Standing in the Rainbow - Fannie Flagg [176]
“Vita, I’ve been thinking. We don’t know for sure who was responsible for getting rid of Hamm but if it was any of the same people who are trying to get rid of me, I don’t think they should be able to get away with it. Do you? Not without a fight, at least for Hamm’s sake, if nothing else.”
Vita sat up and paid attention. “What can you do?”
“Well, if they say the last election was null and void, I’ll run again, on my own.”
“Do you know what you are up against?” Vita said.
“No, I don’t.”
“Well, I do. I know these people and they play rough.”
“Vita, what more can they do other than kill me? I know I probably won’t win. But I think I owe it to Hamm to at least try, don’t you?”
Vita smiled. “It would be fun. To see Earl’s face.”
“Can you come back up here tomorrow, Vita, so we can talk some more about it?”
“I guess so. But just to talk. I’ll be there for lunch.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“Oh, all right . . . make it breakfast.”
They say people two blocks away heard Earl Finley yelling when he heard the news.
Vita Green had called her good friend Peter Wheeler, whose wife had just died, and talked him into moving to Jefferson City to help her run Betty Raye’s campaign. It was an interesting choice, considering Peter Wheeler had run against Hamm in his first governor’s election and it was at a party at his home where Betty Raye and Vita first met.
Earl Finley vowed he was not going to take this sitting down. He had tried to get rid of Betty Raye in a nice, devious way but now he was taking off the gloves in an all-out assault. As head of the Missouri Democratic Party, he declared her candidacy invalid and refused to support her. This forced her to run as an independent.
Le Roy Oatman and the Missouri Plowboys geared up one more time. From the first, her polling numbers were so low they set a state record. As hard as she tried, she was still so shy that when she got up to speak everyone could see her knees shaking. And even when they hid her behind a larger podium, she frequently dropped her speeches to the floor. If there were men who would not vote for a woman even when she had Hamm behind her, almost none would vote for a woman without any man behind her. One editorial said, “It seems Mrs. Sparks, unlike the rest of the state, has forgotten that she was never considered anything more than a paper governor. One cannot help but suspect she is being used once more as a pawn and to what end is unknown. However, to prevent further embarrassment to herself, her children, and the memory of her late husband, Mrs. Sparks needs to step aside and go on about her real business, that of housewife and mother.”
Carnie Boofer and the rest of the candidates ignored her at first but as time went by Carnie could not resist taking a swipe at her. In his first paid-for television address he ended up by saying, “As far as the little lady that is running, first of all, let me say that most of us respect our females and do not question their abilities but who of us here would feel right about letting our wives or daughters be subjected to the rough-and-tumble world of politics? This is a world where tough decisions have to be made every day. I am sure Mrs. Sparks is a lovely lady but having said that, I must point out the fact that an ex–gospel singer and one-time cafeteria worker with barely a high school education is sorely ill-equipped to run a state. Mrs. Sparks needs to be home, where she belongs, looking after her children and leave the business of politics to the men. After all, it was the men that fought for our independence in this country. There was no such thing as founding mothers, only founding fathers. There were no minutewomen, just minutemen. Betsy Ross stayed home and sewed the flag. I suggest that instead of politics, Mrs. Sparks take up knitting and I’ll make a deal with her—if she won’t run, I won’t knit.”
Boofer got a lot of laughs. But not from the women.
In fact, it made Neighbor Dorothy mad—mad as she ever got, which could better be described as highly irritated.