgotten white blue-collar workers, those who used to work in factories and now can only work as cashiers at Walmart."
"They are the swing votes, the key to deciding the outcome."
"That lieutenant governor of Philadelphia, all he does is talk about diversity, environmental protection, and those high-sounding concepts. Those things work in Philadelphia, but in central Pennsylvania, in those Rust Belts, nobody understands them."
"But you can bring them something different."
Leo pointed to the circle.
"If you can help me secure this bond, you'll be the one to bring jobs back to Pennsylvania."
"You will no longer be just an ordinary Pittsburgh congressman; you will become the spokesperson for the 'Rust Belt Revival.'"
"We'll use this money to create an economic miracle. Then you'll stand on top of that miracle and tell the workers across the state: Look, this is what I can do for you. I'm not bluffing, I give you jobs."
"This is your campaign platform, John."
"With this program in place, do you still need to be afraid of that lieutenant governor who can only read from a prepared statement?"
Murphy stared blankly at the whiteboard.
His breathing became rapid.
The scene Leo depicted seeped into his blood like poison.
"But—funding—" Murphy was still making a last-ditch effort. "Even with a platform, where am I going to find the $50 million I need to run for senator? The Democratic National Committee won't give me the money."
"That's why we're issuing this debt."
Leo gave a cold smile.
"How many underwriters, law firms, and engineering contractors were involved in the $500 million bond issuance?"
"Wall Street bankers, if they can get underwriting rights and earn huge commissions, they would be more than happy to donate a small amount of money to a future senator's campaign fund."
"After all, the money in the hands of these capitalists is not really spent; it's just a matter of transferring money from one hand to the other."
""
"And Morganfield."
"If he wants his port project to come to fruition, he must support you in the Senate. Only if you are in the Senate can you help him secure more policy support at the federal level."
"Even if he supports Warren now, I have ways to persuade him to support you."
"Once this bond is issued, the money will flow into your campaign account like water."
"This is called using debt to fund the war."
Murphy felt a wave of dizziness.
He looked at the young man in front of him.
This is an absolutely insane chain of events.
Using $500 million in municipal bonds to leverage a multi-hundred-million-dollar port project; using the jobs and profits generated by the port project to leverage votes across the state; and then using the huge profit chain generated by issuing bonds to feed Wall Street and financiers in exchange for campaign funds.
This is a perfect closed loop.
This was also a complete gamble.
It has not only hijacked Pittsburgh's finances, Morganfield, and Pennsylvania's Senate elections, but it also intends to hijack Sanders, the entire progressive wing, and even the entire Democratic Party.
Leo Wallace, this crazy young man, wants to gamble everyone's political future on this $500 million bet.
"you----"
Murphy swallowed hard, feeling his throat go dry.
"You're hijacking Washington."
“No,” Leo corrected, “I’m giving Washington a reason they can’t refuse.”
"If you want to win, if you want to go further, you have to go crazy with me."
Leo walked to the office door and clicked it shut.
Ethan had left the office at some point, leaving only the two of them and the project plan lying quietly on the table.
The air was thick with the scent of desire, the most primal thirst for power.
"Come on, John."
Leo walked back to the sofa, sat down, leaned forward, and looked into Murphy's eyes, which were flashing with the fire of ambition.
"The door is closed."
"Now, let's have a serious talk."
"Let's discuss how we should divide the work, how to persuade those greedy bankers, and how to deal with those arrogant party bigwigs."
"Let's talk about how to throw that congressional title into the trash heap."
Murphy looked at Leo.
He saw the madness in the young man's eyes, but he also saw the absolute confidence that allowed him to control that madness.
He'd been spending too much time in that noisy market in the House of Representatives.
So long that he almost forgot the true taste of power.
Now, the opportunity is right in front of us.
Although it's dangerous and crazy, this might be his last chance to turn his life around.
If he doesn't seize the opportunity, he will remain in that mediocre position until retirement, and then be forgotten by everyone.
The fear remains.
But ambition has begun to devour fear.
Murphy took a deep breath.
He reached out and picked up the bond proposal document on the table, which he had just regarded as waste paper.
This time, his hands no longer trembled.
He turned to the first page.
"What are we going to do?" Murphy's voice was a little hoarse, but firm. "Those people on Wall Street are hard to deal with. We need a perfect story."
Leo smiled.
"I've prepared the story."
"We only need a tiny catalyst."
At that very moment, Roosevelt's voice slowly echoed deep within Leo's mind.
"In this circle, there are countless people who would sell their ideals for profit. It's not surprising; it's just mediocrity and depravity."
"However, being able to accurately capture someone else's ideals, package and price them, and then sell them back to that person, making them willingly pave the way for you to realize their own ambitions—"
"You're using him, but he still thinks it's all for his own benefit."
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"This is the real method."
"You've grown up too fast."
"You are now on the path to sitting at the real head table, sharing the spoils of this country with those big shots."
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