Chapter 09 - The Writing Team Steps Up

Jackie and Elena were having their morning coffee at the usual place. Jackie asked, “Do you think that Caroline looked especially frazzled in the quick Zoom call we did last night to tell us about the death threats she’s received? I’m worried about how she’s handling it emotionally.”

Elena responded, “Caroline has borne all the emotional burden from the get go. We’ve been spared from that, writing under aliases and not having to make business decisions, especially the part about interacting with wealthy donors. It’s time for us to take some of that burden off of Caroline’s shoulders.”

“I completely agree. How should we go about doing that?”

“First, I think the entire writing group needs to tell our respective bosses that we’re doing this work. I hope the bosses will react positively to that news.”

“I’m confident that the Congresswoman will support us here.”

“I certainly hope so, because the next step is that either you or I take two weeks off so we can work full time at The Minute Women and give Caroline assurance that she can take some needed vacation.”

“And it has to be one of us to take over for Caroline, because we also back up each other doing the writing for the Congresswoman. So all the bases can be covered.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Why do the other two need to tell their bosses about it?”

“I’m not sure whether the death threats will eventually become public knowledge, but let’s assume that will happen. Then it has to seem to everyone that the Writing Group as a team stepped up to confront that threat and show that we’re not intimidated by it. We will continue to do the good work that we’ve been doing.”

“I get it. That makes sense.”

“After we’re done chatting, why don’t you message Jeffrey and Alice with this as a suggestion. Let’s see if they buy into it immediately and if so whether they can get it done before the meeting tonight.”

“I’ll message them right now. It won’t take but a moment.”

“Okay.” Elena paused and drank some coffee.

Jackie said, “Done.” As Elena was beginning to resume what she was saying, there were two pings on Jackie’s phone. Jackie reported that both messages were in full agreement about this. Elena continued, “Then we need to decide who it is that takes over for Caroline for the next two weeks and possibly we rotate that role if Caroline needs even more time to get back to normal.”

Jackie said, “Elena, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but the others seem to look up to you, perhaps because of your experience, and maybe because you say a lot of smart stuff. I think you would be a better leader than I would. And I think Caroline would be comforted more by you taking on that role.”

Elena responded, “I’m glad to hear that because I want to do it. I think we need to make one video of the group in Zoom with our real names, just so the world can see us and identify each of us with our pseudonym. As the video gets released the Website needs to be updated with pictures of us and little bio sketches. Does that make sense to you?”

“Yes, it does. What about Nicole, Michael, and his assistant? How should their identity be handled on the Website?”

“We need to ask them about what they want to do. If they want to be identifiable, then I think a photo and a brief bio should be sufficient.”

“Okay, that sounds like a plan.”

When the coffee break concluded Jackie and Elena went to the Congresswoman’s office. By chance she had a few free minutes. They told the Congresswoman about what they’d like to do. After a moment of surprise, she became elated and hugged each of them. She told them that she’d support this work in any way that she could. Jackie and Elena were a little giddy as they returned to the room where they did most of the writing. There was work for the Congresswoman to be done before the meeting tonight, but they found it hard to settle down and get to it.

* * * * *

As they were walking into the conference room for the all-staff meeting, both Jeffrey and Alice nodded at Jackie and Elena, indicating that their bosses were okay with them going public about The Minute Women. After everyone sat down Caroline prepared to start with the introduction she had prepared, when she was interrupted by Elena.

“Caroline, the Writing Group has communicated internally and we’re all in agreement that you should take a vacation now, to relieve you from the burden that you’ve been carrying. To facilitate that, we’ve each spoken to our respective bosses about making our names public, publishing those along with bio sketches on The Minute Women’s Website. Initially they expressed surprise that we were doing this work, but then they wholeheartedly endorsed the idea. I’ve gotten two weeks of vacation time from my job so I can work full time on the business at hand. I will be your replacement while you take some vacation. I’m guessing that Nicole and Michael will go along with this.” Nicole and Michael nodded that they would.

Caroline started to tear up. She took a tissue from the conference table and held it to her eyes for a few moments. Then she said, “Thank you, Elena. And thanks to everyone in the room for having my back. What’s the next step to get this done?”

Two of the security people were working in the outer room, making final arrangements for the move to the new office tomorrow. Elena stepped out of the conference room for a moment and asked them to come inside. She explained about Caroline taking a vacation, Elena temporarily replacing her, and the Writing Group going public with their identities. Michael first, then his assistant, and then Nicole said that they too wanted to go public with their identities. The security people asked whether Caroline had chosen a vacation spot. She indicated that would take some time. The security people asked for a few minutes to make the arrangements on their end to support this change. They stepped out of the conference room to do that.

Caroline asked, “Is there something else we need to do?”

Elena responded, “I will need signatory power on the organization’s bank account. We need that to be set up before you head out of town.”

Nicole chimed in, “I can help with that. I have the phone number of the banker we regularly use and can explain things to her. Maybe Caroline will need to authorize this, but I’m not sure that will be necessary. There is a branch of the bank only a few blocks from here. I’m guessing we can get this done in under a half hour, assuming that we make an appointment first so the banker knows we’re coming.”

Elena said, “That’s great, Nicole. Is there anything else that occurs to you?”

Nicole said, “We’ve already prepaid for the lease of the new place for six months and the moving company will be here tomorrow morning to pack up the furniture and equipment. We’ve paid half of their bill as well. I think we have things covered.”

Elena smiled at Nicole. Then she said. “Very good. This new job is going to be a piece of cake.” 

Everyone laughed. The look on Elena’s face got more serious, after which she said, “Caroline, I’m guessing that you’ll need to have some security folks with you while you’re on vacation. Assuming that, and that those security folks will be in touch with those who have the rest of the organization covered, I don’t think we need to know where you are going. But do have some photos for when you come back to work.”

Caroline nodded. “Thank you, Elena. I may just do a lot of pleasure reading, but if I do something more exotic I will be sure to take my phone with me to capture some of it.”

Then Elena rose and indicated the others should rise as well. Each of them gave a hug to Caroline. Before they were done the door to the conference room opened and one of the security people entered and walked up to Elena. He whispered in her ear two things. First, they could handle the coverage under the new plan without difficulty. Second, she too should expect added security protection while she was temporarily being the boss.

When the hugs were over Caroline got ready to leave the conference room. Elena made it clear to the others that they were to stay as there would be a work meeting to follow.

* * * * *

Elena wasted no time to get down to business. She said, “I think we should operate as if Caroline will never come back. If she does want to return and appears up to the task, of course she should take the reins back at that time. She’s the founder and this is her organization. But we shouldn’t act like that’s expected now, for it would put us in wait-and-see mode. We need to be far more active now. We’re about ready to take the next step and it should be full speed ahead.”

Jeffrey, who usually was quiet at meetings of the Writing Group then stepped in. “Elena, I get that you want to establish your authority, but let’s not overdo it right off the bat.”

Elena responded, “This has nothing to do with establishing my authority. It has everything to do with the problem we’re trying to solve. Let’s talk about that problem for a while and then circle back to the tasks that lie immediately ahead of us.”

Jackie and Alice nodded. Jeffrey said, “Okay.”

Elena continued. “While the numbers of those taking an interest in our videos have been quite good, the numbers have to increase still, perhaps by a factor of five, for us to reach the end goal. And the numbers have to indicate that as voters, those who endorse the positions taken by The Minute Women will vote for Congressional candidates who also embrace those positions, regardless of party affiliation. This might not be such a big deal among Democratic voters. Among Republican voters, however, particularly among Republican women, this will be a heavy lift for us even if they agree so far with everything we’ve said, especially if the Republican candidate doesn’t endorse our position but the Democratic candidate does. Doing so might be considered an act of betrayal. We need to make the case that doing the right thing should come first before loyalty to the party.”

Alice then asked, “We’ve been dancing around this issue for some time. Do you think it’s now time, Elena, to be explicit about it and spell it out clearly?”

“Yes, I do, Alice. Jackie and Jeffrey, do agree with that?” They both nodded their agreement.

Elena continued, “One thing I really admired about Caroline from the get go is that she fully understood about tone. Her monotone was perfect and a complete contrast to expressions of anger that seem so common in our politics, in which case the anger becomes the message. With what Caroline delivered, viewers of the videos paid attention to the content of the message. I’m not sure I can be so level in my speaking as she was, but I will try hard to emulate that.”

Then she followed up with this point. “There is a need to go beyond tone in what we communicate now. We have to be precise in explaining how Republican candidates who had previously been loyal to Trump can offer their mea culpa for that and then embrace our positions in a way that the voters take this as a serious move, not just mere posturing. We need to make this a high bar to get over, yet still make it do-able for those who commit to real change. Scripting that will be our next step. Does anyone have any ideas on how that should go?”

Jackie jumped in. “I think they need to talk about their personal history with Trump. Assuming they did so during the 2016 election, there was obviously a political expediency reason for supporting Trump, in spite of Trump’s prior reputation as a sleazebag. In the past, have they made all such political calculations of this sort purely based on expediency? When, if ever, did they decide things based on high moral principles rather than expediency? If the answer is, they never did, why should voters think it is any different now?”

Jeffrey piggybacked on what Jackie said. “Right from the beginning, there were never Trumpers. Some were prominent people in the Republican Party, but I don’t believe there were many candidates among them. Have things changed that much now where many of them wish they had been never Trumpers? Alternatively, might we be offering a new path for the Republicans if many of the candidates opt for getting over the bar that we set? I read something just the other day that said Republican voters are very unhappy with the party. Might they want to change things so Republican voters can feel good about the party again?”

Alice said, “So what Jeffrey seems to be implying is that even if they use expediency to drive their decisions, these candidates might be amenable to embracing The Minute Women ideas and rejecting Trump, as long as many other Republican candidates were doing the same thing. Is that right?”

Elena interjected, “I think our role is to set the high bar and be explicit about what it entails. We need to be seen as stern but fair in doing so. After that, as far as the candidates go, we’ve done as much as we can. But we can make quite a case in talking with Republican voters about voting for the Democratic candidate if the Republican candidate doesn’t get over the high bar. That will be the right thing to do. On the other hand, I don’t think our videos will be sufficient to make the case. They must hear that from someone else whom they already trust, a neighbor or a friend.”

Alice asked, “And how does that someone else get the message?”

Elena responded, “I’m glad you asked that, Alice. In our next phase we will be about adult education. We will offer train the trainer workshops, which I’m hoping that you will design. I’m imagining about 20 people in attendance for a weekend session - arrive Friday evening and depart Sunday afternoon. We should also do online versions. One big thing that Caroline kept harping on is how the numbers for reading the white papers were so much lower than for watching the videos. Attending the workshops should be, in part, about getting the folks to read the white papers carefully and understand what’s in them so they can explain the ideas to others. The other part should be on some tips for persuading people and, in particular, for overcoming the loyalty issue that we’ve already described. And it should include pieces where the audience teaches us how to do these things, if and when they express a belief that there is another way to go about doing this.”

Jeffrey asked, “How does this scale up? A few workshops with 20 people per ain’t going to get it done.”

Jackie stepped in. “I just love to hear the cynical male voice. Elena said this would be training the trainers. Those who attend can offer such workshops themselves, if they have the resources to do so. Can we finance that?”

Elena replied, “I haven’t looked at our bank account yet, nor have I established a connection with any of the high rollers who have donated to us very generously. I will need to do that asap. But I also think we need to expect lower cost methods via social media to reach many people, particularly college students. In turn, they might convince their parents.”

Jeffrey said, “I see the plan. I’m sure the word can get out this way. I’m less sure that people will be persuaded after having heard the message. Republican voters listen to different media than Democratic voters do. We might expect them to continue to do this, and we might expect that Republican media to either not mention anything about it or to deny what we say. How do we counteract that?”

Jackie replied, “I think we need to unpack why the Republican voters are so disappointed with their party. Some of this has to be about the media. Maybe we can encourage little experiments where the voters go cold turkey on their usual fare of TV and online news, say for a week or so. Do they get a better sense of how they are being manipulated as a result?”

Alice joked, “My dad would say we should have everyone view The Manchurian Candidate.”

Elena responded, “Alice, maybe that’s something we should take seriously. Voters need to understand how much they’ve been brainwashed, and they need to give voice to what they think should happen once they’ve reached that understanding.”

Jackie said, “Maybe we should have a video channel called The Minute Women In Action, which contains videos made by our audience. We would need some way to screen those in advance to avoid spam and videos that totally contradict our position. But otherwise, we should endorse their message. This could help make what we want more of a grass roots effort.”

Jeffrey said, “I like that idea, Jackie. But we’ll need to use some members of our audience to screen the videos. I remember how Nicole got overwhelmed with the feedback we got from our early videos.” The others nodded in agreement.”

After a moment or two Elena brought them back down to reality. “We need to do a SWOT analysis on what is being proposed. In particular, we need to consider weaknesses and threats. There’s one thing I’ve had in the back of my mind that I’m not sure how to deal with. Maybe one of you has some good ideas on the matter.”

Alice asked, “What is it Elena?”

Elena responded, “Once our bio sketches become public, it will be evident that Jackie and I work for the Congresswoman, who is a member of the Democratic Party. Caroline finessed this issue of party identity by talking about her father. He was a Reagan Republican. But if Caroline is out of the picture, the rest of us might look like a shill for the Democrats. Almost surely, that will be the way we’re attacked by the Republicans and right-wing media. If we don’t have a good response to that it will doom our entire effort.”

The rest of them were looking down at the conference table. They hadn’t considered this issue before and it seemed devastating to them.

Then Jeffrey looked up and wondered, “If Caroline could finesse this with some personal history of her family, could you do the same thing, Elena, with some history of your family?”

Elena replied, “I don’t think so, Jeffrey. My parents emigrated to the U.S. from Uruguay, before I was born. While I’m very proud of them and they worked very hard to provide opportunities for me and my siblings, they were illegal aliens and never became citizens. So they never voted. Their story should be told, but this is not the right occasion to tell it.”

Jeffrey responded, “I understand, Elena. But you must have thought of alternatives that would deflect this criticism. We aren’t a shill for the Democrats. We all know that. How do we convince others that is true?”

Elena said, “This is the only thing I’ve come up with and I’m not comfortable with it. If Caroline went public with the death threats she experienced as well as discussing some of the other sources of pressure she experienced while doing The Minute Women work, then it would be much clearer to others why she isn’t returning to the job. In addition, if she endorsed everything else we’ve said as following her agenda, then I think we could overcome this potential criticism. But doing so puts an unfair burden on her and I’m reluctant to suggest it for just that reason.”

Alice chimed in, “Elena, you’ve been our leader for only part of a day, yet you seem to have fully embraced the stress that Caroline has been under for some time. Maybe that too has to be part of the response.”

Jackie then said, “I agree with Alice. Plus I think this has to ultimately be Caroline’s call. When she does come back from vacation, we need to meet with her and discuss these matters fully. In the meantime I think we need to double check that everything we’re proposing to do would be something that Caroline endorses.”

Elena responded, “Okay. Thank you all for the suggestions. What I’m getting is that we should proceed but then bring Caroline in as soon as we can. Since the rest of the world is not anticipating her going on vacation now, we probably have a time window to operate under before our critics unleash their critique. How long that time window will be is anyone’s guess. But, what’s clear, is that there are risks in dragging things out regarding making our intentions well understood. So I propose that tomorrow we make a group video, in Zoom, to tell the world who we are. And then a couple of days later I will make a video with me as the narrator, to talk through our plans for the next phase. I think I will follow Caroline in that I will read a prepared script rather than improvise on the fly. This will be a way to keep my emotions under control and, in particular, keep me from being visibly angry. I will write a draft of that script and run it by the group for feedback and suggested changes. Does that seem okay?”

Alice asked, “How long do I have to come up with a plan for those training sessions?”

Elena responded, “Alice, let’s say two weeks. Don’t worry about the logistics at all. I will task Nicole for handling that as well as identifying those who should attend the first session. Also, let’s be clear that it doesn’t have to be perfect. If we put on something that is tolerably good, we can learn from the experience and make subsequent offerings better. I suspect we’ll be able to get through the first one because those in attendance will want to meet us in person.”

Jackie asked, “So you’re expecting each of us to be at the training sessions?”

Elena replied, “Yes, I am. That will help signify their importance. And if we video record good chunks of those sessions, it will be something to show potential donors. We will need their support to make this effort scale.”

Jackie then remarked, “Well, not that this is a big deal, but it sounds like we’ll be putting in a lot more than fifteen hours a week for a while.”

Alice said, “I’m happy to do that. If your boss will have issues with it, then maybe we can talk some about reallocating the work in the near term, so everything we need to do gets done.”

Elena thanked Alice. “That’s a very good idea. Is there something else we should discuss now?”

After a few silent moments, Jeffrey asked, “This is more speculative, but maybe we should think it through. What will happen if we succeed and get those Supreme Court Justices to step down and restore Roe, plus the other goals we have now. Do we dissolve because the mission has been accomplished? Or will we sustain because we would have produced a remarkable cross-party super majority and people will come to see the benefit if such a majority persists? Are any of you thinking forward that far?”

Jackie replied, “I think it depends on whether a significant number of Republicans embrace our themes, so we really have achieved bipartisan support, or if the super majority is overwhelmingly Democratic. Even while those two possibilities seem distinct to me, the issue of whether a non-party organization is needed to forge such a super majority won’t be resolved. It would be nice for there to be less divisiveness in our politics overall, but this may not be the way to get there. Then, on a different but related point, even if we don’t keep our current “real jobs,” I’m guessing that we will opt out of working for The Minute Women once we can shout - mission accomplished. There is so much novelty in what we’re doing now, that keeps the work engaging. I know that once that wears off, I’ll be out of here. We’re not close to that at present. But if we succeed in our current goals, we then will be.”

Elena said, “It’s something for us to chat about now and then, when we’re not attending to more mundane things - because they don’t need us attending to them. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m beginning to feel a drain in my personal energy. Can we call it quits for tonight?”

Everyone nodded. Elena left the conference room for a moment to summon Nicole, who was in charge of the logistics for the office move. Nicole made sure that everyone else knew where the new office was and that they understood the protocols for getting through security at the new place. With that information shared, Elena dismissed the group for the evening.