CHAPTER 2
May 2013

President Robert Henderson stood at the French Doors in the Oval Office, looking into the Rose Garden, hands folded behind his back. It was good to have a few minutes alone to contemplate the direction his administration, in office now for 5 months, was taking the Nation.

The intercom interrupted his solitude. "Mr. President, I have the Majority Leader returning your call, and Senator Taylor has just arrived."

"Put the Leader through, and show Senator Taylor to the study, Liz. Thanks."

Liz smiled at senator Nancy Taylor, the junior Senator from Montana. A conservative Republican, the 48-year-old was two years into her second term. This was her first private White House visit with the liberal President, called on short notice by his invitation. No shrinking violet, the tough-talking Nancy Taylor was seldom at a loss for words. She was afraid one of those rare moments was upon her, though.

"The President will see you now, Senator." Taylor followed the businesslike aide into the President's study adjacent to the Oval Office.

"He just picked up the phone, he'll come and get you in a few moments."

"Thanks."

Nancy Taylor looked around the masculine, private study. While not terribly well lit, the small room seemed comfortable, deceivingly casual, and was impressively appointed with historical artifacts and artwork. The nice-sized fireplace looked too clean to have been used recently. It doesn't look functional. Didn't Harry Truman have it moved in here during a major renovation? An old, large walnut tree shaded the private terrace just outside the office. She could hear the muffled voice of the President through the door. In eight years, this was her first trip alone to the White House, her first glance at the inner sanctum of power. Leaning back against the doorjamb through which she'd entered, the door to the Oval Office to her left and in her sight, she reflected on the events leading her to this place.

Three weeks earlier the President had presented his "One Nation" package to the House of Representatives. With the smallest minority representation in 40 years, the Republicans stood powerless against the Democratic juggernaut. The proposal sought the federalization of all teachers, day-care workers, police, social workers -- including all child protective services -- and prosecutors as so-called "national agents of social enforcement." When it was first announced, Republicans, conservatives and the like-minded had been drop-jawed stunned that such an idea could even be suggested, much less seriously considered. But the President made his case to the people, the elected representatives parroted their daily talking-points, and the mainstream media provided the uncritical, supportive stage on which they were able to perform. The bill authorized the transfer of just over one trillion dollars directly from the state treasuries to the federal government to support the endeavor. While the bill's opponents screamed about blatant violations of the 14th Amendment, nobody seriously thought the Supreme Court would find fault with it. Sixteen years of Democratic administrations saw the high court stocked with progressive, left-leaning justices who rarely saw a problem with a generous, expansive interpretation of the Constitution. The only thing preventing the bill from becoming law was the U.S. Senate.

Now the bill sat in the upper house, where the Democrats held a 58-42 majority, just two votes shy of the 60 votes needed for cloture -- the ability to stop a filibuster and bring the bill to a vote. It was the threat of a filibuster that had brought Senator Taylor to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue .

The door to the Oval Office opened suddenly; Senator Taylor snapped to attention and turned to the tall, striking man with a Hollywood smile walking toward her with his hand extended.

"Mr. President," she said crisply, extending her hand to shake his. "A pleasure to see you again, sir."

He guided her into his office, motioned toward a chair, took his own, and filled a minute with the obligatory social chit-chat before regarding her directly. "Senator, I understand you have a few reservations about my One Nation package. Let's hear it."

So she explained her concerns, speaking openly, confidently and without a lot of political beating-around-the-bush -- or intervening questions from him. Her efficiency was providential, as it turned out. As she was just beginning to summarize her key points, he was already rising, flashing that celebrity smile again, and thanking her for "taking the time to share those most interesting perspectives."

Before she hardly even knew it, she was out the door once more.

"Liz, see if you can find Raul Fuentes. Put him through as soon as you get him. Thanks." Fuentes was the President's Special Assistant for Policy and Political Affairs.

"Yes, Mr. President." Bob Henderson spun around in his chair, grabbed a folder from his desk and headed off to meet an aide rushing into the Oval Office at full speed. The aide hit the brakes as he saw the President of the United States on a collision course.

"Mr. President, the Physician's Union people are assembled in the Roosevelt Room. We're ready for you." The aide was now walking backward as the President shot past him.

He got two steps past Liz's desk when she looked up. "Mr. President, I have Mr. Fuentes on the line -- he was at his desk."

Henderson spun around without missing a stride and shot back towards the Oval Office. "Paul," he shouted to the aide now behind him, still rushing down the corridor, "Entertain them for a minute, will you? I want to take this."

"Yes, Mr. President."

Henderson closed the door behind him, settled into the high-backed, black leather chair behind his desk and hit the speaker button.

"Raul! I'm glad I caught you."

"I was surprised to hear from you, Mr. President. There's a high-level staff meeting scheduled for this afternoon -- do we have a problem?"

"No, no, not at all. Just a little business I thought you might take care of for me."

"Yes sir, what do you need?" Fuentes hated special requests -- just something else (he sometimes cynically mused) that he would have to lie about in front of a Congressional committee someday.

"I don't know if you've heard the One Nation package just passed the House?"

"Yes, sir, I did. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Raul. Listen, I need a clear head on this. Nancy Taylor from Montana is hell-bent on stopping this thing -- she's threatening filibuster, and at this point I don't think we have the votes to bust it. I mean, if we have to, we can scare up the votes; most of those whores are just holding out for a bridge or a water purification plant or something. But it's going to cost us. She's a straight shooter; I don't think this is just a party-politics position with her. Find out what's going on, will you?"

"Sir, didn't we lose Montana by something in the neighborhood of 80 percentage points?"

"Yes, and Idaho, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Indiana along with it. I know they love me out there, Raul, but nothing has stopped them from getting on the chow line before. I threw a lot of sweetener into this bill for those ungrateful cowboys; I need to know why all of a sudden they're not biting!"

"I'll check with our state-local team here; they should have a handle on what the local hot-button issues are out there. And I'll see what else we have. I should be able to piece together what might be percolating out there under the radar and let you know as soon as we have something."

"Thanks, Raul. See you this afternoon. Gotta go." The President hit the speaker button and once again headed out to his meeting.

"Mr. President, I put together a short briefing document." Fuentes handed the brief across the desk.

"Thanks, Raul. I appreciate you pulling this together on such short notice." The President opened the padded, black leather portfolio and studied the three sheets of paper within.

"Looks like pretty standard demographic migration stuff ... shifting voter patterns, income distribution ... the usual. How does this help me?"

"Well, you're correct about the demographic migration, but the patterns out there are not what we would traditionally call standard, sir. Normally, when we see these big moves from rural to more urban populations, you start developing a more collective voting preference."

"Right," agreed the President. "They change from rugged individualist, cowboy gunslinger to neighborhood-minded soccer moms and dads."

"Correct, sir. At least it's what we're used to seeing. But the patterns in Montana, and several of the other western states just aren't following suit. We're getting the traditional rural-to-urban migration all right, but voting preferences haven't changed accordingly. In addition, there's been a significant influx of new populations."

"You're talking about the Hollywood and media crowd, buying up the hobby ranches?" Henderson knew several close friends and contributors who had done just that.

"They're out there, sir, but aren't really a factor. I mean one person can buy up 10,000 acres, but it's still only one vote. The family who sold the property is now living in a three-bedroom ranch house outside of Missoula, and is still voting conservative. Very conservative. And the people who are moving into the state are coming in from the eastern and western coastal areas."

"Sounds like good news for us, no? It's an influx of more progressive thinkers who should eventually dilute the conservative voting bloc. Just like when New Hampshire became a bedroom community for Boston."

"Not so, sir. The people moving in are very conservative, libertarian, really. We're seeing lots of people moving away from the once conservative, now progressive suburbs to what they consider safer territory. And the local and state politics are reflecting that. They've got the highest percentage of libertarian politicians -- including the Governor -- of any state in the Union."

"That's why we can't get a Democrat elected dogcatcher out there."

"Yes sir. And from their perspective, this legislative package is right in their face."

"Almost 28 percent of the acreage out there is federal land," the President pointed out, taking a greater interest in the brief and eyeballing some of the statistics.

"Yep. And until very recently the federal government was the largest single employer in the state. Toss the Bureau of Indian Affairs into the mix, and you've got the most government-hating concentration of people in the country living in the middle of what is essentially a federal protectorate."

"We've pumped a lot of money into that state over the years," the President agreed.

The Special Assistant nodded. "Dependence can sometimes breed as much resentment as respect, I suppose. We haven't even touched on the gun issue ..."

"I understand the state government has been a little lax in enforcement."

"Understatement sir. ATF thinks practically every unregistered assault rifle hidden since the Brady Bill has made its way into the state."

"The Governor isn't going to give us any help with that, is he?" Henderson mumbled sarcastically.

"He's a real piece of work. I understand he's calmed down a bit since being elected governor -- he was a true bomb throwing, revolutionary nut job when he was in the legislature -- but the truly frightening thing, sir, is he was elected by huge margins. And he's incredibly respected in the neighboring states."

"So the bottom line is Nancy Taylor isn't holding out for a deal. She reflects the state. They believe all that stuff and so does she, so she's operating on principle," the President concluded.

The Special Assistant nodded affirmatively.

"Anything else?" Henderson placed the briefing folder on his desk.

"Well, I did find someone who has spent some time in Governor Kane's eating establishment -- you know he still owns the place. It's just two or three blocks from the Capitol."

"I remember reading as much."

"He used to hold court there before he got involved in elective politics. Now he just pops in for a beer once in a while. Anyway, the cocktail talk from off-duty legislators indicates all the noise over the One Nation bill is not just a lack of political support; there is serious talk of some sort of civil disobedience across the state. And of course the militia nuts are going berserk. Bill Barrett, the Flathead County state senator, is really worried about possible bombing or assassination attempts. You remember the book, Unintended Consequences? The one where the gun nuts go ballistic and start shooting all of the pro-gun-control politicians? It's the new Bible out there. And believe me, this guy Barrett is no friend of the federal government. If he's worried, we should be worried."

The President's cheeks reddened and his voice hardened a notch. "How the hell did I just go from trying to get a piece of legislation passed to possible assassination attempts?"

"Sir, when you went to president's school, do you remember the lesson about not shooting the messenger?"

"What's the governor doing about it?"

"We think he's planning a quiet trip up to Kalispell with Barrett to try to keep a lid on things."

"Keep me posted." The President shifted in his chair, now noticeably uncomfortable. "We've got a meeting to get to."

Henderson and Fuentes stood together. After picking up another briefing folder from his desk, President Henderson and his Special Assistant quickly headed out to their meeting in silence.

*