Second Term - A Novel of America in the Last Days (The End of America Series Book 1) (31 page)

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SIX

Washington,
DC – Cannon House Office Building

Offices
of Congressman Adam Nation

Offices furnished to
freshmen Congressmen are notoriously small and inconveniently located. Offices
are selected based on seniority and freshmen don’t have any. Among the incoming
class a random drawing determines who picks in what order from the remaining
bad offices. Newly seated Congressman Adam Nation had the misfortune of picking
the equivalent of number 433 of 435 positions. When he finally selected his
office, it was in what was originally the attic level of the aged Cannon Office
Building, proven by the fact that the elevators didn’t go to his level.
Visitors from his Congressional District in Ohio had to be told to take the
elevator to the top floor, exit, take the nearest stairwell, turn right, and
look for the first office on the left. Welcome, Congressman Nation, to the U.S.
House of Representatives.

The Congressman’s
official office was the largest room in the suite, which in total contained
fewer square feet than a good-sized mobile home. When the Congressman met with
his fourteen employees, there was barely enough room, but, the rent was free,
the mailing address was impressive and the chances for advancement to a nicer
suite of offices were high, for those who won re-election, of course.
Congressman Nation had convened today’s staff meeting for what he considered to
be a critical purpose. How should he respond to the seizure of the Montana
State House by gun rights supporters? As a leader of the Tea Party Caucus he
would be asked by reporters at their afternoon news briefing, and he needed to
be ready with his official position for the media.

“OK, folks, we’ve all
heard the news from Helena,” the Congressman said. “You know they’ll pound
those of us on the right to try and get us at the afternoon news conference to
disavow the protestors who took over the State House. Mark it down.”

The Congressman’s
Chief of Staff, who had worked for five prior members of the House, immediately
chimed in, “Well, duh, of course, you have to not only disavow the protestors,
you have to make it really clear that you are concerned about the questionable
tactics of the pro-gun people who are opposed to the McAlister Act.” His Legislative
Director agreed. “Right on, you can’t be seen as being on the side of the gun
nuts. The media’ll crucify you. Standing up for the Second Amendment is one
thing, but supporting violence is another.”

The Congressman
listened carefully as he heard his two top staff members recommend that he
attack the Montana protestors at the news conference. He was most interested,
though, in hearing his District Director’s views, as she was closer to his
District’s voters than the members of his DC-based staff. The District Director
had been asked to fly to DC for this meeting. She wasn’t hesitant to disclose
her views.

 “Look Mark, you’re
thinking like a voter in the District of Columbia, all wobbly-kneed over the
cowboys in Montana opposing the gun bill by shaking their rifles. Out in our
District people are still very upset about losing their rights to own guns and
their right to criticize government officials. I understand that the
Congressman’s gonna’ get pummeled by the mainstream media if he doesn’t attack
the protestors, but so what? The Montana group had the right to express their
opposition to this insane law. Maybe they could have been a bit more subtle,
but it worked, we’re talkin’ about what they did, aren’t we? If they had
invited the media to join them for jelly doughnuts and conversation at a coffee
shop in Billings, who would have shown up? Nobody. The media cover news. These
guys made news.

“The shootings are
another matter, of course. Nobody wants to see deaths in political
controversies, but more and more people are seeing the shootings as either an
accident or, more likely, an over-reaction by the government. Kinda like Waco,
where they brought in tanks. I think the Congressman should just come out and
support what they did in Helena.”

The Chief of Staff
left his chair, confronting the District Director by leaning over and
positioning his face in front of hers, placing both hands on her shoulders,
“Allie, have you totally lost your political senses? They’ll label him as
America’s newest nut job. Time magazine will front cover him as America’s
latest political walnut, or worse. Our only choice is to distance ourselves
from these gun rights supporters.”

“I agree”, the
Legislative Director added. “We have to be consistent and do the same thing in
the future with every protest that captures media attention”. Other staff
members added their thoughts, no one agreeing with the District Director’s
advice to support the Montana protestors.

After extended
discussion, silence took over, the staff members turning to their boss, as they
realized that he was no longer engaged in the debate. It was obvious that
Congressman Nation was deep in thought. He was considering several ideas, many
at variance with his other thoughts. If he dissed the Montana protestors, he
knew he would appear to be more moderate than many in the media may have
previously thought. That would score him points. If he attacked the protestors
it would raise his standing with some of the more liberal members of the House
Republican Caucus. If he ever wanted to rise in leadership in the House, he
would need their votes.

By attacking the
protestors he could probably pick up some advantage with the White House, and
maybe get a push from the President for the federal highway grant for the
eastern part of his District that needed infrastructure improvement. He had
been told by a former Senator, he recalled as he was considering what to do,
that if you don’t bring home the bacon, in federal grant money, the voters will
find a new ‘sugar daddy’ who will. That remembered thought from a former member
of Congress, though, reminded him of the advice that he had received from the
Congressman who came to see him after his election. What had he told Adam? He
had seen many members of Congress stray, not all from their spouses, many had
strayed from their core principles?

Congressman Nation
had made up his mind. Now it was time to tell his staff what he would say at
the afternoon news event, “Look, I’m not going to attack or even mildly
criticize any American who protests the McAlister Act, even if they used poor
judgment in how they protested. There are plenty of libs, public service union
guys and federal government employees to do that, let alone all the non-stop
media coverage.”

“But, Congressman,
with all due respect, this could cost you re-election. Won’t you re-consider?
There’s a lot riding on how you handle this.”

“Yes, I know that,
which is why I’m not going to cave on one of the first big decisions I am faced
with making as a Member of Congress. I didn’t come here to impress anybody. I’m
never going to be a darling of the media. I don’t care if I get re-elected. I
don’t care if I’m never a leader in the GOP House Caucus. I will support the
protestors because they had the guts to lay it all on the line to save their
rights under the Constitution. Could they have done it better, in a more
acceptable manner? Of course. But since they’ve done what they’ve done,
millions of Americans are beginning to see just a little bit of what it took
for the guys who started this country to make it happen. It took guts. It took
a personal willingness to lose it all, which many did. Attack the Montana
protestors? Never. If I lose this over-exalted job because I praise Americans
who took a stand to protect their Constitutional rights, so be it.”

By now his Chief of
Staff, believing that he was about to count six former Congressmen as his past
employers, was beside himself, “But, Congressman, you just can’t do that.
That’s not how things are done here. You have to go along to get along. I
couldn’t work for a Member of Congress who actually supported such hooliganism,
and I think….”

“Well, then, Mark, I
accept your resignation. Clean out your desk. Mary, get him a bankers box for
his stuff.”

“But….but….I didn’t
mean to….”

“That’s okay, your
time in this office is over, and our meeting is concluded, also. Mary, stay
with your notepad. I need to dictate what I’m going to say in a couple hours to
the media. And let me give you the phone number of a former Congressman I want
to call and thank for the best advice I’ve had since I was elected.”

SIXTY
SEVEN

Office
of the Director of the CCC

Every government
agency includes at least a few employees who are disgruntled about some aspect
of how their agency treats them. Given the right circumstances, some will even
leak internal documents intended to place their place of work in an unfavorable
light with the tax-paying public. Thus, it was by an internally-leaked memo
that the world came to know how the Director of the relatively newly created
Civilian Conservation Corps had internally suggested arrest powers for his
department’s employees, well before the White House Press Office eventually
made the announcement.

FOR
INTERNAL USE ONLY-CONFIDENTIAL-

NOT FOR
DISTRIBUTION

TO: Section Commanders – CCC

From: Director Alcorn

Subject: Law Enforcement Functions – Conservators – IM#1037

I don’t need to dwell on the
unpleasant reaction that our new agency has experienced from many on the right
wing, religious activists and former gun owners. Even though the McAlister Act
clearly gives the federal government an oversight role to prevent hate speech,
there appear to be increasing numbers of hate speakers who are not willing to
obey the law. The shrill and vitriolic words coming from these folks poses a
danger to the nation, as the President noted when he formally announced our
agency in Asheville. In fact, I have just received a report showing that there
have actually been more hate filled attacks on the President and the Congress
since the establishment of the CCC than in the three months immediately
preceding its creation.

Obviously, this situation cannot be
allowed to continue.

The President and I were both given
assurances by White House staff who worked on setting up the CCC that by
placing our agency’s Conservators in public meetings, including church
services, lodges, veterans’ meetings, etc., hate speech would be severely
curtailed. Unfortunately, the presence of our trained CCC Conservators has had
the opposite effect. Referrals for criminal prosecution by the CCC to the
Department of Justice were supposed to have the added effect of drying up hate
speech. That also has not happened.

Therefore, CCC Conservators, with
White House approval and upon official Presidential announcement, will have
arrest powers, similar to any other law enforcement agency. Each will be given
a numbered agency badge and will be given training in providing Miranda
warnings, in appropriate cuffing techniques and in booking procedures. Each of
you will shortly receive a draft training manual for your review and input.

I want to emphasize that we are not
implementing this program until the WH announces that the CCC Conservators will
be granted arrest powers. It’s critical that this matter be kept on an internal
confidential basis until the WH goes public. Any premature leak could be quite
harmful to the future of the agency. There are still several in Congress, primarily
in the minority, naturally, who oppose our goals and who would use knowledge of
this new arrest authority to attempt to thwart our efforts going forward.

Watch your incoming for the draft of
the arrest training manual. I want responses to the draft within three days of
receipt of this non-existent memo. I have the impression we have very little
time to get ready. Critical concerns or questions? Call me. (Don’t e-mail for
obvious reasons).

SIXTY
EIGHT

Sheridan,
Oregon

Sheridan Federal
Correctional Institution is located in northwest Oregon, almost to the Pacific
coast. It’s about as far from Tyler, in east Texas, as one can get, still be in
the U.S. and also be a medium security federal prison. With the intervening
mountain ranges, ground travel from Tyler to Sheridan is a 2,100 mile,
thirty-four hour, multi-day effort. The federal government’s decision to
transfer John Madison to the Oregon federal prison was thought by many to be
punitive, to separate him from his family and supporters.

That theory, however,
changed somewhat when Gunning Bedford, Jr. was transferred to the same federal
prison, the week before Thanksgiving. Once it became known that both would be
inmates at the Sheridan federal prison, their counsel searched for any other
reason why the two prisoners would be in the same facility. Chuck Webster told
Bedford’s attorney that in his opinion a major part of the decision was based
on the federal judge in Oregon who would be presiding over the trials of both
men. U.S. District Judge Hiram ‘Hanging Judge’ McDermott did not come by his
nickname by accident. He worked at it. He held the record among federal district
court judges for sentencing criminal defendants convicted in his Court to
maximum terms, with a particular emphasis on sentencing to full terms on each
count brought against defendants charged with firearms violations.

John Madison’s
attorney had filed preliminary motions with Judge McDermott to transfer his
client back to a location closer to his home in Texas; to require the Department
of Justice to pay for expenses of their witnesses and others forced to come to
Sheridan; and to extend the time before the trial to allow for added
preparation time due to the increased distance. Judge McDermott denied all
three motions, all without a hearing to consider oral argument of counsel. The
Judge routinely used a large two inch by five inch rubber stamp which simply
said DENIED. He would stamp it on motions, with red ink, to clearly convey what
he thought of motions that didn’t meet his favor. John Madison’s attorney knew
that he not only had his work cut out for him, he was facing possibly the most
anti-defendant judge in the federal system. It appeared to Counsel that the
Judge’s assignment to preside over the case was no accident.

Everybody in Sheridan
prison, inmates and guards, knew when Gunning Bedford, Jr. arrived at the
facility. As the inmates had a high regard for John Madison, they likewise were
looking forward to meeting Bedford, who was now at least as prominent a federal
prisoner as John Madison. His assigned cell was at opposite ends of the prison
from Madison’s cell, by choice of a Deputy Attorney General monitoring the
case. What the suits in DC could not control, however, was what the guards did
inside the Oregon prison to allow their two high-profile prisoners to interact.
All but two of the guards had been gun owners, and were not at all pleased with
the McAlister Act, which took away their right, as individuals to own guns.
They had discussed the irony that they could carry inside the prison, but it
was a felony outside. Consequently, the guards arranged morning personal,
recreational and free time to allow maximum interchange opportunities between
Madison and Bedford, who were more than appreciative.

John Madison was
slightly apprehensive as he waited in the recreation room for his first time
meeting with Gunning Bedford, Jr. Like the rest of America, he knew that
Bedford was charged with a long list of serious federal crimes. That, of
course, did not cause him to be wary of Bedford, after all, he himself was
likely to be charged with violating the federal criminal code, eventually. As
he understood what happened at the Montana State House, Bedford was a leader in
the occupation, but he had no connection with the one shot that was fired, many
thought, by accident. He had concluded that Bedford was a civil protestor in a
demonstration that went bad, mostly because of over-reaction by the feds, such
as happened at Waco or Ruby Ridge. He was anxious to meet him and see if his initial
conclusion was correct, or if alternatively, that Bedford was what the feds and
the mainstream media said he was. It didn’t take him long to learn who Gunning
Bedford, Jr. really was.

A friendly Sheridan
guard brought Bedford into the recreation room, introducing his two famous
guests. “Mr. Madison, meet Mr. Bedford.”

Madison stood and
grabbed Bedford’s rather large, leathery hand. “Name’s John Madison, Mr.
Bedford, nice to meet ‘ya.”

“Same here, but it’s
not Mister. Just Gunning.”

“What kind of a name
is Gunning? Just kidding,. You must get that a lot.”

With a big smile,
Bedford replied, “Yep, I do. If I can call you John, let me ask you how are you
doin’? Lots of rumors about you. They say you’re America’s number one political
prisoner. What’s it like here?”

“Well, like the
comedian W.C. Fields once said, ‘On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.”

“Didn’t he also say,
‘there comes a time in the affairs of man when he must grab the bull by the
tail and face the situation’? So how are you facing
your
situation?”

“The inmates here,
Gunning, will treat you respectfully. They know why you’re here. Most, but not
all, of the guards will do the same. It’s pretty obvious the prison
administration and the Bureau of Prisons are under a lot of pressure from the
Administration in DC. So you’ll get little breaks like this meeting, but on
things that show up in the official records, like outside visitors, you won’t
get any breaks. None. We each get 12 visitor points a month. A weekend visitor
costs you two points, so you can expect that you won’t see a lot of family or
friends. Won’t happen.”

“I can get used to
all that, I think. At least, eventually. I’m mainly worried about my wife. How
do you handle being away from your spouse?”

“Not easy. She’s up
here this week, still trying to find a job that will pay enough to justify
moving to Oregon through the trial. We don’t have a trial date yet. How about
your wife? Is she interested in moving to Oregon?”

“Her parents are both
ailing, plus our two kids are trying to finish college, in Montana. It doesn’t
look good for a move out here. We’ve talked about it. She’ll get here probably
twice a month, but Billings is a lot closer than Tyler. What happened to your
income? Weren’t you in the insurance biz?”

“Yeah. That’s all gone.
My boss was supportive, but his boss got some heat from some place, who knows
where? Insurance regulators? Anyway, they let me go, not long after I was
arrested by the feds. Gave me six months’ severance, which helped, but you
can’t live forever on it.”

“Well. Let me ask
you, on a different subject….”

“How’s the food?”
Madison asked with a smile.

“No. I don’t expect a
gourmet five star establishment. My question is what are you hearing about our
Judge, you know, the ‘Hanging Judge’?”

“Big problem. Besides
distance from home, the major reason we’re in Oregon. Pro-government in his
rulings from the bench. Occasionally overruled when he’s gone too far, but
generally seen, my attorney tells me, by the DOJ as a fairly reliable judge for
the DOJ, as well as a good court to try a high profile case. Judge McDermott
isn’t shy when it comes to being in the public spotlight with a case that the
government really wants to win.”

“Like our two cases?”

“Yeah, like our two
cases. What I hear, again from my attorney, since the DOJ doesn’t call me, is
that the government wants to convict us in order to shut up verbal protestors,
like me, and, to shut down demonstrations, like yours. A loss of either case
would be seen by the Administration as a real set back. If they’re going make
McAlister stick, they need to scare Americans who are upset about the gun law.
Their goal appears to be to create a state of fear….the fear of speaking up as
well as the fear of protesting.”

“Un-hunh, the way any
government in history has grabbed and kept control – scare its citizens into
sheep-like compliance. There’s nothing new under the sun, as Solomon once said.
I just wish I was from Texas. I hear it’s the only State in the Union that can
withdraw from the Union. It’s actually a Republic, as it was an independent
nation for ten years before it joined the Union. If you ever get out of here,
you should help lead Texas out of the Union.” 

“Sure, that’s what I
need, more trouble, to be a bigger target. I’ll pass….for now.” But, despite John
Madison’s protestations, a seed had been planted.

“Gunning, do you mind
if I ask you what really went down in Helena at your protest?”

“I don’t mind at all,
if you’ll then share with me the background of your speech in Austin that got
you in so much trouble.”

“Deal. You go first.”

“No matter what
you’ve read or heard, we didn’t take over the State House to start a fire
fight. Except for the three guys that were shot by government troops, one who’s
still alive, as you probably know, but not in very good shape, the rest of us
were going to exit the State House late Sunday night. We just wanted to make
our point against the government trying to cancel our right to own firearms,
and then we would just fade away. But, it all went south on us. The three guys
who volunteered to be arrested and jailed shouldn’t have carried their firearms
with them for their speech out on the balcony. That cost two of them their
lives, as it turned out. Actually, we should have all left our firearms at
home. The rest is history.”

“And now you’re
here.”

“Yup”, he chuckled, “But
I get to meet a nice class of people, including the famous rabble rouser John
Madison, high on the President’s enemies list.”

“The truth is there
are things about the President that I like. He works on spending time with his
family, for instance. It’s just that almost every position he takes on a public
issue, I disagree with him. His handling of the economy is clearly
wrong-headed. If we had a President who understood business and how jobs are
actually created, those millions of Americans who are unemployed would be back
to work. It wouldn’t take too many Presidential speeches and DC policy changes
to convince the small business owners of the country that they could start
expanding their businesses again.”

“John, do you buy the
theory that he’s trying to bring down the financial system, because at heart he
detests capitalism?

“I don’t know if I do
or not. What I do know is that this President’s background and training, and
his growing-up friends and associates, could lead you to that conclusion. Now,
what about your speech in Austin?”

John Madison related
to his new prison friend the details of his speech warning that the President,
if re-elected would try and take away Americans’ right to keep and bear arms.
He shared his belief as to why he was targeted, among the many others who were
giving similar warnings, and why what he said publicly led him to become an
inmate at a medium security federal correctional institution in Oregon.

To an observer it would
seem that Madison and Bedford were having a confidential conversation. But,
things are not always what they seem, especially in a federal prison. The
sealed playing card box on the middle of their table in the recreation room at
Sheridan federal prison was a sophisticated microphone and transmission device.
Every word spoken by the prison’s two leading inmates was being recorded and
simultaneously transmitted to the Deputy Attorney General at the DOJ in charge
of prosecuting Madison and Bedford. Though the Deputy AJ didn’t learn anything
of note in this initial meeting, he was convinced that future such meetings
between the two inmates at Sheridan would yield information that would help
shut down those who opposed the Administration’s efforts to mold the First and
Second Amendments more to its liking.