Newne Carriebean7 wrote:Senator Joshua Sharp heeded the President's advice and gazed at the mirror in his office. In it he took in the gauntly thin statue of a man. A man who looked tired. A man who felt exhausted from... what had he done anyways? In his decade as a Mississippi senator, he tried his damndest to remember some sort of legislative accomplishments. What did the Senator have to be exhausted from any how? If anything, it meant he could finally retire with some beloved Mississippian onions, calmly catching up on Warren G. Harding autobiographies in his room, complaining about politics with his wife.
"Y'all know I'm a senator. There's generally three rankin's as I sees thems. The firsts is the policy makers and the whips, people like Senator Boone, he's got a cushy job and a big ass office. The seconds are the ones who while not having much, still see to it that their state gets the needed bacon, and the thirds are the ones who buck their own party more than not, flirt with the idea of switching to an independent just to keep the other Dixiecrats in line with that threat.
I know my votes aren't popular, hell, I'm surprised gettin' some praise from you now and again on certain issues. I'm blending the line between a second and third-rate U.S Senator. Do I buck my party leadership on D.C and the other Constitutional amendments? Yes! If you're not willin' to take unpopular decisions and take the hard road in politics, you're not going to be fulfilled. Sometimes in politics and in friendships, it's more important to take an unpopular decision, knowing you'll be absolved in the lord at the very end.
Oh hell, maybe it's just me being cynical, but I'm not so sure I want to run for President between you and me. Hell, I like running, but I'm not happy on the inside, Dave. I get miserable some nights, bawlin' myself to sleep knowin' the whole damned political world is out to lynch Senator Joshua Sharp!
When I look in that mirror, I see a stubborn old bastard. A damn proud stubborn old bastard who's not afraid to go down the road less traveled. As for my bills that I've put forward...uh...er..."
Sharp put his head down for a solid few minutes, contemplating what exactly had he done in ten years?
What was his legacy?
Would he get a high school named after him? Hell, at this point he'd take Sharp avenue in Quitman County! A street sign, anything!
"I think there was one in the house that talked about getting the money for a dam to provide electricity towards some small Mississippian town, I know I added in a slew of last minute additions to widely popular bills, not sure if they fully passed or if Boone ripped them out like a band aid. From what I can remember, let me sound several off from my senate tenure:"
Taking a deep breath, he scribbled some bills that he remembered coming his way in the Senate and tried to recall his votes for each item. Taking much longer than remembering how to win an election in Mississippi (the primaries), the old man clearly wasn't firing on all cylinders, as he squished his face together and thought, scribbling something out, then laughing slightly when he got to the very end of the list.
Agricultural Act of 1949- Nay
Mutual Security Act- Aye
The Highway Bill- Nay
Communist Control Act- Aye, that was popular in Mississippi.
"G.I. Bill- Nay, I got some hefty flak for that one. That's probably why I'm backin' you so vigorously now with respect to Vietnam When I said no to the G.I. Bill, it was the biggest damned mistake of my career! (so far anyaways) I got so much damned flak in Mississippi at the time, some pundits with a stick up their ass wondered if I could survive. Bullshit. I lived, and I'm standin' before you as a Senator today!"
"Well, you've caused any problems you have," Henry said as he began signing papers, "You aren't fit for this job, I suggest you drop out."