The Wedding

I wrote this story a while back, but not sure if it was before or after the 2016 Presidential election.  My thoughts, at the time, were that we needed a third party in America that represented the middle left and right as opposed to the far left and right.  That as long as we were diametrically opposed to each others' ideas, only saw the worst of each other rather than seeking common ground, then we would continue to drive away moderates from each party, and discourage only the most radical on each side to vote.

Speaking of voting, there are some new approaches being tried in various parts of the country in terms of a ranking vote system.  There are many versions of a ranking system vote count, one of which is that the electorate votes for multiple candidates, in descending order of preference, usually top 2 although top 3 could also be utilized if there happens to be 5 of more candidates.  If no candidate gets 50% of the #1 votes, the candidate with the least #1 votes is eliminated, and the person selected as #2 by that particular voter gets assigned the #1 vote.  If still no candidate has 50% of the votes, the next candidate from the bottom with the least amount of votes is eliminated and his/her #2 selected candidate gets the top vote.  This continues until someone garners more than 50% of the votes.

Regardless of the specifics, a ranking vote system encourages independent candidates to run, as well as those who may have lost a primary but think they could win in a general election.  It also encourages voters to select someone they like regardless of whether they think that candidate can win, knowing that their vote won't be wasted as their #2 choice would still be used if their candidate receives few votes.  It also encourages the electorate to learn more about the candidates as they will need to make a 2nd choice.

Another new approach being tried is to list the names of the candidates without their party affiliation.  While those who are familiar with their party's candidates may still vote a straight party ticket, those who do not pat attention to individual candidate traits and merely pull one party lever or the other would at least have had to do some research to know who is a DEM and who is GOP.  Also, if they happened to meet a candidate from a third party who was working the area and engaging the community, they might be more inclined to vote for them when they see their name on the ballot; more so if a party affiliation was attached and it was one for which the voter did not normally select.

For me, we need to encourage our citizens to learn more about the candidates than just their party affiliation, we need to inspire a confidence that it does matter who we vote for, they are not all crooks, and we need to weaken the hold that our two party system has on the system as, at least on this topic, they work well together to maintain their political power by squeezing out independents and/or party members that don't agree 100% with everything the party promotes.

My story, The Wedding, reflects my belief that our democracy needs change at the most fundamental level, but not necessarily in the way the story unfolds.  I much prefer the adaptation of some of the ideas discussed above to require the electorate to research the candidates they select with as much knowledge, reflection and passion as they discuss their favorite sports team, reality show or latest gossip. 

Complacency is our mutual enemy because it is complacency that makes the ground of our democracy that much more fertile for the bad seeds of partisanship, manipulation, and fear of the other.  The protagonists in The Wedding, if you can call them that, understand that, count on that, and ultimately use it against the first instincts of the leadership of the two parties who merely circle the wagons to protect their power rather than to do what is best for the citizens who turn to them for guidance.


                                                                The Wedding

The wedding had been in the planning stages for quite a few years. At first it was merely a joke between families. A what if, that provoked hearty laughter. But over time, the thought took on a life of its own. It grew on certain members of each family. It percolated on the back burner of various rooms ornately furnished. It lingered in the air of those meetings, sporadically producing a wafting odor that became more familiar over time. Eventually, the thought, which had always produced laughter, altered the tone of that laughter from light and frivolous to tense, with meaning. Finally, the bride’s paternal grandfather proposed what everyone had been sensing in the undertone of that laughter but none dared to speak.

A wedding to merge the families.

The families were very familiar with each other, knowing one another as only bitter rivals can. When the future bride’s great grandfather met the future groom’s great grandfather on that greatest of political stages, there was no denying the deep and mutual dislike which that campaign had fueled. Each was the epitome of all that was held in contempt by the other.

Their mutual dislike went beyond party platforms, beyond the traditional friction between old money and new. When the upstart governor had defeated the incumbent, the dislike blossomed into hatred. Everything that could be done to unseat the winner, was attempted, no holds barred. To some, it appeared that the fortune of the country was less important that the ruination of the victor.

But time and nature looked favorably on the loser’s family. When the rules of term limits eliminated another run, only one family had sons. The pendulum swung back, the power returned to its rightful place.

But time continued to march on. After a brief interruption by a surprise and historic character, the stage was once again set for a direct confrontation. Yet another son took one nomination while the spouse, who had bided her time within striking distance by occupying various other posts, grabbed the other. And again, history repeated itself, both in the name of the eventual winner, and in the historic nature of that victory.

Strangely though, and despite the intensity of the campaign, the rivalry was not without its healing. The families were beginning to sense a trend. The electorate was confused. Vitriolic partisanship had begun to erode the ability for positive leadership. Midway through the 2nd term, it became clear to the families that a new strategy was needed, to both preserve the country, and their power to run it.

The next election was a bloodbath, as both parties seemingly ran down the path of distortion and outright lies to gain votes. In retrospect, there were some who wondered aloud why the leadership of each was so foolhardy, but few knew that the strings of this disastrous set of tactics were being manipulated behind the scenes by each respective family. They had separately developed a mirror imaged, longer term perspective. It only took a few casual meetings for the families to merge their individual plans into a bigger, even bolder one.

In the next national election, the winning party had changed but the strategy still reflected the old way. Turnout was a record low, which justified the bipartisan rhetoric each had used, but sowed even more effective seeds of disillusionment in the electorate. In retrospect, there were a few victories in support of that new paradigm, but not so many that the mainstream media took notice.

But the families noticed.

They doubled their efforts while still retaining the appearance of party loyalty. Those that they admitted into their circle remained under the radar while being prepped for campaigns that reflected the families’ vision.

The next election cycle featured some wins in key places, some state, some federal, spurred, in part, by the passing within a few months, of the great grandfathers of each family, and in part to the growing dissatisfaction of the electorate with the status quo. Yet most of the political world was still in the dark about what was going on. It was a plan steeped in subtlety, and most politicians, air wave pundits and corporation bought commentators were far removed from such sophistication. The manipulation of the mainstream parties continued while the families surreptitiously built a web of candidates that reflected their grand scheme.

Until the next election, later called the watershed election of the families’ influence. Suddenly, there was a third party in play, a party with influence, not due to the number of its elected members but due to the attractiveness of its message to the electorate. In fact, that was the most ingenious part of the families’ plan; not to dismantle the two established parties but to bring them out of the darkness of their unwillingness to compromise. Of course, the families knew it would take a change in the minds of the electorate, but they also had calculated correctly that that change did not have to be profound, only noticeable. The insecurity of the two great parties’ leadership would do the rest.

Finally came the coup d'e tat. The timing was impeccable; just the right amount of surprise, mixed with the feigned “I thought so” by those who can’t accept that they were caught unawares. Clearly, the families had executed their plan perfectly; how else could such an announcement been accepted so easily by the nation.

And so, the biggest news that spring was splashed across tabloids and newspapers alike:

                                              Bush - Clinton Announce Fall Wedding

                                                                  Epilogue

The following year, the newlyweds announced their intention to run for president and vice president. While not universally accepted, the families’ had planned so assiduously that the idea of a married couple serving in the highest offices of the land struck a chord with the electorate. Some psychologists posited that the willingness for such a power structure reflected a secret desire by Americans for a king and queen. Some thought the new atmosphere of cooperation, after such an extended period of partisanship and governmental deadlock, lent itself beautifully to the thought of husband and wife as leaders.

But finally, if one were to ask the patron and matrons of the families, they might answer that is was all the result of a desire to provide effective leadership to a country they loved, even if that leadership had to be contrived by such a plan as theirs. And it was this plan that enabled the United States to begin an era of peace and prosperity that reached all income and social levels of the country and lasted for the entire reign of the Bush-Clinton dynasty that followed The Wedding and the election of the first husband and wife presidential ticket.