Mrs. America (2020) s01e06 Episode Script
Jill
1
WOMAN: I was pregnant,
and I was scared.
(coughs, exhales)
This is
my deathbed confession.
- In observance
of International Women's Year
here in the United States,
I have signed
an executive order,
creating a national commission
to honor women
and urge ratification
of the Equal Rights Amendment.
I am appointing Jill Ruckelshaus
as chairwoman of the commission.
[applause]
- Thank you, Mr. President.
[applause continues]
[camera shutters clicking]
I will get those
last five states, sir.
- Four. I just called
Senator Kretschmar this morning,
and he confirmed.
- You see?
Your wife is my secret weapon.
[laughter]
She just tipped the scales
in North Dakota.
- Well, you should be up front
and center, Jill.
Who better to prove that
"feminism" isn't a dirty word
than a Midwestern married mom
of five?
You're as American as apple pie.
- Thank you, Betty.
- Pretty big promotion.
[indistinct conversations]
- And yet unpaid.
- [chuckles]
- [chanting] Abort the ERA,
Betty Ford, get off the phone!
Abort the ERA
Abort the ERA!
- [scoffs]
- Betty Ford, get off the phone!
Abort the ERA! Betty Ford
- You might ask yourself what
kind of self-respecting woman
pickets the First Lady
of her own party?
- [muffled voice]
would see abortion-on-demand
mandated at all hospitals.
The, uh, proponents, uh, see
as an unfair, uh, burden
on the mothers that they have
to take care of their babies.
- What about popular opinions
of people being for the ERA?
- Well, the real poll
is the ballot box.
Most American women
don't want this.
TheyThey know it's a fraud,
and all it would do
would be to allow
- We can go.
["A Fifth of Beethoven"
by Walter Murphy playing]
- We are mothers and daughters.
We are married, single,
widowed, divorced.
We are homemakers
and career women
- You know, not a single leader
of any anti-ERA
or pro-life organization
is represented
- All: Shh!
- on her presidential
commission.
- to present
the Women of the Year Award
to nine courageous
talented women.
- She is not fooling anyone
in those pearls.
- She does have a nice smile.
- Hmm.
- who has indicated many
- Five more minutes, Anne.
- But "Fifth Dimension"
is coming on.
- I fixed him one.
- Oh.
- opportunity for women.
- Oh.
- And I know I speak
for the president
- Mother?
- Come on. Let's go upstairs.
- I'll be up in a minute
to tuck you in.
- politicians that
- Between her
and Nelson Rockefeller,
there's no place for us.
- The Republican Party's
in peril.
- What happened
to all that talk at CPAC
about breaking off and forming
a national Conservative Party?
- Oh, Reagan won't run
on a third-party ticket.
He thinks he can beat Ford.
- No, he doesn't have
the numbers.
- week after week
in our polls
[typewriter keys clacking]
- I'm counting 58.
- Which brings us close
to 10,000.
- Now our mailing list has
barely budged in 12 months.
We need to double it
by this time next year.
- Double it?
- It has taken us four years
just to get this big.
- Well, NOW has
over 40,000 members and growing.
- Who cares? We're winning.
Only North Dakota ratified
this year.
- Yes, but they only need
four more.
Now the feminists control
both houses,
the liberal media,
and Jill Ruckelshaus
has the First Lady
shilling for them.
They're everywhere.
Now and we only had 30 show up
in D.C. to picket.
Now does that sound like winning
to you?
- I need help drawing a map
of Sherman's March.
- Uh, can
- I have called every woman
I have ever met
in my entire life,
even the ones I can't stand.
There are three teas
I'm dreading attending.
There is no one left to call.
- We're going to make
a big splash
in the convention.
We're gonna have to start
recruiting women who are not
active in politics.
- If they aren't active,
how are we going to find them?
- Why do we have to make
a big splash at the convention?
- Because the country thinks
Jill Ruckelshaus
is the face
of the Republican Party.
[telephone rings]
- STOP ERA. Rosemary speaking.
Oh, hello, Kevin. Yes.
- [whispers]
Tell him I've left.
- No. She'son her way home
to you.
[receiver clatters]
[switch clicks]
[door opens and closes]
- Marriage takes work.
- You should hear how he talks
to her.
He has a temper.
- We all have problems.
She needs to learn
to manage him.
[exhales deeply]
- I saw Bella backstage.
First words out of her mouth
"When are you gonna testify
for my bill?"
No "How are you?"
No "Nice dress."
- Oh, it is a very nice dress.
- She completely disregards
the fact
that her bill is duplicating
the work
my commission's already doing.
- Bella bosses everybody around.
She bossed me around
when I headed the EPA.
Don't take it personally.
- She said your commission
has no authority and no money.
I'm not supposed to take that
personally?
[sighs] I'm only trying
to rescue the ERA
after the Democrats
made a mess of it,
and she's right about the money.
I don't understand how
the president expects me to
to launch a national campaign
for the ERA with no funding.
Am I a magician?
- You're the woman of the year.
[chuckles]
- I presented
the Women of the Year.
I'm not one.
- Mmm. [kissing]
- [sighs] Honey.
- No, they'rethey're asleep.
- But did you check
on Robin's fever?
- Yes, and she told me
she feels fine.
- Wait. She told you
she feels fine?
She's sick,
so we shouldn't trust her.
- I took her temperature
right after you left.
It was only 99.7.
I also fed the kids
something besides pizza,
and I even managed
to dress myself this morning.
- And it's a big improvement
from the tweed suits you wore
when we first started dating.
- You didn't like me in tweed?
- So stuffy.
- Ah. I was dynamite.
- You were square.
- Square?
Oh.
- [chuckles]
I justI'm gonna go check
on her.
- Can
If you want me to be in charge
of the kids,
you have to let me be in charge.
- Mmm.
[telephone rings in distance]
[indistinct conversations]
- Excuse me.
Do you know
how much longer he'll be?
- I don't do his schedule.
- What exactly do you do?
[book thuds]
[telephone continues ringing]
- These young women
come to work here
knowing what
they're getting into.
You can't blame him.
- Oh, you can blame him.
It's not right.
- When I graduated
from law school,
my mother said to me,
"Wear a hat and gloves."
That way, they won't
mistake you for a secretary."
- Well, when did
the gloves come off?
- [laughs]
[door opens]
[indistinct conversations]
- Campaign spot rang long.
Bicentennial.
You're wasting your time,
Bella.
I can't support
a radical lib agenda
and show my face in Ohio.
- Oh, whoa.
Who said anything about radical?
Let's ban that word
from our vocabulary.
- You brought Jill.
You know I can't resist
when you tag-team me.
Reminds me of my frat days
as a Buckeye.
[laughter]
- Don't be a jackass, Wayne.
You're making the rest of us
look bad.
- Jill.
- Congressman.
[sighs]
- Excuse me.
- [lowered voice] I'm used
to suffering for the cause.
- The funds for my bill will be
used to sponsor conferences
on women's issues
in each of the 50 states,
culminating
in a national convention.
Our goalto come up
with a plan of action
for Congress to enact laws
that benefit women.
- Which in turn will give
a much-needed shot in the arm
to the ERA ratification drive.
- Is it me,
or are the gals never happy?
- Not when the gals are only
making 56% of what the men make.
- So you won't be happy till
you make 100% of what men make?
- Together: Yes.
- [groans softly]
- Are you gonna help us
whip up votes or what?
- What if this
national conference for women
were run through my commission?
There's no question
it would be bipartisan.
It would have the endorsement
of the president
and headed by me, arguably
the most fiscally conservative
person in this room.
- State meetings
open to the public.
Sounds like a fiasco.
- I've never been associated
with a fiasco.
Massacres, yes. Fiascos, no.
- [chuckles]
- We can't do it without you,
Congressman.
You have all the clout.
Consider it a gift
for your young new bride.
- Do you know some reporter
called us
"Beauty and the Beast"?
You don't think I'm a beast,
do you?
- No, but I was with
General Haig for two years,
so perhaps I'm not
the best judge.
[laughter]
- You could learn something
from this one, Bella,
especially if you wanna make
a run for the Senate.
It helps to have
a sense of humor.
- I have a great sense of humor.
- Thank you, Congressman.
[telephone ringing]
- [sighs]
[under breath]
Don't get too excited.
I still have to sell it
to the president.
- For this women's conference,
the American taxpayer
will be paying $6,000 per minute
so that the, uh, libbers can
fly to Miami or, uh, wherever
and complain
about their miserable lives.
[coins clatter]
Kissinger meets privately
with Ambassador Dobrynin
for hours,
and nobody knows why.
[coins clatter]
Because Jessica's parents
do not supervise their child,
that's why.
Dear Mr. Orben,
I am a big fan of your work
with Jack Paar and Red Skelton.
Stop. But your last
- Please deposit 10 cents.
[coins clatter]
- But your last speech
for President Ford
had seven jokes on wives
and none on the libbers. Stop.
- Do you want me to repeat that
back to you?
- Uh, no, I'm afraid
I don't have time for you
to repeat it back.
[receiver clatters]
- The court upheld
the government's suit
to dissolve
the Northern Securities Company.
Now let's see what
20th century Supremes
say about antitrust
and the Sherman Act, shall we?
Mr. Snyder?
What can you tell us about
this week's Supreme Court case?
United States
v. Falstaff Brewing Corp.
- Well, Falstaff was a regional
beer producer here in St. Louis
that wanted to achieve
national status,
so they decided to expand
- [mouths words]
to the northeast market.
Now instead of breaking
into new markets de novo,
they decided to acquire
the largest beer seller
in New England
because they already had
an established infrastructure.
And what was the central
question in the case?
Yes, Mrs. Schlafly?
- Was Falstaff successful
in dominating the market?
- That is not
the central question.
- Yes, but it is
the most interesting one.
- [sighs]
- Did Falstaff violate Section 7
of the Clayton Act?
Well, the Supreme Court found
in Falstaff's favor,
and they remanded the case back
to the, uh, district court
de novo,
a decision
with which I concur.
I would like to make
a person-to-person call
to Georgia Peterson
in Salt Lake City.
Elder Packer, I'm a friend
of Georgia Peterson's.
My name's Phyllis Schlafly.
- I met a woman
at a pro-life rally
who can put us in touch with
a group of rabbis in New Jersey.
- Good morning, uh,
Rabbi Neuberger?
- One of the mothers
at Kimmy's school
is active in
the Calvary Baptist Church.
- Pastor Starr?
Phyllis Schlafly.
I'm calling to invite you
to join me in a new organization
for all denominations.
Welcome to the alternative
to the so-called
women's liberation movement.
Welcome to the Eagle Forum.
Now as impossible
as it may seem,
our challenge is to have
40,000 members
by the Republican
National Convention,
and I feel that, uh,
we'll be far more effective
if we all work together.
Take a look to the right
and to the left of you.
You might be sitting next
to someone you can't save,
but you can be nice to them.
[applause]
- I have a question
about your newsletter.
- Oh, that's not my newsletter.
Sorry. May I
May I see that?
[indistinct conversations]
Can you find out who wrote this?
- North Carolina has us
playing a little bit of defense.
Nobody expected Reagan to win.
If he keeps doing well,
there could be
a revolt at the convention.
Don't worry. Audrey and I
will make sure that
the caucus has
a strong presence.
Who are these chocolates for?
- One of my secretaries.
- Oh, it's her birthday?
- I threw an ashtray at her.
- Bella, you're not gonna be
able to do that in the Senate.
They have standards.
- Just don't delay too long.
We're running out of time
on the ERA,
and Reagan has inspired
the right wing religious nuts
to come out of the woodwork,
and Jerry Falwell and
Phyllis Schlafly are his flock.
- Or it's the other way around.
- Did you see she managed
to bring out
a thousand women to Springfield
this year?
- Isn't she coming
to the National Press Club
for a debate?
- You're not thinking
of debating her.
- I'm just gonna talk to her.
You think I need to buy
her book?
- To knock some sense into her.
Did you hear Elizabeth Ray
is writing a book?
She's calling it
"The Washington Fringe Benefit."
- It's on my list
right after Betty's new memoir.
- Hey, Shirley, look at this.
You were at the wedding.
You believe this?
- Ugh. The man served us
wingdings with champagne.
He has no shame.
- [chuckles]
- You know,
if a Republican congressman
had to put his mistress
on the payroll
as a $14,000-a-year clerk,
you would all be up in arms.
- We are up in arms. $14,000
is way too little to shtup Hays.
She should have gotten
at least 50 grand.
- Shh.
- I'm kidding, of course.
- [laughs]
- [chuckles]
He does have to resign.
They all do.
- What do you mean, all?
- Uh
Why don't we meet in my office?
And we can talk in private.
[lowered voice] Ever since
the Hays scandal came out,
a few secretaries
have confided in me
that sexual favors are
an expected part of the job.
[telephone rings in distance]
[indistinct conversations]
["If God Is Dead (Who's This
Living In My Soul)" playing]
- Well
Loretta Lynn: He put flowers
- What a lovely home.
On the hills
[door closes]
- Excuse us, please.
- Good gravy.
That he gladly fills
- Well, what are you
fussing about?
- I'm trying to help you.
- Well, don't get your panties
all in a bunch.
It's like putting socks
on a rooster. I'll do it myself.
- All right.
- Oh, don't get up.
I'm not formal.
- Thank you.
Your stories
have all been told
- Did you hear about
the Bicentennial Drink?
It's called
a Paul Revere Cocktail.
After two,
you start horsing around
and wake your neighbors.
[laughs]
- Thank you for seeing us,
Miss Hobbs.
- Ooh.
What a pretty little box.
[tissue paper rustles]
How nice.
Do we still have those mints?
When life gets like a ship
on a raging sea
Shot that one myself.
- She's out there every morning
during the season.
- Well, we've come
about your Pink Lady flyer.
- Oh, don't you love it?
I told the printer
to print them on pink paper.
It really dresses it up.
Then I had him find two ladies
in his clip art collection.
And drew the telephone line
around the idea.
- And then my sister-in-law
come up with the name.
- You know, in the beauty shops,
the women always say,
"Have you heard?"
to get attention.
- Yes, well, you certainly got
my attention.
Now some of this is lifted
almost verbatim
from, uh, my newsletter.
- Without her permission.
- Soyou want me
to rewrite it
without using your words,
and then buy another 15,000
stamps to mail it out again?
- You have 15,000 subscribers?
- Or you could use all my words,
but we join forces
your organization and mine.
- Wellisn't that something?
You wanna join
Women Who Want to be Women.
- ThatThat's the name
of your organization?
- WWWW for short.
- Is that shorter?
- No, no, no,
we would keep our name.
It's just that we could be
more effective
if we coordinated our efforts.
Now your members
would become Eagles,
and we would, uh, handle
all of the organizational costs,
the stamps
and thethe printing.
- Or we could just sell
this bowl.
[laughter]
It used to be if Catholics
and Evangelicals came together,
you'd have a bloodbath.
- I'm Presbyterian.
- No, no, we all serve
the same Lord,
but if we're willing
to come together
to fight a common cause, then we
can fight with each other later.
- What is your favorite piece
of scripture?
- WellI have so many,
I wouldn't know where to start.
- Our Eagle motif is, uh,
from a passage in Isaiah.
"They shall mount up
with wings like eagles.
"They shall run
and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint."
- That's right.
- We also have a rose motif.
- Ah, the rose.
It is a symbol of our struggle.
- It's a symbol of our struggle,
too.
We want roses, not rights.
It's my favorite slogan because
it's so simple and elegant.
- We use the rose
to honor the martyrdom
of the unborn.
You know what they do
in abortion?
They take the lovely baby
from its natural habitat
and they
rip it out.
[loud rip]
And they throw itaway.
Thank you for coming by.
I'll have a think
about your proposal.
Here are copies of my book.
You might want to look
at the chapter about Mary.
It shows some
of the papal inconsistencies
involving the virgin birth.
I wrote itall myself.
- Some light reading
before you hit the road?
Jill Ruckelshaus.
I didn't get a chance
to introduce myself
before the debate.
- Yes, I know who you are.
- Mind some company?
Oh, you know, my hands
get so dry this time of year.
My daughter asks,
"Mommy, why does Mary Poppins
have the kitchen sink
in her purse?"
But I get it.
We need to be prepared.
Of course, the question is,
can I find anything in here?
I'm basically Julie Andrews
without the soot or the Oscar.
Thank you. I bet your purse
is perfectly organized.
- How old is your daughter?
- She's 7.
- Oh.
- Then there's Jennifer.
She's 12. Billy Jr.'s 11,
and the twins are 15.
- And the twins are from
your husband's first marriage?
- I met them
when they were infants.
It was love at first sight,
and their dad
wasn't too bad either,
so I brought Dr. Spock
on the honeymoon, and
- Oh. [chuckles]
- How about you?
How old are yours?
- 25, 21, 20, 18, 14, and 11.
- Oh! Seven more years,
and you're free.
- Motherhood is freedom, Jill.
- I thought of you recently
when I read about
Kissinger's mistake in Nairobi.
- Well, yes.
- Mm-hmm.
- And then, of course, uh,
thethe Nobel Committee
well, I think
they should be ashamed,
because his peace talks
took two years
before South Vietnam collapsed.
How was that, uh, noble?
- [laughs]
Have a drink with me.
- I don't, uh
Well, maybe a white wine
on occasion.
- I'm sure they have soda pop.
- [laughs]
- Your arguments
against the SALT Treaty
are exactly what Rummy
now says about SALT, too.
- Well, yes, he steals
all his ideas from me,
and soon he'll be talking
about space interceptors
and orbital bombers,
but, uh, if Reagan
were the nominee,
now I would advise him
to, of course,
get rid of Kissinger
but consider keeping Rumsfeld.
- Wow. Your face lights up when
you're talking about defense.
- Oh, well [laughs]
- I haven't been able
to figure out
why a Harvard-educated expert
on nuclear arms
with 20 years' experience
in defense policy
would suddenly take up
a women's issue.
- It affects me.
- It affects you.
Sure, I scrub
my own kitchen floors, too.
Should we compare dishpan hands?
You've been trying to get
a far-right candidate
into the White House
since Goldwater.
Reagan challenges Ford,
and suddenly you're, uh,
growing your power base,
forming alliances
with other
conservative churches, Mormons.
- Well, with the direction
the country is going,
I think I need all the help
I can get.
- And I think that you are using
the fight over women's equality
to build a mailing list
of women who would support
a conservative
presidential candidate
like Reagan.
That list is gonna be worth
a lot.
- Now you and I both know that
the ERA is not about equality.
It's about power.
And the left is making
a power grab.
- The Reagan revolution
is going to fail,
just like
the Goldwater revolution failed.
- Oh, Goldwater didn't fail.
He laid the groundwork.
- There are more of us
than there are of you.
What if I could get you
in a room with Rumsfeld?
Personally, I find him a bore,
but it seems to me
that you and he
would have quite a lot
to talk about.
Billy likes to say
that we educate men and women
through college
to be precisely equal,
but then the men go off
to do interesting things.
- Your husband supports you, uh,
leaving your children
on a Saturday afternoon?
- Yes. He wants me to have
my own life, my own career.
- Well, there's nothing stopping
you from doing just that.
- Do you know what I had to do
to get my commission funded?
I had to let more
than a dozen congressmen
put a hand on my arm,
my hip, my backside.
More than a dozen demanded
to see my pretty smile
before they agreed to sign on.
I had to say,
"You'd be our hero"
and "You have so much clout"
more times than I can remember.
And that is nothing compared
to what those secretaries
on the Hill are dealing with
on a daily basis.
- But don't you think
those kind of women
are really just inviting it?
- I'm sorry?
- Well, virtuous women
are rarely accosted
by unwelcome
sexual propositions.
- Let me tell you something
about those kind of women,
Phyllis.
They could be me.
They could be you.
They're just trying
to get a fair shake.
They wanna go to work,
get paid, go home.
They're not asking
to be harassed,
manhandled, degraded,
assaulted.
- You're so angry.
- How dare you?
- Well, only one state ratified
in over two years,
even with White House support
and a $5 million check
from Congress,
it must be terribly frustrating
for you.
- You wanna get ahead
climbing on the shoulders
of men, Phyllis, fine.
Just know they're looking
right up your skirt.
[footsteps depart]
[telephone rings]
- We are doing something.
The House Fair Employment
Practices Agreement.
- Only 62 congressmen
have signed it.
- Give it time.
- And none
of the 20 congressmen
accused by their secretaries
have.
- The secretaries can go
to the Ethics Committee.
- Which won't touch
a congressman,
or the Justice Department,
which we'll call
the congressman.
He'd deny it,
and they'd be fired.
We need to go to the press
with these allegations.
- These are our friends.
- Some of them are good friends.
- We're heading
into an election.
That's 20 liberal votes
we can lose.
You think the other side's
a bunch of choirboys?
We only know
about our own party.
- Nothing is going to change
unless there is
a public reckoning.
Even if it hurts us,
they need to resign.
- If none of the secretaries
come forward publicly
- They're scared!
Can you blame them?
- It will be dismissed as
a few office affairs gone bad.
- Congressmen are asking
young women in job interviews
if they engage in oral sex.
- I feel terrible for
these secretaries. I really do.
But Jim Buckley spends his days
dreaming up ways
to reverse Roe v. Wade.
- [sighs]
- I'm gonna win
that Senate seat,
and I'm gonna kick his ass
back to Connecticut,
and that's good for all women.
[telephone ringing
in distance]
- Hello? Kids?
I have Razzles and Fun Dip
and all the things
I never let you eat!
What are you guys doing?
- Dad said no noise,
no footsteps until they're gone.
- Who's they?
- Men in suits.
- Mr. Cheney.
[chuckles] What a surprise
a nice surprise.
is everything all right
with the president?
- Quite. We'll speak soon.
- Very good, Dick.
[door opens]
[door closes]
- And what was that about?
- It seems
I am on the short list.
- For vice president?
All right!
[laughter]
I can't believe it.
I mean, of course,
I can believe it.
You on the ticket with Ford
I mean, you'll be unbeatable.
Oh, my gosh!
Let's go celebrate.
Let's lock up the kids
and go to dinner.
- Should we hold off
on locking the kids up
until they're done vetting me?
- Why didn't they come
when I'm home?
They always vet the wife.
They didn't want me to be home.
They came to talk to you
about me.
- They're very worried
about the Reaganites.
- The Reaganites?
Oh, they're a band now.
- Well,
they have to appease them.
- And they don't want
their number two
to have a mouthy
pro-choice feminist for a wife.
- They didn't say "mouthy."
They said "outspoken."
But I told them, "I don't
control my wife." So there.
- [sighs]
- What?
- I-I just wish you'd said,
"She's not outspoken.
"She's the normal amount
of spoken.
She speaks about as much
as any man."
But you didn't say that because
you want me to lay low.
- Just until it's announced.
- No, I am going
to the convention, Billy.
I am scheduled to give
a seconding speech.
There's gonna be a fight
over abortion.
- We could do so much
for the women's movement
if we're the second family.
So you just want me to, what,
hide out
until thethe last day
of the convention?
- No. You make an entrance.
- Smile and wave
to the delegates
instead of speaking to them.
- I-I mean, I don't wanna
interfere with your career.
[birds chirping]
- I hope you're not wearing
any perfume.
It spooks the deer.
- I thought we might
have got off on the wrong foot.
Now I think it is remarkable
that you have devoted your life
to overturning Roe v. Wade,
but it's gonna take more
than devotion.
It's gonna take political power.
- I'm not much
for D.C. politics.
- Because there's no morality
in government?
Well, we can change that.
And now's the time.
Now the left is splintering.
[rifle clicking]
It's too many voices,
so we need to be united.
Now I believe Reagan
is our Moses,
and he's gonna lead us
out of the wilderness,
but he's gonna need our help.
- I am not convinced
he is a true believer.
[gunshot]
- Well, would you rather be
ruled by a wise Turk
[click]
or a foolish Christian?
[click]
Now I would like to offer you
a seat on my board.
- I was thinking
vice president
of your Eagle Forum.
- [chuckles]
All right.
Now our first order of business
is to mobilize as many
of our women as we can
to go to the convention
to support Reagan.
Now once I have
your mailing list,
I will send out my most recent,
uh, newsletter
which contains all
the relevant information,
including a terrific article
Rosemary wrote
on the dangers of the ERA.
Now I would advise that
- Can you give you
some friendly advice?
What scares my women
more than anything
is mothers killing their babies
and homosexuals raising
our children.
That gets them.
You have children?
- Yes, six.
- Do you want perverts
teaching in our schools,
touching our children?
Don't you wanna see
every one of those perverts
and abortionists
burnt at the stake?
[deer chuffing]
You see?
It's emotional.
- [chuffing]
- Not the head.
[gunshot echoes]
- Bless me, Father,
for I have sinned.
It has been a week
since my last confession.
I have taken the Lord's name
in vain.
I have borne false witness.
But
Father, I have done something
that is
that is far worse.
I have sin that is pressed
[voice breaking]
deep in my heart.
My son
[whispers] My son's a pervert.
And I know I should have
boundless love for my children.
But somesometimes I think
maybe I loved him too much,
or I wasn't around enough,
and he felt distant from me.
But why would God put
this fire in me
if he didn't want me
to act on it?
Why does he punish me?
Please help me, Father,
'cause I don't know what to do.
Help me, Father.
I don't know what to do.
[indistinct conversations]
- You're running in a tough
primary, so you've found God?
- Don't you have a game show
to host?
- [chuckles]
- Are you here to pray?
- My God
is the God of Leviticus,
so I'm here to atone.
- [chuckles]
- I, uh, I should've gone on
the record with you. I'm sorry.
- Ugh. Wouldn't have done
any good.
No follow-up exposé,
no outrage.
- You did what you could do
for those women.
You put our colleagues
on notice.
They have to be better behaved.
[indistinct conversations]
[laughter]
[indistinct conversations
continue]
- [scoffs]
- We're all secretaries to them.
[glass clinking]
- Senator Jesse Helms
will lead us in prayer.
- I welcome you all to
a very special prayer breakfast
on the eve
of our nation's 200th birthday.
Our founding fathers prayed
for divine guidance
just as we must pray today
for the same guidance
as we work together
to restore our country
to its glorious past.
Let us give thanks.
Amen.
- Amen.
[fireworks popping]
[fireworks whistling]
- [playful shouting]
- Careful with those.
- We're gonna go into town,
see the fireworks.
- Okay.
- Can I borrow your car?
[keys jangle]
- Be careful.
- Fred.
- John.
Could you, uh, stay
for a minute, please?
[dog barking in distance,
fireworks continue popping]
Your mother and I think it's
time you made some decisions
about your future.
- I'll have something
lined up soon.
- Not good enough.
You are lost,
and we are going to help you
find your way.
- You can choose law or medicine
or accounting,
but you need
to choose something.
[fireworks popping]
- I think I'd like law school.
- Well, that's settled.
You'll go to Wash U
with your mother
and live at home
and join my practice.
[fireworks continue popping]
- Or maybe you could, uh, go
to law school out of town.
[fireworks continue popping]
Get a fresh start.
[fireworks continue popping]
[dog barking in distance]
[fireworks continue popping]
- Under President Ford,
America is on a steady course.
Keep him.
[triumphant tune plays]
- "Keep him"?
That's the best they could do?
- convince the young
committed delegates
- Can't imagine the slogans
the guy rejected.
- that he can win
in November.
Reagan has made that
the big issue here.
- Here's a serious question.
- Hmm?
- Do you think Reagan
dyes his hair?
- with the slogan,
"He'll be pardoned."
So while he's here
- Should I dye my hair?
- different kind of
campaigning in private meetings.
- No.
- Uh-huh.
- I moved the paragraph
on the ERA up.
I added a sentence
about your commitment
to fighting
anti-choice legislation.
I still think you need
a-a short quip
right at the top,
before formally accepting
the nomination.
- Like?
- [sighs]
Sometimes I'll start
a speech with,
"I feel like one of
Henry Kissinger's girlfriends.
"I know what's expected of me,
but I'm not sure
how to make it interesting."
- Can I use that?
[chuckles]
- I'm gonna dig up my speech
from the '72 convention.
You can plagiarize
until your heart's content.
- Oh. Hmm.
- If Daddy becomes
vice president,
will we move
into the White House?
- The vice president's family
doesn't live in the White House.
Uh, they get their own house
at the Naval Observatory.
- We need a ride to tennis.
- is to solidify support
among the delegates already
[channel knob clicking]
- [sighs]
[applause on TV]
I'll do it.
[applause continues]
[telephone rings]
- Thank you. Good evening.
Thank you. Good evening.
- Well, answer it. Answer it!
[ring]
Be cool.
[ring]
- Ruckelshaus residence.
Ruck speaking.
- new exciting performer.
I've worked with the fella
before.
- She's right here.
[lowered voice] It's Audrey.
- [sighs] Oh.
How's it going there? I was just
about to take the girls
- We're in big trouble.
The Antis
they are here in full force.
They're backing Reagan,
and Phyllis is making a push
to take the ERA
out of the platform.
- No, no, I-I will call
Mrs. Ford right now.
- Reagan won't back down.
I think we can save the ERA,
but there will be concessions.
- What kind of concessions?
Abortion?
- I wish you could be here.
- [sighs]
Forget credential challenges
and child care subsidies.
Forget Social Security reform.
Well, call off the NOW march.
I don't care what
you have to do.
Just hold the line.
Lobby every member
on that committee.
Remind them that we were
the first party to endorse
the ERA in 1940.
- Excuse me, Congressman.
- Jill: We have never wavered
in 40 years, and we never will.
- Congressman Anderson,
if I could just have a moment
of your time, please.
- If we could just have
a moment of your time
- You tell Phyllis
and her Eagles
that they do not represent
Republican women.
We are the party of Lincoln.
- Please vote no.
- And there's no way
that we are allowing
the Wicked Witch of the Midwest
to enslave us.
Evil queen.
- Male reporter: The most
strongly contested issue
on the platform committee
is the struggle over whether
to support
the Equal Rights Amendment
to the Constitution.
- Female reporter: Conservatives
and Reagan supporters
are expected to oppose that.
- Male reporter:
Republicans have traditionally
backed the ERA, but there was
a strong conservative move
to change that position.
- It's extraordinary to me
in our bicentennial year
that we should be debating
whether or not
women are equal citizens.
- [amplified voice]
Finally, with 98 votes cast,
we are ready to announce
the results
of the platform committee's
position on the ERA plank.
The Republican Party
reaffirms its support
for ratification
of the Equal Rights Amendment
[loud cheers and applause]
The ayes are 51 to 47.
- [crying]
- [women chattering]
- It's okay.
[cheers and applause
continue]
- Well, you almost pulled off
the unthinkable.
- Almost.
- You planted a flag.
Ron will be impressed.
Come with me to his suite
tonight.
Strategy session.
[indistinct conversations]
- Well, ladies,
we put on a good show.
Rosemary.
Come on.
- You promised things
wouldn't change.
- Pamela,
nothing is going to change.
Trying to take the ERA
out of the party platform
was more symbolic
than anything
a show of our strength
in numbers.
- I think Pamela's just having
a hard time at home.
- Hmm?
- [whispers] Kevin.
[normal voice]
And all the hormones,
so it's extra disappointing.
- Well, sobbing and whining's
not gonna help.
- Mnh-mnh.
- I really have to go.
I am not gonna be late to meet
Reagan's campaign staff.
- Oh, please tell me this isn't
about Kissinger.
- We don't give a shit
about Kissinger!
- Pamela! Language.
- Defense policy
doesn't make itself.
- You have to fight for us.
- I am fighting for you.
You're not gonna accuse me
of not being a fighter.
- We have been with you
since the beginning.
- Look, it's all related.
Don't you see?
Kissinger, the ERA, abortion.
Now the communists attack
on all fronts.
- Well, there is
a parliamentary loophole
that could allow the removal
of the ERA plank
on the convention floor.
We could try it.
- If you don't wanna fight
for this anymore,
we can do it ourselves,
but we need to take this
to the floor.
- Which is exactly what I am
going to tell Reagan's people
when I meet them.
[footsteps approach]
- He's going to pick Bob Dole.
- He supported
the pro-life amendment plank.
Audrey said
there'd be concessions.
- It was a victory
to hold our own.
- I could've been there.
I should've been there.
Found the speech I gave
to the '72 convention.
"What a beautiful morning
to be a woman
[voice breaking]
"and the best possible time
to be a Republican woman."
[indistinct conversations]
- How are you? John.
- Hey, Phil.
- Good to see you. How are you?
- Nice to see you. Good.
- John Majors
- Mm-hmm.
- Phyllis Schlafly.
- Pleasure.
- Phyllis,
this is George Phillips.
- George.
- Good to see you.
- Mark.
- Phil.
- How are you?
- Good to see you.
- Mark Jones, Phyllis Schlafly.
- Hello.
- Ma'am.
- And we have John Sears,
Joseph Coors
- Oh, yes.
- And, of course,
you know Senator Jesse Helms.
- Jesse.
- Phyllis.
- Oh, it's such a pleasure
to meet you.
- Pleasure.
- Gentlemen, Phyllis has
- Thank you.
- activated a group
of apolitical woman.
- Oh, yes,
we're the fastest growing
organization of women
in America.
And since, uh,
creating the Eagle Forum,
my, uh, mailing list
has ballooned to over 40,000.
- Including many evangelicals.
- Yes, that's right.
- I should introduce you
to Jerry Falwell.
- Mm-hmm.
- He wants to get in the game
but doesn't quite know how
to play.
- Oh, well, I think I could
teach him a few things.
[laughter]
- You know, Ron sure would
love to see your mailing list.
- Well, if he wants to see
my list, he can call me.
- It makes
the evangelicals happy,
but the hawks feel betrayed.
- Yes, but he should be fighting
for it on foreign policy.
Attack his weakness.
You know, the Helsinki treaty.
I have two words for Ford
fire Kissinger.
[laughter]
Oh, Ron can quote me.
Uh, and, uh, if he wants
to keep my ladies happy,
he should support taking
the ERA fight to the floor.
- Who here wasn't hoping
that Elizabeth Ray
would take down Kissinger
along with Wayne Hays?
[laughter]
- Oh, Phil.
- It's one thing not to be able
to control yourself,
but your secretary?
[laughter]
- Right.
- Yeah, well, you know
the best way to shut
your secretary up?
- Put a muzzle on her.
- No. Dump her in the Potomac.
- No, no, no.
Stick it in her mouth.
- Oh.
[laughter]
- [groans]
- Mrs. Ford's made it
her mission
to keep the party pro-ERA.
- Mm.
- And any challenge
will antagonize
the delegates
still on the fence.
You'll drop the floor fight.
[Lesley Gore's
"You Don't Own Me" playing]
- You haven't touched
your Scotch.
- Hmm?
You don't own me
- Hey, so, the credentials
I'm not just one
of your many toys
Yeah, I don't know.
You don't own me
- No, I trust you with this.
- [laughs]
Don't say I can't go
with other boys
And don't tell me what to do
Don't tell me what to say
And please,
when I go out with you
Don't put me on display
I'm young,
and I love to be young
I'm free,
and I love to be free
To live my life
the way I want
To say and do
whatever I please
And don't tell me
what to do
Oh, don't tell me
what to say
And, please, when I
Did you call
the speaker of the house
a four-letter word?
-No.
-Are you sure?
Yes, I'm sure.
"Ass" is a three-letter word.
[woman] Cause precedes effect.
Effect leads to cause.
The future is fixed
in exactly the same way
as the past.
MAN: I had no idea
what I would find
when I went searching
for my father.
They flashed the Zodiac Killer,
and my heart stopped.
WOMAN: He believes
he is the son of the Zodiac.
We are Nadja and Laszlo,
the human music group.
She's a superb lyricist.
We're feeling horny for blood
We're feeling horny for love
It's the painting in which
you invented the portrait pose.
There I am,
behind this dead chap.
This was the first time
that was ever done.
-(shrieking)
-COLIN: I'm changing.
I'm becoming stronger.
(shouting)
Oh, hey. Don't sit on that.
(up-tempo music plays)
VOCALISTS: Hey!
WOMAN: I was pregnant,
and I was scared.
(coughs, exhales)
This is
my deathbed confession.
- In observance
of International Women's Year
here in the United States,
I have signed
an executive order,
creating a national commission
to honor women
and urge ratification
of the Equal Rights Amendment.
I am appointing Jill Ruckelshaus
as chairwoman of the commission.
[applause]
- Thank you, Mr. President.
[applause continues]
[camera shutters clicking]
I will get those
last five states, sir.
- Four. I just called
Senator Kretschmar this morning,
and he confirmed.
- You see?
Your wife is my secret weapon.
[laughter]
She just tipped the scales
in North Dakota.
- Well, you should be up front
and center, Jill.
Who better to prove that
"feminism" isn't a dirty word
than a Midwestern married mom
of five?
You're as American as apple pie.
- Thank you, Betty.
- Pretty big promotion.
[indistinct conversations]
- And yet unpaid.
- [chuckles]
- [chanting] Abort the ERA,
Betty Ford, get off the phone!
Abort the ERA
Abort the ERA!
- [scoffs]
- Betty Ford, get off the phone!
Abort the ERA! Betty Ford
- You might ask yourself what
kind of self-respecting woman
pickets the First Lady
of her own party?
- [muffled voice]
would see abortion-on-demand
mandated at all hospitals.
The, uh, proponents, uh, see
as an unfair, uh, burden
on the mothers that they have
to take care of their babies.
- What about popular opinions
of people being for the ERA?
- Well, the real poll
is the ballot box.
Most American women
don't want this.
TheyThey know it's a fraud,
and all it would do
would be to allow
- We can go.
["A Fifth of Beethoven"
by Walter Murphy playing]
- We are mothers and daughters.
We are married, single,
widowed, divorced.
We are homemakers
and career women
- You know, not a single leader
of any anti-ERA
or pro-life organization
is represented
- All: Shh!
- on her presidential
commission.
- to present
the Women of the Year Award
to nine courageous
talented women.
- She is not fooling anyone
in those pearls.
- She does have a nice smile.
- Hmm.
- who has indicated many
- Five more minutes, Anne.
- But "Fifth Dimension"
is coming on.
- I fixed him one.
- Oh.
- opportunity for women.
- Oh.
- And I know I speak
for the president
- Mother?
- Come on. Let's go upstairs.
- I'll be up in a minute
to tuck you in.
- politicians that
- Between her
and Nelson Rockefeller,
there's no place for us.
- The Republican Party's
in peril.
- What happened
to all that talk at CPAC
about breaking off and forming
a national Conservative Party?
- Oh, Reagan won't run
on a third-party ticket.
He thinks he can beat Ford.
- No, he doesn't have
the numbers.
- week after week
in our polls
[typewriter keys clacking]
- I'm counting 58.
- Which brings us close
to 10,000.
- Now our mailing list has
barely budged in 12 months.
We need to double it
by this time next year.
- Double it?
- It has taken us four years
just to get this big.
- Well, NOW has
over 40,000 members and growing.
- Who cares? We're winning.
Only North Dakota ratified
this year.
- Yes, but they only need
four more.
Now the feminists control
both houses,
the liberal media,
and Jill Ruckelshaus
has the First Lady
shilling for them.
They're everywhere.
Now and we only had 30 show up
in D.C. to picket.
Now does that sound like winning
to you?
- I need help drawing a map
of Sherman's March.
- Uh, can
- I have called every woman
I have ever met
in my entire life,
even the ones I can't stand.
There are three teas
I'm dreading attending.
There is no one left to call.
- We're going to make
a big splash
in the convention.
We're gonna have to start
recruiting women who are not
active in politics.
- If they aren't active,
how are we going to find them?
- Why do we have to make
a big splash at the convention?
- Because the country thinks
Jill Ruckelshaus
is the face
of the Republican Party.
[telephone rings]
- STOP ERA. Rosemary speaking.
Oh, hello, Kevin. Yes.
- [whispers]
Tell him I've left.
- No. She'son her way home
to you.
[receiver clatters]
[switch clicks]
[door opens and closes]
- Marriage takes work.
- You should hear how he talks
to her.
He has a temper.
- We all have problems.
She needs to learn
to manage him.
[exhales deeply]
- I saw Bella backstage.
First words out of her mouth
"When are you gonna testify
for my bill?"
No "How are you?"
No "Nice dress."
- Oh, it is a very nice dress.
- She completely disregards
the fact
that her bill is duplicating
the work
my commission's already doing.
- Bella bosses everybody around.
She bossed me around
when I headed the EPA.
Don't take it personally.
- She said your commission
has no authority and no money.
I'm not supposed to take that
personally?
[sighs] I'm only trying
to rescue the ERA
after the Democrats
made a mess of it,
and she's right about the money.
I don't understand how
the president expects me to
to launch a national campaign
for the ERA with no funding.
Am I a magician?
- You're the woman of the year.
[chuckles]
- I presented
the Women of the Year.
I'm not one.
- Mmm. [kissing]
- [sighs] Honey.
- No, they'rethey're asleep.
- But did you check
on Robin's fever?
- Yes, and she told me
she feels fine.
- Wait. She told you
she feels fine?
She's sick,
so we shouldn't trust her.
- I took her temperature
right after you left.
It was only 99.7.
I also fed the kids
something besides pizza,
and I even managed
to dress myself this morning.
- And it's a big improvement
from the tweed suits you wore
when we first started dating.
- You didn't like me in tweed?
- So stuffy.
- Ah. I was dynamite.
- You were square.
- Square?
Oh.
- [chuckles]
I justI'm gonna go check
on her.
- Can
If you want me to be in charge
of the kids,
you have to let me be in charge.
- Mmm.
[telephone rings in distance]
[indistinct conversations]
- Excuse me.
Do you know
how much longer he'll be?
- I don't do his schedule.
- What exactly do you do?
[book thuds]
[telephone continues ringing]
- These young women
come to work here
knowing what
they're getting into.
You can't blame him.
- Oh, you can blame him.
It's not right.
- When I graduated
from law school,
my mother said to me,
"Wear a hat and gloves."
That way, they won't
mistake you for a secretary."
- Well, when did
the gloves come off?
- [laughs]
[door opens]
[indistinct conversations]
- Campaign spot rang long.
Bicentennial.
You're wasting your time,
Bella.
I can't support
a radical lib agenda
and show my face in Ohio.
- Oh, whoa.
Who said anything about radical?
Let's ban that word
from our vocabulary.
- You brought Jill.
You know I can't resist
when you tag-team me.
Reminds me of my frat days
as a Buckeye.
[laughter]
- Don't be a jackass, Wayne.
You're making the rest of us
look bad.
- Jill.
- Congressman.
[sighs]
- Excuse me.
- [lowered voice] I'm used
to suffering for the cause.
- The funds for my bill will be
used to sponsor conferences
on women's issues
in each of the 50 states,
culminating
in a national convention.
Our goalto come up
with a plan of action
for Congress to enact laws
that benefit women.
- Which in turn will give
a much-needed shot in the arm
to the ERA ratification drive.
- Is it me,
or are the gals never happy?
- Not when the gals are only
making 56% of what the men make.
- So you won't be happy till
you make 100% of what men make?
- Together: Yes.
- [groans softly]
- Are you gonna help us
whip up votes or what?
- What if this
national conference for women
were run through my commission?
There's no question
it would be bipartisan.
It would have the endorsement
of the president
and headed by me, arguably
the most fiscally conservative
person in this room.
- State meetings
open to the public.
Sounds like a fiasco.
- I've never been associated
with a fiasco.
Massacres, yes. Fiascos, no.
- [chuckles]
- We can't do it without you,
Congressman.
You have all the clout.
Consider it a gift
for your young new bride.
- Do you know some reporter
called us
"Beauty and the Beast"?
You don't think I'm a beast,
do you?
- No, but I was with
General Haig for two years,
so perhaps I'm not
the best judge.
[laughter]
- You could learn something
from this one, Bella,
especially if you wanna make
a run for the Senate.
It helps to have
a sense of humor.
- I have a great sense of humor.
- Thank you, Congressman.
[telephone ringing]
- [sighs]
[under breath]
Don't get too excited.
I still have to sell it
to the president.
- For this women's conference,
the American taxpayer
will be paying $6,000 per minute
so that the, uh, libbers can
fly to Miami or, uh, wherever
and complain
about their miserable lives.
[coins clatter]
Kissinger meets privately
with Ambassador Dobrynin
for hours,
and nobody knows why.
[coins clatter]
Because Jessica's parents
do not supervise their child,
that's why.
Dear Mr. Orben,
I am a big fan of your work
with Jack Paar and Red Skelton.
Stop. But your last
- Please deposit 10 cents.
[coins clatter]
- But your last speech
for President Ford
had seven jokes on wives
and none on the libbers. Stop.
- Do you want me to repeat that
back to you?
- Uh, no, I'm afraid
I don't have time for you
to repeat it back.
[receiver clatters]
- The court upheld
the government's suit
to dissolve
the Northern Securities Company.
Now let's see what
20th century Supremes
say about antitrust
and the Sherman Act, shall we?
Mr. Snyder?
What can you tell us about
this week's Supreme Court case?
United States
v. Falstaff Brewing Corp.
- Well, Falstaff was a regional
beer producer here in St. Louis
that wanted to achieve
national status,
so they decided to expand
- [mouths words]
to the northeast market.
Now instead of breaking
into new markets de novo,
they decided to acquire
the largest beer seller
in New England
because they already had
an established infrastructure.
And what was the central
question in the case?
Yes, Mrs. Schlafly?
- Was Falstaff successful
in dominating the market?
- That is not
the central question.
- Yes, but it is
the most interesting one.
- [sighs]
- Did Falstaff violate Section 7
of the Clayton Act?
Well, the Supreme Court found
in Falstaff's favor,
and they remanded the case back
to the, uh, district court
de novo,
a decision
with which I concur.
I would like to make
a person-to-person call
to Georgia Peterson
in Salt Lake City.
Elder Packer, I'm a friend
of Georgia Peterson's.
My name's Phyllis Schlafly.
- I met a woman
at a pro-life rally
who can put us in touch with
a group of rabbis in New Jersey.
- Good morning, uh,
Rabbi Neuberger?
- One of the mothers
at Kimmy's school
is active in
the Calvary Baptist Church.
- Pastor Starr?
Phyllis Schlafly.
I'm calling to invite you
to join me in a new organization
for all denominations.
Welcome to the alternative
to the so-called
women's liberation movement.
Welcome to the Eagle Forum.
Now as impossible
as it may seem,
our challenge is to have
40,000 members
by the Republican
National Convention,
and I feel that, uh,
we'll be far more effective
if we all work together.
Take a look to the right
and to the left of you.
You might be sitting next
to someone you can't save,
but you can be nice to them.
[applause]
- I have a question
about your newsletter.
- Oh, that's not my newsletter.
Sorry. May I
May I see that?
[indistinct conversations]
Can you find out who wrote this?
- North Carolina has us
playing a little bit of defense.
Nobody expected Reagan to win.
If he keeps doing well,
there could be
a revolt at the convention.
Don't worry. Audrey and I
will make sure that
the caucus has
a strong presence.
Who are these chocolates for?
- One of my secretaries.
- Oh, it's her birthday?
- I threw an ashtray at her.
- Bella, you're not gonna be
able to do that in the Senate.
They have standards.
- Just don't delay too long.
We're running out of time
on the ERA,
and Reagan has inspired
the right wing religious nuts
to come out of the woodwork,
and Jerry Falwell and
Phyllis Schlafly are his flock.
- Or it's the other way around.
- Did you see she managed
to bring out
a thousand women to Springfield
this year?
- Isn't she coming
to the National Press Club
for a debate?
- You're not thinking
of debating her.
- I'm just gonna talk to her.
You think I need to buy
her book?
- To knock some sense into her.
Did you hear Elizabeth Ray
is writing a book?
She's calling it
"The Washington Fringe Benefit."
- It's on my list
right after Betty's new memoir.
- Hey, Shirley, look at this.
You were at the wedding.
You believe this?
- Ugh. The man served us
wingdings with champagne.
He has no shame.
- [chuckles]
- You know,
if a Republican congressman
had to put his mistress
on the payroll
as a $14,000-a-year clerk,
you would all be up in arms.
- We are up in arms. $14,000
is way too little to shtup Hays.
She should have gotten
at least 50 grand.
- Shh.
- I'm kidding, of course.
- [laughs]
- [chuckles]
He does have to resign.
They all do.
- What do you mean, all?
- Uh
Why don't we meet in my office?
And we can talk in private.
[lowered voice] Ever since
the Hays scandal came out,
a few secretaries
have confided in me
that sexual favors are
an expected part of the job.
[telephone rings in distance]
[indistinct conversations]
["If God Is Dead (Who's This
Living In My Soul)" playing]
- Well
Loretta Lynn: He put flowers
- What a lovely home.
On the hills
[door closes]
- Excuse us, please.
- Good gravy.
That he gladly fills
- Well, what are you
fussing about?
- I'm trying to help you.
- Well, don't get your panties
all in a bunch.
It's like putting socks
on a rooster. I'll do it myself.
- All right.
- Oh, don't get up.
I'm not formal.
- Thank you.
Your stories
have all been told
- Did you hear about
the Bicentennial Drink?
It's called
a Paul Revere Cocktail.
After two,
you start horsing around
and wake your neighbors.
[laughs]
- Thank you for seeing us,
Miss Hobbs.
- Ooh.
What a pretty little box.
[tissue paper rustles]
How nice.
Do we still have those mints?
When life gets like a ship
on a raging sea
Shot that one myself.
- She's out there every morning
during the season.
- Well, we've come
about your Pink Lady flyer.
- Oh, don't you love it?
I told the printer
to print them on pink paper.
It really dresses it up.
Then I had him find two ladies
in his clip art collection.
And drew the telephone line
around the idea.
- And then my sister-in-law
come up with the name.
- You know, in the beauty shops,
the women always say,
"Have you heard?"
to get attention.
- Yes, well, you certainly got
my attention.
Now some of this is lifted
almost verbatim
from, uh, my newsletter.
- Without her permission.
- Soyou want me
to rewrite it
without using your words,
and then buy another 15,000
stamps to mail it out again?
- You have 15,000 subscribers?
- Or you could use all my words,
but we join forces
your organization and mine.
- Wellisn't that something?
You wanna join
Women Who Want to be Women.
- ThatThat's the name
of your organization?
- WWWW for short.
- Is that shorter?
- No, no, no,
we would keep our name.
It's just that we could be
more effective
if we coordinated our efforts.
Now your members
would become Eagles,
and we would, uh, handle
all of the organizational costs,
the stamps
and thethe printing.
- Or we could just sell
this bowl.
[laughter]
It used to be if Catholics
and Evangelicals came together,
you'd have a bloodbath.
- I'm Presbyterian.
- No, no, we all serve
the same Lord,
but if we're willing
to come together
to fight a common cause, then we
can fight with each other later.
- What is your favorite piece
of scripture?
- WellI have so many,
I wouldn't know where to start.
- Our Eagle motif is, uh,
from a passage in Isaiah.
"They shall mount up
with wings like eagles.
"They shall run
and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint."
- That's right.
- We also have a rose motif.
- Ah, the rose.
It is a symbol of our struggle.
- It's a symbol of our struggle,
too.
We want roses, not rights.
It's my favorite slogan because
it's so simple and elegant.
- We use the rose
to honor the martyrdom
of the unborn.
You know what they do
in abortion?
They take the lovely baby
from its natural habitat
and they
rip it out.
[loud rip]
And they throw itaway.
Thank you for coming by.
I'll have a think
about your proposal.
Here are copies of my book.
You might want to look
at the chapter about Mary.
It shows some
of the papal inconsistencies
involving the virgin birth.
I wrote itall myself.
- Some light reading
before you hit the road?
Jill Ruckelshaus.
I didn't get a chance
to introduce myself
before the debate.
- Yes, I know who you are.
- Mind some company?
Oh, you know, my hands
get so dry this time of year.
My daughter asks,
"Mommy, why does Mary Poppins
have the kitchen sink
in her purse?"
But I get it.
We need to be prepared.
Of course, the question is,
can I find anything in here?
I'm basically Julie Andrews
without the soot or the Oscar.
Thank you. I bet your purse
is perfectly organized.
- How old is your daughter?
- She's 7.
- Oh.
- Then there's Jennifer.
She's 12. Billy Jr.'s 11,
and the twins are 15.
- And the twins are from
your husband's first marriage?
- I met them
when they were infants.
It was love at first sight,
and their dad
wasn't too bad either,
so I brought Dr. Spock
on the honeymoon, and
- Oh. [chuckles]
- How about you?
How old are yours?
- 25, 21, 20, 18, 14, and 11.
- Oh! Seven more years,
and you're free.
- Motherhood is freedom, Jill.
- I thought of you recently
when I read about
Kissinger's mistake in Nairobi.
- Well, yes.
- Mm-hmm.
- And then, of course, uh,
thethe Nobel Committee
well, I think
they should be ashamed,
because his peace talks
took two years
before South Vietnam collapsed.
How was that, uh, noble?
- [laughs]
Have a drink with me.
- I don't, uh
Well, maybe a white wine
on occasion.
- I'm sure they have soda pop.
- [laughs]
- Your arguments
against the SALT Treaty
are exactly what Rummy
now says about SALT, too.
- Well, yes, he steals
all his ideas from me,
and soon he'll be talking
about space interceptors
and orbital bombers,
but, uh, if Reagan
were the nominee,
now I would advise him
to, of course,
get rid of Kissinger
but consider keeping Rumsfeld.
- Wow. Your face lights up when
you're talking about defense.
- Oh, well [laughs]
- I haven't been able
to figure out
why a Harvard-educated expert
on nuclear arms
with 20 years' experience
in defense policy
would suddenly take up
a women's issue.
- It affects me.
- It affects you.
Sure, I scrub
my own kitchen floors, too.
Should we compare dishpan hands?
You've been trying to get
a far-right candidate
into the White House
since Goldwater.
Reagan challenges Ford,
and suddenly you're, uh,
growing your power base,
forming alliances
with other
conservative churches, Mormons.
- Well, with the direction
the country is going,
I think I need all the help
I can get.
- And I think that you are using
the fight over women's equality
to build a mailing list
of women who would support
a conservative
presidential candidate
like Reagan.
That list is gonna be worth
a lot.
- Now you and I both know that
the ERA is not about equality.
It's about power.
And the left is making
a power grab.
- The Reagan revolution
is going to fail,
just like
the Goldwater revolution failed.
- Oh, Goldwater didn't fail.
He laid the groundwork.
- There are more of us
than there are of you.
What if I could get you
in a room with Rumsfeld?
Personally, I find him a bore,
but it seems to me
that you and he
would have quite a lot
to talk about.
Billy likes to say
that we educate men and women
through college
to be precisely equal,
but then the men go off
to do interesting things.
- Your husband supports you, uh,
leaving your children
on a Saturday afternoon?
- Yes. He wants me to have
my own life, my own career.
- Well, there's nothing stopping
you from doing just that.
- Do you know what I had to do
to get my commission funded?
I had to let more
than a dozen congressmen
put a hand on my arm,
my hip, my backside.
More than a dozen demanded
to see my pretty smile
before they agreed to sign on.
I had to say,
"You'd be our hero"
and "You have so much clout"
more times than I can remember.
And that is nothing compared
to what those secretaries
on the Hill are dealing with
on a daily basis.
- But don't you think
those kind of women
are really just inviting it?
- I'm sorry?
- Well, virtuous women
are rarely accosted
by unwelcome
sexual propositions.
- Let me tell you something
about those kind of women,
Phyllis.
They could be me.
They could be you.
They're just trying
to get a fair shake.
They wanna go to work,
get paid, go home.
They're not asking
to be harassed,
manhandled, degraded,
assaulted.
- You're so angry.
- How dare you?
- Well, only one state ratified
in over two years,
even with White House support
and a $5 million check
from Congress,
it must be terribly frustrating
for you.
- You wanna get ahead
climbing on the shoulders
of men, Phyllis, fine.
Just know they're looking
right up your skirt.
[footsteps depart]
[telephone rings]
- We are doing something.
The House Fair Employment
Practices Agreement.
- Only 62 congressmen
have signed it.
- Give it time.
- And none
of the 20 congressmen
accused by their secretaries
have.
- The secretaries can go
to the Ethics Committee.
- Which won't touch
a congressman,
or the Justice Department,
which we'll call
the congressman.
He'd deny it,
and they'd be fired.
We need to go to the press
with these allegations.
- These are our friends.
- Some of them are good friends.
- We're heading
into an election.
That's 20 liberal votes
we can lose.
You think the other side's
a bunch of choirboys?
We only know
about our own party.
- Nothing is going to change
unless there is
a public reckoning.
Even if it hurts us,
they need to resign.
- If none of the secretaries
come forward publicly
- They're scared!
Can you blame them?
- It will be dismissed as
a few office affairs gone bad.
- Congressmen are asking
young women in job interviews
if they engage in oral sex.
- I feel terrible for
these secretaries. I really do.
But Jim Buckley spends his days
dreaming up ways
to reverse Roe v. Wade.
- [sighs]
- I'm gonna win
that Senate seat,
and I'm gonna kick his ass
back to Connecticut,
and that's good for all women.
[telephone ringing
in distance]
- Hello? Kids?
I have Razzles and Fun Dip
and all the things
I never let you eat!
What are you guys doing?
- Dad said no noise,
no footsteps until they're gone.
- Who's they?
- Men in suits.
- Mr. Cheney.
[chuckles] What a surprise
a nice surprise.
is everything all right
with the president?
- Quite. We'll speak soon.
- Very good, Dick.
[door opens]
[door closes]
- And what was that about?
- It seems
I am on the short list.
- For vice president?
All right!
[laughter]
I can't believe it.
I mean, of course,
I can believe it.
You on the ticket with Ford
I mean, you'll be unbeatable.
Oh, my gosh!
Let's go celebrate.
Let's lock up the kids
and go to dinner.
- Should we hold off
on locking the kids up
until they're done vetting me?
- Why didn't they come
when I'm home?
They always vet the wife.
They didn't want me to be home.
They came to talk to you
about me.
- They're very worried
about the Reaganites.
- The Reaganites?
Oh, they're a band now.
- Well,
they have to appease them.
- And they don't want
their number two
to have a mouthy
pro-choice feminist for a wife.
- They didn't say "mouthy."
They said "outspoken."
But I told them, "I don't
control my wife." So there.
- [sighs]
- What?
- I-I just wish you'd said,
"She's not outspoken.
"She's the normal amount
of spoken.
She speaks about as much
as any man."
But you didn't say that because
you want me to lay low.
- Just until it's announced.
- No, I am going
to the convention, Billy.
I am scheduled to give
a seconding speech.
There's gonna be a fight
over abortion.
- We could do so much
for the women's movement
if we're the second family.
So you just want me to, what,
hide out
until thethe last day
of the convention?
- No. You make an entrance.
- Smile and wave
to the delegates
instead of speaking to them.
- I-I mean, I don't wanna
interfere with your career.
[birds chirping]
- I hope you're not wearing
any perfume.
It spooks the deer.
- I thought we might
have got off on the wrong foot.
Now I think it is remarkable
that you have devoted your life
to overturning Roe v. Wade,
but it's gonna take more
than devotion.
It's gonna take political power.
- I'm not much
for D.C. politics.
- Because there's no morality
in government?
Well, we can change that.
And now's the time.
Now the left is splintering.
[rifle clicking]
It's too many voices,
so we need to be united.
Now I believe Reagan
is our Moses,
and he's gonna lead us
out of the wilderness,
but he's gonna need our help.
- I am not convinced
he is a true believer.
[gunshot]
- Well, would you rather be
ruled by a wise Turk
[click]
or a foolish Christian?
[click]
Now I would like to offer you
a seat on my board.
- I was thinking
vice president
of your Eagle Forum.
- [chuckles]
All right.
Now our first order of business
is to mobilize as many
of our women as we can
to go to the convention
to support Reagan.
Now once I have
your mailing list,
I will send out my most recent,
uh, newsletter
which contains all
the relevant information,
including a terrific article
Rosemary wrote
on the dangers of the ERA.
Now I would advise that
- Can you give you
some friendly advice?
What scares my women
more than anything
is mothers killing their babies
and homosexuals raising
our children.
That gets them.
You have children?
- Yes, six.
- Do you want perverts
teaching in our schools,
touching our children?
Don't you wanna see
every one of those perverts
and abortionists
burnt at the stake?
[deer chuffing]
You see?
It's emotional.
- [chuffing]
- Not the head.
[gunshot echoes]
- Bless me, Father,
for I have sinned.
It has been a week
since my last confession.
I have taken the Lord's name
in vain.
I have borne false witness.
But
Father, I have done something
that is
that is far worse.
I have sin that is pressed
[voice breaking]
deep in my heart.
My son
[whispers] My son's a pervert.
And I know I should have
boundless love for my children.
But somesometimes I think
maybe I loved him too much,
or I wasn't around enough,
and he felt distant from me.
But why would God put
this fire in me
if he didn't want me
to act on it?
Why does he punish me?
Please help me, Father,
'cause I don't know what to do.
Help me, Father.
I don't know what to do.
[indistinct conversations]
- You're running in a tough
primary, so you've found God?
- Don't you have a game show
to host?
- [chuckles]
- Are you here to pray?
- My God
is the God of Leviticus,
so I'm here to atone.
- [chuckles]
- I, uh, I should've gone on
the record with you. I'm sorry.
- Ugh. Wouldn't have done
any good.
No follow-up exposé,
no outrage.
- You did what you could do
for those women.
You put our colleagues
on notice.
They have to be better behaved.
[indistinct conversations]
[laughter]
[indistinct conversations
continue]
- [scoffs]
- We're all secretaries to them.
[glass clinking]
- Senator Jesse Helms
will lead us in prayer.
- I welcome you all to
a very special prayer breakfast
on the eve
of our nation's 200th birthday.
Our founding fathers prayed
for divine guidance
just as we must pray today
for the same guidance
as we work together
to restore our country
to its glorious past.
Let us give thanks.
Amen.
- Amen.
[fireworks popping]
[fireworks whistling]
- [playful shouting]
- Careful with those.
- We're gonna go into town,
see the fireworks.
- Okay.
- Can I borrow your car?
[keys jangle]
- Be careful.
- Fred.
- John.
Could you, uh, stay
for a minute, please?
[dog barking in distance,
fireworks continue popping]
Your mother and I think it's
time you made some decisions
about your future.
- I'll have something
lined up soon.
- Not good enough.
You are lost,
and we are going to help you
find your way.
- You can choose law or medicine
or accounting,
but you need
to choose something.
[fireworks popping]
- I think I'd like law school.
- Well, that's settled.
You'll go to Wash U
with your mother
and live at home
and join my practice.
[fireworks continue popping]
- Or maybe you could, uh, go
to law school out of town.
[fireworks continue popping]
Get a fresh start.
[fireworks continue popping]
[dog barking in distance]
[fireworks continue popping]
- Under President Ford,
America is on a steady course.
Keep him.
[triumphant tune plays]
- "Keep him"?
That's the best they could do?
- convince the young
committed delegates
- Can't imagine the slogans
the guy rejected.
- that he can win
in November.
Reagan has made that
the big issue here.
- Here's a serious question.
- Hmm?
- Do you think Reagan
dyes his hair?
- with the slogan,
"He'll be pardoned."
So while he's here
- Should I dye my hair?
- different kind of
campaigning in private meetings.
- No.
- Uh-huh.
- I moved the paragraph
on the ERA up.
I added a sentence
about your commitment
to fighting
anti-choice legislation.
I still think you need
a-a short quip
right at the top,
before formally accepting
the nomination.
- Like?
- [sighs]
Sometimes I'll start
a speech with,
"I feel like one of
Henry Kissinger's girlfriends.
"I know what's expected of me,
but I'm not sure
how to make it interesting."
- Can I use that?
[chuckles]
- I'm gonna dig up my speech
from the '72 convention.
You can plagiarize
until your heart's content.
- Oh. Hmm.
- If Daddy becomes
vice president,
will we move
into the White House?
- The vice president's family
doesn't live in the White House.
Uh, they get their own house
at the Naval Observatory.
- We need a ride to tennis.
- is to solidify support
among the delegates already
[channel knob clicking]
- [sighs]
[applause on TV]
I'll do it.
[applause continues]
[telephone rings]
- Thank you. Good evening.
Thank you. Good evening.
- Well, answer it. Answer it!
[ring]
Be cool.
[ring]
- Ruckelshaus residence.
Ruck speaking.
- new exciting performer.
I've worked with the fella
before.
- She's right here.
[lowered voice] It's Audrey.
- [sighs] Oh.
How's it going there? I was just
about to take the girls
- We're in big trouble.
The Antis
they are here in full force.
They're backing Reagan,
and Phyllis is making a push
to take the ERA
out of the platform.
- No, no, I-I will call
Mrs. Ford right now.
- Reagan won't back down.
I think we can save the ERA,
but there will be concessions.
- What kind of concessions?
Abortion?
- I wish you could be here.
- [sighs]
Forget credential challenges
and child care subsidies.
Forget Social Security reform.
Well, call off the NOW march.
I don't care what
you have to do.
Just hold the line.
Lobby every member
on that committee.
Remind them that we were
the first party to endorse
the ERA in 1940.
- Excuse me, Congressman.
- Jill: We have never wavered
in 40 years, and we never will.
- Congressman Anderson,
if I could just have a moment
of your time, please.
- If we could just have
a moment of your time
- You tell Phyllis
and her Eagles
that they do not represent
Republican women.
We are the party of Lincoln.
- Please vote no.
- And there's no way
that we are allowing
the Wicked Witch of the Midwest
to enslave us.
Evil queen.
- Male reporter: The most
strongly contested issue
on the platform committee
is the struggle over whether
to support
the Equal Rights Amendment
to the Constitution.
- Female reporter: Conservatives
and Reagan supporters
are expected to oppose that.
- Male reporter:
Republicans have traditionally
backed the ERA, but there was
a strong conservative move
to change that position.
- It's extraordinary to me
in our bicentennial year
that we should be debating
whether or not
women are equal citizens.
- [amplified voice]
Finally, with 98 votes cast,
we are ready to announce
the results
of the platform committee's
position on the ERA plank.
The Republican Party
reaffirms its support
for ratification
of the Equal Rights Amendment
[loud cheers and applause]
The ayes are 51 to 47.
- [crying]
- [women chattering]
- It's okay.
[cheers and applause
continue]
- Well, you almost pulled off
the unthinkable.
- Almost.
- You planted a flag.
Ron will be impressed.
Come with me to his suite
tonight.
Strategy session.
[indistinct conversations]
- Well, ladies,
we put on a good show.
Rosemary.
Come on.
- You promised things
wouldn't change.
- Pamela,
nothing is going to change.
Trying to take the ERA
out of the party platform
was more symbolic
than anything
a show of our strength
in numbers.
- I think Pamela's just having
a hard time at home.
- Hmm?
- [whispers] Kevin.
[normal voice]
And all the hormones,
so it's extra disappointing.
- Well, sobbing and whining's
not gonna help.
- Mnh-mnh.
- I really have to go.
I am not gonna be late to meet
Reagan's campaign staff.
- Oh, please tell me this isn't
about Kissinger.
- We don't give a shit
about Kissinger!
- Pamela! Language.
- Defense policy
doesn't make itself.
- You have to fight for us.
- I am fighting for you.
You're not gonna accuse me
of not being a fighter.
- We have been with you
since the beginning.
- Look, it's all related.
Don't you see?
Kissinger, the ERA, abortion.
Now the communists attack
on all fronts.
- Well, there is
a parliamentary loophole
that could allow the removal
of the ERA plank
on the convention floor.
We could try it.
- If you don't wanna fight
for this anymore,
we can do it ourselves,
but we need to take this
to the floor.
- Which is exactly what I am
going to tell Reagan's people
when I meet them.
[footsteps approach]
- He's going to pick Bob Dole.
- He supported
the pro-life amendment plank.
Audrey said
there'd be concessions.
- It was a victory
to hold our own.
- I could've been there.
I should've been there.
Found the speech I gave
to the '72 convention.
"What a beautiful morning
to be a woman
[voice breaking]
"and the best possible time
to be a Republican woman."
[indistinct conversations]
- How are you? John.
- Hey, Phil.
- Good to see you. How are you?
- Nice to see you. Good.
- John Majors
- Mm-hmm.
- Phyllis Schlafly.
- Pleasure.
- Phyllis,
this is George Phillips.
- George.
- Good to see you.
- Mark.
- Phil.
- How are you?
- Good to see you.
- Mark Jones, Phyllis Schlafly.
- Hello.
- Ma'am.
- And we have John Sears,
Joseph Coors
- Oh, yes.
- And, of course,
you know Senator Jesse Helms.
- Jesse.
- Phyllis.
- Oh, it's such a pleasure
to meet you.
- Pleasure.
- Gentlemen, Phyllis has
- Thank you.
- activated a group
of apolitical woman.
- Oh, yes,
we're the fastest growing
organization of women
in America.
And since, uh,
creating the Eagle Forum,
my, uh, mailing list
has ballooned to over 40,000.
- Including many evangelicals.
- Yes, that's right.
- I should introduce you
to Jerry Falwell.
- Mm-hmm.
- He wants to get in the game
but doesn't quite know how
to play.
- Oh, well, I think I could
teach him a few things.
[laughter]
- You know, Ron sure would
love to see your mailing list.
- Well, if he wants to see
my list, he can call me.
- It makes
the evangelicals happy,
but the hawks feel betrayed.
- Yes, but he should be fighting
for it on foreign policy.
Attack his weakness.
You know, the Helsinki treaty.
I have two words for Ford
fire Kissinger.
[laughter]
Oh, Ron can quote me.
Uh, and, uh, if he wants
to keep my ladies happy,
he should support taking
the ERA fight to the floor.
- Who here wasn't hoping
that Elizabeth Ray
would take down Kissinger
along with Wayne Hays?
[laughter]
- Oh, Phil.
- It's one thing not to be able
to control yourself,
but your secretary?
[laughter]
- Right.
- Yeah, well, you know
the best way to shut
your secretary up?
- Put a muzzle on her.
- No. Dump her in the Potomac.
- No, no, no.
Stick it in her mouth.
- Oh.
[laughter]
- [groans]
- Mrs. Ford's made it
her mission
to keep the party pro-ERA.
- Mm.
- And any challenge
will antagonize
the delegates
still on the fence.
You'll drop the floor fight.
[Lesley Gore's
"You Don't Own Me" playing]
- You haven't touched
your Scotch.
- Hmm?
You don't own me
- Hey, so, the credentials
I'm not just one
of your many toys
Yeah, I don't know.
You don't own me
- No, I trust you with this.
- [laughs]
Don't say I can't go
with other boys
And don't tell me what to do
Don't tell me what to say
And please,
when I go out with you
Don't put me on display
I'm young,
and I love to be young
I'm free,
and I love to be free
To live my life
the way I want
To say and do
whatever I please
And don't tell me
what to do
Oh, don't tell me
what to say
And, please, when I
Did you call
the speaker of the house
a four-letter word?
-No.
-Are you sure?
Yes, I'm sure.
"Ass" is a three-letter word.
[woman] Cause precedes effect.
Effect leads to cause.
The future is fixed
in exactly the same way
as the past.
MAN: I had no idea
what I would find
when I went searching
for my father.
They flashed the Zodiac Killer,
and my heart stopped.
WOMAN: He believes
he is the son of the Zodiac.
We are Nadja and Laszlo,
the human music group.
She's a superb lyricist.
We're feeling horny for blood
We're feeling horny for love
It's the painting in which
you invented the portrait pose.
There I am,
behind this dead chap.
This was the first time
that was ever done.
-(shrieking)
-COLIN: I'm changing.
I'm becoming stronger.
(shouting)
Oh, hey. Don't sit on that.
(up-tempo music plays)
VOCALISTS: Hey!