Chapter 6 #2
“Then what happened?” Mary asked, intrigued.
“Well, as I understand it, that’s around when she met her fiancé, Casey Morgan.
He’s a big shot lobbyist. I looked him up today.
His firm represents everything from big oil to vaping—the new tobacco companies.
He makes a ton of money and gives a lot of it to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
And he connected her to these Democratic donors who created For the Win. ”
“And so, his name helps her get her foot in the door all around D.C.?” Mary was catching on.
“Correct. And now they’re like a power couple. They have a townhouse in Georgetown and host a lot of cocktail parties. She’s always posting these pictures of them as ‘seen around town.’”
“Oh, that sounds awful,” Harper said. She wasn’t the type that wanted to rub elbows.
“But Kitty loves it. And she appears to be living her best life,” Dot said, with a twinge of envy.
They turned their attention back to the call.
“Let me show you what we’re up against.” Kitty pulled up a county-by-county map of the US.
The red states for Republican, the blue Democrat.
“And the purple states switch back and forth between the two. These are your battlegrounds: Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Of all these, we believe Wisconsin is our best bet for a flip from red back to blue this cycle.”
Kitty continued her presentation, giving some statistics on the slim margins of the last election.
“You might be wondering what you can do to help,” she said. Then she smiled, signaling she was about to make her pitch. “I thought you’d never ask!”
The Zoom counter was now over 7,500.
“There are several ways to volunteer. Of course, For the Win will support traditional phone banks plus door knockers and convention helpers.”
Harper’s eyes watered after she accidentally consumed too much wasabi and she flapped her hand in front of her mouth to try to cool it down.
“I bet this is where they ask us for money!” she said through the pain.
But that’s not what Kitty needed. She needed something more valuable and complex than donations.
“So, this is the new idea I’m proud to announce.
I’m looking for a few good people to move to a purple state for the year—well, ten and a half months, starting in January this year.
Why? Because I don’t believe we have enough real-time information about what’s going on in those states, and that’s why we lost some very close races, including the White House, the last time around.
We need more eyes and ears on the ground sending back observations and intelligence to For the Win, or, as we like to call it, FTW. ”
Mary gently rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t she realize that FTW takes longer to say than For the Win? Abbreviations are supposed to make things shorter.”
Dot giggled and then double checked they were on mute. She didn’t want to offend Kitty.
“And For the Win, thanks to our generous donors, will pay for everything—housing, transportation, and living costs. This effort could make all the difference. And, as I mentioned, our top target is Wisconsin. It’s essential to victory—without those ten electoral votes, we’ll lose again.”
Dot imagined that Kitty would also benefit if FTW was able to help deliver the White House to the Dems. Was this ploy part of her plan to land a job at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
Dot felt another sting of career-choice regret watching Kitty make her pitch.
Coming out of college, Dot had thought about following her passion, which was politics, but she hadn’t wanted to leave the city, and local politics seemed too small for her.
Plus, she thought she’d make more money in tech.
Not to mention that living in D.C. sounded dull.
But watching Kitty command a conference call with thousands of people and being able to wield influence through a Democratic organization flush with cash made Dot feel like maybe she’d made the wrong decision.
Kitty had put herself on the fast track and had a glamorous, meaningful job. It was everything high-tech PR was not.
An impulse came over Dot, and she pushed the “raise hand” button. Kitty immediately called on her.
“Dot Clark, my longtime friend from NYU, thank you so much for being on the call. Everyone, Dot’s the best! Go ahead.” Kitty was laying it on a bit thick.
Dot started to speak.
“Dot, you’re on mute,” Kitty said with mild annoyance.
“Oh, sorry. Hi, Kitty. You remember my friends Mary and Harper—they’re here, too.”
Kitty waved to them.
“Of course, Mary, Harper, you look gorgeous. Send me some of your secrets!”
Mary waved then collected the lap trays they’d used for dinner to put them away.
Dot continued, “Hi, everyone.” She wiped her palms on her pants. “So . . . where in Wisconsin would you want people to live for a year?”
There was a clatter in the kitchen as Mary dropped the trays onto the counter.
“Dot. Are you serious?” she yelled from the other room.
Kitty smiled, like she had a live one on the line.
“Good question. We’ve mapped it all out—to the county level.
The most important place for us is in a suburb of Milwaukee called Cedar Falls.
That’s a town in the swingiest county in Wisconsin.
It’s flipped back and forth from red to blue every election since Bush-Gore.
And while in the last cycle they went a little to the left, the rest of the state went to the right.
But it’s a growing county, and with just a few more votes for Democrats in that area, we could have won it. ”
“And so, in theory, someone volunteers to move there and sends back information and works on the campaign?” Dot asked.
“Precisely. I truly believe a lack of on-the-ground intelligence held us back. The campaign last cycle relied way too much on algorithms. We lost track of what people actually think.”
There was silence for a moment and Dot stared into the distance, as if she could see Wisconsin from her apartment. Was she nuts to think this would be amazing and maybe just the shake-up she needed in her life?
Kitty jumped back in. “And to repeat, FTW would cover all expenses. Housing, transportation, and a generous living allowance. We have the funds to do it.” Trying to close the sale, she asked Dot, “Are you interested? Wisconsin is lovely in January!” she joked.
“But you’d be in the heart of the country—and the ultimate battleground in the election. ”
Dot quickly shook her head no. “Oh, I was just curious. It’s a good idea. But obviously not for me. I mean . . . I’m a New Yorker through and through!” Her voice hit a higher octave. She didn’t want to be rude, but who would leave the city to move . . . anywhere.
“Well, let me know if you change your mind. It’s for less than a year, and I think you’d find it much more rewarding than . . .” Kitty’s voice trailed off.
Ouch, Dot thought. But she’s not wrong.
Kitty kept the call going.
“Now, let’s go to Skylar in Arizona. Hi, Skylar.”
Dot put the computer back on mute.
“Is it that bad with Ryan that you’re thinking of running off to political summer camp in Oshkosh? You know you can’t leave the city!” Mary looked shocked.
“Yeah, you can’t leave me here with all these . . . New Yorkers.” Harper looked at Dot, trying to read how serious she was.
“Harper, you’re from Brooklyn,” Mary said.
“Exactly. And look where it’s gotten me!”
“I’m not moving to Wisconsin. But I feel like I need to do something.” Dot was restless.
“Then let’s go out next weekend. We’re in a rut, and we need to move with a purpose.
” Mary liked to organize nights out, and she liked the little dig at Kitty.
“Let’s go to the Spaniard Saturday night.
I’ll text Jimmy for a rez.” Jimmy was the super-hot bartender that Mary flirted with every time they were in there.
“I’m afraid I’ll only be able to drink water. I can’t afford to go out.” Harper knew that cocktails were about twenty dollars a pop.
“I’ve got you,” Mary said. “Besides, Jimmy will get us the first round.”
“You can’t keep covering me.”
“It’s not for forever. Just shut up and say yes.”
“Okay, yes.”
Dot glanced back at the Zoom. Kitty was poli-girl explaining some more charts.
After Harper and Mary left her apartment, Dot dried and put away the plates Mary had washed in the sink. It occurred to her that she still hadn’t responded to Ryan’s text asking her to dinner.
She gathered the trash and took the bag to the chute. She listened for it to hit the bottom and then went back to her apartment, secured the lock, and decided to call it a night.
Her last thought before falling asleep wasn’t of Ryan.
It was of Wisconsin.