Rabbi Gabrielle's Defiance (3 page)

Seldom over-spoken by others, Senator Childs
– a stocky woman with a razor-sharp voice she employed combatively
even when it was unnecessary – interjected, concluding Carberri's
introduction. "And if anybody can beat Toby Ryles, we believe that
person to be you, Rabbi Lewyn. We've considered several prominent
women but you score tops in all categories. And we're not unmindful
of the fact that the Eighth District has a large population of
Jews, who look upon voting as a sacred duty."

Lyle – few used his given name Daniel – made
no effort to hide the rolls of fat bulging around his mid-section.
Even at this early hour, perspiration glazed his brow. His speech
was slow and melodic, as he languished sad, puppy-dog eyes upon
Gabby. Those who knew him well liked to point out that before
lunch, he moved with the speed of feral pig and after lunch, an
armadillo. "Raaab-i, raising the money for the Bart Skulkin Tennis
Center in Anacostia was a pretty neat piece of work – a textbook
example of how to mobilize grassroots activists behind a
neighborhood cause. I've watched many a fund-raiser in my day. Some
just have the talent and others don't. It comes down to a
combination of instinct and brains. I'm told that some of our own
people outside the Beltway are now using the example of the tennis
center in training volunteers. The bottom line is that anybody who
could make a tennis center like that happen could easily win a seat
in Congress."

The notion of running for public office
caught her entirely by surprise and she could do little but parry
with the first objection that came to mind. "It must cost a lot of
money. I read that candidates dub elections not the
pursuit of votes
but
the money
chase
."

His lips curled slightly, a preamble before
experimenting with a Yiddish word. "
Shnorring
for one cause is like
shnorring
for another, now wouldn't you think,
Raaab-i? You'll need about $700,000. I can't say fund raising isn't
part of a campaign, but the reality is that when a candidate
confronts an issue he-she enters an arena with other like-minded
people. And when you strike a tone the voters like, they open their
purses, just like they did for the Skulkin Center. A successful
candidate keeps focused on issues, and the money follows. And, of
course, we intend to help at every step. And by
we,
I mean the DNC and the President. That's part of
our package. There's no purpose to recruit you, then hang you out
to dry. President Talisman is absolutely committed to a Democratic
majority in Congress. It wouldn't be asking too much for him to
venture from the White House to support a candidate in nearby
Maryland. He understands the power of the female electorate. For
him, supporting a candidate of your stature should be a no-brainer.
I understand the Vice-President also has said some very
complimentary things about you at the tennis center."

Gabby felt herself seduced by Lyle's charm.
She silently identified him as promoter pitching his brand of
political thinking. Her mind jumped ahead:
Tzsoris
comes in different forms, but problems could
be classified into two categories – good problems and bad problems.
Fortunately, this invitation fell into the good category, with an
easy answer. The notion of her running for Congress was utterly
preposterous! She never considered herself a politician and
generally held the profession in low esteem. That did not suggest
that she had never entertained fantasies of working outside the
rabbinate. Often she indulged in pipe dreams about switching to
medicine or teaching. And when things went wrong at the synagogue,
she could not avoid imaginary
what-if
games. But never in her wildest speculations had thoughts about a
political career done more than shoot through her brain and right
out the other side. And there was no way on God's earth that she
could campaign for office while riding a bucking bronco like
Congregation Ohav Shalom. And just as importantly, would anyone in
her right mind entertain resigning from a secure position for which
she had been trained and, by several standards, become successful,
in order to gamble on an insecure one for which she had no
experience? No way, Jose!

Lyle passed quickly from generalities to
specifics, addressing his need to register a replacement for
Barbara Abt with the Election Commission within three weeks. "The
more time the DNC has, the more effective it can be in organizing
and implementing a campaign," he said before deferring to Senator
Childs.

"Careers often shift in mid-stream," the
Senator said with philosophic aloofness, pointing the remnant of
her third glazed Danish at Gabby, who had observed from her figure,
more represented by a goldfish bowl and than an hourglass, how
little attention she paid to diet. "As a matter of fact, many
physicians, professors, and leaders of business serve their country
in Congress. Currently, I believe, four members now serving were
once in the clergy."

Only courtesy and a healthy touch of flattery
enticed Gabby not to reject this offer on the spot. She agreed to
think about it, though gave no indication that time might alter her
initial reaction. The Senator, who knew that few Washington
decisions were made impulsively, remained optimistic, stressing
that the opportunity to serve in Congress was an honor few would
reject. While ushering Gabby to the door after friendly handshakes,
Lyle said, "I'm looking forward to your Chanukah service this
evening, Raaab-i. The Committee is fortunate that you could come to
celebrate the holiday with us. Jews have shown themselves to be
extremely loyal Democrats and we want to be sure their religious
feelings are respected."

An expression of confusion appeared on her
face: why a Catholic like Lyle Carberri would wish to attend a
Chanukah ceremony and Sabbath service puzzled her.

My staff has made arrangements for
refreshments. The Greenbrier kitchen caters for kosher Bar Mitzvahs
and weddings. Chanukah couldn't be much different, I suspect."

"I'm sure it will be lovely." Gabby remained
perplexed, thinking how he must have better things to do, or was
this a follow-up to his sales pitch?

"If you don't mind, I'd like to bring a
friend," he said.

"I'll be happy to see as many faces as
possible."

"Are you coming to the luncheon this noon?"
he asked as she stepped into the corridor.

"Of course. I'm looking forward to hearing
Kye Naah."

"Expect fireworks, Raab-bi.
Politicstoday
has ruffled just about every feather on
the Democratic goose. I put my neck on the chopping block to place
him on the program. Have you met Kye before?"

Her giggle conveyed a girlish innocence. "You
could say he once knocked me off my feet and bowled me over."

Lyle mistakenly took that disclosure as an
admission of a romantic involvement and responded with a
conspiratorial chortle deep in the throat.

When she studied the election schedule Lyle had
provided, she admitted that the idea of running for Congress
possessed growing appeal. Even as a substitute for Barbara Apt and
an obvious second choice, who wouldn't feel a surge of power in
creating laws applicable to thousands, if not millions? After years
of resisting Potomac fever, was she experiencing the initial
symptoms of this dreaded disease? Was she capitulating to a base
instinct for power? Still, even if she could beat a savvy
politician like Toby Ryles, a doubtful proposition at best, she
judged her personality unfit for political office. Had not Plato
warned in
The Republic
about a willingness
to beguile the populace? She knew enough about political theory to
know that for a democracy not to bog down in endless squabbling, it
was necessary for a portion of the electorate to be kept in a state
of deception. This made her wonder if she really wanted to join a
club of deceivers. Lyle had asked her to make a decision in three
weeks. But what would she learn during that interval she didn't
already know? And just as important, she had no significant
political differences with Toby Ryles. Could she beat a candidate
espousing a similar, if not identical, liberal platform?

***

Beside official delegates, the DNC retreat
attracted an army of vendors, pollsters, publicists, image-makers
and political consultants selling their services to political
organizations. As Gabby passed through a spacious hallway for the
plenary luncheon, manicured women in coifed hair and tailored
business suits staffed information booths, smiling pleasantly or
chatting with curious passersby. Ticket holders bunched up at the
banquet room door and pressed against Gabby as they funneled
through. Voices rose to match the squeeze. As she waited to present
her ticket, a woman with blond hair monumentalized by too much
hairspray urged her to take a handout, saying, "Please help us make
our point. No more DNC funds for
Politics
Today
. Underwriting Kye Naah's website is subsidizing our
party's destruction."

Gabby furrowed her brow in a gesture of
puzzlement. "I'm afraid I'm not current on the controversy."

"Read the flyer, please. And remember our
protest will occur when Kye Naah is being introduced. Just get up
and walk out with the rest of us. We've reserved the Chesapeake
Room for our own rally. Please join us."

Beyond the crowded entry, Gabby entered a
cavernous banquet room, the floor tightly packed with circular
luncheon tables, adorned with vases filled with fresh hothouse
flowers. A laptop computer on each table stirred her curiosity. She
was eager to find her place and study the handout. Lyle Carberri
had mentioned that opinion was divided about Kye Naah but, until
that moment, she hadn't appreciated how much.

The seating arrangement honored a hierarchy
in which senators and representatives assumed primary locations,
flanked by wealthy contributors and distinguished observers. Senior
party members dined near the speaker's table while their staffs and
volunteers assumed seats in the rear or on the flanks. Gabby's
place card was inked out with a last-minute substitution. At Table
27, she found herself in the company of six Democrats from the
State of Maryland, presumably for them to get acquainted with a
potential candidate from the Eighth District. During introductions,
everyone expressed curiosity about the presence of laptops
throughout the ballroom, a signal that perhaps the DNC had finally
entered the 21st century.

The notion that she had already agreed to run
had taken root among her tablemates who refused to hear her protest
to the contrary. Talk of the upcoming Maryland campaign made her
uncomfortable. When she excused herself to visit the ladies room,
several eyes studied her limp as though asking how it would appear
on television to their state's voters.

The lavatory provided a moment's privacy to
read the handout.

Truth about
Politicstoday.com

Politicstoday
means Third Party Politics
Underwritten and Supported by Citizens for a New Way,
The Minorities Alliance, The Immigrants Party, Clean
Government Slate, The Alternative Way

Politicstoday
skims more voters from the Democratic Party
Than the Republican Party
See: JR Edwards Polls of Four
Election Results

Politicstoday
owes the sum of $427,544 to the DNC
See: Annual Accounting: Lazard and Freer,
LLC.

Politicstoday
Borrows Unconsciously
See Federal Bankruptcy Court, Baltimore,
Maryland
Filing Number: 576-88798

Politicstoday
is in Violation of State of Maryland Zoning
See
State of Maryland Injunction, Circuit Court, State of MD.

RESPONSE TEAM: TO MEET IN
CHESAPEAKE ROOM ON CONVENTION GROUND FLOOR
DURING KYE NAAH'S PRESENTATION. BE THERE!

Though she had previously cautioned herself to
differentiate between fact and political mudslinging, this was not
what Gabby wanted to read. On the mountainside, Kye didn't appear
as an entrepreneur capable of creating the organization described
on the flyer. She decided to withhold judgment until after his
presentation.

No rubber chicken lunch at the Greenbriar.
The chefs treated the DNC to sautéed blue crab cakes on a bed of
thin penne pasta, which Gabby forked aside. Resisting shellfish,
even the redoubtable blue crabs of the Chesapeake, had never caused
her undue suffering. Besides, she was more than satisfied with the
accompanying salad, cold corn soup and the regional specialty of
warm pumpkin muffins. Throughout the meal, the Maryland Democrats
pressed their views on how to beat Toby Ryles. Gabby was too polite
to declare that she had absolutely no intention of campaigning
against a representative (even a Republican!) who had proven
herself to be a faithful friend of the Jewish community and the
State of Israel.

During coffee and a medley of painstakingly
crafted high-caloric petit-fours, a Senator and three
Representatives seated at the head table thanked the DNC for its
financial support. Gabby noted how, accustomed to speaking before
their supporters, they recycled catchy phrases as though cutting
and pasting words on a word-processor. Their speeches were studded
with metaphors from television sports, extolling the values of
training, winning and good sportsmanship. Gabby asked herself if,
by some unforeseen fluke she should run and win, whether her
political addresses would sound like that. Meanwhile, waiters
swooped down on the tables to collect dirty dessert plates and
refill coffee cups before the guest speaker. Aware that many
delegates were planning to boycott Kye Naah's presentation, Gabby
surveyed the ballroom for signs of their flight to the Chesapeake
Room. Occupants of an adjacent table abandoned platters of uneaten
petit-fours en mass; Maryland Democrats at Table 27 followed on
their heels, leaving Gabby and a lone state senator working the
laptop.