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VOTE FOR ME: POLITICS
IN AMERICA
PART ONE: POLITICS 101
Opens on MS Mike Turpen, Oklahoma
Democratic Party Leader, walking outside the University of Oklahoma football
stadium.
MIKE TURPEN
I talk, I talk to young people a lot that wanna run, and they say, “Man
I wanna run for Governor some day, I wanna run for Lieutenant Governor right
now.” And do you know what I say to ‘em, “you need to get in
your car and drive from Alvo to Altos to Broken Bow to Broken Arrow and see
how big the state of Oklahoma is,” it's a big state, not as big as TX,
but it's a big state,” and I say to these young people, “then call
50 friends and see if they'll give you $1,000 each.” I say, “if you
can't get $50,000 in 50 phone calls, and if you don't wanna drive the whole
state and see how big this state really is, you ought not to be running.”
They say, “Well I know, but politics seems so glamorous.” Glamorous?
I said, “you're all wrong young man, young lady, politics is all about
humility, it's all about begging, you gotta beg for votes, you gotta beg for
money, you gotta beg for somebody to put a bumper sticker on their car, you
gotta beg for somebody to put a yard sign on their yard. You gotta beg for editorial
endorsements. It's all about begging, for gosh sakes, there's no glamour in
this process.” Where do they get this idea it's all about glamour?
Music fades up: Ray Charles “Oh Beautiful”
Cut to scenes of Americana:
The camera is focused on a beautiful mountain range
Fade up on producer credit: “A film by Paul Stekler, Andy Kolker, Louis
Alvarez”
Zooms out to sign which reads “Re-Elect Sheriff Medicinehorse”
Congressman Chaka Fattah campaign workers waving signs from the back of a pickup
Joseph Voccola for State Rep. truck drives by.
Governor Tom Ridge train stop with people waving as the train pulls out.
Senator Al D’Amato getting bussed by an old blond at a booksigning for
his new memoir.
Cut to Brenda Fitzgerald, candidate for Congress in Georgia.
BRENDA FITZGERALD
I’m Brenda Fitzgerald. I’m a candidate for Congress for the 7th district
of Georgia.
Cut to Dennis Kucinich, State Senator from Cleveland, Ohio.
DENNIS KUCINICH
Hi, I’m Dennis Kucinich and I’m running for the State Senate from
Cleveland, Ohio.
Cut to Congressman JC Watts of Oklahoma
J.C. WATTS
Hi, I’m J.C. Watts and I’m a Republican candidate running for the
4th congressional district of Oklahoma.
Cut to Ann Kobayashi, candidate for Honolulu Mayor.
ANN KOBAYASHI
Aloha. I’m Ann Kobayashi and I’m running for the Mayor of the city
and county of Honolulu
Cut to Oliver North, candidate for U.S. Senate in Virginia.
OLIVER NORTH
Hi, I’m Ollie North and I’m running for the United States Senate for
the people of Virginia. Thanks.
North winks, tips his hand and walks away.
Cut to Karl Goethel Jr. and Sr. of Wisconsin. Father and son sit next to each
other on a bench.
KARL GOETHEL
I’m Karl Goethel.
KARL GOETHEL, JR.
I’m Karl Goethel, Jr.
KARL GOETHEL
I’m running for District Attorney of Pepin county, Wisconsin
KARL GOETHEL, JR.
I’m running for sheriff of Pepin county, Wisconsin
Cut to a dog covered with a sign for TX State Rep. candidate Eddie de la Garza.
Cut to interview with Mario Cuomo, former Governor of New York
CUOMO
If you’re gonna do politics, you should learn it. You should be that way
with everything. If you’re gonna play baseball, you should learn how to
play the game.
Card: STRATEGY
Cut to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich lecturing an aspiring congressional
candidate
GINGRICH
But then also if you had something that said “Linda for Literacy”.
And that became your logo.
LINDA
Sounds good to me
GINGRICH
You following? Because I’ve met you three times and I can’t remember
your name.
LINDA
I know! I know that.
GINGRICH
And that’s because there’s no hook.
LINDA
Yeah
Card: MONEY
Cut to Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci with Uncle Sam
UNCLE SAM
It costs big bucks to run for public office
CIANCI
(laughs heartily) You’re so right! Oh are you right. That’s right.
Oh that’s not hardly enough!
Card: TENACITY
Cut to interview with Congressman Barney Frank
FRANK
Any time someone tells you how much he or she likes campaigning, I’d think
you’re dealing either with a liar or a psychopath. I do not understand
how any sensible human being can like campaigning.
Cut to aspiring New York Attorney General Karen Burstein shaking hands at 72nd
street subway station
KAREN BURSTEIN
Good morning, I’m Karen Burstein running for state Attorney General. Morning,
I’m Karen Burstein running for state Attorney General. Good morning, sir.
Good morning, I’m Karen Burstein running for state Attorney General. Good
morning, I’m Karen Burstein running for state Attorney General. Good morning,
I’m Karen Burstein running for state Attorney General. Good morning.
She addresses the camera.
KAREN BURSTEIN
They’re better, they’re much better than the last time I was here.
Things are looking up. Hi, I’m Karen Burstein running for state Attorney
General.
MAN
Nice to meet you
Cut to billboard with George Washington giving Dave McCurdy the boot with the
words, “Kick McCurdy out.”
Animated title over finale of “America” reading “Vote for Me:
Politics in America”
Vertical wipe to Honolulu City Council candidate Andy Mirikitani “sign
waving” on a busy, rush hour thoroughfare. He wears a shirt and tie and
a big pink lei.
Music: Island tune, festive
MIRIKITANI
(waves to passing cars) Hi. Thank you.
QUESTIONER
What are you doing out here?
MIRIKITANI
We’re, uh, sign waving, as they call it here in Hawaii. And, uh, apparently
one politician invented it about twenty years ago. Now every politician in Hawaii
has to sign wave in order to get elected. And it’s also a good way to get
a tan.
Older gentleman Mirikitani volunteer signwaver and then other signwavers.
NARRATION
The pundits say we hate politics. They say we’re apathetic at voting time.
That politics has become irrelevant to most people’s lives. Maybe they
need to get out more.
Cut to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge hugging people at a train stop
Cut to woman holding Blackwell’s hand screaming “He got my vote!”
Cut to frenzied and portly Ridge supporter chanting his name.
Background music: marching band
NARRATION
Forget the presidential elections. The real excitement is in the half million
other races, from councilman to congresswoman taking place in precincts near
you.
Cut to man waving from a passing pick up truck that has a big sign reading,
“Vote Ronald Dugas, Police Juror.”
Cut to a Chicago man gathering a varied collection of campaign signs.
Cut to a waving crowd of supporters.
Cut to Scurdy Menard, candidate for Sheriff in Louisiana putting up a roadside
sign.
Cut to a campaign worker handing out stickers for Virginia Senator, Chuck Robb.
CAMPAIGN WORKER
Care for a sticker for Robb? He’s good on the budget, good on foreign affairs,
good on military affairs.
Camera wanders to Lucy Goode, wife of Senate candidate Virgil Goode.
GOODE
Hi how are you. I’m Lucy Goode, my husband’s running for U.S. Senate.
Would you like a sticker?
NARRATION
It’s revealing to see what politicians have to do in order to win votes.
Camera wanders on to Virgil Goode campaign worker
VIRGIL GOODE CAMPAIGN WORKER
I see you’ve already got one. Do you care for another Virgil Goode sticker.
Thank you.
NARRATOR
And what the voters have to do to get something in return.
Camera continues down sticker row.
NORTH CAMPAIGN WORKER
Need an Ollie sticker, sir? Thanks you.
NARRATION
It’s all part of politics in America. And it’s probably not what the
Founders had in mind.
Cut to a woman dressed in red, white and blue medieval attire blowing a patriotic
tune on a bugel.
BUGEL LADY
Charge!
Cut to hundreds of campaign signs by the side of the road
Cut to interview with Willie Brown, Mayor of San Francisco
WILLIE BROWN
If you truly want to study America and it’s culture, you best do so through
the medium of politics because you invariably see what really moves and influences
and makes the decision how the power is exercised. How it’s discharged.
Who’s rewarded. Who’s punished. And how the institutions are shaped.
And all that comes from politics.
Cut to University of Oklahoma’s marching band as it marches by.
NARRATION
You could start your tour of American politics not in Washington, but in a place
like Norman, Oklahoma, where the only thing bigger than politics is football,
and where it helps to have a guide who knows both games equally well. Someone
like Democratic party leader, Mike Turpen.
Cut to standup interview with Mike Turpen.
TURPEN
Politics is show business for ugly people. I mean that’s why a lot of people
get into this thing. It’s just all about ego.
Cut to Turpen standing with Ron Shotts, a one time candidate for Governor in
Oklahoma.
TURPEN
The difference between a horse race and a political race -- in a horse race,
the whole horse runs, in a political race -- you know, yeah yeah whatever (laughs)
Cuts to Turpen greeting Janice Mildren, wife of gubernatorial candidate, Jack
Mildren. He is stickered by a woman standing next to Janice.
JANICE
Hi Mike. How are you?
TURPEN
I’m gonna wear those. How’s it going?
JANICE
It’s going great.
Turpen puts his arm around Janice and talks directly to the camera.
TURPEN
The future first lady of the state of Oklahoma right here, Janice Mildren.
JANICE
Thank you, thank you.
Cut to Turpen with man in tan raincoat, a congressional candidate.
TURPEN
You guys got up early. You gonna win?
MAN
Yeah I’m gonna win!
TURPEN
The next congressman right here, folks
MAN
Good to meet ya. (Puts out his hand)
Cut to Turpen greeting Jack Mildren, candidate for Oklahoma Governor.
JACK MILDREN
Hey, Mike. How come they’re following you around?
TURPEN
The next governor of the state of Oklahoma, Jack Mildren.
JACK MILDREN
Thank you Michael. Thank you. Thanks very much. Alright.
Cut back to Mike Turpen and Ron Shotts
TURPEN
Didn’t you run for governor once?
SHOTTS
One time.
TURPEN
How do you feel about it?
SHOTTS
Oh, it’s going to be a close race it looks like.
TURPEN
Aren’t you glad you ran and got it out of your system?
SHOTTS
Yes, sir.
Cut to Mildren supporter pulling baby in wagon festooned with Mildren signage.
NARRATION
No matter how jaded some Americans may get about their politics, there will
always be people like Mike Turpen.
TURPEN
Young Democrat, thank you. Keep hope alive.
Cut to CU of Mildren baby.
Various shots of Turpen greeting and hugging people.
NARRATION
They are the folks for whom politics is the only game for grownups: happy warriors
who know that come what may, there will always be another election in a couple
of years.
Cut back to interview with Turpen.
TURPEN
Any great politician’s got the good mental Rolodex, I mean he can flip
through it that quick know who she is, who he is, where are they from what city,
what county and hopefully what their job is, and maybe even how many kids they’ve
got and if your real good, you say, “By the way, wasn’t yesterday
your birthday?”
Cuts to Turpen with gubernatorial candidate, Frank Keating with lower third:
(now Governor of Oklahoma)
TURPEN
Folks, this is a guy who hopes to be the next governor of the state of Oklahoma
but you just met the guy over there who’s gonna be the next governor of
the state of Oklahoma.
KEATING
Where’s that. He isn’t here. Missed him entirely. Is that...
NARRATION
For people like Turpen, politics is a real-life carnival that never ends.
KEATING
Look at this (pointing to Turpen’s arm).
Turpen and Keating talk to someone off camera.
TURPEN
Oh, I’m going to vote for him because personal contact alters opinions.
I’m gonna vote for him now that I met him. (Laughs)
Keating laughs and walks off camera.
Cut to interview with Turpen as he walks.
TURPEN
You campaign these games, at OU. You campaign the games over at OSU over at
Stillwater. You campaign the high school games. Friday Night Lights, that’s
still a big deal. Now, when I ran for office, not that anybody cares anymore,
but my slogan was “It's Time for Turpen, it's Turpen Time.” So, outside
of every one of these stadiums, right here in Norman, outside every stadium,
here and in Stillwater, I had people that wore huge clocks, and on the face
of their clock it said “Turpen Time, It's Time for Turpen, It's Turpen
Time.”
And they'd walk around these stadiums with these clocks on. And it's hard to
get adult people to wear clocks like that. But all those that did, they became
Assistant Attorney Generals and that's the way it should be. You know what I'm
saying.
Fade to black. Trumpets sound.
Card: “Part One, Politics 101. What you have to do to get elected”
Opens to interview with Wilma Goldstein, GOP fundraiser and professor of Political
Science.
WILMA GOLDSTEIN
It was at some University in Utah, and one of the professors who was there was
the mayor of his small town in California. And finally, by the end of the day
when all of us were really getting a little tired of all the five syllable words
that were being thrown around, he says, “you want to know what politics
is? I’ll tell you what it is.”
He says, “it’s when you get a phone call at 12:30 in the night and
one of your constituents calls up and says ‘you get your ass over here
and move this dog shit off my lawn.” (laughs heartily)
Opens with celebration for Alderman Brian Doherty of Chicago at a local tavern.
A live band plays and a young man is doing an Irish jig.
NARRATION
In the movies, the typical politician used to be an Irish-American big-city
Democrat, always ready with a smile for your mother and a job for your brother-in-law.
You can still find Irish pols in their natural habitat. Although these days,
they may have switched parties.
Cut to people in the audience.
Cut to large Doherty campaign sign
Cuts to Doherty schmoozing a small group with a beer in his hand.
Cuts to State Senator Roger McAuliffe at the mike.
MCAULIFFE
I would like to introduce to you now the only Republican Alderman in the city
of Chicago and he earned it the hard way by going out and knocking on doors.
Cuts to Doherty, drink in hand, making his way to the mike.
MCAULIFFE VO
Here’s a guy with a lot of guts. Brian Doherty.
Pan to Doherty as he takes the microphone.
DOHERTY
Thank you, Roger. Thank you and I just want to say sincerely from my heart,
(brief cutaway to watching woman) thanks for all your support through all the
years. I don’t think we’ll have a problem. We get the vote out and
we’re going to have another victory in about a week. Thank you.
Doherty gets up. Cut to people applauding.
DOHERTY VO
I do have a couple requests.
Cut back to Doherty addressing the crowd.
DOHERTY
One is that my father Dan sing us a song and that I get a nice, cold pint of
Guinness. Thank you.
Cuts to CU of Guinness tap and beer as audience applauds.
Title: Potholes and Doorbells
Cuts to Doherty’s dad in CU belting out an Irish tune.
Narration over Doherty shaking hands at the bar
NARRATION
Brian Doherty is on the front lines of American politics. As one of 50 aldermen
on the City Council, he’s King of his ward -- the first politician voters
call if there’s a problem.
Cut to framed photo of Doherty.
Cut to MCU Doherty in white sweater talking with a female constituent
CONSTITUENT
It’s a little Toyota passenger pick-up truck.
DOHERTY
OK
CONSTITUENT
Parked it on the streets. Never had a problem. Guess what we just got a ticket
for?
DOHERTY
Truck parking in the--
CONSTITUENT
Residential truck parking. It’s an antiquated law.
DOHERTY
No, no but wait a second.
Doherty in VO, then sync sitting on a couch in white sweater.
DOHERTY
I had one woman call me up and say that a crow was harassing her son on the
way home from school. And I said, “a crow?” and she says, “yeah.”
I said, “Well, can you describe the crow?” She said, “describe
the crow?” I said, “Yeah, we don’t want to nab an innocent crow.”
And she said, “Are you making fun of me?” And I said, “No, ma’am
I wouldn’t do that.”
Staff member on phone with disgruntled constituent.
STAFFER
You have been having problems personally yourself with the police?
CONSTITUENT
Yeah, that’s what I came in there about and some turkey in there called
them over here when I want to talk to the Alderman.
STAFFER
OK, so you were coming in initially to discuss this with the Alderman?
Cut to CU Doherty on the couch.
DOHERTY
Then you get the gamma ray people coming in occasionally and the CIA’s
after them and they’re shooting gamma rays into their house and, you know,
they seriously believe this. I’m an Alderman. I’m not really a mental
health worker so sometimes to appease them, we’ll tell them to put aluminum
foil on the ceiling and (waves his hand) you can’t have gamma rays that
way (laughter off camera).
Cuts to Doherty walking away down a hall to the waiting room.
DOHERTY
The next contestant... Who’s next? Who’s got the list?
Cuts back to Doherty on couch
DOHERTY
Every day’s an adventure. You never know what might happen. You might be
on the phone with a CEO from a Fortune 500 president, and pick up the other
line and it’s Mrs. McGill complaining that she didn’t get her garbage
can that she ordered, you know, two weeks ago.
Cuts to Doherty reading down a list of names in the waiting room.
DOHERTY
Lou, Pete, John. Boy I’m a lucky guy. Hey, what’s up. How are you?
Shakes hands with a large guy in a red Chicago Bulls sweatshirt and Cubs cap
who just walked in the door.
NARRATION
It’s the Great Bargain of politics -- vote for me, and you’ll get
something tangible in return.
DOHERTY (to producer)
These guys are here on political business so...
Doherty and visitor walk back down the hall toward the camera. Guy in red sweatshirt
waves at the camera.
NARRATION
Because in American politics, the great issues of the day usually take a back
seat to more practical matters.
The camera starts to follow them into a room. Doherty turns back and gives us
the brush off.
DOHERTY
He’s going to see me about some political business.
PRODUCER
So you don’t want us in.
DOHERTY
Nope
Doherty pushes the door shut.
Cuts to CU traveling shot of three sets of feet walking down a sidewalk in tandem.
Zooms out to MS of group of black volunteers walking a neighborhood.
NARRATION
Multiply Brian Doherty’s organization times fifty and you have a real Chicago
election.
JOHN CALHOUN (Mayor Daley’s Phone Bank) VO
Thousands and thousands of volunteers are out. You have people knocking on doors.
You have people hanging signs.
Cut to Rupley knocking on door. Cut to CU of a sign for Frank Avila being stapled
to a utility pole in Chinatown
Cuts to sync interview with John Calhoun and John Kolomay in their office at
the Mayor Daley campaign phone bank
CALHOUN
They’re involved. They’re raised that way since they were kids. We
were raised in politics. All of us.
Cuts to black woman volunteer for Alderman Beavers, Irene Smith, walking a neighborhood
saying “Good Morning” 6 times in quick succession to an old black
woman getting into a van.
NARRATION
Whatever the neighborhood, their purpose is the same.
Irene tells the woman in the van how hard it has been to find people at home
that day.
NARRATION
They’re walking, talking reminders to the voters of all the great things
the Alderman has done for them lately.
Cuts to then Alderman Ambrosio Medrano in a black overcoat approaching a woman
standing in front of her building and then shaking hands over small talk.
MEDRANO
Hi, How are you? How’s everything?
WOMAN
Fine and good luck.
MEDRANO
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
WOMAN
I appreciate what you’re going to do for us regarding this problem.
Medrano interview over same footage, then in sync on sidewalk.
MEDRANO
It happens all over ward, “Come on in. I need to talk to you. You know,
the sidewalks in front of my house or the street in front of my house, or the
alley needs to be re-paved or, you know, somebody stole my garbage can. You
know, you can count on me but I’d like to know I can count on you.”
Cuts to old man in his house being courted by Brian Doherty
SONG
If you’re ever in a jam here I am.
DOHERTY
So, this is my number. You got to put it on the refrigerator. OK? If you need
something, you give me a call. If this doesn’t, it’ll come, don’t
worry about it.
Cuts to two volunteers knocking on a door.
SONG
If you’re ever in a mess, S-O-S.
Cuts to Nereida, an aide to Alderman Billy Ocasio, offering paint to a potential
supporter.
NEREIDA
Do you need any paint? Do you want me to get you some paint. The only thing
I got white paint. You just buy the dye and mix it up. I can give you white
paint.
WOMAN
Yeah, we’ll take some white paint...
Cuts to door-to-door knocking.
SONG
If you ever feel so happy you land in jail, I’m your bail.
Cuts to Irene interview on street
IRENE
You know, they used to give out cheese. They used to give out chickens, turkeys,
ham...
Doherty knocking on a door.
Medrano shaking hands with an old guy on a street.
SONG
It’s friendship, friendship. Just a perfect blendship. When other friendships
have been forgot...
Cuts to walking interview with a young pony-tailed, bearded volunteer and his
aging fellow volunteer.
VOLUNTEER
You know the first reaction is usually go away, you know, stay away from the
door. Sometimes they think we’re Jehovah’s Witnesses.
MCU of pony-tail man writing on his tablet in a doorway and then rings the bell.
SONG
If you’re ever down a well, ring my bell.
Cuts to Roger McAuliffe interview.
MCAULIFFE
They want whatever they can get out of you. You know, if you’re willing
to go out and shovel the snow off somebody’s roof, they’ll let you
do it, you know. They’ll call up and ask you to do it. And, they come into
the office here. They want you to pay their parking tickets. They get mad at
you if you don’t. And I’ve paid a lot of parking tickets in my day.
Cuts back to Irene et al. walking and talking with same black woman with white
hat.
SONG
When other friendships are up the creek, ours will still be slick.
IRENE
How long you been here, Miss Young?
Camera zooms in on gesticulating woman as they walk.
MISS YOUNG
I’ve been here for 27 years baby. (that’s right) And, I’m going
to still be here. They don’t clean out the sewer.
Pans to Irene talking to producer (both women are talking at same time)
IRENE
So that’s why I was telling you about the service beforehand was bad.
MISS YOUNG
I always say when election day comes, that’s when we see ‘em.
IRENE
Like I said that’s why I’m so happy about...
MISS YOUNG
Long as we don’t have no buses. They took all the buses out from us and
everything. I wish I had time to talk to you. I could give you a whole book.
IRENE
Alright. Alright. Well, I got to...
Cut to interview with Al Padalino, volunteer for Alderman Ocasio
AL PADALINO
It’s like a hate/love thing. You know, really no one really likes to get
up at 7:00 in the morning on Saturday or Sunday, on your day off, and come in
here and try to go out and knock on doors and have our people come in and sign
them. But, you know, it’s like, I don’t know, it’s like a funny
thing. You get a high from it.
Cuts to back view of Fred Rupley, a retired salesman who goes door to door for
Alderman
He talks to a little girl on a bike.
RUPLEY
Your folks home?
NARRATION
The great door-to-door men are in a class by themselves.
Fred Rupley approaches a house and greeting a middle aged man in a t-shirt.
RUPLEY
Hi, how are you?
MAN
Alright, how are you?
RUPLEY
I’m a volunteer worker for Alderman Doherty.
MAN
Yes.
RUPLEY
You’re familiar with Brian?
MAN
Yes I am.
NARRATION
It takes knowledge of the candidate, enthusiasm for his programs, and person
to person skills that would make an encyclopedia salesman proud.
Cuts to Rupley sidewalk interview.
RUPLEY
First of all, to be a good person to walk a precinct and meet the voters, #1
you should make a good appearance, so in case somebody is a little bit leery
about opening the door, if they see a person that’s halfway decent, well
dressed, they’ll open the door. I mean, if you, long hair, stuff like that,
it don’t work with precincts, especially this type of neighborhood like
this.
Rupley begins to walk and talk.
RUPLEY
You don’t want to intimidate the voter at all. You want ‘em to be
comfortable around you.
Rupley says hi to some kids roller skating by.
Cuts to Rupley at a brick house continuing to talk about his method while waiting
for someone to answer the door.
RUPLEY
You see, a lot of times with older people, I take a step back because they don’t
see you if you’re right up by the door and they want to peek out a little
bit over there. So, a lot of times if you stand right there you more or less
intimidate the person, so you want to step back a little bit.
Cuts to Rupley ringing another doorbell and then stepping back to wait.
Cuts back to Rupley stepping back from the brick house doorway.
Cuts back to interview with Al Padalino at his desk.
PADALINO
When you go out, you have to expect everything from “Hello, how are you”
to “hit the road.”
Cuts back to Rupley at another house.
RUPLEY
Hi, how are ya?
Camera pans to woman leaning out door.
WOMAN
Hi, good. How are you?
RUPLEY
I’m a volunteer worker for Alderman Doherty.
WOMAN
No thanks. Not interested.
She closes the door and goes inside.
RUPLEY
Not interested, hah? Thank you.
Camera stays on CU of Rupley as he retreats.
RUPLEY
Well, we know what that is.
Cut back to interview with Padalino
PADALINO
You name it. You’ll get it when you go out there and you have to learn
to deal with it. You don’t get angry. You’re not out there to be argumentative.
You just say, “Have a good day. Good morning, ma’am or sir” and
you just go on your way.
Cuts to Rupley talking to an older woman, Mrs. Reilly in her doorway.
RUPLEY
I’m wondering if we can count on your support.
MRS. REILLY
I think you possibly can.
RUPLEY
OK, I appreciate that Mrs. Reilly. Bye now.
Camera tracks Rupley as he walks away from the house.
SONG
If you ever lose your mind, I will be kind.
RUPLEY
That lady’s a good, solid plus voter for Doherty but like I was going to
say, on my callbacks I’ll emphasize the people who are ethnically related
to Brian, I’ll go after them Irishmen, you know.
SONG
It’s friendship, friendship...
RUPLEY
See that shamrock on the door. I might be wrong but nine out of ten of them
are going to be his voters.
Approaches door with shamrock and rings bell.
SONG
Ours will still be hot. Good evening, friends.
Circle fade to black. Card: “Later that evening, back at headquarters...”
Circle fade up to CU of Doherty’s hands holding +/- slips.
Cut to Doherty on couch.
DOHERTY
These are the +/-/0 slips from the precinct captains, or representatives, whatever
you wanna call them. And we can usually gauge pluses as the positive, identified
positive voters for us, minuses are negative voters against us and zeros are
undecided. Ask David Kahn who the three minuses in my precinct are. I want to
find these people.
Cuts to Bill Gritsonis, a Doherty aide, drinking a beer.
OFF CAMERA VOICE
It’s the house to your right, it’s the house to the left and the house
directly across from where you live. Those are the three minuses.
Cuts to cigar chomping man and then back to Doherty now standing
DOHERTY
Usually at the end it tightens up but it hasn’t budged off, it hasn’t
budged out of a 1 or 2% range in the last month.
PRODUCER
So what’s the percentage?
OFF CAMERA VOICE
Are you making a prediction?
DOHERTY
Am I making a prediction? Well, let’s see, uh, with these numbers and from
everything else, we have a good election day, we’re looking at 75% without
blinking an eye. We could even get close to 80.
OFF CAMERA VOICE
The mayor’s going to be riding our coat tails.
Everyone laughs.
Cuts to bundled up woman on snowy day walking the gauntlet to the polling place,
getting solicited right and left. Cuts to another woman crossing a street and
being bombarded with palm cards and literature. Title: “Election Day”
OFF CAMERA VOICE
Remember, the people’s choice.
NARRATION
Finally it’s time for the voters to show their gratitude. But there’s
still no end to the services the organizations provide.
Cut to an old person being walked by two people down the street. Cuts to Doherty
Precinct Captain, Marty Melendez, explaining his plans as he approaches a house.
MELENDEZ
What we’re going to do is we’re gonna try this young lady here. Senior
citizen. I try to set it, I’m the Precinct Captain here so I try to give
her whatever service she can’t go out to get. I give her a card and she
calls me whenever she needs something.
Cut to Marty climbing stairs.
JOHN KASS VO
The seniors talk about the nice man. You know who the nice man is? The nice
man helps them out to vote.
Cut to interview with John Kass, Chicago Tribune reporter.
KASS
He’s the nice man that fills out the voting for them. And that’s why
senior citizen precincts usually are tremendously in favor of whoever is in
office at the time. So that the nice man, and I’m sure there’s hundreds
of them in the city, go to senior’s homes right before an election and
instruct the seniors on what to do.
Back to Melendez negotiating through a door cracked open.
MELENDEZ
You know, I need your vote and I told you that. I need your vote. Every vote
counts.
Elean Straub shouts through door
ELEAN
I know that but I’m a sick old lady.
MELENDEZ
We need you. We need you.
ELEAN
But I’m sick.
Clockwise cut effect.
MELENDEZ
I’ll walk with you to the polling place.
ELEAN
Where?
MELENDEZ
Right down the corner.
ELEAN
I can’t go out in this bad weather.
MELENDEZ
Put your hat on and your, and your big overcoat. Want me to carry you?
Cut to interview with State Sen. McAuliffe wearing a cap
MCAULIFFE
Five minutes to six and the polls in those days close at 6 o’clock and
there’ll be a guy sitting around the table with his wife and four kids
and they didn’t vote. A guy’ll come in and say, “Jeez, what’ll
it take to get you to vote? $30 bucks, $40 bucks, whatever it takes, you know,
to get that family to come and vote because that might save their jobs.
Clockwise cutting effect again. Back to Elean and Melendez. She’s outside
now.
MELENDEZ
C’mon hon, please, please come with me. I need your vote. The turnouts
aren’t as good as we’d like them to be so every vote counts. Your
vote counts. That’s why I’m here to get you. I’m here to pick
you up. Please.
ELEAN
Wait till I put on my blasted shoes.
MELENDEZ
I’ll wait for ya. We’ll wait for you. OK.
ELEAN
No.
Clockwise thing again. Elean emerging in hat and coat.
ELEAN
I know what you do and what you don’t do.
MELENDEZ
I’ll gave you my card. Whenever you need anything you can call me.
ELEAN
I lost it.
MELENDEZ
You lost it. Well, I’ll give you another one. Right here. I have ‘em.
Circular wipe. They make their way off to vote while they negotiate terms.
MELENDEZ
OK, come on.
ELEAN
That step down there needs fixing.
MELENDEZ
That step? You need me to get it fixed?
ELEAN
Yeah, you see it?
MELENDEZ
I could get you the wood. I could get you the wood. You want my labor too, right?
Cut to shot from behind of the two of them walking down the street.
MELENDEZ
You can’t let them see this, ok, ‘cause you can’t bring political
literature in the polling place.
ELEAN
My memory is absolutely no good.
SONG
When other friendships have been forgot, ours will still be hot.
Circle fade to black.
Epilogue: “Brian Doherty won a new term with 76% of the vote and Marty
fixed the broken step”
Open up to interview with Eileen McNamara, reporter for the Boston Globe.
EILEEN MCNAMARA
If you actually listen to people, they’re hungry for somebody to tell about
the problems in their lives that they can’t fix on their own. I mean, that’s
what politics is. It’s community, it’s the notion that there is a
way for us together, to solve what we can’t solve alone. And you get people’s
votes by asking for them, as Tip O’Neill used to say. And, you get it by
listening to what their concerns are.
Cut to Ohio State Senator Dennis Kucinich restaurant interview.
DENNIS KUCINICH
You don’t see everyone. I mean, I know that going in, I can’t possibly
meet everyone, but I sure try to. And if it’s just five seconds, that’s
OK, ‘cause in those five seconds, I look at people. I look right in their
eye, and say something to them, whatever it is, you know if it’s just ‘Hello’,
just the words of greeting, people remember that.
Cut to Honolulu mayoral candidate Ann Kobayashi in Hawaii with a lei around
her neck handing out potato chips.
NARRATION
The pros call it “retailing votes” -- selling yourself to the voters
one handshake at a time. Perhaps the candidates seek some mystical bond, however
fleeting. Or maybe they’re just afraid that the voter they miss could be
the one that puts them over the top.
Cut to Brenda Fitzgerald handing out literature to a guy in a parking lot.
BRENDA FITZGERALD
I’m Brenda Fitzgerald, I’m running for Congress in the 7th District
of Georgia. I hope you’ll vote for me this Tuesday. Thank you.
Cut to San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Tom Ammiano in sunglasses,
greeting a topless black guy at a street fair.
TOM AMMIANO
Can I give you one of my stickers? I don’t know where you’re gonna
put it. (guy laughs) I’m running for....I’m sure it’ll be tasteful.
Thanks.
Pan to MS Ammiano from behind, saying hello to people on the street.
Cut to Dennis Kucinich greeting a huge, tattooed weight lifting cover model.
KUCINICH
My friend here made the cover of Power Lifting Magazine. Look at this. That’s
great.
Zoom in to CU of magazine cover.
WEIGHT LIFTER OC
That’s a once in a life-time honor right there, you know...
KUCINICH OC
That’s great. Look at that. What were you lifting in this? How much?
WEIGHT LIFTER
Oh, about 600 pounds.
KUCINICH
No kidding. Wow.
Cut to office interview with DJ Leary, Minnesota journalist.
D.J. LEARY
A couple of years ago, there was an election in the city of Duluth. I went and
knocked on houses, about a mile apart just to get a feel on the thing. The guy
who had been Mayor had been a very good Mayor and I asked ‘em if they were
going to vote for him the next day or his opponent. Three of the houses, out
of three, said they voting for his opponent. Two of them, when I said “Why?”
said, “You know, you didn’t come to our church picnic this year.”
Now that’s real retail-politics, and that’s kind of the expectation
people have.
Cuts to former Texas Governor Ann Richards running the gauntlet of a long line
of supporters shaking hands and saying hello.
NARRATION
Perhaps retail politics symbolizes an ideal of equality where we can look our
elected officials in the eye and size them up.
Ann Richards and screaming woman.
SCREAMER
Ann, I’m here from St. Mary’s. Here’s my mama!
NARRATION
For all the candidates who steel themselves to shake hands endlessly, there
are always a few who positively thrive in a life lived almost entirely in the
public eye.
Cut to posters of Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci being unrolled and pressed on
to boards. Cut to a man carrying a large Cianci sign across an empty warehouse.
NARRATION
And so one politician’s forced march can be another’s reason for living.
THE KING OF RETAIL
Cut to interview with Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci Jr. at an outdoor park.
BUDDY CIANCI
I’ve been Mayor now, this is my fifth term I’ll be running for and
that’s a long time. And you’ve really and truly got to want it, you’ve
got to love it, you’ve got to be dedicated to it, and you’ve got to
like to do what I’m about to go do in front of that crowd right now.
Cuts to MS Cianci walking down a sidewalk at a street festival with retainers
behind, waving to people off camera. There is music from a live band.
CIANCI
Hey! How are you? How are you?
Cuts to MS of Cianci shaking hands with a beefy looking supporter at a waterfront
festival.
CIANCI
How ya doing? Good to see ya.
Cut to Cianci greeting a succession of people in the crowd.
Title: “The King of Retail. Providence, RI”
CIANCI
Nice to see you. How’s everything going? Great. Wonderful. How ya doing?
Great. Great day for this.
Cuts to MCU kitchen interview with Rudy Cheeks, Providence journalist and radio
talk show host.
CHEEKS
I have a big portrait in my home of Sammy Davis, Jr., and I was looking at it
the other day and as Buddy is running this re-election campaign, I thought of
how much Sammy Davis Jr, and Buddy Cianci have in common.
Cut to various brief shots of Buddy at outside gatherings repeatedly commenting
on the good weather --”This is a great day!” and greeting people with
successive “How are you’s” at a barbecue, inside a bus, etc.
NARRATION
In Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor Vincent Cianci, known to all as Buddy, has
become, after five terms, a municipal fixture. Like Chicago’s Daley or
New York’s LaGuardia, Buddy Cianci is Providence. Few voters can avoid
him. He makes sure of that.
Cut to MS Buddy speaking to a young boy with his mother.
CIANCI
How are you? You’re one of my constituents. What’s your name? (Boy
holds up three fingers) Three, your name is three.
Cut to MS Buddy greeting a man holding a young boy. MAN HOLDING YOUNG BOY
How ya doin’? I’ve been getting a millions a letters from you
CIANCI
Of course, I always send letters.
MAN HOLDING YOUNG BOY
I want my tree and sidewalk replaced.
CIANCI
Alright. Take care of that, a tree and a sidewalk.
Cut MS two women dressed in black in a park
WOMAN #1
He’s done a lot of things for Providence--
WOMAN #2
He has a passion for the city of Providence.
WOMAN #1
Yeah, like he loves it.
Cut to a black man with a thick African accent.
MAN WITH THICK ACCENT
Mayor Cianci is kind of a people’s mayor. Yeah, he’s always around
the corner somewhere. You know what I’m sayin’? And that is one thing
that is good in leadership. Leadership must be able to identify with the followership.
Cut to MS Cianci greeting a young woman.
CIANCI
Did you register to vote yet?
YOUNG WOMAN
I’m going to do it today at the waterfront festival.
CIANCI
(Gesturing to a worker) He’ll register you right now. Help her register.
Cut to interview with Cianci on a balcony.
CIANCI
The public is not a stupid public, it’s a very smart public. And they know
what they want and no one is going to fool them. It’s a very, very...you
know in Texas, they have football and in Rhode Island we have politics and that
is our sport.
Cut to MS of female campaign worker at the festival.
FEMALE WORKER
One dollar and get a ballot to vote for your favorite politician to kiss that
pig! You can see Buddy Cianci kiss Petunia!
Cut to sign of Buddy with pig that says “Would you like to see this man
kiss Petunia pig?”
CIANCI
I’ve kissed a lot of pigs in my life. You ought to be kidding me. Am I
really winning this election? You know it’s not fair, cause you have one
of my big pictures here and they only have small ones. I should have a small
one. I should have one as small as they are.
Dissolve to Cianci kissing Petunia, then pig squeals loudly.
CIANCI
Hot lips!
Cut to interview with Cianci in his car
CIANCI
My recognition factor I think the pollster said was 99 percent statewide. 99.
I mean, you’d have to live in a cave if you don’t know who we were
now. I was, after twenty years. And all fame and power, I guess, is fleeting.
It goes and it comes. And sometime’s you’ll find out, uh, I’ve
been in and out and back in again. And I can tell you that, when you’re
out, you’re out, most of the time, you know.
Cut to CU Cianci on a cellphone
CIANCI
Hi, Governor. I’m down here at the waterfront festival shaking hands.
Cut to MS Cianci walking near the water by display of a large shark
CHEEKS VO
Buddy really understands politics I mean more so, than anything. He’s a
political animal.
CIANCI
Look at this shark here huh. Jaws.
CHEEKS VO
He’s a very bright guy and he is not a bad administrator. But I think that,
primarily he’s political.
CIANCI
Look at that shark. It reminds me of some of my opponents over the years. Some
of the members of the City Council looks like it. Not really. They’re nice
guys. How ya doin’?
CHEEKS VO
He really likes to press the flesh. He really likes to see people. Buddy Cianci
would attend the opening of an envelope.
Cut to MS Buddy dancing with a row of elderly tap dancers in silver outfits.
NARRATION
The citizens of Providence treat Cianci like a successful uncle at a family
reunion. He knows everybody and everybody knows his business.
Cut to a luncheon with many elderly women.
MS of one lady at a table
ELDERLY LADY
Buddy, how many pounds have you lost?
CIANCI
I lost thirty-six pounds.
ELDERLY LADY
Whoa. Looking good. (Applause)
Pan left to Cianci, taking off his blazer and showing off.
CIANCI
Thirty-six, give me some more?
Cut to MS of Cianci with Providence Councilwoman Joan DiRuzzo at the mike on
a small stage at a street fair.
LADY WITH THE MIKE
Mayor, besides saying you’re looking really good, and you are single, and
I’m single...
CIANCI
Who knows what might happen? (Laughing)
NARRATION
For Buddy Cianci, not much separates his public and private lives. Nothing is
off-limits. Not even the breakup of a nine-year love affair.
Cut to MS Cianci talking with another female supporter
WOMAN
How’s it going?
CIANCI
Pretty good.
WOMAN
How’s Wendy?
CIANCI
She’s, uh, getting married today in Barbados or someplace.
WOMAN
Gee, I didn’t know that.
CIANCI
Yeah, some other guy. Good luck to her.
WOMAN
I’m sorry about that.
CIANCI
That’s ok. See ya later.
Cut to MS of Cianci talking to a man dressed as Uncle Sam. UNCLE SAM
Are you getting married to Wendy?
CIANCI
Nah, Wendy’s getting married this afternoon in Barbados.
UNCLE SAM
No.
CIANCI
Yeah. Bad move. For me. (To people walking by) Hello. How are you? Thank you.
Hasn’t been a very good day for me, you know. Hey, good to see ya. Thanks.
Cut to MS Cianci in a car in an interview.
CIANCI
It’s kind of a lonely day-to-day, you know. Just alone, going from place
to place, from one advance-man to the next one. But if you don’t like it,
you shouldn’t be in it.
Cut to WS from inside of car of streets whizzing by
CIANCI IN VO
My whole life has been this city. So it’s tough for me to say I don’t
want to do things in it.
Cut to MS Cianci in car.
CIANCI
Oh, look at this bride. Stop, I wanna say hello to the bride. Isn’t that
nice?
NARRATION
There will be politicians like Buddy Cianci as long as there are closely-knit
towns like Providence.
Cut to MS Cianci walking up a brick path to bride and groom NARRATION
Places where the age of high technology has not broken the bonds between the
voters and their elected officials.
CIANCI
How ya doing? That’s the prettiest sight I’ve seen. I only see demonstrations
here, you know, and riots and things.
GROOM
How are you doing?
CIANCI
Great.
GROOM
Good to see you.
CIANCI
Good. I’ll just give the bride a kiss. Isn’t that nice?
BRIDE
Thank you.
CIANCI
Beautiful. Congratulations. Where are you going on your honeymoon?
BRIDE & GROOM
St. Martin’s.
CIANCI
Oh, how nice
LS- trio pause for several seconds and pose for pictures.
Cut to black.
Card: “Buddy is now serving his fifth term as mayor. Recently, a poll named
him the man Rhode Islanders would most like to date.”
Opens with CU Mike Turpen, Oklahoma Democratic party leader, being interviewed
outside.
MIKE TURPEN
I used to believe that in Oklahoma, you could go to all 77 counties and go to
every bean dinner and every fish fry, every Lions’ Club, Ladies Night,
every Court house, every coffee shop. I did it that way, you know the high touch
way, you gotta go shake the hands you gotta go talk to the people, and you gotta
let somebody shake your hand, look you in the eye, and size you up, that's the
Oklahoma way.
Jump cut to Turpen at a different angle.
TURPEN
And then my pollster sat me down once and my TV guy sat me down once and said,
“Mike, you been to all 77 counties. You’ve talked to the people. You’ve
moved the people. But, you’ve only met 5% of the people, man. Now you gotta
meet the other 95%. Are you ready just to sit down, get on the telephone, raise
some money and just get on television?”
Cut to interview with Mario Cuomo, former Governor of New York.
CUOMO
If they were to put on television a Lincoln-Douglas debate, nobody would watch
it in this country. Why? Cause they've got 79 other channels. Bink, wrestling,
bink, wrestling in the mud. Nude women. Stay there for a bit. You wanted to
go back to a two hour debate between two guys vying for Commissioner of Deeds?
So it's television I think.
Cut to black.
Fade up to shots of cameramen coming down a hallway, with Mariachi trumpet music.
Cuts to CA gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Brown walking down same hallway
with cameramen filming her.
Dolly shot by cameramen and tripods at an outdoor event.
Technician pinning a lavaliere on Kathleen Brown in a crowd of people.
NARRATION
With more and more Americans living in suburban sprawl, the old ways of person-to-person
politicking are less effective. Nowadays, a hand’s not worth shaking unless
there are at least ten cameras there to record it.
Cut to shot of Governor Wilson and another man from behind walking down a hall
with being filmed by cameras.
Cut to shots of Brown shaking hands with people and saying “Thank you,
thank you.”
NARRATION
And if you have 35 million hands to shake, you’ve no choice but to keep
your campaign electronic.
Music surges anew as we drive by the Brown bus.
Title: “Magical Media Tour. Bakersfield, CA”
Cut to Kathleen inside the bus giving an interview to Mark Coogan, a local news
reporter.
KATHLEEN BROWN
This is hour sixteen of our twenty-nine hour marathon tour through California.
This is like Harry Truman, when he took a whistle-stop tour across California.
We’re leaving the pollsters, we’re leaving the pundits, we’re
leaving the consultants behind and we’re taking my plan to rebuild California
to the people.
COOGAN
It will only be any good though if there are cameras waiting at the stops in
the middle of the night.
KATHLEEN BROWN
Hey, we got cameras right here. This is for 1996, they’re looking at the
future, you’re today, and...
COOGAN
That’s the problem.
NARRATION
So if you can dream up a stunt that will pull in coverage for free, well that’s
fewer TV commercials you have to pay for.
Cuts to Kathleen Brown exiting bus at a campaign stop and shaking hands.
Cut to CU Amy Wallace and Mitchell Benson, two print reporters, on the tour
bus.
AMY WALLACE
It’s twenty-nine hours to bring the campaign back to the people, that’s
what I think it’s about. Is that right?
MITCHELL BENSON
Twenty-nine hours to bring the campaign back to the people, bring the people
back into the system, and..
AMY WALLACE
...turn the lights on..
MITCHELL BENSON
...turn the lights on, and shed the demons, and uh...
AMY WALLACE
...talk about the plan.
MITCHELL BENSON
Talk about the plan.
Cut to MS Kathleen Brown talking to reporters, with a crowd of supporters behind
her holding signs.
KATHLEEN BROWN
I have a written economic plan to rebuild California.
Zoom into close-up of plan
KATHLEEN BROWN
Pete Wilson has no plan.
Cut to Brown back on the tour bus talking to reporters.
KATHLEEN BROWN
I’ve got a written plan to rebuild California. That is unconventional in
this day and age in California. My opponent only has thirty-second spots.
Cut to MS Mitchell Benson.
BENSON
As someone who accompanied Kathleen Brown to a lamb slaughterhouse several months
ago, and nearly lost my breakfast, lunch and dinner on the slaughterhouse floor,
I’ve got a horrible feeling that we’ve got another dead-animal stop
on this trip. (laughter)
Cut to brief WS of turkeys hanging along a rod as they are processed.
Cut to shot from inside of darkened bus. A man, presumably a campaign worker,
climbs onto bus, as a female campaign worker asks him a question.
FEMALE CAMPAIGN WORKER
Can you tell me what cameras are out here please?
MALE CAMPAIGN WORKER
What cameras are out here?
FEMALE CAMPAIGN WORKER
Yeah, what stations are here? Do you know?
MALE CAMPAIGN WORKER
Um, no. I think 24...
FEMALE CAMPAIGN WORKER
There’s five of them? That’s fine.
Cut to Brown and cameras in a hallway at Zackie Farms.Cut to Kathleen Brown
speaking to a couple of seated workers at the plant.
WORKER 1
We start the plant.
KATHLEEN BROWN
Well, you start the plant, great...
WORKER 2
Nine o’clock last night.
K. BROWN
Nine o’clock last night. Well, we started at 8 a.m. yesterday morning.
Have you gotten a chance to read my plan to rebuild California? Well, let me
give that to you.
Cut to various shots of Brown greeting workers at the plant. They are surrounded
by TV lights and cameras. Cut to MS cameraman shooting the scene.
NARRATION
It may look like retail politics and it may sound like retail politics, but
the players are merely props in a larger show, for customers who are hundreds
of miles away, hopefully watching on their TV’s. What’s left is ritual.
Cut to CU local cameraman
CAMERAMAN
I don’t really like it that much. I don’t think it’s really that
important, considering we have a ten o’clock news, this is three o’clock
in the morning, we’re gonna be showing this ten o’clock tonight ,
and I think it’s really not that important, you know. Just because it’s
their last stop in Fresno before the election, that’s the only reason we’re
here.
PRODUCER
Somebody must have thought it was important
CAMERAMAN
Oh, sure, the guy that assigns things and is still in bed right now, he thinks
it’s important.
Cut to WS of bus driving towards and past cameraman.
Cuts back to bus and Kathleen Brown phone interview.
BROWN
Yes you can call me Kathleen. It is a big party, we’ve got cookies and
water and diet drinks and a lot of cameras and reporters. We are seeing California
the old fashioned way.
Cut to WS of skyline whizzing by on a bridge, as the tour bus passes through
view of camera.
Cut to WS of a crowd of supporters standing in a plaza holding up a banner.
PRODUCER
Why are you doing in the middle of a plaza?
MALE SUPPORTER
We’re background. We’re background for Kathleen Brown’s interview
upstairs.
FEMALE SUPPORTER
She’s getting interviewed up there. We’re the background. They’re
shooting this way and they can see us standing here as she’s being interviewed.
See, it’s a visual thing.
Cut to clip of interview with Kathleen Brown with supporters in background,
boxed in red.
K. BROWN
That’s why I’m out on the road, that’s why I’ve been in
a bus for twenty-four hours, that’s why I’ve got a written economic
plan endorsed by economists, business leaders, law enforcement, and educators.
Cut to MS another local cameraman outside the building in San Francisco with
his camera on his shoulder.
PRODUCER
So what happens now? Is this gonna be on the news tonight?
CAMERAMAN
This? Oh, yeah, I’ll be editing it, so we’ll put on a little bit of
each stop. The whole thing will be a minute thirty. Twelve hours condensed into
a minute thirty.
Cuts to news anchor introducing bus tour survivor/reporter. Divided screen with
live shot.
ANCHOR
Eyewitness News reporter Mark Coogan is live now with us from San Francisco
with the full story. Mark?
Coogan live shot.
COOGAN
Well, Gene, since 7 am yesterday in Sacramento, Kathleen Brown has been on the
move.
Cuts to package of bus tour with footage of Brown at campaign event at Universal
City, the bus, news crews, etc.
Cuts to CU of Brown on the phone from the bus.
BROWN
We are seeing California the old fashioned way.
Cuts to Fresno campaign stop with lots of cameras at Zackie Farms.
COOGAN
3 am in Fresno and a media jackpot. 5 TV cameras are waiting at the Zackie Farms
chicken processing plant where the graveyard shift is on lunch break.
Cut to shot of Brown being interviewed by several reporters. Fade to fuzzy TV
static.
Sound of TV reporter’s summary remains.
Fade to black: “The following week, Kathleen Brown pulled her campaign
ads off the air for lack of money. She lost to Pete Wilson, 57 to 39 percent.”
Opens with Rudy Cheeks interview.
CHEEKS
The one thing that we’ve become expert at is marketing. And politicians,
not unlike soft drinks or anything else, just are marketable commodities.
Cuts to Nancy Bocskor interview. She is a GOP fundraiser.
BOCSKOR
I’ve always told candidates that it’s 95% image and only 5% issue.
And I wish I could tell you that wasn’t true. I wish that the electorate
would decide on whether or not they’re going to vote for a candidate because
of his or her stand on taxes, the economy, whatever. And actually it’s
whether they not, whether or not a voter likes a person’s smile, whether
a person was friendly when they first met him...
Cuts to Bill Simpson interview. Simpson is a Washington lobbyist and former
political operative in Mississippi.
SIMPSON
I was talking to a political guy in Mississippi one time, and we were talking
about issues, and we were talking about the good ones and the bad ones and the
weak ones and the strong ones and the vote getters and the non-vote getters
and all that, and he said to me, “Bill you take all the issues and give
‘em to the other guy, give me a devil to beat.”
Cut to WS of guy stealing a woman’s purse with sound of still camera clicking
photos.
BARRY BARON OC
That was absolutely perfect!
Camera pulls back to include Baron, freelance photographer for GOP causes.
BARRY BARON
Ha ha can't do any better! He's got this maniacal devil look you know.
Camera circles around the scene.
BARON
Oh, Cut. (laughs) I'm sorry. You have to say cut or they don’t do it and
they're union or something. I don't know.
NARRATION
For as long as politics has been practiced in America, there’s also been
a dark side to getting the voters’ attention.
Cut to MS of Baron acting out scene for actors.
BARON
We catch the eggs flying in mid-air and all this kind of thing and then the
reality really becomes real. I mean, it really happens.
NARRATION
For candidates with a law-and-order message, a staged crime scene may be just
the thing for direct mail.
Cut to WS of guy stealing woman’s purse.
Goes into still frames of scene of guy stealing woman’s purse with sounds
of camera and then into real time as the guy runs past the camera and camera
follows him over to Baron.
BARON
The first thing you do when you go home is probably look at your mail. You sit
over the trash can in the kitchen and you sort it out and you get all the bills
and put them over there and sometimes I throw the bills away but not really.
And junk mail goes by you. Well political mail sometimes to most people looks
like junk mail.
CU of ad "tired of being stepped on by politicians" camera pulls out
to full shot of it
BARON VO
But it you can get a piece of mail into somebody’s hands and it has a question,
“what will you do?”
Cut back to Baron with actor
BARON
You have got to open that page out of sheer curiosity, human, human interest
and if you get that 12 seconds, they've sold you.
CU of still photo of woman fighting off the 2 guys trying to steal her purse-
one guy has a gun.
WS of same ad with text “Because of liberal politicians like Dianne Feinstein,
career criminals are paroled to commit crimes again and again,” with sound
of camera clicking.
CU of guy with nylon over his face holding gun close to the camera
WS of above image in ad with text "Republican Rob Romain thinks this guy
should be in jail"
CU of woman falling, with purse in foreground being stolen.
WS of same image with text "Crime is out of control. We can watch or we
can do something about it.”
Cut back to photo shoot. Baron is sitting behind the camera.
BARON
Make sure the purse is in your left hand and you can fly with it. (Laughs) One
of those kind of things if you want to do that.
ACTRESS VO
I'm not worried about it being abused.
Cut to MS of above actress standing with the two other actors
ACTRESS
Basically I trust Barry- he's fairly conservative and I am too.
Cut to WS of Barry demonstrating the action of the thief stealing her purse
with the actress.
ACTRESS VO
Doing this as a freelance actress I feel like I can help out in my own little
way
Cut to of actress and Baron showing her how to fall with her grocery bag.
ACTOR
Just as long as we’re not the next Willy Horton that’s that’s
my...
ACTRESS
Do you guys get that? Willy Horton?
WS of woman actress being attacked by the two actors with guns.
BILL SIMPSON VO
If you can put something before them that scares them, that they think is against
their best interest--
In background Baron giving directions.
BARON
Look at the gun, look at the gun, look at the gun.
Cut to interview with Bill Simpson, former Mississippi political operative,
now a Washington lobbyist.
SIMPSON
Then I think that they will vote against that kind of a picture if you present
it to ‘em and I think that’s why negative campaigning works.
Cut to attack ad on Ernesto Ancira.
COMMERCIAL VO
Ernesto Ancira lied. Just like a used car salesman. Ancira lied about Gregory
Luna’s position on crime. The police denounced Ancira. He lied about Gregory
Luna’s ...
Cut to MS of Hank Sheinkopf, Democratic media consultant, on the phone at his
desk feet up on the desk with lap top in the foreground.
SHEINKOPF
First order for business is to get one spot written to get it around to get
it produced and to get up on the air with a target of Tuesday, OK? Let’s
get me that material. Let Austin and I talk about it and let’s figure it
out from there alright? (sits up in chair and puts glasses on) No fucking around
guys. We'll make this guy bleed. I don’t know if I can win it for you but
I love your brother and you've been my friend and we'll do the best we can.
Dissolve to CU Sheinkopf on the phone
NARRATION
Hank Sheinkopf devises media campaigns for aspiring Mayors, Presidents, Judges
and Congressmen.
SHEINKOPF
No that idiot, that idiot Republican Congressman on the coast.
NARRATION
His sworn mission: to vanquish Republicans at every turn.
SHEINKOPF
I got stuff going up starting next Wednesday, for that woman Weiner who’s
going to bust his ass. Because he’s one of those Nazis that have just been...
Cut to CU Sheinkopf in kitchen interview.
SHEINKOPF
You know I have a reputation of being a tough guy. Well I am. I've fought for
everything I’ve gotten in life but that doesn't mean that I ought to become
a Republican, and say, “Well I fought for it you, get off your ass and
fight for it too.” It means I have an obligation to do what’s right
and I think I’m involved in important things. I think telling a powerful
no for little guys, which is something I like to do, is important.
Back of Sheinkopf walking in between columns and opens the glass doors into
the courthouse Lower third: “Alabama State Courthouse 8 a.m”.
SHEINKOPF
We’re going into the chief’s office.
MS shot of Alabama State Supreme Court Chief Justice Sonny Hornsby putting a
book into the bookcase and turning towards Sheinkopf’s TV cameras (he's
in profile)
HORNSBY
My opponent has accused me of negotiating a secret deal to stack our courts
-- that is absolutely not true.
Cuts to a wider straight on shot with the camera pulling back to include the
camera crew
Lower third: Chief Justice Sonny Hornsby
HORNSBY
But I do support the state's settlement for two good reasons: #1 it keeps the
federal government from taking over your state courts, and #2 it keeps you from
losing your right to vote on all of the judges. I trust you.
Camera has panned over to Sheinkopf looking down at monitor.
MS of monitor.
HORNSBY
I trust you. I trust you. I trust you.
Sheinkopf giving direction.
SHEINKOPF
I trust you, buh buh buh buh buh. Pause, Sonny. The Courts belong to you.
Cuts to Director with gesticulating fists.
DIRECTOR
You know this. Just preach it, preach it.
Cuts to reaction shot of Hornsby smiling.
Cuts to Sheinkopf at shoot standing by lights.
SHEINKOPF
What’s really going on here is that these fancy-assed boys are conspiring
with the fools in Washington to try to destroy us and telling you that’s
OK. Well, I’m not going to let that happen. And I’ll do anything I
can to stop ‘em including kicking ‘em in the ass. I mean, that’s
really what you’re saying but you can’t say that.
Cuts to Hornsby smiling. Pan to the director looking at the monitor.
SHEINKOPF VO
That’s the argument.
DIRECTOR
Sonny, just stand still in place for me a minute. Just look at camera.
SHEINKOPF VO
Alabama politics are the purest in the country, ‘cause you always know
who the enemy is. And that's I guess why I fit so well down here. My competitors
used to say--
Cut back to kitchen interview with Sheinkopf.
SHEINKOPF
– “How do you get down there? You don't talk like them,” you
know, obvious meaning, “Hello, kike from NY, you're not supposed to be
there, “ I don't mind that. They used to call me kike I used to hit ‘em
on the head with a baseball bat. And I've done it, and I'm known for it.
Cut to WS Hornsby reciting his lines to himself in the corner
HORNSBY
My opponent has accused me. My opponent has accused me of negotiating a secret
deal.
Cut to MCU Sheinkopf on the phone.
SHEINKOPF
Congressman, I think the following is going to happen. I think that 3 and a
half weeks out, if he has enough money, he's going to bang your brains in. He's
going to call you a tax and spend liberal, a Bill Clinton surrogate, one of
the Washington insiders. And at that point, the day he opens his mouth you have
to be prepared to kick the shit out of this guy and leave him dead in the street.
But in order to lay that in you’ve got to have enough positive information
to make that work.
Cut back to WS of Hornsby shoot with Hornsby in the far background and Sheinkopf
in foreground watching the monitor
HORNSBY
I trust you to decide cases as jurors and to elect your judges. The courts belong
to you.
Sheinkopf turns to Director and shakes his hand.
Cuts to MS of Hornsby.
SHEINKOPF OC
That’s very good. That’s it. That’s the one.
DIRECTOR
Last take. That’s the one. That’s it.
HORNSBY
Let’s quit now. Ya’ll say, ‘that’s a wrap.’ Thank you.
Thank you.
Cut to Hornsby on monitor
Lower third: “Editing Room. Austin, Texas”
HORNSBY
–It keeps you from losing your right to vote on all the judges. I trust
you.
SHEINKOPF OC
I mean, can we just animate him or do something? He looks like a fucking dead
man up there, I mean, you know.
COMMERCIAL VO
Sonny Hornsby, working for justice.
Cuts to MCU profile shot of Sheinkopf in editing room.
SHEINKOPF
I think that that fucking close out blows and what I want to do.
EDITOR
I’ll re touch it.
SHEINKOPF
Let’s get him freezed and squeezed to right corner, matte it and get the
logo in. Alright? And then, let’s get it out.
Sheinkopf walks off camera.
Cuts to CU Sheinkopf interview with temporary filing cabinet behind.
SHEINKOPF
You got to do this stuff in a way that’s, kind of ironically, is entertaining,
that brings people in, forces them to want to be involved, because you’ve
got three seconds and then they’re gone.
Cuts to editing room monitor and another cut of the Hornsby ad.
COMMERCIAL VO
Circuit Judge Perry Hooper Sr. put convicted felon Jerry Hamilton back on the
streets and stopped a District Attorney’s effort to revoke Hamilton’s
probation. He personally intervened with another judge to free Hamilton and
he signed a bank note so that Hamilton could buy a car, perhaps the same car
he used in the kidnapping and murder of young court reporter, Missy DeVaughn?
Cut to CU Sheinkopf interview in the kitchen
SHEINKOPF
The public sits around all day long and says “Negative campaigning this,
negative campaigning that. It’s bad, it’s bad, it’s bad.”
It’s like pornography. You know? Everybody says “pornography is bad.”
My question is, how do you know what pornography is? And the average person
will look at you and say, “I don't look. I never saw pornography. Let me
see some. No, I'm not looking at that.” You know? But they look.
Cut to CU Sheinkopf on phone, reading from a script.
SHEINKOPF ON PHONE
“You sent Shirley Brown to Tallahassee because you wanted change. That's
exactly what she's doing. Re-elect Representative Shirley Brown. Changing the
way Tallahassee does business.” That's good, Mitch.
Cut to CU profile Sheinkopf still on the phone
SHEINKOPF
“Steve Brewer, as prosecutor sent rapists and murderers to prison. A husband,
father of four,” No, he's not a husband, he's husband, right?
Cut back to editor and then back to Sheinkopf
SHEINKOPF VO
I'd like to have “rapists, murderers to prison”, or “murdering
rapists”. You know, if we're gonna take blood, I want to take real blood.
Cut to CU Sheinkopf on phone
SHEINKOPF ON PHONE
Women and children, period. Don't fuck around, get to the..no, go to the point.
Cut to MS Sheinkopf, on phone
SHEINKOPF ON PHONE
Come on, Mitch, I want to eat.
Cut to MS Sheinkopf
SHEINKOPF
Come on, Mitch. I got work to do.
Cut to CU Sheinkopf on the phone
SHEINKOPF
– protecting you is all that matters.” That’s very good Mitch.
Cut to CU profile Sheinkopf on phone
SHEINKOPF ON PHONE
That's pretty good, you know. I like that.
Cut to TV monitor, with words "Why did Perry Hooper protect Hamilton?"
ANNOUNCER ON TV
Why did Perry Hooper protect Hamilton? What hold did Hamilton have on Hooper?
More shots of edited images on monitor.
SHEINKOPF VO
You got to force the action. That's what this business is about. It's about
combat.
Cut back to interview with Sheinkopf
SHEINKOPF
Power doesn't give up anything. My business is getting power for people or holding
onto power for people who know how to use power. And in that context, the only
way you win is by combat. This is war.
Cut to TV monitor running campaign commercial
ANNOUNCER ON TV
Do you want Perry Hooper to be Chief Justice of our Supreme Court?
Cut to MS Sheinkopf, holding phone
SHEINKOPF
Somebody's gotta avenge this shit, you know? I'm serious, that's my job. I'm
the avenger. I'm serious. These are bad people. Fuck you, Mitch. (hangs up phone)
Fade to black.
Cut to Lynn Nofziger interview. He worked as a political advisor for the Reagan
administration.
NOFZIGER
Maybe politics has gone down but when you look back at old presidential elections,
for example, you will find there was a lot of mudslinging in those. It just
wasn’t as graphic. I mean, they had to do it verbally rather than pictorially.
Pleasant piano music rises up.
Intertitle: “If TV had been around 200 years ago (Taken from actual campaign
literature)”
Cuts to anti-Jefferson ad with histrionic visuals.
COMMERCIAL VO
A nation destroyed, dwellings in flames, grey hairs bathed in blood, female
chastity violated, children writhing on the pike and halbert.
It happened in France. But it could happen right here in America if Thomas Jefferson
is elected President.
Murder, robbery, rape, and incest will be openly taught and practiced. The soil
will be soaked in blood and the nation black with crimes.
Great God of compassion and justice, shield our country from destruction. Vote
Federalist.
Paid for by the Adams 1800 Committee. Alexander Hamilton, Treasurer.
Fade to black
NARRATION
So, what is the best way to win elections?
Cut to interview with San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
WILLIE BROWN
I’ve participated in campaigns where I have outspent the other side three
to one. I have put more mail and more of everything into the hands of voters
and never really reached the voters. So what you really have to do is you have
to do it all.
You have to do television, you have to do radio, you have to do specialty mail,
you have to door-to-door, you have to do general mail, you have to do voter
registration. And then you pray.
Cut to logo.
*** END OF PART ONE ***