novelnext Chapter 130 Sherman Antitrust Act
Chapter 130 Sherman Antitrust Act
Chapter 130 Sherman Antitrust Act
Philadelphia suburbs.
This is the wealthiest and most educated region in Pennsylvania.
The people living here are the traditional stronghold of the Democratic Party.
They are well-educated, care about the environment, support women's rights, and dislike populism.
Logically speaking, an elite politician like Aston Monroe, with his refined demeanor and impeccable resume, would be their ideal choice.
John Murphy's image—rough and boisterous, always hanging out with oil-covered workers—would only make them uncomfortable.
But today, that discomfort is being replaced by another, stronger emotion.
Sarah Jenkins sat in her campaign headquarters in Pittsburgh, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
She is directing an unseen air raid.
Targeted campaigns aimed at female voters in suburban Philadelphia are being launched across various social media platforms.
These GGs look rough, and some are even disturbing.
The video begins with a black and white image.
Senator Russell Warren stood on the congressional podium, his face flushed, waving his arms as he delivered a radical speech on banning abortion.
"Life is sacred! Any attempt to take a fetus's life is murder! We must put these executioners in jail!"
Warren's voice was shrill and piercing, and his eyes were so fierce they looked like he wanted to devour someone.
Then, the scene changed.
It turned into a colorful Aston Monroe.
He was wearing an elegant suit and standing in a brightly lit studio, being interviewed.
"Lieutenant Governor Monroe, what are your thoughts on Senator Warren's radical stance?"
Monroe smiled and replied in an extremely restrained tone, "I think we should respect different viewpoints. It's a complex issue, and we need more dialogue, more understanding—"
The image freezes on Monroe's gentle, smiling face.
Then, the screen went black.
A slightly trembling female voice began to narrate.
"Senator Warren wants to take away our choices, he wants to control our bodies, he wants to turn back time fifty years."
"Lieutenant Governor Monroe is a good man, a gentleman, but he's too polite and too weak."
"In the face of a ferocious beast like Warren, gentlemanly manners will only be seen as weakness."
"He'll be torn to shreds by Warren."
"If you want to protect your rights, and don't want your daughter to live in fear."
"You need one mad dog to bite another mad dog."
The final scene showed a close-up of John Murphy giving a speech in the Pittsburgh Valley.
He rolled up his sleeves, his face covered in sweat, and roared at the camera.
Although it may seem a bit rude and barbaric.
But that sense of power, that fierce determination to rush forward and bite off the opponent's throat at any moment, strikes straight to the heart through the screen.
The subtitles slowly appeared: "John Murphy, you don't have to like him, but he can win."
In a charming detached house in the western suburbs of Philadelphia.
Elizabeth, a 40-year-old lawyer and mother of two, is sitting on the sofa scrolling through her phone.
She just finished reading this guy's post.
She put down her phone and looked at her youngest daughter playing on the carpet, her brows furrowing tightly.
She doesn't like Murphy.
She thought the Pittsburgh man was too vulgar, too populist, and completely lacked the demeanor of a politician.
But she was more afraid of Warren.
If Warren is re-elected and if the Republicans control the Senate, her daughter may live in a world where she doesn't even have the right to abortion.
Looking at Monroe's gentle smiling face, she suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable anger.
"Too soft," she muttered to herself. "At times like this, we need fists, not smiles."
She opened the voter registration system on her phone, and in the primary election preference section, she moved her finger away from Monroe's name, hesitated for a moment, and then tapped on John Murphy's name.
This is not because of liking.
This is because of fear.
Pittsburgh, campaign headquarters.
Sarah stared at the large data screen in the background.
"The data has changed."
Sarah's voice was filled with excitement.
"Murphy's approval rating among female voters in the Philadelphia suburbs rose by four percentage points in the past 24 hours."
"This is simply unbelievable."
Ethan, standing next to him, adjusted his glasses and looked at the fluctuating numbers.
"That's defensive voting," Karen explained.
"In peacetime, voters will vote for the person they like, the one who looks the most respectable and most like a leader."
"But in times of war, or when they feel a great threat, voters will vote for the person who can protect them."
Even if that person is a thug, a bastard.
"As long as he can defeat the enemy, as long as he can hold off the barbarians at the gate."
"They would hold their noses and vote for him."
Leo sat in the corner, listening to Karen's analysis and watching Murphy's angry face on the screen.
That once mild-mannered, even somewhat cowardly, member of Congress has now been transformed into a sharp knife.
A knife used to slice through the political landscape of Pennsylvania.
"Continue the delivery."
Leo gave the order.
"Increase GG efforts in the Philadelphia suburbs."
"We want every mother, every working woman, to feel Warren's breath on their neck before they go to sleep."
"We need to make them understand that only Murphy can put this beast in a cage."
Sarah nodded, her fingers tapping on the keyboard, dumping another round of GG budget into that bottomless pit of social networks.
For the next two weeks, the air in Pennsylvania was thick with tension.
Every day, the campaign headquarters' phone rings non-stop.
Murphy himself was like a spinning top, flying around the entire state.
His voice was hoarse, and his eye bags were heavy, but the weariness of an old politician was fading, replaced by a frenzied excitement.
All the chips were thrown into the pool.
Now, it's time to reveal the cards.
That morning, everyone gathered at the campaign headquarters in Pittsburgh.
They are waiting.
Wait for the latest polling data.
This data will tell them whether their frantic spending and political offensive over the past two weeks has been a waste of time or has actually created a crack in the rock.
"The data is here."
Karen, who had been operating the computer, suddenly broke the silence.
Everyone's attention immediately focused on the big screen, which was projecting a map of the Pennsylvania campaign.
Karen stood in front of the map and pointed to Montgomery County, west of Philadelphia.
It has always been a mixed area between Democratic establishment and moderate Republicans, and also Aston Monroe's stronghold.
Karen began analyzing the current election situation.
"Our overall approval rating there rose by three percentage points. It's not much, but it shows that the 'defensive voting' strategy is working. Suburban mothers are starting to panic; they're turning to Murphy to protect their abortion rights."
Her finger traced across the map, moving to the west.
"In the West, although there hasn't been explosive growth, look here."
Karen circled several surrounding counties centered around Pittsburgh.
"His influence is spreading outwards like ripples. Murphy's approval rating is slowly climbing in Beaver County, Washington County—and even further afield in Butler County."
"It's not entirely GG's doing," Karen said, glancing back at Leo sitting on the sofa. "It's because they actually saw it."
Leo held a cup of hot coffee in his hand, staring at the map.
Yes, they saw it.
The changes in Pittsburgh are real.
Cranes at the inland port roared day and night, dust filled the construction sites of the revitalization project, workers received their wages, and the community took on a new look.
These changes didn't just stay in the city center; they spread along the roads, with commuting workers, and with young people returning home to visit relatives on weekends, reaching every small town in the surrounding area.
People were talking about it in bars, at gas stations, and in front of churches.
"Hey, did you hear? They're hiring at that new port in Pittsburgh, and they're offering really high salaries."
"That's money Murphy got."
"Looks like this old bastard is serious this time."
For these pragmatic blue-collar workers, this is the most powerful campaign manifesto.
Murphy was the one who truly brought about change in Pittsburgh.
The situation is developing in the direction they anticipated.
Murphy consolidated his base in the West and began to radiate his influence outwards; in the East, he successfully carved out a foothold in Monroe's heartland.
"Although we didn't snatch a large number of votes from Warren as we had originally planned," Karen analyzed, tracing the broad red area in the middle of the map, "that old fox has secured his base, and our attempt to dismantle the Republican Party's decades-long operation by exposing corruption was clearly overly optimistic."
"but-"
"The trend is on our side."
"Based on the current growth rate, as long as we can maintain this momentum and hold on until the primary election day, our chances of turning the tide are extremely high."
Leo took a sip of coffee, remaining noncommittal.
Just then.
"Bang!"
The office door was suddenly pushed open.
Ethan walked in, clutching a blue folder tightly in his hand.
He walked to the table, said nothing, and placed the folder directly in front of Leo.
"It looks like our celebration will have to end early."
Leo put down his coffee cup and picked up the folder.
The federal court emblem on the cover gleamed coldly under the light.
The plaintiff's column lists an unfamiliar name: Pennsylvania Free Trade Promotion Association.
Leo frowned.
He had never heard of this organization.
Shift your gaze downwards.
Defendants: City of Pittsburgh, Mayor Leo Wallace, Morganfield Industries.
"Leo, this time, we're in big trouble."
Ethan tugged at his tie, as if he were having trouble breathing.
"This is a nuclear bomb."
Leo put down the folder, sat in the chair, crossed his arms, and looked at the Harvard Law PhD.
"Get straight to the point."
"The Sherman Antitrust Act," Ethan uttered. "Section Two."
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
Even though Leo wasn't a lawyer, he knew what this law meant.
This is a Damocles' sword hanging over American business history. More than a hundred years ago, it dismantled Rockefeller's Standard Oil empire and shattered the Morgan family's railroad trust.
It is the ultimate weapon in the American capitalist system used to combat monopolistic behemoths.
"What are they accusing us of?" Leo asked.
"Illegally creating a monopoly."
Ethan opened the folder and pointed to a passage of text.
"The plaintiff's lawyers directly attacked the legal basis of our deal, namely the single franchise you created to win over Morganfield."
Ethan took a deep breath and began to dissect the other party's logic.
"First charge: Illegal monopoly."
"In the Strategic Logistics Unified Management Act, we defined inland ports as special utilities," thereby granting Morganfield a 50-year exclusive operating right.
"However, the plaintiffs pointed out that ports are different from water supply networks or power transmission networks; they do not possess the physical attributes of a natural monopoly. Theoretically, countless docks could be built on the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, allowing multiple companies to compete."
"The municipal government's decision to designate a single company for a monopoly through an administrative order is an act of artificially eliminating competition and directly violates the Sherman Act's provisions against restricting trade."
Ethan turned the page.
"Second charge: Unconstitutionality."
"They cited the Due Process Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution."
The lawsuit alleges that the bidding threshold of 500 acres of existing railroad land was a tailor-made exclusivity clause.
"This deprives other potential investors of their property rights and freedom of operation, constituting substantial discrimination."
"Thirdly, exceeding authority."
"They accused the Pittsburgh city government of abusing its constitutional policing powers."
"The municipal government has the right to manage the market for public safety and order, but it has no right to create market barriers for commercial interests."
"They believe that the franchise agreement you signed with Morganfield was essentially an illegal privatization of public power."
The conclusion is: the agreement is invalid, the bill is unconstitutional, and even—
Ethan looked at Leo and said with difficulty.
"It could even involve federal-level conspiracy felonies."
Silence fell over the campaign headquarters.
The sun shines brightly outside the window, and the faint roar of machinery can be heard from the construction site in the south area.
But at that moment, Leo felt the foundation beneath his feet crumbling.
The opponent bypassed all the outer defenses and plunged the knife directly into Leo's most vulnerable heart.
That was the deal he and Morganfield used to exchange for $500 million in funding and political support.
If the charges are upheld, not only will the port project be immediately halted and $500 million in bonds be frozen, but Leo himself could also face impeachment and imprisonment.
The entire Pittsburgh revitalization plan will fall apart.
Leo looked at the complaint, at the glaring words "Sherman Law".
"The methods are very clever," Leo calmly commented. "Trying to strangle me with procedural justice, if I were still the same person I was a few months ago, I might really feel despair."
"But now?"
Leo's fingers tapped lightly on the heavy complaint.
"Don't forget, this agreement was signed with whom."
"They're accusing me of illegal monopoly, of exclusivity clauses, but whose benefit are these clauses? Morganfield's."
"They wanted to suspend the project and disrupt Murphy's campaign, but at the same time, they also cut off Morganfield's lifeline for expanding his business empire."
"This was an indiscriminate attack."
Leo turned around and looked at Ethan.
"Don't panic, Ethan, this isn't just our war."
"In the past, Morganfield could stay behind the scenes and reap the benefits simply by making a phone call at a crucial moment."
"But this time is different."
"This blow landed squarely on his head. If we lose this lawsuit, his fifty-year franchise will become worthless."
Leo walked back to his desk and picked up the phone.
"Since we've sold our souls to the devil, and now that the devil's house is on fire, he can't expect me to go and put out the fire by myself with buckets of water, can he?"
Leo handed the receiver to Ethan.
"Call Morganfield."
"Tell him that someone is trying to sabotage him."
"This time, our allies have to step up their game."