The Prodigal Daughter (49 page)

Florentyna took
his view seriously and spent the last few weeks
ot
the
campaign working as if she were an unknown candidate fighting her first
election.

Her effor~s were
not helped by a torrential rainstorm in Chicago which poured down on the
streets right up until Election Day.

When the last
vote had been counted even she was surprised by the size of the Reagan victory,
which took the Senate with him on his coattails and only just failed to capture
the House for the Republicans.

Florentyna was
returned to Congress with her majority cut to 9,031. She flew into Washington,
battered but not beaten, a few hours before the hostages returned.

The new
President lifted the spirit of the nation with his inaugural adJress. Richard,
in a morning coat, smiled all the way through the speech and applauded loudly
at the section he would quote to Florentyna for several years after.

We hear much of
special interest groups, but our concern must be for a special interest group that
has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries, crosses ethnic
and racial divisions and political party lines. It is made up of men and women
who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and factories, teach our
children, keep our homes and heal us when we’re sick.
Professionals,
industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies and truck drivers.
They
are, in short, we the people, this breed called Americans.

After the speech
had been enthusiastically received the President gave a final wave to the crowd
in front of the main stand, and turned to leave the podium.

Two Secret
Service men guided him through a human aisle created by the honor guard.

Once the
Presidential party had reached the bottom of the steps, Mr. Reagan and the
First Lady climbed into the back of a limousine, obviously unwilling to follow
the example of the Carters and \~ alk down Constitution Avenue to their new
home. As the car moved slowly off, one of the Secret Service men flicked a
switch on his two-way radio. -Rawhide returns to Crown” was all he said, and
then, staring through a pair of binoculars, he followed the limousine all the
way to the White House gates.

When Florentyna
returned to Congress in January 1981, it was a different Washington.
Republicans no longer needed to beg support for every measure they espoused,
because the elected representatives knew the country was demanding change.
Florentyna enjoyed the new challenge of studying the program Reagan sent iip to
the Hill and was only too happy to support givat sections of it.

She had become
so occupied with amendments to the Reagan budget and defense program that Janet
had to point out to her an item in the Chicago Tribune which might eventually
remove her from the House.

Senator Nichols
of Illinois announced this morning that lie would not be seeking reelection to
the Senate in 1982.

Florentyna was
sitting at her desk, taking in the significance of this stateMent, when the
editor of the Chicago Sun-Times called to ask tier if she would be entering the
race for the Senate in 1982. Flotentyna realized that it was only natural for
the press to speculate on her candidacy after three and a half terms as a
representative.

“It doesn’t seem
that long ago,” she teased, “that your distinguished journal was suggesting I
resign.”

“There was an
English prime minister who once said that a week was a long time in politics.
So where do you stand, Florentyna?”

“It’s never
crossed my mind,” she said, laughing.

“That’s one
statement no one is going to believe and I am certainly not ‘going to print it.
Try again.”

“Why are you
pushing me so hard when I still have over a year to decide?”

The Present:
1968-1982 301

“You haven’t
heard?”

“Heard what?”
she asked.

“At a press
conference held this morning at City Hall the State’s Attorney announced that
he’s a candidate.”

“Ralph Brooks to
Run for Senate” ran the banner headline across the afternoon editions of the
newspapers of Illinois. Many reporters mentioned in their columns that
Florentyna had not yet made a decision on whether she would challenge the
State’s Attorney. Once again pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks stared up at
Florentyna. The damn man seems to get betterlooking all the time, she grumbled.
Edward called from New York to say he thought she should run but advised her to
hold back until ttie Brooks publicity machine ran out of steam. “You might even
be able to orchestrate your announcement so that it looks as if you are bowing
to public pressure.”

“
Whom
are the party faithful backing?”

“My estimate is
sixty-forty in your favor, but since I’m no longer even a committeeman it’s
hard to predict. Don’t forget it’s over a year to the primary so there’s no
need to rush in, especially now that Brooks has made his move. You can sit back
and wait until the time suits you.”

“Why do you
think he announced so early?”

“To try and
frighten you off, I suppose. Maybe he figures you might hold back until 1984.”

“Perhaps that’s
a good idea.”

“No, I don’t
agree. Never forget what happened to John Culver in lowa. He decided to wait
because he felt it would be easier later when weaker opposition was around, so
his personal assistant ran instead of him, won the seat and remains in the
Senate till this day.”

“I’ll thitik
about it, and let you know.”

The truth was
that Florentyna thought of little else during the next few weeks, because she
knew that if she could beat Brooks this
time,
he would
be finished once and for all. She was in no doubt that Ralph Brooks still had
ambitions that stretched about sixteen blocks beyond the Senate. On Janet’s advice,
she now accepted every major invitation to speak in the state and turned down
almost all other outside commitments. “That will give you a chance to find out
how the land lies,” said Janet.

“Keep nagging
me, Janet.”

“Don’t worry, I
will. That’s what you pay me for.”

Florentyna found
herself flying to Chicago twice a week for nearly six months and her voting
record in Congress was barely above sixty percent. Ralph Brooks had the advantage
of not living in Washington four days a week or having his record in court
expressed in percentage terms.

Added to that,
Chicago had elected Jane Byme mayor the previous year.

There were those
who said one woman in Illinois politics was quite enough.

Nevertheless.
Florentyna felt
confident after she had covered most of the siate that Edward had been right,
that she did have a 60-40 chance of defeating Ralph Brooks. In truth, she
believed that deteating Brooks might be harder than getting elected to the
Senatc because the midterm election traditionally ran against the White House
incumbent.

One day
Florentyna did leave clear in her diary was for the annual meeting of the
Vietnam Veterans of America. They had chosen Chicago for their celebrations and
invited Senator John Tower of Texas and Florentyna to be the keynote speakers.
The Illinois press was quick to point out the respect with which outsiders
treated their favorite daughter. The paper went on to say that the very fact
that the vets could couple her with the chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services
Committee was high praise indeed.

Florentyna was
carrying a full load in the House. She successfully sponsored the “Good
Samaritan” amendment to the Superfund Act making it advantageous for companies that
put forth genuine efforts to dispose of toxic wastes. To her surprise even Bob
Buchanan supported her amendment.

While she was
leaning on the rail at the back of the chamber waiting for the vote on the
final passage of her amendment, he told her that he hoped she would run for the
Senate seat.

“You’re only
saying that because you want to see me out of this place.”

He chuckled.
“That would have been
one compensation
, I must admit,
but I don’t think you can stay here much longer if you’re destined to live in
the White House.”

Florentyna
looked at him in astonishment. He didn’t even glance toward her but continued
to gaze into the packed chamber.

“I have no doubt
you’ll get there. I just thank God I won’t be alive to witness your
inauguration,” he continued before going off to vote fbr Florentyna’s
amendment.

Whenevei
Florentyna went to Chicago she avoided the question of her candidacy for the
Senate, although it was obviously on everyone else’s mind. Edward pointed out
to her that if she did not run this time it might be her last chance for twenty
years becausu Ralph Brooks was still only forty-four and it would be virtually
impossible to defeat him once he was the incumbent.

“Especially when
he has ‘the Brooks charisma,”
‘ mocked
Florentyna in
reply. “In my case,” she continued, “who would be willing to wait twenty
years?”

“Harold
Stassen,” Edward replied.

Florentyna
laughed. “And everyone knows how well he did. I’ll have to make up my mind one
way or the other before I speak to the Vietnam Vets.”

Florentyna and
Richard were spending the weekend at Cape Cod and werc joined by Edward on
Saturday evening.

Late into the
night they discussed every alternative facing Florentyna ai well as the effect
it would have on Edward I s work at the Baron if he was to head up the
campaign. When they retired to bed in the early hours of Sunday morning they
had come to one conclusion.

The
International Room of the Conrad Hilton was packed with two thousand men, and
the only other women in sight were waitresses. Richard had accompanied
Florentyna to Chicago and was seated next to Senator Tower.

When Florentyna
rose
to addruss the gathering, she was trembling. She began
by assuring the vets of her commitment to a strong America and then went on to
tell them of her pride in her father when he had been awarded the Bronze Star
by President Truman, and of her greater pride in them for having served their
country in America’s first unpopular war. The veterans whistled and banged
their tables in delight. She reminded them of her commitment to the MX missile
system and her determination that Americans Nk ould live in fear of no one,
especially the Soviets.

A want Moscow to
know,” she said, “that there may be some men in Congress who would be happy to
compromise America’s position, but not this woman.”

The vets cheered
again. “The isolationist campaign that President Reagan is pursuing will not
help Poland in its present crisis or whichever nation the Russians decide to
attack next. At some point we must stand firm and not wait until the Soviets
are camped along the Canadian border.” Even Senator Tower showed his approval
of that sentiment.

Florentyna
waited for complete silence before saying, “I have chosen tonight, while I am
assembled with a group of people whom everyone in America admires, to say that
as long as there are men and women who are willing to serve tbeir country as
you have done, I hope to continue to serve in the public life of this great
nation, and to that end I intend to submit my name as a candidate for the
United States Senate.”

Few people in
the room heard the word “Senate,” because pandemonium broke out. Everyone in
the
gathering
who could stand, stood, and those who
couldn’t banged their tables. Florentyna ended her address with the words “I
pledge myself to an America that does not fear war from any aggressor.

At the same
time,
( pray
that you are the last group of veterans
this country evei needs.”

When she.
sat
down, the cheering lasted for several minutes and
Senator Tower went on to praise Florentyna for one of the finest speeches he
had ever heard.

Edward flew in
from New York to mastermind the campaign while Janet kept in daily touch from
Washington. Money flowed in from every quarter; the work that Florentyna had
put in for her constituents was now beginning to pay off. With twelve weeks to
go to the primary, the polls consistently showed a 58-42 lead for candidate
Kane across the state.

All through the
campaign, Florentyna’s staffers were willing to work late into the night, but
even they could not arrange for her to be in two places at once. Ralph Brooks
criticized her voting record along with the lack of real results she had
achieved as a representative in Congress. Some of his attacks began to hit home
while Brooks continued to show the energy of a tenyear-old. Despite this, he
didn’t seem to make much headway as the polls settled around 55-45 in her
favor. Word reached Florentyna that Ralph Brooks’s camp was feeling despondent
and his campaign contributions were drying up.

RichaTd flew
into Chicago every weekend and the two of them lived out of suitcases, often
sleeping in the homes of downstate volunteers. One of Florentyna’s younger
campaign workers drove them tirelessly around the state in a small blue
Chevette. Florentyna was shaking hands outside factory gates on the outskirts
of cities before breakfast, attending farmers’ meetings in the rural towns of
Illinois before lunch, but somehow she still found time to fit in occasional
banking associations and editorial boards in Chicago during the afternoon before
an inevitable evening speech and a welcome night at the Baron.