The Fiction of Politics

So for the moment it seems U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama is getting some love from the voters--well, the delegates at least--this Valentine’s Day. As of now he’s won eight straight primaries in the race for that magic number of those fickle delegates going into the Democrats’ convention in August. Love is a tricky thing, though, as the protagonists--be they male or female--of many a noir novel can tell you. Certainly, too, the pursuit of political office has to have its masochistic elements, just as hard-boiled characters inevitably seem to come back for more punishment when rational people would know to extricate themselves from the prickly situation at hand. Electeds and candidates both can be driven by ego, greed (Republican former Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham kept a price list for his bribes), lust, ideology, and altruism too, at times.

Even early last year, as the presidential contest began to shape up, with the names of possible contenders being bandied about on political talk shows, it was examining those often conflicting and curious desires of the people seeking public office that intrigued me. Not that this was an original notion, with such fare as Primary Colors (book and movie) and, farther back, the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington already serving as two fine results of what can be done with the idea. (On a side note, that interest in the subject also led me to edit an anthology, Politics Noir, coming out this April from Verso Books, that has some cool stories in it by the likes of Shamus Award winner Ken Bruen and former criminal prosecutor Michele Martinez.)

Anyway, as has already been mentioned here in The Rap Sheet, it was post a meeting at The Nation’s offices that I began to think about what I wanted to do to contribute to that magazine. After some fruitful back and forth with the editors, I came up with Cynthia Kang, the main character in my new online serial, Citizen Kang, which is currently rolling out on The Nation’s Web site. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, my background includes having been the political director of a Los Angeles City Council candidate’s campaign and having done other such activities. Politics for me has always been a fascinating spectator sport, and with Citizen Kang, I want to get into what makes her, her, in addition to telling an entertaining story. I mean, I do write mystery and crime stories for a living, so those aspects of my work wouldn’t be ignored.

Given too that it’s a weekly serial, there are references to current political events, which in terms of topicality is fine to include, though I realize, should Citizen Kang see second life in book form, some of that will be dated and have to be excised or reworked. There is an overarching plot that will unfold concerning California Congresswoman Kang, but I welcome readers’ comments as her journey continues.