The Vote - first 10 pagesA Screenplay by agoldsmith Political drama set in the 1960s about a ruthless young politician who gets one last long shot to save his career. FADE IN: EXT. �" WASHINGTON DC - DAY Sequence of images of 1960’s Washington DC in winter: U.S. Capitol with a flag flying at half mast. The White House. Union Station. A street in Georgetown, dominated by a Federal style mansion as heavy snow comes down. INT. TALMADGE MANSION �" DAY African American hands setting a long table with crystal, china, flowers and silverware. INT. TALMADGE MANSION �" DAY A Washington DC Mansion. Marble floors, dark woodwork and high narrow windows. Snow falling outside. Uniformed African American maids and servants preparing for a party. A photograph of President Kennedy draped with a black ribbon. INT. THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING�" DAY Same photograph of President Kennedy, but on the wall of a politician’s office, surrounded by framed newspaper clippings, photos of politicians shaking hands, smiling, etc. A plaque on the wall says: “T. Callahan, Legislative Affairs”. Hanging in the corner of the office: a boxer’s speed bag. INT. THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING�" DAY The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 3 Two men silhouetted by a window with a view of the White House. Snow falling outside. One man is SENATOR HERBERT CHANDLER, short, fat, red-faced, in his sixties. The other is TOM CALLAHAN, wiry, handsome, in his mid-thirties. CHANDLER Listen, you s**t-eating runt. I don’t care if the President sent you. Stop f*****g with my appropriations bill. Callahan pours Chandler a drink. CALLAHAN Senator … please. I’m trying to get the President the votes he needs. Move the bill out of committee and we’re all fine. CHANDLER Or else? CALLAHAN Don’t know �" maybe your Great Lakes treaty doesn’t look so good. CHANDLER My treaty! There are two thousand jobs at stake! Families. Good people … CALLAHAN Then be a hero. Get the bill out. Chandler leaves, slamming the door behind him. INT. THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING�" DAY The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 4 Callahan, wearing a dress shirt and loosened tie, but not suit coat is methodically pounding away at speed bag. Seated nearby is his young, fresh-faced AIDE, who has been waiting patiently for a chance to talk. Finally, the Aide musters the courage to say something over the sound of Callahan’s relentless punching: AIDE I don’t think Senator Chandler looked too happy… Callahan, without losing his rhythm, calmly: CALLAHAN I don’t pay you to think. I pay you to make calls. AIDE Congressman Winkowski wants to know … Callahan talking while he steadily works the speed bag: CALLAHAN August is now Polish American Heroes Month. Send a thank you note for his help on HR 37. Where are we on the Ag mark up? AIDE Three amendments, nothing major. Five votes to spare in the Senate. CALLAHAN Five? That’s good. We’ll need a couple when foreign aid comes up next month. The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 5 AIDE What does foreign aid have to do with the Ag bill? Callahan pauses, irritated: CALLAHAN If we give a Senator a pass on the Ag bill, that’s a favor to call in when foreign aid comes up for a vote. Forget the idealistic s**t they taught you in college: Politics is horse trading. What else? AIDE Mortie Abrahamson at 8PM. Talmadge’s party at 9PM. Oh, and this came for you. The Aide hands him a large envelope with an address written in a jagged scrawl. The letter is addressed to Tom Callahan, Executive Office Building, Washington, DC. The return address is: Jack Callahan, PO Box 625, Miami, Florida. Callahan looks at it quickly. He turns back to punching the speed bag, but now faster and harder. EXT. WASHINGTON DC STREET �" Early Evening Callahan waits for a cab. Ahead of him, with her back turned to him, is a woman, hailing a cab. He is about to open the envelope his aide gave him, when a taxi slows down, drives past the woman and stops in front of him. TAXI DRIVER Where to, Mister? CALLAHAN The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 6 Why are you asking me?? She’s your next fare. The cab driver frowns. The woman, JENNIFER FLEMING, a serious looking young African American woman, opens the cab door and turns to Callahan and smiles: FLEMING That was the third one that tried that. Thanks. Before Callahan can say anything, she gets in the cab and drives off. INT. WASHINGTON DC BAR �" NIGHT A crowded bar. Callahan is holding forth to MORTIE ABRAHAMSON, a newspaper reporter. Abrahamson is swarthy and rumpled. Empty shot glasses are spread out in front of them. A bartender hovers nearby. ABRAHAMSON … “Be a hero”! Chandler won’t forget that one! CALLAHAN If you can’t stand the heat, get the hell out of Nagasaki. Callahan drains his glass. What have you got for me, Morty? ABRAHAMSON Bobby hates LBJ’s guts. Johnson hates Bobby’s even more. Viet Nam is about to explode … CALLAHAN Give me something I can use. Or no more leaks. The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 7 ABRAHAMSON OK. OK. I think you’ll like this. You know Frank Schwartz, Senator Engle’s chief of staff-- CALLAHAN Sure. Typical spineless Jew liberal. No offense, Morty. ABRAHAMSON None taken. Per my sources at the FBI, Schwartz is a donor to some do-gooder peace group. Doesn’t know it’s a communist front. Yet. Abrahamson hands Callahan an envelope. Callahan puts it into his briefcase. CALLAHAN Communist front! Typical FBI bullshit. Still -- if I call off the FBI as a favor to Engle, I’ve got Schwartz AND his boss by the balls … not bad, Mortie. ABRAHAMSON Thought it was right up your alley. [beat] Tell me something Tom: why do you love being such a ruthless SOB? CALLAHAN Why? Cause it beats being a soft-hearted loser like Frank Schwartz. Twenty years in this town. Still doesn’t amount to s**t. Another one, Pat. Not me, buddy boy. They’re going to remember me if I have to walk over a stack of guys like Frank Schwartz. ABRAHAMSON Hey, will you look at that: Nine o’clock already. Gotta run. See you at Renata’s later tonight? The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 8 Callahan doesn’t answer at first. The bartender pours Callahan another shot. CALLAHAN Yeah. Yeah. See you later. Abrahamson leaves. Callahan doesn’t look up. He drains his shot glass, and motions for a refill. EXT. TALMADGE MANSION �" NIGHT Limousines and taxis lined up in front of the Mansion. Snow falling. Washington power couples in tuxedos and furs entering the Mansion. INT. TALMADGE MANSION - NIGHT The mansion ballroom, crowded with guests and dominated by a chandelier. In the ballroom: Mrs. MERRIWETHER ENDICOTT PEABODY, an older, matronly woman; JENNIFER FLEMING; Mortie Abrahamson, Senator Chandler and his wife, PEGGY CHANDLER, a thin woman in her forties. A bald old man, BOB LOVETT, clears his throat loudly. An African American maid whispers to him. LOVETT Our hostess is unwell. So I will offer a toast. To our late President: to his commitment to freedom and democracy … The chandelier above Lovett’s bald head shakes slightly. LOVETT … Around the world The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 9 The chandelier shakes again. LOVETT … And here, in America. Applause, “here, here’s”; also a few snorts of contempt. LOVETT To John Fitzgerald … The chandelier shakes again, noticeably. INT. SECOND FLOOR TALMADGE MANSION - NIGHT A dark room. Sounds of a woman and man making love. The woman, RENATA TALMADGE, is in her thirties. The man is Tom Callahan. TALMADGE Ah, Ah, Ahh. Ahhh. [beat] HAP-PEE NEW YEAR! CALLAHAN Now that’s a fitting tribute to our fallen President. TALMADGE That’s not funny. I mean it! Sound of Renata hitting Callahan’s face. CALLAHAN Ouch. Damn. Not the SHOE again. The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 10 Callahan strikes a match and lights Renata’s cigarette. Renata has a “Marilyn Monroe” figure. Renata sits, brushes her hair, watches as Callahan dresses. TALMADGE I talked to Lovett. The Viet Nam job is yours but you’ll need Senate approval. That means the Chairman of Foreign Relations. CALLAHAN Chandler! S**t. RENATA What? Oh no. Don’t tell me you’ve burned that bridge. Tom? I went out on a limb for you. CALLAHAN It’s fine. FINE. Nothing I can’t handle. Renata straightens Callahan’s tie and kisses him on the forehead. RENATA I hope so. I didn’t get this far sleeping with minor leaguers. [beat] I heard about your father. I’m sorry. Callahan shrugs, checks himself in the mirror and leaves. INT. TALMADGE MANSION BALLROOM �" NIGHT A crowded room with a bar. Callahan is at the bar. Jennifer Fleming stands nearby, talking to Senator Chandler, Peggy Chandler, and Mrs. Peabody. CHANDLER The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 11 People get killed every day. In New York City. In Washington DC. That doesn’t mean the federal government should interfere… FLEMING … in the right of Americans to lynch one another? Do you really believe that Senator? FEMALE GUEST #1 [to Mrs. Peabody] She’s so well spoken … PEABODY I know. Wonderful. VERY intelligent. INT. TALMADGE MANSION BALLROOM �" NIGHT Callahan joins the group, making a point to smile at Chandler and his wife and stand next to them. CHANDLER …you are a credit to your race. But what you are advocating is political suicide. FLEMING You’d have the support of millions of Negro voters �" that’s worth a lot to a man with national ambitions. PEGGY CHANDLER [tipsily] She makes a good point, don’t you think Herbert? Senator Chandler takes her wife’s drink from her: The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 12 CHANDLER I’m afraid the champagne has made you more foolish than usual, my dear. MRS. PEABODY [interrupting] Jennifer, this is Tom Callahan -- the young man I told you about. Tom, Jennifer Fleming. Miss Fleming is a civil rights lawyer. Fleming holds out her hand and smiles. Callahan stares at Fleming, taken aback by how attractive she is. After an awkward pause, he holds out his hand. FLEMING (warmly) Mr. Callahan and I have met. Your father was Jack Callahan, wasn’t he? I heard him speak at Howard. He was brilliant. MRS. PEABODY Your father just passed away �" what was it? �" last month? Callahan nods, but says nothing. FLEMING I’m so sorry. You must be so proud of him. CHANDLER Shame all his liberal friends remember is his testimony last year. So unfair, seeing as he did his patriotic duty. FLEMING The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 13 Civil rights is part what your father fought for. We need your help … CHANDLER Tom �" you, meddling in civil rights?! I thought you were interested in important issues �" our struggle against Communist subversion in Viet Nam, for example? Callahan smiles at Chandler and Fleming. CALLAHAN I’m afraid I’m not my father, Miss Fleming. If you want to pass civil rights legislation, you’ll need men like … like my friend, Senator Chandler. Fleming coughs, choking on her drink. Senator Chandler slaps Callahan on the back. CHANDLER First intelligent thing I’ve heard all night! We might be able to work something out on that appropriations bill after all! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve promised my wife one dance. Callahan starts to leave but is stopped by Mrs. Peabody. MRS. PEABODY Tom, could you keep Miss Fleming company while I run to the powder room? INT. TALMADGE MANSION BALLROOM �" NIGHT Callahan and Fleming stand side by side, watching guests dancing, not looking at each other. Finally, to break the silence, Callahan looks at Fleming, who is still staring straight ahead. The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 14 CALLAHAN By the way -- good try back there … trying to appeal to Chandler’s ambition … After a moment, Fleming lights a cigarette, looks at Callahan and then turns away: FLEMING I was wrong about you. At least with Chandler I know what I am dealing with. CALLAHAN What? Oh, I get it. I should wave my magic wand and get the President and Congress to do whatever you and your Civil Rights friends want, damn the politics. FLEMING Like I said, I was wrong about you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way. Fleming begins to walk away but then turns to Callahan. FLEMING There is one thing I don’t understand: how did Jack Callahan’s son become someone like you? CALLAHAN Jack Callahan! If only you knew. My father is very dead now. [beat] Tell me something: do you think you can pass a civil rights bill without Chandler �" and people worse than him? And with what: Sunday school sermons about equality? I don’t know The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 15 where you’re from, but this is Washington. We play hardball here. Go home and face reality. Fleming grabs Callahan by the wrist: FLEMING Face reality? Let me show you reality. INT. TALMADGE MANSION �" NIGHT Fleming pulls Callahan from the ballroom, through the hallway and the foyer and out the front door of the mansion. Guests stare and comment as Fleming drags Callahan through the crowded rooms. EXT. STREET OUTSIDE TALMADGE MANSION �" NIGHT It is snowing heavily. African American servants are opening doors, helping guests in and out of their cars, sweeping the sidewalks. FLEMING Look at them, Mr. Callahan. They took the early bus, did your laundry, cleaned your toilets, worked until midnight. Callahan says nothing and stares at Fleming. FLEMING (fiercely) I want you to look at them. Because if they were to get up tomorrow in Mississippi or Alabama and tried to vote, the reality is they’d be beaten. Or shot down like dogs. She turns and walks back to the Talmadge Mansion. Callahan remains on the sidewalk. The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 16 EXT. STREET OUTSIDE TALMADGE MANSION �" NIGHT Mrs. Peabody, Peggy Chandler, Senator Chandler and Morton Abrahamson come out of the mansion. MRS PEABODY There you are. We need to go dear. Peggy Chandler staggers towards Tom. PEGGY CHANDLER Dance with me. Tom. Tom ignores her. CHANDLER Peggy. Please, come inside. Peggy Chandler puts her arms around Tom’s neck. PEGGY CHANDLER Inside me. Tom. Come. I know what you want. I will tell you ALL about Senator Chandler. Senator Chandler grabs Peggy and pulls her back to the mansion. Jennifer glances at Callahan and gets into a car with Mrs. Peabody. Morton Abrahamson walks up to Callahan. The two watch as the car drives away. ABRAHAMSON The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 17 Talk about uppity! [beat] But not bad looking. I mean if you like that kind of thing…. CALLAHAN Shut up Mortie. From the mansion the sound of people laughing and counting: “Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven …” INT �" THE WHITE HOUSE �" PRESIDENT JOHNSON’s STUDY �" DAY PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON, tall and restless, feet on desk, talks on a telephone. Tom Callahan stands against a wall, shifting. Close by is HORACE BUSBY, White House Director of Congressional Affairs. Busby smoothes his Brillcremed hair nervously. JOHNSON Well I’m tired of her questions. [beat] What that woman needs is a good f**k. [beat] You heard me. Go out and make sure she gets a really good f**k. Understand? Johnson slams the phone down and turns on Busby. Callahan looks down at his shoes. JOHNSON Horace, when you hired Tom Callahan you swore he was LOYAL. Kiss-my-a*s-in the department store window loyal. BUSBY Yessir. JOHNSON The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 18 Now he’s gone and threatened a good man, my friend, and the senior senator from Florida, Herbert Chandler. Made me look like a fool for trusting him. BUSBY (chuckling) Yessir, he sure did. Callahan steps toward Busby menacingly. CALLAHAN You little cocksucker. We agreed: “do whatever it takes to get the bill out of Chandler’s committee.” [to Johnson] Mr. President. You know we can’t play nice with Chandler … JOHNSON Enough. Should send you back to Renata Talmadge. [sniffs dramatically in Callahan’s direction] God, I can smell her on you! But I’ve got a problem. It’s in a dangerous part of the world. Threat of communist subversion. A chance to do a service to your country. And your President. CALLAHAN Sir, thank you! I won’t let you down, I promise. JOHNSON I know you won’t. Busby has your train tickets, he’ll brief you. [beat] What’s so funny? CALLAHAN Sir, how do I get to Viet Nam on a train? JOHNSON Viet Nam? You’re on your way to the Southland. Florida. Herbert Chandler’s kingdom. I’m going to pass Kennedy’s Civil Rights bill and I need Chandler’s vote. And you’re going to help The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 19 me get it. Busby smiles triumphantly at Callahan. BUSBY Chandler’s asked us to help with some Negro rabble rousers down in St. Augustine. Help keep the peace until November. It’s a chance to do him a favor �" and for you to mend some fences. CALLAHAN Sir, I don’t know anything about Civil Rights. Why can’t Busby take care of this? You know how much I wanted the Viet Nam job. JOHNSON Who the hell cares what you want! Florida’s key to everything. Including your Viet Nam job, unless you want to go back to that shithole in Michigan I rescued you from. Now get your a*s out of here and do your job. INT �" WHITE HOUSE MESS �" DAY Busby and Callahan stand in line waiting to get lunch. The stewards are Filipinos, in white chefs aprons, serving White House staff, white men in dark suits, white shirts and dark ties. BUSBY King and the activists say we’re moving too slow. They don’t give a damn about the politics. And there’s a bunch of ‘em down in St. Augustine. Callahan looks at the choices in the steam table. The Vote �" Andrew Goldsmith 20 CALLAHAN Hamburger. No onions. A milkshake. The Busby and Callahan take their trays to a table and sit down and start eating. Callahan half-listens, half watching people at other tables. BUSBY Jim Geddes’ is the county chairman. Friend of Chandler’s. Get him on board, we get Chandler … Hey, are you listening? CALLAHAN No, not really. This is fixing a frickin’ pothole. Make Geddes or whatever his name is understand it’s do what we want or it’s negroes rioting in sunny Florida. Even you could do this. Busby knocks the French fry out of Callahan’s hand. People stop eating to look. Busby leans in close to Callahan. BUSBY You need to watch it, hot shot. You made the President apologize. To Chandler. If it were up to me, you’d be a spot on this table. Busby hands Callahan a folder filled with papers. Callahan glances at the papers, and starts to walk away. BUSBY One last thing: the South ain’t Georgetown. They won’t give a damn about your White House ID.
© 2013 agoldsmithAuthor's Note
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1 Review Added on January 5, 2013 Last Updated on January 5, 2013 Tags: Mad Men, Civil Rights, Lyndon Johnson, LBJ, St. Augustine, Voting Rights Act, 1960s Author
agoldsmithTakoma Park, MDAboutI grew up on the south side of Chicago, eating huge bowls of rocky road ice cream six inches from the tv set. Roger Staubach was a major influence. By day I am a technology marketing executive. When.. more.. |
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