Copyright 1989
AMERICAN GADFLY: The Story of Wayne Morse
a teleplay by Charles Deemer
A BLACK SCREEN
SUPER ON SCREEN:
"I am a sort of gadfly, given to the State by the
gods; and
the State is a great and noble steed who is tardy in his
motions owing to his very size, and requires to be
stirred
into life. I am
that gadfly which the gods have attached to
the State, and all day long and in all places am always
fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and
reproaching
you. . . . You think that you might easily strike me
dead . . . but
then you would sleep on for the remainder of
your lives, unless the gods in their care of you sent you
another gadfly."
- Socrates in his own defense
FADE IN:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - PORTLAND
WAYNE MORSE is in bed, during his dying moments.
SUPER ON SCREEN:
"July 22, 1974 - Portland, Oregon"
BACK TO ROOM
where MORSE is trying to speak but we cannot make out
what
he is saying. We
hear the VOICES of two doctors:
FIRST DOCTOR (V.O.)
What's he trying to say?
SECOND DOCTOR (V.O.)
I
can't make it out.
FIRST DOCTOR (V.O.)
I don't think he knows where he is.
2.
CLOSE ON MORSE
as his LIPS MOVE and we hear his soft gravely voice for
the
first time:
MORSE
I want to thank you all for
coming . . . Thank you for such a
beautiful day . . . Thank you,
everybody . . . Thank you . . .
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE
MORSE stands near the door, thanking people as they leave
from a political meeting, reaching out to shake hands.
MORSE
Thank you for coming . . . Thank
you . . . Thanks for your support .
. . .
SUPER ON SCREEN
"December, 1951 - Eugene, Oregon"
BACK TO ROOM
where MORSE continues to thank the last of his guests.
MORSE
Yes, we're going to have a fight on
our hands - but I see no other way
to save the party. . . . Goodnight.
Thank you for coming.
He moves away from the door, looking straight at the
camera
now. As he moves
into a living room, he'll be standing in
front of the family Christmas tree.
MORSE
I can't blame them for being
skeptical. General Eisenhower
attends to the business of NATO in
Europe while Bob Taft runs around
the country talking as if he had
the Republican nomination wrapped
up.
But I'll tell you something:
Sen. Taft can't win the election.
He can't beat Truman and if the
President decides not to run again,
he
still can't win. Sen.
(MORE)
3.
MORSE (cont'd)
Taft represents too narrow a wing
of the party. He would divide this
country as badly as Truman has
divided it.
Now let me tell you something else:
I've had the opportunity to
cross-examine Gen. Eisenhower many
times when he appeared before the
Armed Services Committee. I found
him
to be honest without exception
and a man of great integrity. I
think the General possesses one of
the most brilliant minds in public
service today.
I
know that the Senator from Ohio
has the support of many of our
state chairmen and party leaders.
But the people support Eisenhower,
I'm
sure of it. I was the first
one in the Senate to come out for
Gen. Eisenhower and frankly I know
of no other candidate who can renew
this country's faith in the future.
That's why I called this meeting
here tonight, to begin to generate
support for him.
But we've got to get Gen.
Eisenhower back in the country and
campaigning, taking his case to the
people.
CUT TO:
INSERT: REPUBLICAN CONVENTION - CHICAGO (NEWS TAPES)
The frenzied excitement of the convention floor.
DELEGATIONS are waving placards and banners for TAFT and
for
EISENHOWER. There
is music and much hoopla.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"July, 1952 - Chicago"
INSERT -
CONVENTION HALL (NEWS TAPES)
as EISENHOWER is seen ON THE PODIUM, waving to the crowd
after winning the nomination. IKE BANNERS are everywhere.
High excitement is in the air.
4.
INT. MORSE'S HOTEL ROOM - CHICAGO - LATE NIGHT
MORSE is on the phone.
He is ecstatic that Eisenhower has
won the nomination.
MORSE
I can think of no better running
mate for the General. I'd be
honored to nominate him. . . .
Goodnight.
Morse hangs up and turns to the camera.
MORSE
The Junior Senator from Oregon has
been asked to nominate Leverett
Saltonstall to run with Gen.
Eisenhower! A liberal, a New
England man - he'd perfectly
balance the ticket. The Taft
people are still trying to bully in
a conservative platform but the
fight's not over yet.
The phone rings.
Morse answers it.
MORSE
Hello?
(to the camera)
Bill Berg, my administrative
assistant.
(back on phone)
I've been asked to nominate
Saltonstall! . . . But I was just
talking to them a minute ago. . . .
That's supposed to be decided on
the floor of the convention! . . .
I can't believe it. . . . No, I'll
talk to you in the morning.
Goodnight, Bill.
He hangs up. He
is very upset at the turn of affairs.
He
speaks to the camera.
MORSE
The running mate is Dick Nixon.
Hand-picked behind closed doors by
Gen. Eisenhower himself - but you
can't tell me the Taft people
aren't behind this. Dick Nixon -
who's despised in every union hall
in the country!
CUT TO:
5.
INSERT: REPUBLICAN CONVENTION (NEWS TAPES)
EISENHOWER and NIXON are on the PODIUM, hands joined and
raised together, the Republican ticket for 1952.
INT. MORSE HOTEL ROOM - MORNING
Morse is in his undershirt and pants, dialing a number.
MORSE
(on phone)
Dick Nixon's room, please . . .
Hello, Dick. Wayne Morse. I'm
calling to offer my
congratulations. . . . I won't beat
around the bush with you, Dick. I
was going to nominate Saltonstall
of Massachusetts but I recognize
that you'll be a popular candidate,
and I can tell you that Wayne Morse
will support the ticket. . . . Yes,
as a matter of fact, there are a
couple points I'd like to make.
The
platform bothers me a good
deal.
It was written by Taft
people, by and large, and
Eisenhower's nomination was a
rejection of the Taft wing of the
party. . . . I think the platform
takes us back fifty years. It
makes McKinley look like a liberal.
. .
. I can be specific til the
cows come home. Look at civil
rights: to compromise with states
rights is a retreat from the
principles of Lincoln. In fact,
the entire civil rights plank
strikes me as weasel-worded
double-talk. The plank on labor
isn't much better. It's verbose,
platitudinous and evasive.
Foreign
policy is a hodgepodge of
inconsistent compromises and- . . .
well, yes, I think you and Gen.
Eisenhower have to take a stronger
platform to the American people to
win.
I think that- . . .
certainly, Dick, I understand. I
just wanted to give you my
congratulations.
CUT TO:
EXT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE - DAY
Establishing shot of the ranch.
6.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"October, 1952 - Eugene"
EXT. ON THE RANCH - DAY
MORSE is repairing a section of fence. He is working
furiously, visibly upset about something and working it
off.
He bends a nail and stops, taking out a handkerchief to
wipe
his brow. Even at
ranch work, he is dressed rather
dapperly. He
turns to the camera.
MORSE
The Armed Services Committee sent
me
to Europe to inspect NATO bases.
What I found over there was
shocking.
I hardly know where to begin.
There's a shocking waste of
taxpayers' money, gross
inefficiency, I doubt if we get
thirty cents of value for a dollar.
I found a cadre of military men and
military minds who are convinced
that war with the Soviet Union is
inevitable, that any attempt at
keeping the peace is doomed to
fail.
Gen. Eisenhower has been the chief
administrator of NATO and, as far
as I'm concerned, the buck stops
with him.
I now have very serious
doubts about the wisdom of putting
a military mind in the White House.
And his campaign speeches: I've
heard no retreat from that
reactionary platform. All I hear
is
double-talk and political mush.
As hard as this is to say for a
lifelong Republican like myself,
Adlai Stevenson sounded like a
statesman compared to Eisenhower.
CUT TO:
INT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE
Morse sits in an easy chair, listening to a radio speech
by
Stevenson.
7.
STEVENSON (V.O.)
I want to speak to you today on the
idea of peace on earth. And I want
to speak of the institution of the
United Nations.
However great the
assaults on the peace of the world
may have been since the United
Nations was founded, no nation
today would dare to remove itself
from membership and separate his
country from the human hopes that
are woven into the very texture of
the organization. And this is why
to celebrate the United Nations is
to hold communion with the idea of
peace on earth.
Morse gets up and turns off the radio. He turns to the
camera.
MORSE
Instead of empty rhetoric and
double-talk, here were words of
hope and vision. Then came the
proverbial straw that broke the
camel's back.
CUT TO:
INT. MORSE OFFICE - WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse is at his desk, reading a newspaper. He looks up from
it to the camera.
MORSE
Morningside Heights, October 18th:
Eisenhower and Taft issue a joint
statement of party unity.
He angrily throws down the newspaper.
MORSE
Unity, my posterior! This campaign
has been nothing but demogoguery,
double-talk and dangerous
dissertion by Eisenhower of every
principle he professed to believe
in.
This is not the man I
cross-examined before the Armed
Services Committee. This is a
sellout to the reactionary wing of
the party. He embraces Taft, he
endorses Joe McCarthy - McCarthy,
who calls Gen. George Marshall a
front man for communists!
(MORE)
8.
MORSE (cont'd)
Behavior like this disqualifies
Eisenhower for public office. I
wouldn't trust him as dog catcher.
He buzzes his secretary.
MORSE
Get Bill to set up a press
conference as soon as possible.
He buzzes off. He
takes a deep breath.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. AT THE PODIUM - POLITICAL RALLY
Morse stands behind the podium in front of a banner for
Stevenson.
MORSE
My decision to leave the Republican
party in this campaign and perhaps
permanently has not been an easy
one to make. It has been a
declaration of conscience. My
attempt, along with other
constitutional liberals, to bring
the Republican Party back to the
people and free it from the
domination of selfish and
materialistic interests in our
country has been disheartening.
From this day onward, I am an
Independent Republican.
Today, then, I can tell you that
the choice in this election is
between the double-talking
demogoguery of Eisenhower and the
sound statesmanship of Stevenson.
I have full confidence that the
American people will elect Adlai
Stevenson by a landslide!
CUT TO:
INSERTS: NEWSPAPER HEADLINES OF EISENHOWER'S PRESIDENTIAL
VICTORY
INT. MORSE OFFICE - WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse enters the office in a rage.
9.
MORSE
They won't get away with this!
SUPER ON SCREEN
"Washington D.C. - January, 1953"
BACK TO OFFICE
Morse turns to the camera.
MORSE
They can strip me of Armed
Services, they strip me of Labor,
they can ban me from every
committee in the Senate - but they
can't stop me from speaking on the
floor!
And if they don't want an
Independent Republican sitting on
their side of aisle - well, where
do they expect me to sit? With the
Democrats? I'd be no better off
there because I'll tell you
something, you don't have two
parties in this country, you've got
a coalition of reactionary
Republicans and reactionary
Democrats who are running American
politics, irrespective of what
party label they wear.
He is buzzed by his secretary.
MORSE
(answering)
I'm taking no calls.
Back to camera:
MORSE
I vote my conscience, not a party
line.
If you want a Western Union
boy as your senator, don't send
Wayne Morse!
He gets up and will fetch a folding chair.
MORSE
The Republicans disown me, the
Democrats have nothing to offer me.
Then I'll bring my own chair to the
Senate and sit in the aisle!
He hurries off, carrying his folding chair.
CUT TO:
10.
INSERT: A SERIES OF POLITICAL CARTOONS
depicting cartoonists' reactions to Morse leaving the
Republican
Party. As we see the CARTOONS we hear a
conversation between two women, one of whom is a little
tipsy.
TIPSY WOMAN (V.O.)
Wayne Morse is an embarrassment to
the country.
OTHER WOMAN (V.O.)
He was kicked in the head by a
horse, you know.
TIPSY WOMAN (V.O.)
Really?
OTHER WOMAN (V.O.)
Yes, a few years ago. They say
he's been imbalanced since then.
TIPSY WOMAN (V.O.)
Look at him over there - even the
way he carries a lunch tray is
pompous.
OTHER WOMAN (V.O.)
Where are you going?
TIPSY WOMAN (V.O.)
I'm going to have a few words with
Mr. Morse. I'll never call him
Senator again.
OTHER WOMAN (V.O.)
Alice, don't do anything rash . . .
INT. CAFETERIA, TIPSY WOMAN'S POV
as she approaches Wayne Morse, who is emptying the
contents
of a lunch tray onto a table. He is lunching alone.
As the TIPSY WOMAN APPROACHES, the camera weaves
accordingly.
Finally the woman is at the table.
We stay on
Morse.
TIPSY WOMAN (V.O.)
Mr. Morse?
Morse turns to the camera.
MORSE
Yes?
11.
As Morse faces the camera, THE WOMAN THROWS A DRINK IN
HIS
FACE.
CUT TO:
INT. MORSE'S OFFICE - WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse is in a reflective mood, sitting at his desk and
speaking to the camera.
MORSE
For myself, I soon got used to
insults and defamation of
character. The press has never
been fair to me. It's the price
one sometimes has to pay for
speaking his mind. But the
personal attacks on my family, the
phone calls to my wife Midge at all
hours of the day and night, ranging
from threats of violence to vile
pornography; and the charges of
treason against my daughters by
their schoolmates; and the loss of
lifelong friends who phoned or
wrote they never wanted to see us
again - all because I followed my
own conscience.
And my conscience was clear -
because no sooner had Eisenhower
taken office than my worst fears
began to materialize. The
President sided with economic
pirates to begin a systematic and
complete giveaway of this country's
valuable natural resources, and the
Republican press was conducting a
virtual news blockade against
letting the American people know
what was going on. Well, they
could gag the press - but they
couldn't censor the Congressional
Record.
Morse gets up from the desk, speaking to Bill Berg in the
office.
MORSE
Bill, I'm going to speak against
giving away the Texas tidelands to
oil interests for as long as it
takes to be heard.
(MORE)
12.
MORSE (cont'd)
But we've got to be careful - they
slipped a mickey to La Folette
once, and I wouldn't put anything
past the Eisenhower gang. I don't
want anything from the Senate
kitchen that hasn't been tasted
first.
I'll want an aide with me
at all times - you can work in
shifts.
I'll need boullion, tea, a
little coffee, fruit juice. Be
sure to have someone standing guard
in the Senate kitchen at all times.
Oh yes - I'll need some Kotex . . .
CUT TO:
INSERT: THE SENATE CLOCK, WHICH READS 11:30
INT. SENATE PODIUM
where Morse begins the Tidelands filibuster.
MORSE
Mr. President, I do have a few
things which I wish to talk about
today.
I also intend to speak for
several hours on the pending joint
measure concerning ownership of
tidelands.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"April 24, 1953"
BACK TO PODIUM
MORSE
There is a purpose to prolonged
debate, even when it takes on the
features of a filibuster.
INSERT: THE CLOCK READS 3:15
MORSE
That is the purpose of arousing
public understanding and educating
the public about controversial
pieces of legislation.
DISSOLVE TO:
13.
AT THE PODIUM
Morse clears his throat, sips juice and continues.
MORSE
I know that the little band of
liberals who are fighting for the
public interest in preventing this
giveaway program of the people's
treasure are going to get terrible
treatment in the press. They will
try to make monsters out of us, and
our patriotism will be attacked.
This happened in the Washington
Star only last night. My
colleagues may be surprised to
learn that I read a reactionary
newspaper like the Washington Star.
I find it helps me get to sleep.
DISSOLVE TO:
AT THE PODIUM
It is later.
MORSE
I'm glad to see my colleagues from
North Dakota have returned from
dinner.
I was run out of Verdon,
South Dakota once. I was mistaken
for a Wobbly.
DISSOLVE TO:
INSERT: THE SENATE CLOCK READS 8:10
MORSE
Most politicians cannot seem to
look beyond the next election; they
do not seem to be able to raise
their sights into the next century.
Yet what we do in our generation
has terrific repercusions for
decades and sometimes centuries to
come - especially in the entire
field of natural resources
legislation.
DISSOLVE TO:
A SLOW PAN OF THE EMPTY SENATE CHAMBERS
as Morse talks on.
14.
MORSE (V.O.)
Historians writing a hundred years
from now will record that our
generation of Congress, by means of
the beginning made by such
legislation as that now proposed,
began to write the first chapter of
the volume on the decline of
American civilization. That is
what is involved in this debate!
DISSOLVE TO:
AT THE PODIUM
Still later, as Morse talks on.
MORSE
Let me say that someone had better
start thinking about paying off the
national debt!
DISSOLVE TO:
INSERT: THE SENATE CLOCK READS 8:30
Morse takes a throat lozenger and talks on.
MORSE
Nice to see you back this morning,
gentlemen. As I was saying before
you came in, my daughters rib me
from time to time. They will say,
Dad, do you ever get anything
through the Senate? Do you ever
win any of your battles?
DISSOLVE TO:
AT THE PODIUM
Morse stretches while speaking and looks at the Senate
clock.
MORSE
Until I got into this debate, I
thought I knew something about the
separation of powers doctrine. But
I certainly don't know anything
about it if this giveaway program
is passed. I cannot believe that
it will be.
15.
THE SENATE CLOCK: MORSE'S POV
It is 9:56.
MORSE (V.O.)
Thank you, Mr. President. That is
all I have to say.
CUT TO:
INT. SENATE
LAVATORY - AFTER THE FILIBUSTER
Morse is splashing cold water on his face. We straightens
up and we see his reflection in the mirror, looking at
the
camera.
MORSE
As I left the floor of the Senate,
a reporter asked me what I had to
eat during the past 22 hours and 26
minutes.
Not a question of
substance, mind you. What
I had to
eat!
He turns from the mirror and faces the camera.
MORSE
For the record: I had four cups of
boullion, two cups of coffee, nine
cups of tea, three cups of orange
juice and a few crackers. It
sustained me very well.
He starts out and stops.
MORSE
Oh yes - another reporter asked if
I had any desire to use the men's
room.
I told him, Yes, thank you,
I believe I will.
CUT TO:
INT. RADIO STATION - WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse is seated in front of a large microphone of the
era,
waiting to go on the air. We hear the announcer's voice.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
This is Washington.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"May 6, 1954"
16.
BACK TO RADIO STATION
Morse waits patiently to begin.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Direct from the nation's capital,
we present at this time as a public
service the regular weekly report
of your United States Senator Wayne
Morse.
Now here is Senator Morse.
Morse goes on the air.
MORSE
Fellow Oregonians. This is your
Senator Wayne Morse, reporting from
the capital at Washington. Our
country faces many serious problems
but
none equals in importance or
has the potential consequences of
the dilemma of Indo-China . . .
CUT TO:
INT. SENATE PODIUM - WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse at the Senate podium.
MORSE
Mr. President, it is my patriotic
duty and an obligation to my own
conscience to rise and express my
objection to involving the United
States in a Chinese civil war.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"January 26, 1955:
BACK TO PODIUM
MORSE
Now I am in favor of defending
Formosa and its nearby islands to
the hilt but we don't need the
resolution before us to do this.
The President, as Commander in
Chief, has the emergency power to
take whatever defensive action in
his wise discretion is necessary to
protect the security of the United
States.
(MORE)
17.
MORSE (cont'd)
But
I also wish to stress the point
that under its constitutional
checking power, the Congress has
jurisdiction and authorization to
modify a course of action followed
by a President, even when
exercising his emergency powers.
The Formosa resolution would
handcuff Congress in this regard.
CUT TO:
INT. MORSE OFFICE - WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse has spread a large map over his desk and is
pointing
to the FORMOSA and CHINA area.
MORSE
(with map, pointing,
explaining)
Here is Formosa, over a hundred
miles from the Red Chinese
mainland.
The adjacent Pescadores
islands, clearly in the defensive
sphere of Formosa.
But look here - the islands of
Matsu and Quemoy, only eight miles
from the Chinese mainland. These
islands do not threaten the
security of Formosa.
He turns to the camera.
MORSE
Try to think like a Red Chinese for
a moment.
You see the Seventh
Fleet in the Formosa Straits. You
see the United States claiming a
defensive posture with these
islands only eight miles from your
mainland.
It's as if the Red
Chinese would claim Cuba. So who
is the aggressor and the real
threat to peace? Who is behaving
like an international bandit?
We have no business making these
unilateral resolutions when we
should be taking the entire dilemma
to
the United Nations. This is a
sad time for this country.
CUT TO:
18.
EXT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE - DAY
Morse throws a saddle onto a section of fence. He is in
good spirits.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"February, 1955"
BACK TO RANCH
Morse smiles at the camera.
MORSE
They say I've become the number one
target of the Eisenhower
administration!
I consider that an honor. Why?
Because Dwight Eisenhower is the
most dangerous man ever to occupy
the White House! They also say
Eisenhower himself has handpicked
my opponent next year, and it's
none other than Douglas McKay, our
former governor here in Oregon -
and more recently Eisenhower's
Secretary of the Interior and a
Charlie McCarthy puppet of private
monopolies. I can't wait for the
campaign to begin!
He looks over his land.
MORSE
In the meantime, it's good to catch
up on chores. I've got three more
Devon cattle on their way to
Oregon, from the Mark Hammette
herd, probably the best in the
country.
That'll bring us to over
a dozen registered Devons here, and
a few more back in Maryland. I
grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, and
it's still the best work there is.
There's nothing like cleaning out
the barn on election day!
People are wondering which
political convention I'm going to
attend.
I'm accused of doing a
political dance of the seven veils.
(MORE)
19.
MORSE (cont'd)
One thing to say for the Democrats,
though, they managed to defeat the
reactionary Republicans here in
Oregon last year.
But to be honest with you, I'm not
sure which convention I'll go to.
Maybe I'll have my own. I could
hold it in a phone booth.
CUT TO:
INT. MORSE RANCH - DAY
Morse has moved inside and is pouring himself a cup of
tea.
MORSE
I
wouldn't join the Democrats
unless I'm wanted and unless they
understand I'm not a party man, I
reserve the right to be independent
no matter what party I'm affiliated
with.
I'm not sure but that I
represent more people as an
Independent, that your Mr. and Mrs.
Independent Voter is the real
majority in this country.
But it would be interesting to see
Eisenhower's reaction if I returned
to the Senate as a Democrat.
Morse has to smile at this, enjoying the thought.
CUT TO:
INSERT: NEWSPAPER HEADLINES THAT MORSE HAS BECOME A
DEMOCRAT
INSERT: NEWSPAPER HEADLINES THAT MCKAY HAS RETURNED TO
OREGON TO TAKE ON MORSE
EXT. OREGON CITY STREETS - DAY
A series of MAN/WOMAN ON THE STREET INTERVIEWS about the
1956 Morse-McKay campaign.
MAN #1
I voted for McKay for governor, and
I'll vote for him for senator.
MAN #2
Wayne Morse. He tells the truth.
20.
INSERT: A POLITICAL CARTOON ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN
EXT. ON THE STREET
WOMAN #1
I'm a Democrat and don't know if
Morse is a real Democrat or not.
INSERT: ANOTHER POLITICAL CARTOON
EXT. ON THE STREET
MAN #3
Eisenhower's doing a good job - so
I'm for McKay.
WOMAN #2
Wayne Morse, I don't care what
party he is. I'd vote for him as a
Whig!
MAN #4
Douglas McKay.
WOMAN #3
I think we should keep Sen. Morse.
CUT TO:
INT. MORSE RANCH - ELECTION NIGHT
Morse enters in work clothes -- he has, in fact, been
cleaning out the barn.
He speaks to the camera.
MORSE
Always clean the barn out on
election day.
He moves to the living room where the television set is
on.
INSERT: ELECTION RESULTS SHOWING THAT MORSE IS WINNING
(NEWS TAPE)
BACK TO ROOM
Morse is relaxed and confident, speaking to the camera.
MORSE
You know who helped me in this
campaign more than anyone? Dick
Nixon.
(MORE)
21.
MORSE (cont'd)
The Vice-President came to Oregon
in September and gave poor Doug
McKay an albatross of an idea. He
said forget about the issues, it's
the votes that count. And McKay
couldn't help repeating it and
making it a part of his champaign!
I said from the beginning that the
issues are important. Tell the
people how McKay would sell the
Snake River to private monopolies,
to the Idaho Power Company, which
would develop only a fraction of
its power and neglect the
irrigation and flood control
potential of a major multi-purpose
dam in Hell's Canyon - well, you
give the people of Oregon the facts
and they will listen.
Poor McKay didn't even want to be
in this race. He was put up to it
by the Eisenhower gang. But I was
confident that the people of Oregon
were not about to let the White
House purge them of their Senior
Senator.
We rate second in the
nation in literacy here in Oregon -
give me an enlightened people, and
I'm
never going to worry.
CUT TO:
EXT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE - NIGHT
Morse is gathering a load of firewood to bring into the
house.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"December, 1959"
INT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE - NIGHT
as MORSE enters with the load of wood. The phone is
ringing. Morse
passes by the family Christmas tree on his
way to the phone.
MORSE
(on phone)
Hello? . . . No, I just got in this
afternoon. . . . In the L.A. Times?
(MORE)
22.
MORSE (cont'd)
Well, it's the first I've heard
about it. . . . They don't need my
permission in Oregon. . . . To tell
the truth, I've never given it any
thought. . . . Yes, maybe I should.
. . . Have good holidays. Goodbye.
He hangs up and calls to his wife in another part of the
house.
MORSE
Midge, we appear to be running for
President!
He dials a number.
MORSE
(on phone)
This is Wayne. . . . Yes, I just
heard.
I appreciate the vote of
confidence but between you, me, and
the fence post, I would have
preferred to stay out of it. . . .
No, what's done is done, and I'm
not going to dodge a good political
fight if it's inevitable. At the
very least, I may be able to keep
Humphrey, Kennedy and the rest
honest. . . . I'm not saying I'm
angry - I'm just the last to know!
CUT TO:
INT. MORSE OFFICE
- WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse is pacing, giving dictation, thinking on his feet.
MORSE
For immediate release, et cetera.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"January, 1960"
BACK TO OFFICE
MORSE
Despite news reports to the
contrary, Sen. Wayne Morse is a
serious candidate for President of
the United States. For this
reason, he has entered primaries in
Oregon, Washington D.C.
(MORE)
23.
MORSE (cont'd)
and Maryland, and he will enter any
other primary in this country where
sufficient political backing
justifies his running. He is
running for himself and is not a
stalking horse for Stevenson.
CUT TO:
INSERT: NEWSPAPER HEADLINE, HUMPHREY WINS WASHINGTON D.C.
PRIMARY
INSERT: NEWSPAPER HEADLINE, KENNEDY LANDSLIDE IN MARYLAND
PRIMARY
INT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE - NIGHT
Morse is watching the returns on television.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"May 20, 1960"
BACK TO ROOM
Morse goes to the TV and shuts it off.
MORSE
(to others in the room)
I'm ready to call it a night.
He escorts people to the door.
MORSE
Bill, can you draft a statement of
congratulations to Kennedy? And
another withdrawing from the race.
We spoke to the issues. It's all
we can do. Goodnight.
He comes back into the room, alone. He speaks to the
camera.
MORSE
And we did speak to the issues.
You know, I was brought up in the
political school of Bob La Folette,
who was for years a Senator in my
home state of Wisconsin.
(MORE)
24.
MORSE (cont'd)
Often I've heard him tell how many
times he lost a fight for policies
that five, ten years later, became
national policy. And
that speaks
to a problem in this country, to a
great cancer in American life.
It's that politicians don't enter
fights, they don't battle for
policies, unless they believe they
can win.
In that sense, I'm not a
politician. Because I believe
great good can be accomplished by
entering fights and espousing
policies even though they will, at
the moment, be unsuccessful. It
wakes people up. It makes them
think. And
in the long run, it
brings victory to the policies, if
not to the individuals who fight
for them early on.
It demonstrates something else as
well: it demonstrates that there
are individuals in this country who
don't think and vote as
organization men, and this in turn,
in time, encourages others to act
independently.
So I'm not ashamed of what we did
in the District of Columbia, or in
Maryland, or here in Oregon.
The phone rings.
Morse answers it. There is a
quick change
of mood.
MORSE
Hello? . . . Condolences seem a
little out of hand, considering you
backed Kennedy when I could have
used your support myself. . . .
Betrayal might be a better word for
it. . . . Of course I was a serious
candidate!
Morse angrily hangs up and turns to the camera.
MORSE
I'll tell you this, I don't trust
Jack Kennedy any farther than I can
throw him!
CUT TO:
25.
INSERT: THE KENNEDY FUNERAL (NEWS TAPE)
Images from the Kennedy funeral.
INT. MORSE OFFICE - WASHINGTON D.C. - LATE NIGHT
Morse is buried under a pile of books and documents,
working
late on a major Senate speech reviewing policy in
Vietnam.
He rubs his eyes and stretches, then turns to the camera.
MORSE
The late President and I had our
disagreements but we agreed on many
things as well. As chairman of the
education subcommittee, I'd worked
closely and agreeably with
President Kennedy on a number of
important education bills.
With one exception, President
Kennedy never discussed Vietnam
with me, though I was often on
record speaking against our foreign
policy in Southeast Asia. The only
time we discussed Vietnam was
during my last conference with him,
only a few weeks before his
assassination.
I was sponsoring an amendment that
would prohibit a President from
making foreign aid available to any
military junta that had overthrown
a democratically elected,
constitutional form of government.
The President and I discussed the
amendment and then we discussed the
Diem regeme in South Vietnam. I
told him that I did not believe
Diem represented the South
Vietnamese people and our support
of him amounted to the creation of
an American protectorate in
Vietnam, in violation of the Geneva
Accords, the United Nations
Charter, and international law.
And then President Kennedy
surprised me. "I've come to the
conclusion," he told me, "that
you're probably not wrong in your
criticism of our involvement in
Vietnam.
(MORE)
26.
MORSE (cont'd)
I want you to know that I'm in the
midst of analyzing an intensive
study that concerns, in part, an
analysis of your speeches in the
Senate on Vietnam." A bit later,
the President walked with me from
the Oval Office, down the sidewalk
to the pavement within the White
House grounds, where I was to take
a car.
It was a beautiful day.
Morse stops. The
memory is too painful. He regains his
composure before going on.
MORSE
That was my last meeting with him.
I don't know what happened to that
study.
But I do know this: Vietnam didn't
disappear. Before you knew it,
Goldwater was campaigning like a
trigger-happy madman until he was
soundly defeated - and then Lyndon
Johnson was turning around and
out-Goldwatering Goldwater.
CUT TO:
INT. SENATE PODIUM
- WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse stands behind the podium.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"August, 1964"
BACK TO PODIUM
MORSE
Mr. President, I don't know how
many times the Senior Senator of
Oregon has gone on record in the
past decade to distinguish between
the defensive powers of the
President as Commander-in-Chief and
the constitutional perogative of
the Congress, which alone can
declare war, to check those powers.
The Gulf of Tonkin resolution now
before us gives me no choice but to
rise and speak out again.
CUT TO:
27.
INT. MORSE OFFICE - WASHINGTON D.C.
Morse is on the phone, lambasting someone.
MORSE
You have no right to call yourself
a liberal! There's not a bona fide
liberal in the Senate except my
colleague from Alaska! The rest of
you are phony liberals,
phraseological liberals. You've
let
yourself become jelly-bellied
puppets of the administration!
He hangs up and turns to the camera.
MORSE
We have no way of knowing what
really happened in the Gulf of
Tonkin.
What we do know is this:
South Vietnamese vessels have been
shelling islands in the north.
Then what was an American vessel
doing in the area in the first
place, if not offering protection
to the South Vietnames? Is it any
wonder the North Vietnames fired on
us?
Above all else, we need to
determine the facts in this case.
Ignorance does not justify giving
the
President the power to make war
when Congress has not declared war!
We can't win a land war in Asia.
The French tried for eight years,
at the expense of 240,000
casualties, at the expense of a
toppled government. The French
dumped the whole mess in our lap
and we took it, hook, line and
sinker.
Now we find ourselves in
the strangest, the most ludicrous,
most paradoxical, inexcusable
American military operation in the
history of this Republic!
He picks up the phone and dials.
MORSE
Bill, Wayne. . . . I want you to
accept any speaking engagement I'm
offered.
I want you to find
speaking engagements where I've
never had them before. . . . I
don't care if it's a Ladies Church
Bizarre! . . . Starting yesterday!
CUT TO:
28.
A SERIES OF SHOTS - WAYNE MORSE ON THE SPEAKING CIRCUIT,
1964-8
(A) SUPER ON SCREEN
"Baltimore"
AT PODIUM
MORSE
Foreign policy belongs to the
American people, not to the
President of the United States.
Under our constitution, all the
President is is the administrator
of a people's foreign policy.
(B) SUPER ON SCREEN
"The University of New Mexico"
AT PODIUM
MORSE
The American people are not well
informed about the facts concerning
our foreign policy in Asia.
Fiction, propaganda, concealment of
behind-the-scene diplomatic
activities and a shroud of
government secrecy have withheld
the facts from the public.
(C) SUPER ON
SCREEN
"Mississippi Junior Chamber of Commerce"
AT PODIUM
MORSE
The immediate, massive violations
of the Geneva Agreement - which
took France out of Indochina after
World War Two - were committed by
the United States and South
Vietnam, not by North Vietnam.
(D) SUPER ON SCREEN
"Coos Bay Lions Club"
29.
AT PODIUM
MORSE
Don't you forget, as you sit here
tonight in relative affluence,
relative security, that you're not
dying in the jungles of Asia in an
undeclared war!
(E) SUPER ON SCREEN
"United States Senate"
AT PODIUM
MORSE
Mr. President, I ask unanimous
consent to put on record an article
published in the American Journal
of Orthopsychiatry called
"Psychological Habituation to
War."
It discusses the techniques
employed by the government to
reduce opposition to the war in
Vietnam.
(F) SUPER ON SCREEN
"Brown University"
AT PODIUM
MORSE
I believe we should: one, stop the
bombing of North Vietnam; two, stop
the progressive increase of
American forces within Vietnam;
three, seek a multilateral peace
table that includes the National
Liberation Front, North Vietnam and
Red China, as well as the United
States and South Vietnam.
(G) SUPER ON SCREEN
"Concerned Clergy About the War in Vietnam"
30.
AT PODIUM
MORSE
President Johnson and his
administration have fixed the 1968
election as a major test of his
national popularity front in
support of the war. But don't
forget that the unity of the
Democratic Party was never greater
and never wider than it was in
1964, when our candidate called the
war in Vietnam one that Asians
should fight and to which American
boys should not be sent to do the
job
that Asian boys should do.
CUT TO:
INSERT: JOHNSON ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT SEEK REELECTION
(NEWS
TAPE)
INSERT: RIOTS AT THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION, 1968 (NEWS
TAPE)
INSERT: HUMPHREY AT PODIUM AS DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE (NEWS
TAPE)
EXT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE - DAY
Morse is raking up a pile of brush he has cleared off the
ranch.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"September, 1968"
BACK TO RANCH
Morse leans the rake against the fence and turns to the
camera.
MORSE
What has happened to us? What has
produced the kind of national
psychology we have in the United
States today? Are we surprised at
all the criticism being shot at us
from all around the world?
(MORE)
31.
MORSE (cont'd)
Does it really come as any surprise
that we are becoming the most
feared country in the world?
I don't care if people don't want
to hear this - it's the truth!
I sometimes wonder if I'm going at
this a little too hard. But then I
think of all the men and women who
wish there were just one politician
in
Washington who would speak his
mind and cast his vote honestly and
freely with only his conscience to
guide him. Maybe it's a bit brash
to assume that I'm that man, but
believe me, I'm trying to be.
The hawks came after me with guns
blazing in the primary. Every
daily newspaper in Oregon endorsed
my opponent, Bob Duncan. But we
won because we gave the people of
Oregon the facts about this war.
Now we have Bob Packwood on our
hands. But this time
we have an
endorsement - the Coos Bay World!
That's one more than we managed in
the primary.
It's a tough campaign. Bill Berg
passed away, and I miss him. You
don't have an administrative
assistant for over two decades and
not miss him.
Some of the people around me now,
they'd have me dodge the fight. No
one wants me to debate Packwood but
I've never dodged a political fight
in my life. My record speaks for
itself.
CUT TO:
INT. MORSE RANCH - EUGENE - NIGHT
Morse is meeting with aides a few days after the
election.
He is pacing, trying to make up his mind about something.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"November, 1968"
32.
BACK TO ROOM
Morse looks off-camera, to aides in the room.
MORSE
Here's what we do about it:
absolutely nothing.
He raises a hand against protest about his decision.
MORSE
I'm not going to be remembered as
someone who doesn't know how to
take defeat. I'm not asking for a
recount and I'm not drumming up
charges of election misconduct. If
they want to remember me, let them
remember my record on
constitutional law and the
fifteen-odd years I've argued
against our immoral policies in
Asia.
We lost and, frankly, it
doesn't surprise me. It was closer
than I thought it would be.
He turns to the camera.
MORSE
But don't think for a minute that
I'm going to retire. Retiring
isn't a part of my blood chemistry.
CUT TO:
INSERT: NEWSPAPER HEADLINES ABOUT MORSE WINNING
DEMOCRATIC
PRIMARY, LEADING TO A REMATCH WITH PACKWOOD
INSERT: NEWSPAPER HEADLINE, THE RACE IS TOO CLOSE TO CALL
EXT. AN AUTOMOBILE ON THE FREEWAY - NIGHT
Establishing shot
of Morse's campaign car on the freeway.
INT. THE CAR
Morse is asleep in the back seat. He is visibly older than
we've seen him before.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"July 1, 1974"
33.
BACK TO CAR
A hand reaches from the front seat of the car, waking
Morse.
We hear a voice:
VOICE (V.O.)
We're here, Senator.
Morse stirs and wakes up.
MORSE
Is this Medford?
VOICE (V.O.)
Medford was the last stop. This is
Grants Pass.
Morse is sitting up straight now.
MORSE
Grants Pass. Thank you.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. FOURTH OF JULY PICNIC - EUGENE - DAY
Morse is surrounded by children at a Fourth of July
picnic.
A three-legged race is about to begin, and Morse and a
young
girl companion are preparing to enter.
SUPER ON SCREEN
"July 4, 1974"
BACK TO PICNIC
as preparation for the race continues. Over this scene we
hear Wayne Morse on the campaign trail in 1974:
MORSE (V.O.)
The
struggle for peace, which is
the major crisis of our generation,
is a struggle for men's minds,
rather than for their emotions. It
is
a struggle for human decency,
rather than for human debauchery.
The three-legged race has begun, the 73-year-old Morse
and
his young companion among its most enthusiastic
contestants.
34.
MORSE (V.O.)
It involves an appeal to reason.
Peace can be won and maintained
only if we convince freedom-loving
people elsewhere in the world that
rule of reason, procedures of
international justice, and the
relinquishment of selfish interests
must be substituted in the thinking
of people everywhere for the
emotional nationalism that still
dominates the world.
CLOSE ON MORSE AND
THE GIRL, IN THE THREE-LEGGED RACE, ONE
GENERATION BOUND TO THE NEXT
Both are laughing, having a high time, as the race
continues.
MORSE
So
if you asked me, Wayne Morse,
name the one thing in our country
that you think will do more to
strengthen American foreign policy
in the next half century, you might
be surprised at my reply.
FREEZE ON MORSE AND THE GIRL, HAVING A HIGH TIME
MORSE
I would say, Do something to
protect the educational standard of
American boys and girls. Do
something to protect American brain
power.
Because the only sure and
lasting defense of peace is a
highly educated and enlightened
citizenry.
HOLD ON MORSE AND THE GIRL
AND SCREEN TO BLACK
SUPER ON SCREEN
"Wayne Morse
died in Portland, Oregon, on July 22, 1974.
He
was seventy-three years old and vigorously campaigning
for
reelection to the United States Senate."
FADE OUT.