Free The iCongressman by Mikael Carlson Page A

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    “You may be the only elected official in this town that
actually comes here,” I hear the voice say from behind me. I’m impressed that
she’s nearly fifteen minutes early for our meeting.
    “From what I have seen over the past year, I’m not surprised,”
I say without turning around.
    “Do you have a favorite part?” she asks, joining me in
admiring the document encased before us. I don’t bother to strain to read the
fading text of one our oldest and most cherished artifacts. Instead, I just
look directly at her and smile.
    “‘That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive
of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to
institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.’”
    “Fitting, considering your present circumstances,” she
observes, outstretching her hand. “Senator Marilyn Viano.”
    “Congressman Michael Bennit,” I reply in an equally formal
voice, “but I prefer just being called Michael. I want to apologize for
dragging you here on Mother’s Day.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” she says with a dismissive wave of
her hand. “I have no kids, thankfully. I’m happy to settle for being an aunt.
My siblings were the baby factories, giving my parents the desired
grandchildren, so they stayed off my back about it.”
    “Baby factories?”
    “Three siblings with eleven kids split between them. All
girls, except for my younger brother who had a son that can’t manage to get out
of his own way in life.”
    I smile at the senator. She’s likeable in a proper, almost
British sort of way. Tall and fit for her mid-fifties, she looks like a
gray-haired cross between Ellen Degeneris and Dame
Judi Dench . Her sophisticated charm is disarming, but
something in her cold, calculating eyes tells me this woman can be a very
dangerous political creature.
    “I’m sure you know all about the situation I have found
myself in.”
    “Most of the country does, Michael,” she offers with a
dazzling smile cameras must have loved. “Blake filled me in on what pieces I
didn’t get from the news. The only thing I am uncertain about is what exactly
you are trying to do here.”
    I take a deep breath to collect my thoughts. The reality is
I’m not sure what I’m trying to do here anymore. Just as Chalice surmised,
Congress isn’t what I thought it would be.
    “From the moment the First United States Congress met in
April of 1789, skeptical citizens expected the worst from the people elected to
it. Over the next two hundred twenty-five or so years, we’ve done nothing but
confirm their opinions. I thought when I got elected I could show them there
was someone out there who could fulfill the Framers’ original expectations.”
    “Michael, there’s your first problem. That’s a very naïve
approach to politics.” I’m glad she isn’t planning on going easy on me.
    “Yeah, probably. But it’s my
approach, and not one I plan on abandoning. Unfortunately, I am almost the only
person in the House who thinks that way.”
    “Almost?” the senator queries with a raised eyebrow.
    “Believe it or not, there may be another.” Exactly one,
assuming my first impression of Francisco Reyes turns into a lasting one. “And
it’s hard to have real discussions and debate about issues without serious
people to hold them.”
    “The partisanship in the House and Senate is the longest
running show in Washington. Trying to pass any bill is like watching two
heavyweight boxers dance around each other in a ring because both are afraid to
get hit with a punch hard enough to put them on the mat. It’s frustrating, and
the public’s become too jaded and cynical to listen to the crap coming out of
this town anymore.”
    “Exactly, and if we don’t start restoring America’s faith in
the political system, the