Creating America: My campaign manager was Roosevelt

Chapter 38 The Pledge of Allegiance

Facing Senator Sanders's pointed questioning, Leo took a deep breath.

This is the most important moment of his night, the moment when he will submit his "pledge of allegiance" to this political heavyweight.

Guided by Roosevelt, he began, "Senator, you are absolutely right."

"It's not enough to just take down Mayor Cartwright; my ultimate goal is to completely change the political landscape of Pittsburgh."

"What I want to do is not just renovate a few dilapidated streets or build a few beautiful parks."

"I hope that through the Pittsburgh Regeneration Project, we can establish a completely new economic development model in this city that has been corrupted by rust and capital, led by the community residents and the working class themselves."

A hint of interest flashed in Sanders' eyes.

Leo began to succinctly explain to him his grand vision for the next few phases of his revival plan.

"In our second phase of the plan, I intend to use federal funds to establish a workers' cooperative, owned and managed by the unemployed steelworkers themselves. This cooperative will be responsible for contracting all future small municipal works in Pittsburgh."

"We want the profits to flow back into the pockets of the workers, instead of being exploited layer by layer by those construction oligarchs and their political proxies."

"In our third phase of the plan, I hope to promote the establishment of a 'community land trust fund'."

"Through this fund, we can buy back the idle land and abandoned houses in our working communities from speculators and turn them into permanent community assets. These assets will be used to build affordable apartments that are only for rent and not for sale, thus completely countering those real estate speculators who keep driving up our cost of living."

"And in the longer term," Leo's eyes gleamed, "I hope to use the federal funds in the Green New Deal Act that you are pushing to build our own solar panel manufacturing plant and wind turbine assembly plant on those polluted industrial ruins in Pittsburgh."

"Use green, sustainable emerging industries to completely replace the long-dead steel industry and create truly future-oriented jobs for our next generation."

Finally, he pointed out his most crucial value to Sanders.

"Senator, I know that you and your progressive colleagues in Congress have been fighting for the rights of ordinary people like us. But the bills you have worked so hard to pass are often undermined by local bureaucrats like Mayor Cartwright after they are passed down to the local level, and are used by them to serve their own interest groups."

"And I, Leo Wallace, am in Pittsburgh, personally crafting the perfect show flat for you."

"A model home that can prove to the whole of America, to the whole world, that your great progressive ideas are perfectly feasible in our Rust Belt region!"

"I can transform your political ideals into tangible, new streets that the people of Pittsburgh can see and touch, into apartments they can live in with peace of mind, and into jobs they can dedicate their lives to!"

Leo has finished speaking.

He laid bare all his ambitions and plans to this political heavyweight.

Senator Sanders looked at Leo, and the scrutiny and wariness in his eyes gradually turned into undisguised admiration, and even a hint of long-lost excitement.

He saw a young man who, like him in his youth, was full of idealism, but who was even more adept at using strategy and tactics than he had been in his youth.

He saw a perfect ally who possessed theory, practice, and, most importantly, courage.

What Leo offered him tonight was not just a simple request for help, but a weighty "pledge of allegiance".

He was willing to be the most solid testing ground and bridgehead for progressive ideas at the local level.

Sanders needs a young general like this to plant a progressive flag on the nation's toughest battlefield.

Sanders laughed.

It was a genuine laugh, full of appreciation.

"What a wonderful show flat!" he said. "Young man, you're even better than John described to me."

"What do you need me to do for you?"

Leo immediately replied, "Senator, I need the truth, the truth that will stop Mayor Cartwright and his allies from causing any more trouble."

"I suspect that the fire at the construction site was not an accident, but arson, but I have no evidence. The Pittsburgh Fire Department and Police Department are under Cartwright's control, and their investigations will only ever conclude that it was an accident."

"I need a higher-level investigative force, free from interference from local powers, to intervene."

"I need the strength of Pennsylvania."

Senator Sanders nodded.

He immediately took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, is this the Attorney General's office? This is Daniel Sanders."

The voice on the other end of the phone immediately became extremely respectful.

"Yes, Mr. Senator, how may I help you?"

"I have a case that requires your special attention," Sanders said. "This case takes place in Pittsburgh and involves the security of a large sum of federal funding."

"I suspect that someone is trying to obstruct the normal progress of federal projects through malicious sabotage, which may involve cross-regional organized crime."

"I need you to immediately set up a task force, headed by your most capable people, and rush to Pittsburgh overnight to take over the investigation of this case. I need to see a preliminary investigation report within three days."

He hung up the phone and looked at Leo.

"The task force from the State Attorney General's office will arrive in Pittsburgh first thing tomorrow morning, and they will take over the investigation of the entire case from Cartwright."

"Remember what you said to me tonight, child, don't let me down."

"If you can truly make Pittsburgh the first successful model of our progressive ideals in the country, I assure you, you will have countless friends and allies in Washington in the future."

On his way back to Pittsburgh, Leo was still unable to calm down.

He sat on a late-night train, watching the night view rushing past the window.

Starting tonight, everything will be different.

He not only resolved the crisis caused by arson and the work stoppage order, but more importantly, he stepped into a higher level of power game for the first time.

He established a direct connection with a national political figure.

He was no longer a lone community activist in Pittsburgh.

Behind him, the shadow of "factions" began to emerge.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Mayor Martin Cartwright was completely unaware of this.

The situation in Pittsburgh is about to undergo a decisive reversal.