Meanwhile, while Jim was out getting me my million, I went to the three Democratic Lions of the House – senior legislators known for powerful floor speeches and generally liking to take sides with the little guy, the underdog.  I tell them the deal I hatched and that it was going to have to be up to them to rise and speak against the Sparby motion because my pact with the devil meant I couldn’t be there.  “Whoa!!  You’re pretty good at this politics business – nice job; sure we’ll help you out,” they said.  So later that day, once the House convenes in floor session, Sparby rises and makes the motion to reconsider.  Everyone looks to me because I’d led the fight against the bill the day before – BUT I’M WALKING OFF THE FLOOR.

With all eyes on me, I sure felt like a heel for having gotten the trust of a majority of the legislators the day before but now I’m letting them down as if I hadn’t known what I was doing.  I quick dart up the back stairs and find a place I can peek out to watch what happens next.  After Sparby makes his pitch as to why the bill is good for little guys (because so many poor people default, they need to charge higher interest to make money – or they’ll quit giving loans), Rep. Paul Ogren rises:  “Mr. Speaker, Members – You don’t want to go back to your district and explain why you voted to increase interest rates . . . .”  Then Rep. Joe Quinn rises and speaks against the motion.  Finally, the greatest orator of my time, Rep. Jim Rice, rises and after warming them up with some laughs almost gets fellow legislators crying at how badly the bill treats the poor amongst us.  The bill goes down to a worse defeat than the day before!

Andy & Neighbors at award-winning house

And that’s how some good lawyers got rich, some of the poor in my district came to be homeowners, and nobody was facing higher interest rates.   In fact, the housing program my volunteers had designed ended up winning a national award.  As Plato said, politics is an art.