All language subtitles for H264.AACG

Pat o'brien: The picture
you're about to see

is dedicated as
a loving tribute

to that special breed
of human being who,

from the beginning, has been
the backbone and wonder

of that spirit that was
to become the American dream.

The individual who would
stand up and fight

for what
he believes is right,

no matter how overwhelming
the odds.

The story takes place
in our nation's capital,

when certain isolated groups
of people

were beginning to ask
for a freeze on the building

of nuclear plants,
and the stockpiling

of nuclear weapons.

About six months before
our story begins,

congress had appointed a
committee under the chairmanship

of senator Sam foley...

To investigate the allegations
of these groups,

that through campaign
contributions

and lucrative construction
contracts,

the nuclear industry had
actually gained control

over the nuclear regulatory
commission,

and the governmental agencies
that were supposed to police it.

As our picture opens,
senator foley,

after months
of closed sessions,

without warning,
abruptly cancels the hearing,

and, in an unusual move,

mysteriously seals
all the information

uncovered during
the investigation

as "classified top secret."

And then quietly
gives the green light

for the continued development
of nuclear plants

and nuclear weapons.

Well, i-- I'll take your
questions one at a time,

- to make it manageable.
- Senator, I've been hearing

that you didn't actually
want these hearings cancelled.

Is there someone who's been
ordering these

hearings canceled?

You know better that that, Joe.

With so many deaths that
have been reported, the public--

that's true.

...beginning to suspect
a cover-up.

Senator, if your committee,
which is supposed to police

nuclear safety, is cancelled,
who gonna do the policing?

L-- my announcement stands.

Now, I see no point
in any further responses.

No more questions.

Is something wrong, sir?

He's sick.

- Get a doctor here!
- Please, clear the aisles.

I'm gonna call a doctor.

Give me
the urgent desk, please.

- Pardon me. Pardon me.
- Are you senator foley's aide?

She is.

Okay. Here's his briefcase
and all his papers.

- Oh. I'll give 'em to her.
- Okay, thank you.

- I'm gonna go call his wife.
- Okay, honey. Be right there.

- Oh, I'm terribly sorry.
- I'll get it. That's all right.

- I'm really sorry.
- I know that.

Bye-bye.

Yes, operator. I want to make
a person-to-person call

to governor Hubert hopper,
and bill it to my office number.

This is senator Joseph Payne.

Hello.

You're kidding.

I know it couldn't have come
at a worse time.

Call Bailey, tell him
I'm taking the next flight home.

What is it, Hubert?

Sam foley died.

Thank you.

I don't even
understand the question.

Just go back and tell them--

I don't even know what
they want from me anymore.

Do you have foley's nuclear
file? That's all I'm asking.

I tell you on Saturday
they come after you.

Try to take an afternoon off,

can't even play
a game of tennis.

What was that all about?

Well, some clown from the
justice department.

He's asking me if I've
got any of that material

that foley's committee had
on the nuclear contracts.

- Do you?
' No!

I don't know what ever
happened to any of that stuff.

I do.

What?

I have it.

What?

That, honey, is our ticket up.

Dan, are you crazy?

Come on, we need a fourth.

Great idea!

Come on,
it's only your husband.

You've been here all day.

- Come on.
- Please.

Let's go.
Come on, you need it.

Come on, come on, come on.

I'm coming.
I'm up, I'm up.

Don't forget your racquet.

Hey, I'll tell you
about it later, ok?

I love you.

Mcghan, go in there
and tell Bailey

that I've got to
give them an answer.

Why don't you tell him, hubie?

I mean after all,
it's your office.

All right,

all right, I will.

My concern is with this willet
creek nuclear plant on the fire.

Well, what's wrong with it?
It's ready to roll, isn't it?

Oh, yeah,
it's attached as a rider

where no one will notice it.

Then what are you
worried about?

Nothing, unless the man
we appoint as senator

begins to ask questions.

I mean, unless you're
absolutely sure of him.

It might be better
to postpone the nuclear plant

until the next session
of congress.

No, Joe, it's just not
possible to postpone.

Now we'll just have to appoint
somebody we can trust.

Now, wait a minute,
someone we can trust?

Well, who did you think
we'd appoint,

the chairperson
of a feminist league?

Well, there you go again, Jim.

Is that all you're ever
concerned about is Washington?

Don't you guys ever
think about my problems

down here in the state?

You're panicking, Hubert!

In my judgment,
the simplest thing to do

is to slip this thing through
just the way it's going

and get it over with,
don't you agree Joe?

Absolutely.
But we have to be sure

the man we pick will go along.

Judge Miller.

Miller? Oh, for god's sakes,
come on, will ya?

Horace Miller.
It's a good idea.

I mean, he was a reliable guy
before we put him on the bench,

he's a reliable guy
now that he's on the bench.

Now, what have you got
against him, hubie?

I mean he's exactly
what you want.

He's got class, dignity, he's
always kept his skirts clean.

You forgot one
little thing Jim.

Those people out there won't
stand for it, not for a minute!

We've given you your man.
Just make the announcement.

I won't do it.

Look, I can't just go out there
and give them an ultimatum.

I've got to make them feel
like they have a voice!

How about if we work for some
Harmony here, gentlemen, huh?

What do you say?
A little Harmony?

Horace Miller.

Billy Jack?

A half-breed Indian nut?

An ex-convict.
He's not even eligible.

He is now. I've already
granted him a full pardon,

restored all of his rights,
enabling him to be appointed.

And you have also
buried yourself, Hubert!

Governor, that's the most
stupid political stunt

anyone's ever tried
to pull on Bailey.

Jim! Jim, you want
to hear me out?

Jim, listen to me
for a minute!

Look, Jim, it's only
for two short months.

Now, even if he takes
the appointment,

he'd never run
for re-election,

and he'd never make it
if he did run.

The man is so disinterested
in everything political,

he probably wouldn't even
show up in the senate.

And look, by appointing him,

overnight our party
gets a whole new image.

You know, we get the human
righters, the environmentalists,

the Indians, the blacks,
the chicanos,

all those
who feel left out.

We get the youth vote.

Now, all that rubs off on us
for the next election,

and in two months
he's replaced.

Now you tell me, what
the hell's wrong with that?

Makes a lot of sense,
Mr. Bailey.

It's very clever.

We can really use that to
create the image of the party

that's bringing everybody
together.

That's real middle-of-the-road
America stuff.

And it fits in perfectly
with your campaign

of Joe Payne,
man of the people.

It's still a risk.

Okay, all right.

But don't let
that dumb cowboy--

ah-ah! Indian.

Cowboy, Indian, whatever!

Don't let him
open an eye, an ear,

or more important, his mouth.

Billy Jack:
Ah, grandfather...

What do we know of Washington,

let alone the dirty world
of politics?

Maybe that's why
you should go. As a test.

Politics has
its own kind of violence.

But how can I even think
of changing things out there

when I have so much work to do
in changing myself, in here?

If you want to become
a whole person,

you must first try
to make society better.

Before you have a right
to turn your back on it.

I don't think that I could
do it away from here,

though, grandfather.

I mean, the canyon lady
is all my strength now.

Then pray to her at sunrise.

If you ask her spirits
to guide and purify you,

dedicate your work to her,
and do the best you can,

then your work
will be your prayer,

and the results need
not concern you.

You know that classified
material senator foley

was waving around before
he had his heart attack?

I have it.

A lot of people wondering
what happened to that stuff.

I can leak it,
or I can trade it.

Well, what do you have in mind?

A white house level appointment,
and a salary of say, $48,000.

You play dangerous games, Dan.

Gary, I'm not playing games.

You get back to me
within 72 hours,

or I'll have to leak
this thing to the post.

Or maybe I'll give it to some
crusading young senator

who needs the publicity.

Well, all I can do
is make a report.

And in that spirit, we have
gathered here tonight to

acclaim and to bid godspeed to
the newest, and maybe in time,

the best senator our state
has ever seen, Billy Jack.

Thank you, governor,
and, ladies and gentlemen,

I don't think we need
two men in Washington

when we have a senator like
Joseph Payne representing us.

He probably
doesn't remember me,

but you see, ah, he knew
my uncle very well.

William trotter was the name

they put on him
in the Christian school.

Man of the bear
was his Indian name.

Well, senator Payne
and my uncle worked together

on the restoration
of that Indian land

up around green lake
years ago,

and well, ah, I remember that my
uncle told me that Joseph Payne

was the finest man
that he had ever known.

Billy, you're so much
like your uncle.

Oh, well, thank you.

When I look at you, I can
almost see him sitting behind

that roll top desk, with his hat
on, getting out his newspaper.

He said he always
kept the hat on

so he'd be ready to do battle.

William trotter--
man of the bear--

editor, publisher, and
champion of lost causes.

Yeah, he always said the only
causes worth fighting for

were the lost causes.

You don't need to tell me.

We were a team, the two of us.

Struggling Indian
out of journalism school,

struggling lawyer-

they used to call us the twin
champions of lost causes,

and we took on plenty.

You might call us the first of
the store-front law centers.

We didn't have much to eat,

but we sure had
plenty of lost causes.

It was before your time.

Yeah, but our people
still talk of those battles.

His last fight
was his best, Billy.

He and that four page newspaper
against the mining syndicate

that had come to strip mine the
land, just like that black mesa.

Steal the reservations,
pollute the air,

and rape the sacred hill.

Ah, they tried everything--
bribery, intimidation.

And then.

What happened?

They found him slumped over
his desk one morning.

Shot in the back.

When I got there,
i could still see him

sitting at that roll top desk.

Still with his hat on.

Still with his hat on.

Come in

am I interrupting?

Oh, come in, Saunders.

Sit down, sit down.

Now, what's all this about
you're wanting to quit?

Look, senator,
i wasn't given a brain

just to tell some nature boy
what time it is.

I'm not a registered nurse.

Sam foley couldn't
get along without you,

and neither can i
at the moment.

Five minutes, senator.

You've got to get
to the floor.

I'll be right there,

and get that foreign relations
material ready, will you?

It's right there at your
fingertips, all of it.

Now look, Saunders, I haven't
got time to go into all this,

but foley told me wild horses

couldn't pull confidential
material out of you.

I'm an old hand at following
instructions, senator.

I need someone who can be
trusted to occupy Billy Jack

and keep him out of trouble.

Oh, but, senator,
i just, I won't do that.

But, Saunders, you too smart
a girl to do anything foolish.

Now if certain things
happen to me,

I'm taking everybody
up with me.

Sir, when I first got
to this city,

my eyes were big
green question marks.

Now they're big green
dollar marks.

All right.

You finish this job properly,

keep him away from anything
that smells of politics,

and not only will you receive
a very handsome bonus,

but one of the best jobs
in Washington.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much, senator.

Oh, senator,
does the smell of politics

include the willet creek
nuclear reactor?

If you're speaking
of the deficiency bill,

especially that.

Senator, good morning.

We were a little curious

how you'd be voting
on the energy bill.

Oh, ah, I'll be voting no
on the energy bill.

I see. Ls this the way senator
Payne advised you to vote?

Senator Payne is also voting no,
is that what you mean?

Yes, thank you.

To my mind, I can think
of nothing more pressing,

in view of the depletion
of our resources

and the advanced inadequacy
of our technology

to magically solve our problems
as we have supposed.

And in view of the imminent
possibility

of our running out
of energy of all kinds,

I urge immediate passage

of the gentleman
from Colorado's bill.

Pardon me, senator,
but either I'm hearing things,

or I actually heard you

just urging passage
of the energy bill.

That's right.

Well, sir, I just told
the press outside

that both of us
were voting no.

I am voting no.

I'm sorry.
Now I don't understand.

You see,
half the people back home

wanted a speech urging
passage of the bill,

and the other half
wanted us to vote no.

This way, everybody's happy.

In order to get the vital
issues taken care of,

you've got to
sugar coat the rest

so there's a little
something for everybody.

But, sir,
this is a vital issue.

Exactly.
It's much too sensitive

to ever come up for a vote.

It will be referred
back to committee

where it'll be buried.

You'll get used to it.

Ah, Joe, I'd like
to work out a little trade

on my cotton subsidy bill.

Frankly, senator,
i think I made a mistake

when I accepted
this appointment.

No, wait a minute.

Didn't you say something about
a national children's camp?

Now, I assume you were
in earnest about that?

Well, yes, very much so.

Well, there.

I've got a job for both of you.

Why don't you
put a bill together

to accomplish that and
present it to congress?

Now, that'd be a great
experience for Billy,

and for you
as a legislative aide.

You know, if we could do just

that one thing
while we're here--

I mean, if we could
make that children's camp

become a reality.

Well, what's to stop you?

Saunders
will help you with it.

There isn't anyone on the hill

smarter than Saunders
about senate procedure.

You know, this whole business
of politics is a kind of art--

a hand-me-down
from one generation

to the next art at that.

Guard:
Guards, halt.

Well?

It's all been arranged.

White house
or state department?

Junior executive level for six
months, then it's up to you.

When will the appointment come?

30 days after delivery.

How will they know the delivery
is all that you have?

You wouldn't hold back any
hidden copies from me,

would you, Dan?

Hey! Come on.

How long have we
known each other?

You have my word.

What do you mean,
the head man's writing a bill?

He's a senator, isn't he?

Wants to work all night.

Honey, you know foley's
classified files?

Does anyone besides me
know you've got that?

Hey, honey, not now.

We'll talk about it
later, okay?

Don't work too hard.

And have a good time.

You have any idea
what it takes

to get a bill passed
through congress?

I haven't the vaguest idea

what it takes to
get a bill passed,

but Payne said
you're an expert.

Just tell us,
what do we have to do?

Let's pretend its tomorrow
and your bill is ready.

You just take it on over
to the honorable senate

and you introduce it.

How?

You get to your feet
and take a deep breath,

and you start spouting.

Then a curly-haired page
will take it down to a desk

where a long-faced clerk
will read it

and refer it
to the right committee.

Why a committee?

Because that's how congress

or any other large body
has to be run.

All your work has to be
done through committees.

Yeah, but why?

You can't just take a bill

no one's
ever heard of before

and discuss it
among 100 men,

most of whom
aren't there anyway

because they're off
on campaigns or committees.

Anyway, where are we?

- We're in committee.
- In committee, right.

All right, well they hand it
down to a sub-committee.

And then they really
give it a going over.

They hold hearings, they call
in people, they ask questions.

Now, days are going by,
senator. Days, weeks maybe.

All right, say finally
after all that,

they think it's quite a bill.

It goes on over to
the house of representatives

for a debate and a vote.

Only it has to wait
its turn on the calendar.

A calendar?

Calendar. You know,
the order of business.

Anyway, your bill has to wait
way back there in line,

unless you know somebody
on a steering committee

and you can
get them to think--

- what is that?
- What?

A steering committee.

It's a committee
of majority party leaders,

and they decide whether
a bill is important enough

to be moved up
to the head of the list.

I betcha we could
get Payne to help.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah, he'll be a big help.

Oh, okay, where are we?

We're in the house.

Ah, house makes more changes,
and more amendments,

and they send it
back over to the senate.

The senate doesn't like what
the house did to the bill,

so they make more changes.

And then the house doesn't like
those changes, so it's stymied.

So they have to call in
a man from both houses,

and they go into a huddle,
called a conference,

and they battle it out.

Now, in the meantime,
all the lobbyists interested

are holding cocktail parties
for and against the bill,

and unmarked envelopes are being
generously supplied with cash

and passed out
to all the swing votes.

Anyway, after all this
vivisection,

it begins to be traded.

That means that somebody
can trade off a portion

in their bill

if you'll trade off
a portion in your bill

and make everybody happy.

And after all this, the bill
finally comes to a vote.

Oh, yeah, the big day finally
comes, and congress adjourns.

You catching on, senator?

Sort of.

Well...

When do we start?

What?

Senator, do you think
we could get on

with the particulars now?

Four hundred acres, you say?

Where's it gonna be located?

Situated in ambrose county,
kerry canyon,

right at the fork
on the river,

about a mile and half
upstream on willett creek.

- Where?
- Willett creek.

It's just where the stream
rolls down into the river.

In kerry canyon?

Yeah, why?
Do you know about it?

Have you ever been out there?

No, no, I haven't.

Have you discussed this exact
location with senator Payne?

No, not the exact location.

Why?

No reason. No reason.

Four hundred acres,
either side of willett creek.

So, dragging me up
to the hill at this hour,

this really better be good.

I don't know
if it's gonna be good,

but it's certainly
gonna be interesting.

You know, for a guy who's
supposed to have been so brave,

I've never seen anybody
more nervous

about getting up
and reading a bill.

By the way, honey,

do you know where the keys
to the safe deposit box are?

Yeah, but why?
Don't you?

Oh, sure.

What'd ya ask for?

Just checking.

Come on.

Sit tight, fellas,
the show is about to begin.

What show?

Would you tell us
what's happening?

Certainly. If you look
right down there,

you'll see the principle
actor in our little drama,

don quixote with the bill.

And over there, a very important
supporting character, Mr. clean.

- Mr. clean?
- Mcgann.

You mean Bailey's deep throat?

The same.

And right below you is the
co-star, our man of the people.

Soul of honor, on a tightrope.

Bill all set?
Oh, yes, senator.

Got it here.

- Good luck.
- Thank you, sir.

Saunders,
what part do we play?

Oh, anything you like--

shortstop, center field,
whatever.

What are you good at?

You'll have to excuse her,
people.

- She's a little freaked out.
- No, darling.

Listen, in a couple
of minutes,

don quixote
over there with the bill

is going to stand up and repeat
two very important words--

willett creek.

When that happens,
our man of the people

will fall right off
of his tightrope,

and Mr. clean over there will
disappear in a white tornado.

Dan, what are those kids
supplying her with?

Should we give her
a blood test or something?

Why, do you think
she's pregnant?

That's not exactly
what I had in mind.

I'm sorry. Are you?

I don't really think
that's even funny.

Well, I'm just asking.

Or asking her. Excuse me.

- There's ways.
- Well are you?

- No.
- All right.

Introduction of bills
and joint resolutions.

Ah, sir!

The chair recognizes

the rather strong-lunged
junior senator, Jack.

Mr. president,
i have here a bill

that I would like
to introduce to the senate.

You may speak louder, senator.

I said that I have
a bill here, sir,

that I would like to, uh,
introduce here to the...

To the senate.

Order in the gallery.

Our junior senator
is about to make a speech.

I am sending to the desk,
Mr. president,

for appropriate reference,

a bill that would result
in the appropriation

of a sufficient sum

to establish
a national youth camp,

the money of which
would be paid

back to the United States
treasury

by fundraising activities

done on a voluntary basis
by youth all over America.

You see, this camp would be
situated on, and adjacent to,

a stream known
back in my state

as willett creek
in kerry canyon.

And it would be for the purpose
of bringing together children

from all walks of life
who have been impoverished,

deprived, and abused,
and they would come--

listen Joe, I'm getting
leery of this guy.

Everyone
keeps calling him dumb,

but we forget
he's a west point graduate,

and when he finds out there's
a nuclear plant going up

where he wants to build
that kids' camp,

he's going to start asking
questions six ways from Sunday.

Quiet, chick, I want to think.

How could Saunders let him
pick willett creek?

No, I'm sure Saunders had
nothing to do with picking

the location.

The important thing is
the deficiency bill

is going to be read
in the senate tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Joe?

He'll hear that section
on the nuclear plant.

He can't be there tomorrow.

I know that.
Get a hold of yourself.

I'm in over my head.
I'm calling Bailey.

You'll do nothing of the kind.

Bailey's methods wouldn't work
in a situation like this.

He'd come in with a bulldozer.

Get Saunders over to my office
as soon as you can.

Convention?

What kind of convention
are you talking about?

I'm not really clear on it,
senator.

It's some national coalition
of citizen action groups.

They've come here to try

and get a national initiative
passed by the congress.

You know,
like that referendum thing

they had in California
on nuclear energy.

- Nuclear energy?
- Don't worry.

It's just a rinky-dink
grass roots type of thing.

All right.
Then get him over there.

Him and Jean, and those kids.

I don't want one of them
anywhere near the senate

when that deficiency bill
comes up on the floor.

I can count on you, Saunders?

Anything for a bonus, senator.

Joe, Billy Jack's little
raiders are digging up

some very sensitive material
on the whole nuclear program

that's making a lot of people
all over the hill very nervous.

Enough to get some pressure
applied, if you need it.

No.

I don't know who
your friends are, but no.

I'll handle this.

See, what this is is

these are people from all sorts
of consumer advocate groups

who have found that doing
their own thing

in their separate places
isn't enough.

So, added to that they've
kind of gotten together,

not instead of what you're
doing, but in addition, right?

And, um, they've decided
to put all their power together

and try to get
a national initiative

for a nuclear freeze.

You gotta help me.
I don't know what that is.

A national initiative?

The initiative basically means

that people can write
their own laws,

and if they get enough
signatures on petitions,

then it goes on the ballot
for all the people to vote on.

And if fifty percent plus one
of the people vote for the law,

it becomes the law of the land.

So you want this
instead of a congress?

This will be
as well as a congress.

The congress can do their work,
they can get the laws through.

They will continue the same
way they are going on now--

through bribery, mostly--

...but this will be
a chance for the people

themselves to have a direct
say in the government.

It costs so much now
to get elected

that the congressmen
aren't any of them free.

They belong to the people
who paid for their elections.

They don't belong
to any of us at all.

I mean, how many times

have you heard someone
complaining about something

but totally unable
to do anything about it?

And besides that,

it makes government
responsive to the people.

You need an alternative route.

If the congress is
bought out on an issue,

like they are on nuclear power,
for example,

you need an alternative
route for the people.

And when they get mad,

there should be a creative
response by the people.

Think of what would have
happened during 1967 and 1968,

during the Vietnam war,
if the people could have gone

and petitioned
and put on the ballot

a vote against
the Vietnam war.

We would have ended it
in 1968.

We wouldn't have had
to have the demonstrations.

We wouldn't have had
to have the Kent states.

Might not have had
to have the war.

It's also going to influence
members of congress,

because they like to be on
the right side of the issue,

and if they know that it's
a very controversial issue,

and there's going to be
a national initiative

if they don't take action,

they're going to be more
hesitant about it.

They're going to say "lt's going
to make me look like a fool."

They're going to be
more careful.

What is it you want him to do?
I don't quite understand.

Well, we'd like him to
sponsor a bill in the senate

to give people
a national initiative.

- Right.
- But he just sponsored a bill.

Isn't that what you just did?

- I am.
- He came and marched there.

He was the ones who--

what are you doing
on your lunch hour?

There's a tiny
little catch to this thing.

Remember before when I was
introducing these people?

I was telling you
about this neat picnic

- that we're having, huh?
- Yeah.

Well, we're all invited,

but you're kind of
specially invited

because in order to get people

to know about
the nuclear freeze,

they're having this huge
parade and rally,

and, uh, they'd just love
to have a senator to be...

To be the...
The grand Marshall.

They would like what?

For you to be
the grand Marshall.

What fun it would be.

I mean, you could write it

under "special events"
in your diary.

This all of it?

As an old country boy,
I'll give you a little advice.

Pigs get fat,
hogs get slaughtered.

You were a fool, Dan.

Dan: Please, don't.

Please, don't.

Jean: I wish there was some
way we could help, Saunders.

Is there anything we can do?

Billy Jack: Do you know
anybody who had it in for him?

I mean, there must
be some reason.

Saunders: Come on, Billy.

This is Washington, baby.

The big leagues.

Murder is just
a way of life here.

Billy Jack: Do you really
believe that?

Saunders: They murder
presidents here, Billy!

They murder men who are
running for president here!

They murder the Martin Luther
kings and the Jimmy hoffas!

Lobbyists?

Lobbyists like Dan?

Small fry.

They go one a week.

It's always made to look
like a heart attack,

a rape murder,

an overdose or suicide.

Billy Jack: Ls there
some way we could use

the office here
to investigate it?

Oh, would you two come off
your goddamned decency crap?

Do you know how much money
is spent here every week?

12 billion dollars.

That's two hundred and fifty
million dollars an hour,

up for grabs
each and every hour.

It's all secret groups
and who you know!

Cliques!

Secret groups
within the secret groups!

Read this, senator.

Senator Jack, read it.

This is the deficiency bill,
senator.

Did you hear of it?

Read it!

Check section number 40.

You know what's going up

right where you want
your little camp to be?

A nuclear reactor.

Remember the name?

Nuclear reactor, senator,

going up right where never
never land is supposed to be.

Did you ever read about that?

Well, of course you didn't.

They read all about it
today in the senate,

but you weren't
supposed to be there.

That's why we dragged you down
to that stupid convention

and bullcrapped you
into thinking

we were gonna really
help you get it financed.

That's why they sent you
here in the first place!

Because you wouldn't
know a nuclear reactor

from an erector set.

You want to be a senator.

Why don't you just try

and mess up
Mr. Bailey's little graph?

And all the other baileys
that are gonna come in here

year after year.

You can't.

Baby, you can't,
not in 19 million years.

Why don't you just go home?

Go home before they kill you.

Billy you hardly gave me
a chance to get dressed.

I apologize for barging in
at this hour, sir,

but this is extremely
important to us.

Of course, come on in.

Ah, no thank you, sir.

Well, can I get you
something? Chick!

No, uh, thank you.

Uh, senator, look,
i may not know Washington

and how things operate here,

but I do know
that willett creek district

like the back of my hand,

and tonight I was informed

that a nuclear plant
is gonna go up there.

Is that what's bothering you?

I thought from the way
you sounded

there was a fire somewhere.

Senator, that's right next
to a big earthquake fault.

No, that's all been put
through the state legislature

and approved. They had
the finest seismologists

and geophysicists in the country
check over that sight.

That's just the point.

There are at least
a hundred places in the state

that are obviously safer.

Senator, something very
strange is going on here,

and I'm sorry, but I am not
going to vote on that bill

until I get a lot
of questions answered.

Billy, you're jousting
with windmills.

How so?

You're trying
to understand in a month

everything about a project
that took two years to set up.

The reasons, the surveys,
the benefits--

speaking of benefits,

what does a man named Bailey
have to do with all of this?

What makes you think Bailey
has anything to do with it?

Senator, we heard that
the whole thing was his idea.

Do you fully realize
what you're saying?

You might as well accuse me
of helping to frame a bill

to benefit one individual,

of helping to frame
a scheme for graft.

No, no, senator,
nobody's trying to imply that,

but we do know that this Bailey
has something to do with it,

and I think it's critical that
we, for both of our sakes,

find out exactly what.

Billy Jack: All right,
i want everybody up.

I want to find out all
about this Mr. Bailey,

and I don't mean

just his newspaper, radio,
and television stations.

I want to find out
how many of his companies

are making a profit
on this nuclear reactor.

And I'd like to know
exactly who he's paying off

here in Washington in order
to get all the contracts.

Carol: Just find the secret
file foley had on him

when he had
his heart attack.

Why? What does foley's
file got to do with Bailey?

We're pretty sure it contained
all the names, dates,

and amounts of all the nuclear
payoffs, including Bailey's.

Not to mention who's been
canceling

all the nuclear
hearings.

Next you guys will think
Bailey can reach

all the way
into the white house.

Are you kidding? This town
is just one big clique,

and everybody's in bed
with everybody else.

All right, then let's find out

who exactly is in bed
with Mr. Bailey.

Now he wants to talk to every
one of the congressmen,

including bill from the
willett creek district here.

He's got all their names,
their voting records.

In one month, he's got more
groups out to destroy him

than any man in the history
of the senate.

Come on now, mcghan,
don't be ridiculous.

If it's so ridiculous,
why has the white house

already got a whole unit
investigating it?

I don't see the problem.

Let the white house
take care of him.

Now just a minute, Jim.
This is ridiculous!

I told you I'd handle him.

I strongly object to you
bringing Jim into this.

Mr. Bailey,

senator Jack
is here to see you.

Oh, fine, show him in.

Did you ask Billy Jack
to come over here?

Chick.

Jim, if you bring him in here,
you can count me out.

Go ahead.

Count me out.

Good morning, senator.
Mr. Bailey's expecting you.

Senator,
glad you could make it.

Chick, does the senator
know all the boys here?

Uh, some of them, Mr. Bailey.

Fine. You know congressman
Underwood I'm sure,

and Mr. barkoff of
the utilities commission.

Chick, acquaint him
with the others,

and have Orlando
bring him some breakfast.

Excuse me for just one moment.

Senator, this is Joe saldo
from the interior.

Matthew tillard of the nuclear
regulatory commission.

Jim, that boy is a senator.

However it happened,
he's a United States senator.

Now, we're not back home.

This is Washington, D.C.

Sq?

This boy is different.

Honest.

He's a decent man.

And besides,
he thinks the world of me.

We can't do this to him.

Joe, some our closet friends
are liable to go bankrupt

if this bill
doesn't go through.

Now, I am not going
to let that happen.

I don't care how much
he worships you.

I won't stand for it.

- You won't stand for it?
- That's right!

I won't have any part
of crucifying that boy.

Oh, I see.

Well, maybe I can fix it

so that you and your
half breed friend in there

can go back home together.

What on earth
are you talking about?

Seems such a shame,
after all these years,

especially with
the last elections

and the party scattered.

I mean, you were shaping up
to be the logical man

to build it all back
together again.

It only takes 20 or 30 of us

to pull off
a national convention,

you know that.

Well, I guess we're just going
to have to find somebody else.

But right now,
you go back in there

and explain to Mr. Jack
all about willett creek.

Well, after all,
it's your bill.

You engineered
the whole thing.

Well, what do you
think he's gonna do

when you tell him
the whole story, huh?

Smile, roll over,
and show us his belly

just because
he worships you?

All right, I'll take
the next plane home, Joe,

if that's what you want.

I'm just sorry
it had to work out this way.

No hard feelings
if I have to come after you.

Jim, it's... just
that I like this boy.

And...

And I don't want to see you
get too rough on him.

You know, you really had me
worried there for a minute.

Listen, why don't you
go back to your office, huh?

I'll give you a call
as soon as I'm through.

No, you don't have
to go back that way.

Sorry to have kept you
waiting, senator,

but I had a small domestic
problem to cope with,

but since I'm in town
for a couple of weeks,

I thought I'd take
this opportunity

of knowing you better.

A little coffee?

No, thank you.

They tell me that you're
right on your toes.

Made a lot of enemies
overnight.

Well, that's fine, great.

Means your doing something.

You know a lot of people
told me that you were dumb.

But somehow I think
that you're smart enough

to understand a situation
when it's explained to you.

Like what?

The reactor on willett creek.

Mmmmm.

Just what's your interest
in this reactor, Mr. Bailey?

Well, you should know
the answer to that, senator.

I mean, as chairman
of the political party

and office in our state,

anything that benefits the state
is of interest to me.

And, besides
being a politician,

I have a lot of holdings
in the state,

like newspapers
and some other odds and ends.

Construction companies?
Equipment companies?

Architectural firms,
things like that?

I told you he was smart.

Good!

Well, let's lay out everything
on the table, Billy.

If I thought that you had the
welfare of the state at heart

like I do-- well, for example,

if you were to be cooperative
about this project

instead of obstructive,

well, then I'd say
you'd be a man to watch.

For instance,
there's no reason

why you couldn't come
back to that senate seat

for as long a time
as you wanted.

Take these gentleman here,
or your idol Joe Payne.

They don't have to ever worry
about being re-elected,

or anything else,
for that matter,

because they take advice.

Are you trying to tell me

that you tell all
of these gentlemen here

and that you tell
Joe Payne what to do?

Joe Payne has been
taking my advice

ever since he started running
for office over 30 years ago.

You're a liar.

Billy, Washington is a very
small and incestuous town.

I came here prepared for you.
I give you my word on that.

If you so much as open your
mouth on that senate floor

tomorrow when that bill
is read--

now that...

Is exactly what I think
of your threat, Mr. Bailey.

Hey, have any of you guys
seen Carol?

No, I think
she went to the deli.

The deli
at this time of night?

Who went with her?

Um, I don't think
anybody went with her.

You're kidding.

Oh, cripes.

What the hell
is going on out here!

Don't!

Get away from her!

Ok, who are you guys anyway?

Why are you doing this?

What do you want?

We need your clothes...

Off.

Looks like one
of your neighborhood

welcoming committee

dropped this expensive
walkie talkie back there.

They aren't neighborhood.

Uh, who-- who did hire you?

Ah, come on, fellas,
you can tell us.

There's nobody else
in the warehouse here.

FBI?

CIA street fighting team?

Or maybe Bailey.

Whose idea was it to use
black agents, fellas?

Is it supposed to make it
look like a racial incident?

You guys ought to be
ashamed of yourselves.

I mean, kunta kinte would
turn over in his grave

if he saw you hire out
to the man like this.

You know, it's bad enough
when policemen break the law

by opening people's mail,
tapping telephones, but rape?

I mean, you know,
the next thing is

you guys will get it in your
heads to assassinate somebody.

You don't buy
any of that, do ya?

No way.

Well, I guess
that makes us even

because the one thing
that I really can't buy

is policemen
who break the law.

Hold it!

I'll tell you, friend.

Now, you really are
one hard man to...

Purify

ah, senator,
and what can I do for--

oh, hello, Billy.
Come on in.

Well, did you have
your talk with Bailey?

I had my talk
with Mr. Bailey.

He told me that he's been
telling you what to do

for the past 30 years.

I called him a liar.

Listen, son, come on over here
and sit down, will you?

I'm sorry. I don't feel very
much like sitting down, sir.

Oh, lord,
i know how you feel.

I was hoping you'd be
spared all this.

You've been living
in a dream world, Billy.

The idealist sees everything
as black and white,

angel and devil,

but that isn't how it goes
in the real world.

It's cruel, brutal, unfair.

You don't belong here, Billy.

Forget Bailey
and what he said.

Forget you ever heard of
the willett creek reactor.

That doesn't
answer my question.

Does Bailey
tell you how to vote?

Now, listen, Billy.
Please try to understand.

I know it's tough to run head-on
into the world of facts,

but it's a question
of give and take.

You've got to play
by these rules.

You've got to compromise.

If one must shut his eyes
that a reactor has to be built,

it's a small compromise.

The best men ever to serve in
this senate had to make deals.

You understand that?

Your Thomas Jefferson
had to make one on slavery,

or the declaration
of independence

would have never have gone
out of committee.

Now, believe me,
i know how you feel.

30 years ago,
i had those ideals too.

I was you!

I had to make the decision
you're being asked to make

today, and I made it.

I compromised.

Yes, I compromised,

so that all these years
i could sit in the senate

and serve the people
in a thousand beneficial ways.

You have to make alliances
with organizations

like Bailey's and
the big corporations.

You have to play ball,
or you can't survive.

You can't count
on the people voting.

You know how many people
voted in my last election?

Less than 22%
of the registered voters.

All I had to do was get 11%,

and Bailey's machine can
turn that out every time.

I know you're not going
to decide as I did.

I can see that in your eyes.

But I told you all this
because...

I've grown very fond of you--
like a son, in fact--

and I don't want
to see you get hurt.

The powers here,
and the baileys,

they're ruthless, Billy.

I think you're beginning
to see some of that.

You've already gone too far.

You're no longer safe here.

When that deficiency bill
comes up in senate tomorrow,

stay away.

Just stay away.
It's that simple.

Please.

Just stay away.

And under previous orders,

the senate
resumes consideration

of yesterday's unfinished
business,

which the clerk will read.

A bill, hr7700, providing
for deficiency appropriations

for the fiscal year 1977,
and for other purposes.

The bill is open
to amendments.

- Mr. president.
- Senator Jack.

Mr. president,
i wish to address myself

to section 40 of the bill.

I want specifically to talk
about the nuclear plant

- on willett creek.
- Mr. president!

Will the senator yield?

Yes, yes, sir.

Mr. president, I have
risen to a difficult task

to say that out of evidence
that has come to my attention,

I consider senator Jack
unworthy to address this body.

Order in the senate!

The chair will clear the gallery
unless order is restored.

- What in the hell is going on?
- I don't know.

Payne's jumping Billy Jack
about something.

Proceed, sir.

I have hesitated to speak,
but in all conscience I must.

It is a charge as grave
as has ever been made

from this floor
against a fellow member.

I refer to the bill he has
presented in this chamber,

providing for his
national youth camp.

Senators,

I have conclusive
evidence to prove

that my colleague
owns the very land

described in his bill.

He bought it the day following
his appointment to the senate,

and he is holding it,
using this body

and his privileged position
for his own personal profit.

- Tonto had a racket?
- It doesn't make sense!

Accordingly,
i offer a resolution

for an immediate inquiry
by the select committee

on standards and conduct as
to the fitness of my colleague

to continue to sit
in this chamber.

Order, the committee calls
governor hopper, please.

Governor hopper.

Governor,

were you there the morning that
Mr. Allen was present?

Ah, yes Mr. chairman,
i was present the morning

that Kenneth Allen
came to the state capital,

bringing proof that Billy Jack
had a deed to that campsite.

I, uh, frankly was
in a state of shock.

I mean, Billy Jack
of all people.

He is a hero to people
all over my state.

Now, governor, what did you do

when Mr. Allen brought this
to your attention?

Ah, I had a consultation with
the head of the department

of records, Mr. Arthur Kim.

Mr. Kim, do you remember
recording this deed?

Yes.

On the date set forth here?

Mr. Kenneth Allen came
before me to record this deed,

setting over these 400 acres
in the name of Billy Jack.

Order, please.

How long have you known
senator Jack, Mr. Allen?

Oh, many, many years.

He often camped
around willett creek.

Now, a lot of people were afraid
of Billy Jack, but I liked him.

And then when he came to me
with this proposition--

what proposition,
please, Mr. Allen?

Well, he said he had a chance
to sell that leased land

for at least five thousand
dollars an acre.

Me, I was happy to get
five hundred dollars an acre.

So, we set it up like this:
I deeded him the land,

and he gave me a contract
guaranteeing me

half of what he got
if he made the sale.

Well, in a way, it sounded
kind of fishy at the time,

but that's the way most
of these developers work.

So it wasn't until he sent me
this telegram

that I realized there was some
really dirty business going on.

May we see the telegram,
please?

- Yes.
- Thank you.

"Urgent.
Camp bill introduced.

"Senator Payne will help.

"You have a deal on that land.

"Contracts to follow.

Billy Jack."

Order, please.

That contract you mentioned,
have you got that document?

That land wouldn't be in his
name if I didn't, yes, sir.

Signed, sealed,
and delivered.

Order, please.

After a long study
of this signature,

it is my professional opinion
that it definitely is

Billy Jack's
own handwriting.

Therefore, it is my opinion
as a professional,

and as an expert
on handwriting,

that the signature
of Billy Jack

on this contract
is a forgery.

It is difficult to tell the real
thing and a clever forgery,

and you'll get differing
opinions from experts,

but I'd be willing to stake
my 40 years in this profession

on the fact that this
is not a forgery

and is the actual signature
of Billy Jack.

Mr. chairman, gentlemen...

This is an excruciatingly
painful duty for me.

This young boy

is the nephew
of my very dearest friend.

I sponsored him
in the senate.

I helped him
frame his camp bill.

And when he presented it
to the senate,

I went over
to congratulate him,

but I pointed out
to him that

a nuclear plant was going up
on the very site

he had selected for his camp.

I said there are hundreds of
equally good campsites nearby.

I suggested that he

choose another site
for his camp.

He got furious.

He said "move the plant."

I had heard about
his violent temper,

but I was amazed
at his reaction.

He began to argue with me.

He said that "unless
i get that very same site,

"i will attack
the willett creek plant.

I'll charge graft,
political motives."

He would use anything he could
think of to defeat it.

Well, faced with that,
gentlemen...

In spite of my very deep
personal feelings for the boy...

My sense of duty...

Required that his expulsion
from the senate

would be the only
acceptable solution.

Senator Jack, please.

The committee is ready for your
testimony now, senator Jack.

Order!
Order in this courtroom!

That's it.
He's drawn and quartered.

You know, I didn't think
he was guilty until this moment.

We'll get the whole thing
over all the front pages.

Yeah, we'll be sending some
photos for the TV coverage.

Listen, make sure you give Joe
Payne a big buildup, will ya?

Yeah, sort of an "Abraham
sacrificing his son

for the good of the people"
sort of thing.

Yeah, sure, they're having
a hell of a time.

You'll never guess
who I found.

Saunders.

And guess what she found
in her safety deposit box.

All of foley's
classified material.

She's willing to come back and
make a fight of it if you are.

To make a fight of what?

- You mean you're gonna quit?
- Who's the enemy?

I don't even know who
I'm supposed to be fighting.

Look, Billy, who better
than you knows that

you can't reform congress
from within?

So why don't you use
the filibuster

as a way to teach people

how they can get
a national referendum?

Even if you lose,
who cares?

You'll have taught people

how to get around
a corrupt congress.

Your quitting is sure gonna
shatter a lot of hopes, though.

Well, I'm sorry about that.

But this is different.
Lt's-- lt's--

it's just too sophisticated.

Maybe you're right.

Maybe if the only solution
you have to crucial problems

is to take off your boots
and kick people in the head,

maybe you
just should go home.

"L have sworn
upon the altar of god

"eternal hostility

"against every form
of tyranny

over the mind of man."

That we here,
highly resolve

that this nation shall,
under god,

have a new birth of freedom.

And that government
of the people,

by the people,
and for the people

shall not perish
from the earth.

Senate will come to order.

Clerk will call the roll.

Well, we've got a full house
today, haven't we?

Yup, they always turn out
for the execution.

Hi, Ralph.
- Hi, sweeney.

They expel senator Jack
today, huh?

Well, where are the drums,
the guillotine?

In fact,
where's senator Jack?

I guess he hasn't stopped
running

since he left
that committee room.

Hey Ralph, by the way,

what are you saving
the two seats for?

I don't know.
Jean asked me to hold them.

- Mr. hyrim.
- Here.

- Mr. Jack.
- Here!

You know, that guy
is either crazy

- or a glutton for punishment.
- Maybe both.

- What's Saunders doing here?
- Saunders!

- I thought she left--
- what's Saunders doing in town?

- Where have you been?
- Hi, guys.

Saunders, are you behind
these shenanigans?

- Me?
- What shenanigans?

- Mr. Zimmerman.
- Here.

The quorum is present.

The quorum is present.

- Mr. president?
- Senator Brighton?

Mr. president, on behalf
of the select committee

on standards and conduct,

I send to the desk a report
of that committee

on the investigation
of senator Billy Jack

as unanimously directed
by the committee.

I also report an original
resolution

for the senator's expulsion,
which I ask to be read.

Without objection?

So ordered.

Whereas it has been shown,
by the investigation

of the select committee
of standards and conduct,

that senator Billy Jack,
as United States senator,

did engage in a course
of unethical conduct

calculated to benefit his own
personal and financial worth,

and whereas such conduct
derogates from the public trust

expected of a senator,
and brings the senate

into contumely disrepute
and dishonor,

resolved that it is
the judgment of the senate

that senator Billy Jack
be, and hereby is,

expelled from
the United States senate.

Mr. president, I move
the immediate adoption

of the resolution and ask
for all the yays and nays.

- Stand up!
- Mr. president!

Mr. president,
i have the floor,

and am about
to ask for a roll call

on the passing of
this resolution

without any further delay.

Mr. president, I believe i
addressed the chair first, sir.

The senator can say nothing
at this time

that would not be
in bad grace, sir.

Senator Jack is still
a member of this body

and as such, has equal claim
to the attention of this chair.

You were about
to recognize me, sir.

That is merely
your assumption, senator.

Let him speak!

Before I proceed further,
i would like to say

to the visitors that they
are here as our guests,

and they should conduct
themselves as such,

and we might add that
such crudely-voiced sentiments

will in no way affect
the judgment of this chair.

The chair recognizes...
Senator Jack.

Thank you sir.

Hold on to your hat,
Jean, here we go.

Well, gentlemen, I guess
you're in a pretty tall hurry

to get me out of here,

and from the way the evidence
is piled up against me,

I can't say
that I blame you much.

And I'm perfectly willing
to go, Mr. president,

as soon as this group
has legally voted that way,

but before I go,

there are some things that
i want to say to this body.

Mr. president,
will the senator yield?

No!

No, senator,
i will not yield.

Now, I yielded once before,
and if you'll recall,

I ended up
being splattered

across the headline of every
newspaper in this country

and was practically
never heard of again.

And incidentally, gentlemen,

we might as well
all get together

on this yielding business
right now.

You see, I had some pretty
good coaching last night,

and I found out that if I yield
only for a personal privilege,

a point of order,
or a question,

I can hold this floor
till doomsday,

or at least as long as I can
stand on my own two feet.

In other words,
Mr. president,

I have a piece to speak,
and come hell or high water,

I am going to stand
on this floor and speak it.

Mr. president,
will the senator yield?

- Will senator Jack yield?
- Yield how?

Will he yield for a question?

For a question, yes,
for a question.

I wish to ask
my junior colleague,

this piece he
intends to speak,

does it concern
section 40 of the bill?

- It does.
- Every aspect of this matter

was dealt with during
the committee hearings.

- Mr. president--
- I wish to ask

my distinguished colleague,
has he one scrap of evidence

to add now to the defense,
that he did not give

and could not give
during that same hearing?

There are no defenses
against forged papers,

and you know it,
senator Payne.

The committee ruled otherwise!

The gentleman stands
guilty as charged.

I stand guilty as framed!

I believe I speak for
every member present

when I say that no one
cares to hear

what a man of his condemned
character has to say

about any section of any
legislation

before this house!

Mr. president,
i was guilty as framed!

And I was framed because I was
going to stand up here and tell

that section 40 is nothing
but a nuclear ripoff!

I was going to stand
in this chamber

and tell about a certain
James Bailey back in my state,

who wanted to put that
plant through

for his own
personal profit.

Mr. president,
will the senator yield?

No, I will not yield!

Now this same James Bailey

promised me a seat in this
chair for the next 20 years

if I went along and voted
for something that he knew

and I knew was a fraud
on the American people.

And he also told me

that if I dared to stand up
in this chamber

and oppose that nuclear plant,
he would break me in two.

All right.
All right, Mr. president,

I stood up the other day,

and I tried to address myself
to section 40,

and the long arm of Mr. Bailey

reached into this sacred
chamber,

and he grabbed me
by the back of the neck!

Mr. president Mr. president!
A point of order.

Mr. president,
do I have the floor?

Senator Payne will state it.

It was I who rose in this
chamber to accuse him.

He is claiming that I was
carrying out criminal orders

and falsified evidence.

He has imputed to me conduct
unworthy of a senator,

and I demand that he be
made to yield the floor.

Mr. president, I did not say

that senator Payne
was in that room!

But I was in that room!

Order!

I accuse this man
by his tone,

by his careful denials of
deliberately trying to plant

damaging impressions
of my conduct.

I'll tell you why--
because Mr. Bailey,

a respected citizen
of our state,

had brought with him
the evidence against this man,

and we were urging Billy Jack
to resign.

Why?
To avoid bringing disgrace

upon a clean
and honorable state,

and upon this body.

But senator Jack refused.

He threatened
to bring that very disgrace

down upon the state
and all of us present

if we refused
to let him go through

with this contemptible scheme.

- Mr. president--
- finally--

Mr. president,
do I have the floor?

...there was only one way
to answer this man.

The truth, which I rose
and gave to this body.

Mr. president, he is trying
to blackmail the senate,

just as he tried
to blackmail me.

To prevent his expulsion,
he would probably even try

to hold up
the deficiency bill,

vital to the entire country,

which must be passed
immediately today.

Do I have the floor?

Gentlemen, I have lost
Patience with this gentleman!

I am sick and tired of this
contemptible young man.

I apologize to this body
for his appointment.

I regret I ever knew him,

and I refuse to stay
and listen to him any longer.

And I hope every member
of this chamber feels as I do.

Senators will be in order!

Senators
will address the chair.

- Mr. president!
- Senator Warner.

Mr. president, what does the
gentleman want of this body?

I'll tell you what I want.

I want one week,
just one week

to bring proof of the charges
into this chamber

that I brought
against Mr. Bailey.

And I want the senate
to promise me

that they will not pass the
deficiency bill

for that one week.

Will the senator yield?

For a question only.

Has the senator
the effrontery to stand there,

convicted and in disgrace,

and try to force
the postponement

of this deficiency bill?

For one lousy week!

Mr. president,
i appeal to the senator.

Is he fully aware
that this bill

has been months
in both houses,

delayed and delayed--

Mr. president,
if the senate yields

to this kind of blackmail
at this time, from this man,

whatever credibility
this body has left

will be totally destroyed.

Mr. president,
it is an insult to this body

to have to listen.

An insult to our colleague
senator Payne.

And I, for one, will follow
the senator's example

and refuse to remain
in this chamber

as long as that man
holds the floor.

President: Senator Jack.

Looks like I'm just going
to have to present my case

from this floor,
Mr. president--

that is, if you ladies
and gentlemen of the press

will carry my remarks
accurately.

In other words, sir,
wild horses are not going

to drag me off of this floor

until I've at least
had the opportunity

to present my evidence
to the people of my state,

and I don't care
if that takes me

for the rest of this year.

Filibuster!

Filibuster!

Joe, get this.
Billy Jack on the floor,

just as they were ready
to throw him out,

and he's holding it!

Filibuster. Billy Jack is
filibustering the senate.

Listen, you've got to get me
everything he's saying

to the networks, okay?

- Consider it done.
- Thanks.

When they read my story.

- Oh, Ralph.
- Saunders, I promise you,

they're gonna hear about this
in patagonia!

They'd better!

The entire senate
got up and walked out!

Oh, Ralph, come on,
that's straight stuff.

You've gotta kick it up
a little bit, get on his side.

Fight for him, huh?

You guys understand
what this is all about, please.

Joe, scratch all that
and take this.

The most Titanic
battle of modern times

has broken out in Washington.

A new young David,
without a slingshot,

has risen to do battle
on the senate floor

with not one mighty goliath
but many.

Oh, Ralph, I love you.

That they are endowed with
certain inalienable rights,

and among them
are life, Liberty,

and the pursuit of happiness.

Uh, uh, Mr. president--

Mr. president,
we seem to be alone, sir.

Now, I'm not complaining
for social reasons,

but, uh, I think
it would be a shame

if these gentlemen
miss the evidence

that I would like to present,

so I would like
to call your attention

to the standing rules
of the senate.

Uh, rule 5, section...

Section 3.

Sir, it says,
and I'm quoting now,

"lf a quorum shall not
be found to be present,

"then a majority
of the senators present

"may direct the sergeant
of arms to request,

"and if necessary to compel,

the attendance
of the absent senators."

Unquote.

Uh, Mr. president, I guess it
looks like I am the majority,

so... I so compel.

Well, in the absence
of a quorum, being suggested,

clerk will call the role.

Bailey: Now where the hell
is that long distance call?

Assistant:
We're trying to get it.

Will you do me a favor and get
more direct lines out of here?

Chick, have you got
hold of Hendrix?

They're looking for him.

Looking for him?

Now, look, why the hell
isn't an editor

at his desk where he belongs?

Joe.

Joe, why aren't you
on the senate floor?

Jim, that boy is talking
to the state now,

the whole country.

- The story is out.
- So what?

The fight is out in the open,
that's all.

That's what I mean.

If he can turn public opinion
against us,

if any part of this sticks--

he won't even get started.

I'll make public opinion
out there in five hours.

I've done it all my life.

Now look, will you leave
public opinion to me, Joe?

Now go on, get back
to the senate there

and keep those honorable
gentlemen in line.

Jim, I hit him from the floor
with everything I know.

I don't have the stomach
for it anymore.

Now you listen to me, Joe.

If he starts to convince
those senators,

you might just as well
blow your brains out,

because this is it,
the whole works.

We've got to smash that guy
and bury him.

Mcghan:
Jim, Hendrix on line 4.

Go on back to the senate, Joe.

Go on.

Now where the hell
have you been?

All right, never mind.

Look, I want you to line up
every newspaper, TV,

and radio station
in the state.

I want you to call in
all the lous.

Yeah, I want them to keep
everything Billy Jack says

out of the media.

Defend the party.

What do you mean with what?

He's a criminal,
convicted by the senate,

and now blocking
the relief bill

and starving people.

He's one of those
crazy radicals

making a mockery of our courts
and institutions.

With what, he asks.

And buy up every minute
you can of every station

over 2 watts in the state,

and keep those commercials
spouting against him.

Look, I don't give a damn what
your problems are! Just do it!

Gentlemen, gentlemen,
this can't go on.

It's ridiculous.

Fantastic.
For one nuclear plant?

Why don't we throw section 40
out and him with it?

What do you mean?
And repudiate Joe here?

Henry, you've got to get
that man off the floor.

Come on, boys.
You know as well as I do

as long as Mr. Jack holds
that floor legitimately,

he's going to hold it.

And if anyone were to ask me,

I'd say the young fella's
making a lot of sense.

Sense? You call blackmail
sense, Henry?

Look, Joe, I didn't like this
radical from the beginning,

but if the man
weren't Sincere,

how could he stage
such a good fight

against these impossible odds?

Well, that's just fine,
Martin, that's just fine.

I'm glad to hear that after
20 years of working

with you fellas, you're ready
to take his word over mine.

...what it means.
If he's just that much right,

then I'm totally wrong.

Joe, isn't there just some way

we can get that
nuclear plant out of there,

just so we can get
the deficiency bill through?

It's not a question
of a nuclear plant.

It's a question of my honor

and the integrity
of the select committee.

Yes, and the senate itself.

But if that's what you want
to do, go ahead!

Throw out section 40.

I'll resign from the committee
and we'll be through with it.

Now wait a minute,
wait a minute. Wait, wait.

This is a lot of nonsense.

Now, Joe's right.

A deal is impossible.

We have got to go on the way we
have been doing and break him.

Keep him talking.

No relief.

Maintain a watch in relays.

I mean, after all, how long
can a man stand on his legs?

Is that the way you feel,
John?

For once,
we're in total agreement.

- Charlie?
- Right, I couldn't agree more.

Gentlemen, time to leave
the man on the floor.

Now tell me, does anybody
in this chamber really--

I guess we have the night shift
coming on, Mr. president.

Here.

Thank you, Jimmy.

Oh, Mr. president,
i am very happy to learn

that the senate rules
provide for human frailty

and that I am allowed
under the rules

a two- or three-minute
break for emergencies.

Uh, Mr. president, right now,
it is such an emergency.

Charlie, I want the entire
morning edition front page

nothing but a blast
to shove him off the floor.

And I want telegrams,
you understand?

Telegrams pouring in
to senator Payne's office.

All right,
here's how we do it--

a convicted thief purportedly
representing you

has totally crippled
the United States senate.

You got that?

Billy Jack:
Now we come to the real reason

senator foley
sealed this file.

Oh, ugly as the facts are,

but the contributions
and the kickbacks,

that's penny ante stuff
compared to the real reason

that foley classified this
as top-secret.

No, gentlemen, the real reason
lies here, in this file.

What does it reveal?
Oh, nothing much--

just the astonishing fact
that over a ten-year period

at 58 different
nuclear plants,

there were at least
141 technical mishaps

that came dangerously close
to a complete meltdown.

Now let me put that for you
in another way, gentlemen.

All the while that the nuclear
regulatory commission

was pointing to
three mile island as proof

of the safety
of their program--

after all,
no one got killed, right?--

and was assuring us under oath

that it was a freak accident
that could never happen again,

they had, in their possession,
here in foley's file,

full knowledge that there
was an accident

on the average
of at least once a month,

each and every month,
for the last ten years.

Each accident of which
came dangerously close,

sometimes within-- within
even hours to a meltdown

that was similar or worse to
the one at three mile island,

and any one of which
could have destroyed

the entire community
that the plant was located in.

Hey, but Mr. Bailey
and all of your Mr. baileys

are gonna make huge profits.

So the nuclear regulatory
commission

lies through its teeth
to the American people,

and you gentlemen,
you swear to it.

Saunders, Jean,
you better wake up.

You guys are in trouble.

What?

Brady's column, too.
I can't believe it!

What are you talking about?

You better call your boy off,
Jean. He's getting nowhere.

- Why?
- It's murder.

Almost nothing of what he's
saying is being printed

or heard back
in your home state.

- What?
- Brady's column, radio,

wire service,
television stations,

everything has been scratched.

How in the hell
can they do that?

Well, so now in the meantime,

all of Bailey's
stations and friends

are pouring out
the party line, right?

Better believe it.
He's got demonstrators

coming out of party headquarters
in every corner of that state.

And that's what you'd call
freedom of the press, right?

It's just not fair.

How do you stand it here?

Jean, Jean, come on.

No, I'm not gonna come on.

Saunders, telephone.

One simple little tool

could turn this government

back into being a government
of the people

instead of a government
of corporations,

and that tool is
the national initiative.

Well...

What is it, Saunders?

Tell Billy to stop.

He's beat, Jean.

They just busted up
your TV station

and cut your
transmitting cable.

Greed,
greed exists in all of us.

And the whole purpose
of the constitution

is to protect the people

that we are sent here
to represent from our greed.

Then, if we're really gonna have
a representative government,

we have to give people back
the tool...

So that is we fail
to protect their rights,

they can protect
their rights...

By a national initiative.

For a right without
the tool to remedy it

is no right at all.

Well--

Jean, he's killing himself
for nothing.

Stop him.

I can't make him stop.

Mr. president,
will the senator yield?

Yield how, senator Payne?

For a question.

Will the senator yield
to his colleague?

For a question.

Yes, yes, senator Payne,
I'll yield for a question.

The senator
has repeatedly stated

that he is speaking
to the people of our state.

He is waiting, as he
so fancifully put it,

for them to come marching
here in droves.

Would the senator
be interested in knowing

what the people
of our state are saying?

Oh, you bet, senator Payne.
You bet I would.

Mr. president, have I permission
to bring into this chamber

evidence of the response
of the people of my state?

Is there any objection?

No.

You may proceed.

Pages.

All of you, please.

There it is, gentlemen.

The gentleman's answer.

Letters, telegrams--
50,000 of them--

demanding
that he yield this floor.

I invite the senate
to read them.

I invite my colleague
to read them.

The people's answer
to Billy Jack!

Well...

I guess this looks like...

Just another lost cause.

You people,
you people up there

wouldn't know about
lost causes.

But Mr. Payne does.

He once told me

that the only causes
worth fighting for

were the lost causes.

And he fought for them once...

For the only reason that any
man ever fights for them--

because there's this burning
thing in here...

That says no matter
how great your defects...

How bad your faults or how
many mistakes you've made...

You've got to try to live
your life by a simple rule--

just to love your neighbor
as much as yourself.

You've forgotten all that,
haven't you, senator?

It's part of the great
political campaign speeches.

Or the crap
you tell young senators

who come in here believing.

Believing in everything
they read in the history books

about this great body
the senate.

You think I'm licked,
don't you?

You all think I'm licked, huh?

Why, because Payne's
guardian angel

can manufacture overnight

all this phony letter
campaign?

Huh?

This?

Here, you read it.

Go ahead, Mr. majority leader,

why don't you guys
read this stuff?

You read it.

Here, all of ya!

I mean, you know how
to manufacture that stuff

every time you want to run
for re-election.

Every time you want
to stuff a nuclear plant

down people's throat,

then you know how
to manufacture that stuff

with your Madison Avenue
boys overnight!

And then once you get inside
this chamber,

you forget all about it
until the next six years!

Y.-

you think that just because

you come marching in here
with all these lies

that I'm gonna quit?

I mean, senator,
i don't care--

I don't care
if all of the baileys,

all of your baileys,
come marching in here

with all their armies
and all the national guards

and you fill this chamber
with lies!

And, senator, that's
all they are is lies!

I am gonna stand
on this floor,

and I am gonna fight
for this lost cause

until the people rise up

and get rid of your
party conventions

and your political machines

and once again have a voice

through their own national
initiative.

Because you see, those of us--

those of us
who know that simple rule,

to try to deal fairly
and honestly and justly,

even with the little guy,

with the little man out there

who doesn't have
a party machine or a Bailey--

those of us have
a sacred trust, Mr. Payne.

And you once had
that scared trust.

And you also know that the men
that live by that rule...

Are willing to die
for those lost causes.

Just as that man we both
once loved...

Died for his.

Remember that,
slumped over his desk,

with a bullet in his back.

You remember that,
senator Payne?

Well...

I'm gonna stay here,

and I'm gonna fight
for this lost cause.

Can I please..

Can I have a drink of water?

Billy!

Get a medical in here!

Mr. president!
Mr. president!

What is the pending business
before the senate?

The question before
the senate is the motion

to adopt the senator's
resolution

on the expulsion
of senator Billy Jack.

Mr. president,
i insist upon my motion,

and I demand
the yays and nays.

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No! No!

You did it.

So, no matter what they do
to you now, you did it.

And you didn't even have to
once take off your boots.

The clerk will read
the resolution.

By title, for the information
of the senate.

Senate resolution 336

calling for the expulsion
of senator Billy Jack.

The yays and nays
are requested

for the adoption
of the resolution.

Is there a sufficient second?

No.

Obviously, there's
a sufficient number.

Clerk will call the roll.

No, he's--

I didn't quite get
your remarks, senator Payne.

No! No!

Expel me, not him!

I am not fit to be a senator.

Everything he said about the
willett creek project is true.

It is a fraud.
It's a crime.

It's a crime against
the people of the state

that sent me here,
and I committed it.

Expel me!

Everything that that boy
said is true.

Everything he said
about Bailey and me,

about the political corruption
in my state, it's true.

Everything he said about most
of us in this chamber is true,

and we know it!

I am not fit for any office.

I am not fit for any place
of honor or trust.

I demand that this senate
expel me.

Expel me, not him.

Expel me.