Chapter 1164: Reaching a Consensus

Since the call was already connected, it was naturally impossible to just chat about those things. Soon, Senator Cleveland brought up some matters concerning the election.

"This year, the Federal government plans to hold grander Holy Agriculture Festival celebrations than ever before. So, Congress is considering pushing the election date to after the Holy Agriculture Festival."

"We've been in very intense discussions these past few days. We are all relatively supportive of this, as the timing is too rushed."

"However, the Liberal Party has some different views. This stuff you gave me can help us resolve this disagreement."

The date of the Holy Agriculture Festival is October 25th, which is traditionally "After the Harvest."

This is a very important holiday in the Federation, no less than Christmas or New Year's Day. It is, after all, closer to people's lives. In a time when industry hadn't covered the whole Federation and many people still relied on agriculture and animal husbandry to make a living, the Holy Agriculture Festival was their most important holiday.

Participating in the festivities to pray for a better harvest next year is very important.

Generally speaking, the Federal election doesn't affect the Holy Agriculture Festival. Voting is completed before the festival begins, and the results are counted after the festival.

But this time, the victory in the war and some other matters have piled up. This made the Federal government want to use the holiday to dispel some of the unhappy atmosphere among the populace. This plan gained support, but it created a problem: it conflicts with the election.

If the festival is made grander, it will affect the voting. So, although the Liberal Party agrees with the idea, they don't agree with it affecting the election.

Thus, the disagreement. But if the popular presidential candidate himself steps up and indicates his willingness to support postponing the election, then the Liberal Party congressmen will have no good reason to object.

The candidate himself isn't in a hurry, so why are you, a congressman, in such a hurry? What's your reason?

At the same time, Senator Cleveland also reminded, "How is the issue between you and Roland being handled?"

"I'm not rushing you, just reminding you. After the new president takes office in January, if Roland can get support from the new president, he might be unrestrained by the law or Congress. You should know what I mean."

Lance noded "A Presidential Special Order. I know what you mean. And you can rest assured, because he won't be jumping around for much longer."

The two chatted briefly again, touching on the year-end dividends.

"Major shareholders" like them certainly can't be paid every quarter like the small shareholders. Their money is basically given in one lump sum at the end of the year. About $70,000,000 or $80,000,000 in funds will be transferred in one go through the foundation's account, into those accounts.

This year's list will have some adjustments. After the congressional seats change next year, some senators will lose their current jobs and status.

It's not that they're completely finished, or that they've fallen in politics and can't get up, but if they don't hold that power, then they don't deserve to enjoy the better treatment.

Perhaps this is why many people say Federal citizens are always all-business. It's not that they are, but that they view practical benefits as very important, and are very realistic.

Useful people have the right to get more income.

Useless people have no value, and naturally don't deserve to get more income.

This matter would wait until Lance went to New Golden City, when they would sit down and talk in detail. It was mainly Senator Cleveland talking, and Lance listening.

After ending the call, Senator Cleveland looked at the phone and couldn't help but laugh twice. Just then, Tom walked in from outside. He asked curiously, "Is something the matter?"

Senator Cleveland looked up at him. "Just thinking of something amusing. Is the car ready?"

Tom nodded. "Ready to go anytime."

The chief of staff had been arranged by Senator Cleveland to serve as the speaker of the legislature in his "home state." This wasn't hard to do. The reason for this arrangement—transforming from a top aide to a core senator into the speaker of one of the state's two houses—was, in the end, a form of insurance, in addition to continuing to expand and fill his political sphere of influence.

The changes in congressional seats might also affect him, bringing some influence, more or less.

Maybe it wouldn't be so strong or obvious at first, but there would definitely be some signs.

Once the Liberal Party becomes the majority, they will lead Congress. At that time, if they put some pressure on the state governor or the state legislature, Senator Cleveland will be in trouble.

Federal congress senators are selected by the state government and legislature, two from each state.

Of course, this is what the public is told, to make them think they are involved in the senator's creation, but in reality, they aren't.

The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state... if pressured by Congress, they might make adjustments to the state's congressional representatives.

Even if it's not a real adjustment, just sending these signals would make Senator Cleveland very passive.

Logically, this is unlikely to happen, but what if?

To avoid any destruction brought by political flukes that shouldn't happen, he arranged for his most trusted chief of staff to become one of the speakers of the bicameral legislature. This could restrain the state legislature's resolutions.

Once someone proposes replacing Senator Cleveland, or putting someone else in Congress, as long as one of the two houses doesn't pass it, the matter must be rediscussed.

This is equivalent to him placing a bodyguard, a final defense, at his very foundation.

Right now, those people certainly hadn't felt any pressure and were on his side, so this matter passed easily.

If they start making small moves after Mr. Potter becomes president, then this speaker will play a major role.

If necessary, Senator Cleveland could use this as a springboard to directly counter-purge those in his state who oppose him.

So now, the only close aides left by his side were Tom and a few others. And Tom was highly valued because of his close relationship with Lance.

His daily work and life were now basically arranged by Tom.

Soon, he followed Tom into the courtyard, got into his private car, and headed to Congress. Today, they still had to discuss whether to postpone the election.

Originally, he didn't want to participate, because the discussion most likely wouldn't reach a conclusion. The conservative forces were still very strong in this era. They felt that when problems couldn't be answered quickly, they should be handled according to "precedent."

But it was different now.

When he arrived at Congress and entered the conference room, many people greeted him along the way. Some smiles were sincere, but many had become hypocritical.

Some even had a mocking look in their eyes, as if looking at "last century's emperor," full of ridicule.

The era of Senator Cleveland was about to exit the stage. And his "era" hadn't even lasted long, only five or six years in total. It was a short-lived dynasty.

The unfriendliness of their gazes showed. They coveted the power in Senator Cleveland's hands, waiting for his gradual decline and eventual death, so they could carve up the power vacuum he left.

As for these people, Senator Cleveland just memorized them. There would be opportunities to settle accounts with them later.

When he arrived in the conference room, the Liberal Party and the Socialist Party were sitting on opposite sides, already arguing about this matter.

Although the Liberal Party had fewer members, their momentum was putting pressure on the Socialists.

As for the Federal Party?

They sat in the corner, silent. No matter who won or lost, it had no direct relation to them.

As one of the Federation's former "two parties," they had their glory days. It's just a pity that with the development of the world and the progress of society, they gradually became marginal.

There's even a joke circulating in society that if the Federal Party doesn't try harder and produce a formidable figure, they might eventually lose to the Labor Party!

Senator Cleveland sat and listened to them argue for a while. When it began to devolve into mutual accusations—just to attack the opponent, baseless ad hominem attacks like calling the other side stupid—he proactively called for a stop.

"Everyone's emotions are a bit heated. We should rest a bit, and then we'll discuss this issue."

"This is Congress. We should be civilized, not solve problems like barbarians."

"If you're not convinced, I can find you a ring. You can go up and have a fight."

Hearing this, the loudest arguers on both sides shut up. If they really went to fight in a ring, that would be a huge embarrassment.

Although the future was bright, this was still the end of the Socialist Party's dominance, and the Liberal Party had already gained the upper hand in this confrontation. This was a huge progress and victory in recent years.

They certainly wouldn't provoke further, or even trigger a more intense political struggle. So, at Senator Cleveland's request, they immediately agreed that a rest was needed.

During the break, Senator Cleveland gave Mr. Potter a call.

He was preparing for an event. As the polling day approached, his events became more frequent, his schedule packed almost every day.

He called during Mr. Potter's rest time. From 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, this was his only rest time during the day.

He needed to rest well during this time, to build up his energy, so he could attend the afternoon and evening events with full vigor, instead of letting people see a sickly candidate.

So Senator Cleveland found him easily.

"I just fell asleep!" Mr. Potter's tone was impatient. He had no subjective ill will or goodwill toward Senator Cleveland, but his political stance and team required him to treat this man as his opponent, so his tone was not polite.

The Senator didn't mind his tone, because he himself was often unfriendly to Liberal Party members, even scolding them like children.

"We were just discussing whether to postpone the election vote until after the Holy Agriculture Festival."

"We've actually been discussing this all along. Holding the election and the festival together is indeed too rushed. Perhaps we should take this opportunity to officially push it back. It would be good for us, and for the future."

"In future elections, candidates will have more time to campaign and hold events."

Mr. Potter frowned. "You should be discussing this with people in Congress, not calling me and disturbing my rest!"

"I can't do anything!"

The Senator continued in his unreadable tone, neither angry nor pleased. "But you are a party to this, and a very important one. If you can stand up and express support for our proposal, this matter can most likely be settled."

In the past, the election was held before the Holy Agriculture Festival because it was still a primarily agricultural country. The economy's backbone was the same; agriculture and animal husbandry had a high proportion.

A president needed the support of the big farm owners to have a chance, not the new entrepreneurs.

So, to gain their support, they linked the election and the festival, to show their respect for the farm owners.

But with the development of the times, this practice was gradually falling out of step. A change seemed necessary.

However, Mr. Potter, as the main party involved, would certainly not agree, because it related to whether he could become president sooner.

He scoffed. "I thought I was the one who needed rest, but it seems you're the one who isn't well-rested. Jeffrey, are you oversimplifying things?"

Senator Cleveland said with a laugh, "I'm just chatting with you. Maybe I can convince you?"

Mr. Potter refused decisively. "That's impossible. But I support you doing this for the next election. Not this time."

Next time?

The next presidential candidate won't agree either. This was just a perpetual delay tactic.

"It's a pity you can't agree to this."

"Speaking of which, I heard an interesting piece of news these past few days."

Mr. Potter immediately became sensitive. Saying something "interesting" at this time was just part of the plan to postpone the election.

"What interesting news?" he asked.

Senator Cleveland laughed twice. "Some rumors about Little Potter. I don't know if they're true, but the rumors are very real. They even include names and some information."

Mr. Potter's brows furrowed. He realized the news had likely leaked, and this guy had gotten his hands on it.

He asked calmly, "Can you tell me where you heard this?"

"I'm also very curious about this issue you're talking about. What is it about?"

Senator Cleveland laughed. "It's nothing good, anyway. This is really bad. I wonder if it will affect your election."

"You should ask Little Potter, your grandson. If he really did something, you'd better be prepared. After all, news like this getting out is very bad."

Mr. Potter took a deep breath. He was mentally cursing his grandson and Senator Cleveland on the other end of the line, cursing their entire families, and even inadvertently cursing himself.

But what's done is done. He had to find a way to solve this. He didn't know where Senator Cleveland got the news, or if he had evidence that could shake the foundation of his election.

He didn't dare to risk it. This was a terrible rumor. And what was worse, he had already sent his son to "solve" the victims' families. He had no way back.

After a brief silence, he said softly, "I will teach that child a lesson, find out what he did wrong."

"Thank you for the information, Jeffrey. What were you saying just now?"

Senator Cleveland knew his "threat" had worked. But the conflict between him and the future president had escalated from this moment.

In fact, thinking about it differently, he didn't regret it. Because he was now the Socialist Party's representative in Congress. Naturally, there would be fierce conflict between him and the Liberal Party in the next four years!

This conflict could be said to be life-and-death. After all, Congress's power is only so big, and there are only so many seats.

If you occupy a few more, others will have a few less. The Liberal Party president is about to take office. With this tailwind, they will not allow Congress to be firmly controlled by Socialists during their "dynasty."

They will do everything they can to kick Senator Cleveland out of Congress. The political infighting will be fierce, even rising to the level of life and death.

So, for him to show his attitude and use his leverage now wasn't going too far. On the contrary, it was a warning, telling the other party he had something on him.

Seeing Mr. Potter "recognize the situation," he smiled. "I was talking about postponing the election until after the Holy Agriculture Festival."

"If you, as the involved party, can proactively express your opinion, we can spend more time on things that are meaningful to this country, instead of sitting here arguing about whether to delay the election."

Mr. Potter was quiet for a moment, then said, "I will call you all later. I will express my opinion in the call."

"This is indeed a constructive suggestion. We always lump the election and the festival together."

"It leads to a bad election and a bad festival. We really should make a change."

"Your thoughts are important to me, Jeffrey. Thank you for the reminder. You can remind me later that I should make that call."

Senator Cleveland had achieved his goal. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, David."

David is Mr. Potter's first name.

"It's fine. I also support this proposal."

You could hear he was saying these words through gritted teeth.

(End of this chapter)