Authorize the Hard Line on Katzenmoyer
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Josh interrupts with political urgency, prompting Leo to ask for romantic advice about hiring a violinist to make amends with Jenny.
Josh declares his intent to confront Katzenmoyer, seeking Leo's permission for a hardline approach to reclaim votes, which Leo reluctantly approves.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Not onstage; inferred to be calculating and receptive to tangible incentives or threats from the administration.
Katzenmoyer is not present but is the immediate object of Josh's intended coercion; his presumed defection and vote are discussed as leverage points and as the pivot of the administration's next steps.
- • Preserve his standing and benefits for his constituency
- • Extract concessions or protections in exchange for his vote
- • His vote is a bargaining chip that should yield concrete local benefits
- • The administration may be willing to trade resources for support
Surface flustered and embarrassed about his marriage; beneath that, guarded anxiety about political exposure and a weary pragmatism that forces concession.
Leo oscillates between domestic embarrassment and institutional command: he admits forgetting his anniversary, directs Margaret about the choker, listens as Josh demands permission to threaten Katzenmoyer, resists the escalation, then grudgingly yields.
- • Contain personal embarrassment and manage optics around his marriage
- • Protect the administration from reckless tactics while preserving the bill's chances
- • Maintain institutional control by setting boundaries on political coercion
- • Personal mistakes should be soothed rather than weaponized publicly
- • Threats and heavy-handed tactics risk backfiring politically and morally
- • He bears responsibility to balance political necessity with institutional restraint
Amusedly exasperated; calm and observant, using humor to puncture pretension while executing practical tasks.
Margaret follows Leo into the office, trades sardonic banter about the choker and violinist, needles both Leo and Josh with pointed remarks, then exits after carrying out Leo's instruction to call the musician.
- • Execute Leo's domestic instruction (call the violinist/choker logistics)
- • Maintain decorum in the office and gently embarrass Leo into accountability
- • Small domestic rituals matter for public figures' optics
- • A little sarcasm can steady frazzled superiors
- • She should keep operations running even during crises
Driven and impatient, masking nervousness about the bill's prospects with aggressive decisiveness and a conviction that forceful action can produce a cascade of votes.
Josh storms into Leo's office with urgency, announces he is going to see Katzenmoyer, argues for escalating from persuasion to explicit coercion, proposes concrete bargaining tradeoffs, and presses Leo for permission to 'kick his ass.'
- • Secure Katzenmoyer's vote by applying political pressure
- • Use a credible threat to compel other wavering representatives to fall in line
- • Get Leo's authorization to escalate tactics
- • Decisive, visible pressure will bring reluctant votes into line
- • Political actors respond to perceived consequences more than promises
- • If the administration shows it won't be pushed around, other votes will follow
O'Bannon is invoked as a possible beneficiary of concessions (allowed to 'order off the menu') — not present but explicitly …
Jenny is offstage and referenced when Leo admits forgetting his anniversary; the revelation frames Leo's personal cost and optics, making …
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The ceremonial violin is referenced as the service to be provided by the Unnamed Violinist ("Call the guy"); it functions narratively as a domestic balm and ironic counterpoint to the violent political language that follows.
The Harry Winston choker is invoked as the tangible anniversary remedy — Leo notes it's "sending down" and 'the right size' — a luxury object meant to fix a domestic wrong and signal status and contrition.
The disclosure reports are an operatic offstage threat — Margaret reads them, Leo snaps at her to stop, and they represent combustible public material that raises the stakes for secrecy and political damage control.
The 'metro link' is an invoked funding commodity — Josh offers it as the alternative carrot if intimidation fails, turning a federal project into transactional leverage in the vote fight.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Leo's private office contains the collision of domestic awkwardness and high-stakes political decision-making: intimate, wood-paneled, and staffed for confidentiality, it alternates between refuge for a personal apology and a command node where hard tactical choices are authorized.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
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Key Dialogue
"JOSH: I'm going to see Katzenmoyer."
"LEO: When?"
"JOSH: Right now."
"JOSH: I want your permission to kick his ass."
"LEO: You want to dangle his job in front of him?"
"JOSH: If it doesn't work, I back off. If it doesn't work, we give Katzenmoyer a metro link and we let O'Bannon order off the menu. If it does work, I think we get the other four votes no problem when word gets out we're not screwing around."
"LEO: I should sell tickets to this meeting."