Booktree.ng_Forgotten-Witness

“Often for a price higher than a politician’s.” Patriota threw
back his head and laughed, pleased to make a joke at his own
expense. “I find a lawyer’s outrage is often equal to either her
billing hours or the interest of the press. I am not being
disrespectful, but we in Washington can’t be as democratic as
a lawyer. I applaud all who step up to the table, but I know not
everyone will get to sit down. There simply aren’t enough
places.”
“And you decide who gets a chair?” Josie asked.
“This is what I am elected to do,” Ambrose said candidly.
“Government has limited resources. Most constituents are
happy if their lives are not disrupted. However, some human
beings are sensitive to outrage. The right voice raised at the
right moment is as combustible as an open campfire in a dry
wood. That person will get my attention, and I will determine
how to best deal with him or her. Your gentleman was only
crying wolf. Wolf criers, I dismiss.”
“If I did that, I would have dismissed half my clients. I
would have dismissed Hannah when I first met her and she
would have been railroaded into jail.”
“Apples and oranges, Ms. Bates. These folks, the ones who
burst in looking like they haven’t slept or eaten for days
because they are so consumed with the import of what they
alone know, have only nonsense and noise to offer. That
detracts from the real business of our government.”
“Which is what?”
“To maintain and protect the state. It is not about the
individual, Ms. Bates. If it were, we would spend our careers
ineffectual, broken hearted, and despairing.”
Suddenly he smiled broadly and the effect was nothing short
of glorious. Again, Josie was stung by the idea that she had
known him. Before she could grasp the memory, he
maneuvered the conversation toward a conclusion.
“You’ve drawn me in, Ms. Bates. If we had all the time in
the world we would debate the purpose of the constitution, the