The Return of Elliott Eastman

by Ryan, Ignatius

  “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to raise a Point of Order.”

  Elliott spoke softly to Bruce through his ear piece again. “A Point of Order? He’s making a claim that the proceedings are in breach of the Standing Rules of the House.”

  “Please proceed,” Cobbings said.

  “The Standing Rules of the House mandate that a Motion to Discharge may not be called to the floor until it has been in layover for seven days. The motion to call up the petition is in violation.”

  Cobbings sat for a moment and then said, “The Speaker respectfully supports the Point of Order that the Motion to Discharge has not been in layover for the requisite seven days and therefore cannot be called up at this time.”

  Kathy Rodgers stood again.

  “The gentlewoman from Washington is recognized.”

  “Thank you Mr. Speaker; if I may be permitted I would like to read a short statement from the ‘Congressional Research Service brief regarding Calendar of Motions to Discharge from Committee in the United States House of Representatives.’”

  “You may proceed,” Cobbings wearily replied, as he watched Whitback leave his seat and physically remove John Cole from the room.

  “The Motion to Discharge is placed on the Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committee and becomes eligible for consideration on the second and fourth Mondays of the month after a seven day layover, except during the last six days of any session when the layover requirement is waived. The discharge motion is debatable for twenty minutes, one half the time for the proponents and one half for the opponents. If the discharge motion is adopted it is then in order for the House to immediately consider the bill itself.”

  Cobbings paled. He had no choice but to allow the vote to proceed.

  “Voting is now open on the Motion to Discharge the Appropriations Committee for consideration of HR. 2239,” he said.

  Whitback looked back in horror from where he was near the door with John Cole.

  Ten minutes later the voting was complete.

  The Tally clerk stood and said, “Voting is closed on the Motion to Discharge the House Appropriations Committee from consideration of HR 2239.”

  Bruce was about to stand and cheer when Elliott’s voice cautioned him. “Wait.”

  John Bainer, the Majority Leader of the House, an old Republican warhorse from Tennessee, and a staunch conservative stood and the Speaker of the House instantly recognized him, “I move to lay the motion on the Table.”

  Elliott spoke into Bruce’s ear piece. “Damn, that Bainer is a crafty old bastard, Bruce stand to be recognized and say you object to this motion. If no one objects to the Lay on the Table motion the measure will be disposed of adversely and that’s the end of our efforts. And conclude by saying you want a simple voice vote of the yeas and nays.”

  Bruce Bennett stood to be recognized. Reluctantly the Speaker recognized him.

  “I object to the motion to table the proposition,” Bruce stated firmly. “And request a voice vote regarding said motion.”

  “Sustained,” the Speaker acknowledged. “I will require a voice vote. A yea vote means you are voting in favor of tabling the motion and a nay vote means the proceedings will revert to where they were before the Motion to Table was made.”

  The voice vote was administered by the Clerk of the House and took another twenty minutes. The Nays carried, but Bainer stood to be recognized again.

  “The Speaker recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.”

  “The Motion to Table did not pass which means we are now voting on the H.R. 2239. I object to the vote on the H.R.2239 on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present.”

  Elliott smiled and spoke to Bruce. “It’s a smart move. If any member of the House suggests there’s not a quorum, not enough members present to provide a majority vote on the bill, it forces the Presiding Officer to have bells rung through the Halls of Congress calling members back to the floor and it forces a recorded vote by the Speaker of the House. It’s a delaying tactic.”

  Elliott put down his phone and called Archie ‘Backspace’ Conner on his landline keeping the cell phone open to Bennett.

  When Archie answered Elliott asked, “Do you still think you can do it?”

  “Give me three minutes.”

  “They are yours, good luck.”

  Minority Whip Earl Bishop, a hard-nosed Democrat from Wisconsin was noted for his impatience and willingness to stay until midnight if need be to see that the House business was completed stood to be recognized.

  “The Speaker recognizes the good gentleman from Wisconsin.”

  “Thank you Mr. Speaker. I object to a quorum call at this time as it is obviously dilatory in nature and an abuse of this assembly’s time. The Clerk of the House has already stated the voting is closed on the Discharge Petition meaning a majority of the 435 House members are present and have signed the Discharge Petition. No one has left so a majority is still present.”

  Speaker Cobbings stared for a moment at the gray haired gentleman with the bushy white eyebrows and the defiant stance. ‘Where the hell was Whitback with John Cole?’ he thought. ‘They needed to get the paperwork from the committee together before sending H.R. 2239 to the floor where it could then be amended.’

  “I’m going to instruct the Clerk to conduct a recorded vote,” Cobbings said. “I’ll allow fifteen minutes for the aforementioned vote.”

  During the fifteen minutes Republican Majority leader of the House John Bainer tried to play the jobs card in hopes of convincing any of those members who might be on the fence to vote against the bill, saying the closing of so many bases would flood the nation with unemployed. Bruce Bennett downplayed the issue suggesting, “Millions of soldiers came home after World War II and we assimilated them. And if anyone is watching the remarkable events in Texas where over thirteen thousand convicts quietly turned themselves in with hopes of getting an education and a second chance at life, we could certainly employ many soldiers as teachers and mentors for many of these prisoners. A whole new industry may be starting right before our eyes and frankly reflects the type of people we are, the type of nation we should be.”

  Once the recorded vote was complete the Speaker declared, “The quorum call is complete. There is a majority present. The Discharge Petition is approved and has been signed by a majority. H.R. 2239 is now on the floor for consideration.”

  Whitback, with John Cole in hot pursuit, rushed at the clerk waving a stack of papers just as a voice boomed over the House of Representatives video system saying, “Aaand here’s Nicky.”

  Archie had hacked the system just as he promised he could. On the enormous jumbo screen above the floor of the House appeared the now infamous YouTube video of Representative Jenkins saying, “Cutting funding for our friends overseas? We’ll just add an amendment to cut Medicare Funding. We’ll see if the Democrats are willing to throw grandma out of her rocking chair or cut Foreign Aid.”

  But in this version Archie had cut and pasted Nick Cobbings’ face in place of Jenkins’ and changed the wording a bit. The entire room went as still as an Egyptian tomb until Cobbings stood and screamed while extending an arm and pointing a finger at the offending screen, “THAT’S NOT ME. I NEVER SAID THAT.”

  He turned to whoever might listen, “I swear it’s true. I never said that.”

  The video started to play again.

  “Turn it off,” he shouted. “Turn that damn thing off.”

  Pages rushed to try to stop the video. It played three more times before they finally pulled the plug on the entire system. Many members of the House were visibly shaken by this strange turn of events.

  Whitback and Cole hurriedly resumed talking to Mary Evans, the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

  “I am the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee and we are sending a recommendation to the floor regarding H.R. 2239 with a negative declaration.”

  “I’m sorry gentlemen, but as
you can see the Discharge Petition has already won approval and they are now voting on H.R.2239. The vote cannot be stopped now, as you well know.”

  It was considered one of the fastest votes in modern history and there wasn’t the slightest mention of touching Medicare as the bill passed 401-22 with 12 abstaining, one of the largest margins in history.

  Cobbings looked like he was going to tear his hair out as he rushed from the room. Elliott could see John Bainer visibly fuming as he marched over to where Bruce Bennett stood, smiling and shaking hands with his fellow members.

  Bainer leaned in and whispered. “That was a fancy piece of work, but you have made yourself some very powerful enemies with long memories. We’re gonna kill this thing in the Senate and you’re going to be a one term Representative.”

  The young freshman representative glanced at his heavy-set squint-eyed associate. “Do your damnedest, Bainer. Bring it on,” he snarled right back.

  Elliott watched the vote on C-SPAN and immediately called Eddie Kelley and said, “Start phase three.”

  His next call was to Archie ‘Backspace’ Conner. “Beautiful work. It passed the House.”

  “I know. I saw it.”

  “Be ready. We’re starting phase three.”

  Hanging up the phone Elliott felt the pain in his side growing and a wave of exhaustion wash over him. Slowly he stood up, swayed for a moment and then shuffled back to the bedroom where he collapsed on the bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  If Nick Cobbings was furious when he walked off the House floor, he was purple faced livid when his exchange with the House video system made the evening news and all the rounds of the morning news shows as well.

  “That was not me. I want to know who is behind this. I want the bastard’s name and the names of all his relatives!” he shouted as he tossed a chair across his office.

  “Let’s get on the phones right now to every senator we know,” Cobbings said. “This damn bill is dead meat!”

  Bainer and Whitback were reluctant to do so. The senators were off on break at the moment, but Cobbings’ rage was such that they felt compelled to make the calls.

  He, Bainer and Whitback worked the phones far into the night calling in favors from senators they’d worked with over the years. It was Washington politics at its darkest. They cajoled, offered their votes on a senator’s pet project, threatened to withdraw a vote and even suggested an earmark or two, like a library in the senator’s district named after the good senator. They played every card they could and each ended their pleadings with the comment that all they were asking for was a no vote on a bill that was very questionable in the first place. They made each senator feel as though his or her influence in the Senate, their vote, would be so important as to be considered the final deciding factor on whether H.R. 2239 lived or died. The three men met with considerable success. Before the night was out they’d made arrangements to meet with several influential senators and contacted ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and arranged for a sit down the following day to brainstorm amendments to the bill that would effectively shelve it forever. Bainer’s statement to Bruce Bennett had been no empty threat. The freshman representative had indeed made some powerful enemies.

  The meeting was held in Nick Cobbings’ private office and consisted of Senator Tom Coryn, Republican from Texas who sat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Wade Biggs, Republican from Nebraska who chaired the Senate Finance Committee, and Senators Jim Johnson and Brian Nelson who sat on the Appropriations Committee. Bainer, Cobbings and Whitback were there, as well as two senior consultants from ALEC, William Allison and Carl Hayden.

  “So how badly do we want to damage this bill’s chance of survival?” Allison asked, setting the tone of the meeting as he sipped his coffee.

  “I want it sent to the Banking, Armed Services and Appropriations committees,” Cobbings said with a sly smile. “I have friends there.”

  The four senators laughed as one.

  “I want to amend it in a myriad of ways. I want it so twisted by the time it leaves committee it will be unrecognizable,” Cobbings growled. He was no longer concerned with the merits of the bill. He was concerned with one thing and one thing only: vengeance. He wanted the bill utterly crushed and those backing it humbled for the entire world to see, just as he had been.

  “Done,” Allison said as he jotted notes on a yellow legal pad.

  “I want to hit them with every conceivable committee response and let them figure it out. I want it to be years before that bill sees the light of day,” Cobbings continued.

  “Just who is ‘them’?” Allison wondered aloud.

  “Good question,” Bainer chimed in. “I was wondering that myself. Some smart bugger is running the show behind the scenes. Bennett is too young and inexperienced to have pulled that off by himself.”

  “Which reminds me,” Whitback broke in, leaning down and opening his brief case. He pulled several photos from it and laid them on the table.

  “I have had several reports from some of our colleagues in the hallways that these two men are posing as lobbyists representing The Anvil Group, but they seemed more intent on gathering information from those who were waiting to speak to the various representatives on those committees. I have never heard of The Anvil Group, nor are they registered as a lobbying firm.”

  The photos depicted Eddie Kelley and James Lally gathering business cards and information from the lobbyists waiting in the hallway outside the House Appropriations Committee hearings. Several were close up.

  “And your point is?” Cobbings asked.

  “We’ve got a situation where we were hornswaggled in the House and we have new faces gathering information for a company which doesn’t exist. I think there may be a connection,” Whitback explained.

  Cobbings attention was instantly galvanized into action. “I want the names, addresses and life history of each of these jokers.”

  “That will cost something,” Allison said.

  “I’ll handle that,” Bainer interrupted. “I happen to know that Senator Graham, the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has worked on occasion with a certain Doc Hastings. Doc has a certain individual who does a lot of night work, which is what we’re going to need here.”

  “Doc Hastings of Breaux Lott Leadership Group?” Allison quickly asked.

  “One and the same. You know him?”

  “I know of him? How do you know him?”

  “Senator Graham and I did some work together recently pushing through some earmarks for a pharmaceutical company, research funds and the like, which was authored and backed by the Hastings team. It was a last minute affair and the kickbacks didn’t go through the usual channels,” Bainer explained. “There’s a money drop tonight.”

  “There’s actually to be two separate money drops tonight for Graham. The kickback is one, but there is a second drop from some banking groups to ensure Graham votes no on SB 1190. In fact, I happen to know from a very reliable source that the kickback payment is in the 50k range,” Wade Biggs interjected.

  Cobbings released a low whistle. “Fifty thousand, well at least we’ve secured one no vote. We can be certain that Graham will vote against the bill,” Cobbings said with a laugh.

  The other men in the room enjoyed a hearty chuckle.

  “If you’ll trust me with the photos I’ll see they get to Doc Hastings,” Bainer said.

  “They’re all yours. I have copies,” Whitback said, pushing the photos across the table.

  “So, I think I have a reasonable understanding of the sentiment in the room towards this bill. Let me put some people to work on it and we’ll come up with wording for some amendments which should please you,” Allison suggested.

  “We’ll meet a few days from now,” Bainer agreed.

  They all shook hands and filed out of Cobbings’ office. Wade Biggs was the last to leave. As he was retrieving his heavy over coat from the guest closet Cobbings pulled him aside.
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  “$50,000 for one senator?” Cobbings asked in a low voice. “That’s a far larger sum than I’ve ever heard being delivered before. Are you sure of your facts?”

  Wade Biggs smiled. “I am sure. I happen to know a number of the bank lobbyists personally. I believe there is a larger sum coming my way within the week.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Look Cobbings. I don’t think you understand what you’re dealing with here. They are worried. The over-the-counter derivatives market is 600 trillion dollars annually. It’s virtually unregulated and they can claim there are 1,100 commercial banks involved, but 80%, hell 90% of the business is controlled by five big banks. You know their names. They know that once the ball gets rolling and the feds start taxing the trades it’s likely to snowball. The feds need money desperately and the transaction fee is likely to grow in size. This will take a considerable chunk out of their earnings. They want this bill killed more than you do.”

  Cobbings stared at Biggs in quiet disbelief. It was true he had little idea of the immensity of the market.

  “I’ll tell you something else, just between friends; this derivative stuff scares the hell out of me. These banks are leveraged to the hilt. If we get another ‘credit event’ it will make Lehman Brothers look like a walk in the park. I, for one, don’t put my money anywhere near those banks. Good night.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The following morning Elliott woke early after a fitful night’s sleep. He stared at the dozen pills in the palm of his hand. At one point he’d known what each of them was for, but he’d long since forgotten. Gulping them down with a cup of black coffee he clicked on the television remote and tuned it to CNN. Settling into his chair he switched on his computer as well. CNN repeatedly showed Nick Cobbings marching ashen-faced from the House floor while the scroll underneath indicated the Speaker had suddenly taken ill and would not be working today.

  With a second cup of coffee he read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal online. The account of the passage of H.R.2239 was second page news, but each paper covered it thoroughly. Each speculated that the effect of the YouTube videos, the text message onslaught, and the online infomercials and regular print attack ads had raised the awareness of the public as to the issues at stake and played a pivotal roll in pressuring the House to act quickly and responsibly.