Lethal Politics

by Bob Blink

  Lethal Politics

  Bob Blink

  Prologue

  Tuesday, 3 November 2020

  He'd won! Despite the incredible odds against him, and the doubts universally expressed by the media and almost every politician of both parties just a few short months ago, he was now the President-elect of the United States. Even he hadn't expected this outcome when he'd joined the race, but now he would become the forty-sixth president in January when the formal swearing in ceremony was held.

  Mark Pilcher stretched under the cool sheets of the penthouse suite he had rented for the immediate future, alone in his bed after an incredibly stressful and overly long day. But now it was finally over, his adversary, the progressive candidate from Massachusetts having made her tearful concession speech, and his having made his own acceptance response several hours ago, a relatively brief speech given the surprising turn of events. The media's talking heads were still going on about the shocking win, and the magnitude of the negative landslide that had befallen the Democrats, but he didn't want to hear any more of it tonight. The former President had been right back when he'd complained about the media and the news channels. Most of what they had to say was manufactured or highly spun in an attempt to push their agenda, whether it be liberal or conservative outlets. Facts and reality were secondary nowadays. Tonight, however, they were all too stunned to be certain where to go with their stories, many now crushed under the reality of the unexpected results of the election, much as it had been after the last election.

  As late as this morning, many polls had him lagging a couple of points behind the Democratic opposition. The Democrats had already been celebrating, forgetting the brutal lessons of 2016. Those polls had never been able to count the surprisingly vast number of silent voters, who tired of being ridiculed by the Left's progressives and the media, simply declined to speak up when polled, and as a result his polling scores had always run a number of points low. He had carried the election with more than a hundred vote margin in the Electoral College, and more surprisingly had taken the popular vote by more than eight percentage points. That more than anything had been had marked how out of touch the extreme Left's programs had been judged by the American public.

  Unable to sleep, he thought back over the events of the past several months that had brought him to this point. The wheels of his election hopes had been set in motion with the sudden death of the previous President in June just five short months earlier, the campaigning of both political parties for the November election already well underway. The President's unexpected death had raised cries of conspiracy by many, not to mention fear within the Republican Party and great joy, albeit carefully hidden by the leaders of the Democratic Party if not by the rank and file, as each group quickly reassessed their chances of taking the White House come November.

  The President's death, however, was entirely natural, the result of age, stress, and an exceedingly poor diet. Both his long-term personal physician and the White House's senior medical officer had publicly confirmed the nature of his passing.

  But the loss left the Republican Party with the distressing problem of how to move forward. The Vice President was sworn in as the new Commander-in-Chief within a day of the President's demise, but he quickly demonstrated that he wasn't ready to take over the legacy left by the former leader. He had not been kept abreast of many issues, and the new president lacked the thick skin to stand against the constant onslaught from the hostile press and the haters of the opposing party. He had seen what the previous President had endured during his years as POTUS and didn't wish for such a legacy. He made it known relatively early that he had no intention of running on his own, only intending to fill the role during the transitional months until January when the new president would be sworn in, giving the party freedom to consider who might be a replacement candidate. But who?

  There really wasn't a viable candidate. Although the National Convention had yet to convene, no one had seriously considered running against the President, and none of those who might be considered possible candidates were really in a position to have much of a chance of winning against the Democrats by entering the race this late in the game. The election was simply too near. Whoever was chosen to run was really just a placeholder and was being chosen to lose. Who wanted to do that? A losing campaign, even one where everyone knew it was going to play out that way, wasn't something most career politicians wanted on their resume, not to mention the distraction such a run would require from their real career. A couple of Senators and Washington notables did jump into the fray, those who had wished to pose an alternative to the President's agenda, but who had held off until his death offered a possible opening. Their arrival on the scene was met with minimum success, with a six percent approval rating the highest anyone in the group managed.

  That was when businessman and former oilman Mark Pilcher had decided to take his shot. Another rich man, not billionaire rich, but a Texan oil man hundreds of millions rich and a long time acquaintance of the former president, someone who had vocally supported many of the positions taken by the administration, if not always a supporter of the approach used to advance the projects. Mostly unknown to the general public, he had a certain level of credentials among the Washington elite. He made it clear he was willing to go forward, supporting the key elements of the former President's positions that were crucial to his base, and was amenable to dealing with the resulting flack that he would receive from the opposing party by doing so.

  The first weeks of his campaign had been crucial. Having not been a part of the early months of campaigning allowing him to generate campaign funding, he committed millions of his own money to kick off his effort, using carefully selected professionals to build the presentations and media spots that would introduce him and his positions to the public. Taking the lead from the former President, he had made social media a key element of his outreach; hiring a core of talented and savvy youngsters to carry the load of getting his desired message to the world rather than attempting to personally key in each message. People from his generation were outclassed in this area. The thoughts were his, but the implementation was the responsibility of his staff, a fact he made no secret of.

  His approach resonated with the stunned base that mourned the untimely loss of the former president. Whether they would actually follow through and vote for him had been the subject of much discussion on both sides of the aisle. His talented and carefully selected staff provided speeches with carefully presented facts rather than the usual empty or tailored rhetoric. He used his opponent's own statements to show how ridiculous many of the claims being made by the opposition really were. The idea of tax the rich might sound good to some, but when the total wealth of the top 1% was stacked up against the conservative estimates of the giveaway programs being proposed, it quickly became apparent that such an approach fell far short of the financing that would be required, even if the total assets of the rich were confiscated. The data showed the pie-in-the-sky promises were simply beyond reasonable. Guess who would be held responsible for the shortfall?

  Pilcher pushed heavily on the former President's key policies, especially his anti-illegal immigrant policies. Much to the chagrin of the liberals, the appointment of a third conservative judge to the Supreme Court earlier in the year had resulted in a series of decisions that all but ended the stalling tactics of the liberal activist judges attempting to thwart the efforts designed to constrain illegal immigration, including the delays to the wall construction. On the international scene, he had supported policies that pressed China and others for fair trade agreements, and allies to stand up to long-neglected obligations.

  There were, however, areas where he disagreed with the former president's policies, and he had said as
much. He felt that a carefully considered medical program was essential for the future of America, and not the hokey effort put forth during the first year of the former President's administration. Pilcher expressed his support for a new program, but didn't pretend to have a detailed program in mind with the details worked out.

  "A viable medical system is not something for a group of politicians to define," he said. "They might think they know what makes sense, but they are delusional. A thoughtfully selected team headed by a medical professional, a financial contingent to properly look at costs for the proposed program to decide what might be reasonable and affordable, and a small team of politicians to monitor the effort would be required if a viable and workable program were to emerge."

  He wanted a multi-level program that would initially supplement the existing Medicare and Obamacare systems, offering a more free market approach for those that wanted it. The program would provide varying levels of coverage to meet the differing needs of citizens. The new program would be implemented over a series of years as weaknesses and issues appeared and were worked out. Eventually, with luck, the program would replace the other options, but that would take years and would be subject to the measured effectiveness of the program. Getting it through both houses would be a monumental task, and possibly impossible if the past was any indicator of how the two parties would fight one another's ideas.

  "Those who think any program that is created is going to work as hoped on all counts at initial roll-out hasn't been paying attention," he had noted in the speech when he introduced the idea. "It will need to be tinkered with as we learn where things were missed or screwed up."

  He even knew who he thought he might reach out to head such an effort. Dr. Toshiko Yano, the wife of one of his longest held friends, was not only a world renown medical doctor, but also held a scientific degree in molecular biology and currently was the Dean of one of the East Coast's most prestigious medical colleges. Pilcher believed that someone with her medical and management skills could do more to advance a reasonable program that all of the politicians in Washington.

  The party had been unhappy with some of his ideas, especially those concerning abortion as well as his innovative ideas on how to address the on-going debates surrounding gun control and climate change, but had already bought into the idea the election was forfeit. Several experienced senators had bluntly told him, "You lose," when they had met to discuss the upcoming election. As a result, they allowed him to deviate from party policy, while party leadership noted on the various talk shows the unsupported policies he was presenting. Truthfully, the ideas had cost him some support among the hardcore, but not as much as many nay-sayers had predicted. The ideas had also earned him more followers than they cost him, bringing in the vote of many who had been distancing themselves from the party positions, and probably wouldn't have voted come the election.

  Matters had solidified with the July National Convention held by the Democratic party. The five contenders that had survived the grueling year of politicking and infighting were quickly thinning to the top three. The convention selected one of the most progressive liberal candidates ever to be considered, but those who had supported other candidates, progressive or not, were not quick to shift their support.

  The candidate selected to represent the Democratic party against him helped set the stage for one of the more unusual elections in recent times. Campaigning was fierce in the months leading up to November, but neither candidate could inspire the entire membership of their respective parties. Pilcher was a virtual unknown before coming forth to grab the nomination for the Republicans, and the Democrat's choice was far too liberal for even many of the Democrats. For the most part the members of either party couldn't be swayed to cross party lines, but the lack of interest and willingness to put forth the effort on election day to make the trip to the polls and face the long lines resulted in one of the lowest turnouts in recent history. That more than anything probably led to Mark Pilcher's win, taking the majority of the popular vote as well as winning the Electoral College, both of which could have easily gone the other way had the Democrats somehow motivated their base to turn out as they would have against Trump had he been the Republican president.

  Chapter 1

  Early March, 2024

  Four Years Later

  "I thought you had a early meeting?" Cindy asked as she rolled out of the warm embrace of the President. Despite the surprisingly widespread disapproval in these liberal days among the voting public for the President having a live-in girlfriend, she spent more nights than not in the White House. They'd discussed frequently how much of the President's faltering popularity might be in part a direct result of his flaunting their relationship so openly, but neither had considered marriage, despite the boost such a gala event would have on his status.

  President Pilcher groaned as he kicked aside the covers, and then swung his legs off his side, hesitating momentarily as he sat on the edge of the bed. He couldn't help staring at Cindy, ten years his junior and at the moment very naked barely under the covers that were now mostly pushed aside affording him a view of her remarkable assets. Cindy was a blue-eyed Nordic blond. She was very different from the women he had dated all his life. He generally preferred the dark-haired Latina ladies from his home state of Texas, but he'd met her while campaigning during the midterms and here they were.

  "Remind me again why I'm running for re-election so I can continue in this miserable job another four years," he said as he paused to gather his strength before heading for the shower and getting dressed for another long and frustrating day.

  "You haven't finished what you promised the public before the last election," Cindy said, "and you hate leaving anything undone. And you know the Democrats would love to abandon your pet projects if they win," she added. "Besides, you hate to lose at anything!"

  Mark shook his head in understanding, and slowly stood and made his way across the room.

  He hadn't appreciated how many issues that the President had to deal with simultaneously. It was a wonder that anything ever got done, and the press, both the conservative and liberal wings of that questionable profession, were always there to point out the short-comings of his efforts on every matter. A person might think two different countries were being reported on by the vast difference in the slants one would get from reviewing the opposing publications. He hadn't realized how untruthful the news organizations were until spending a few months in this job. They had a narrative to sell, and didn't care about what the truth might be.

  There were areas he had reason to be proud of the efforts his administration had made in the past four years. First and foremost was the progress in the area of medical care. He'd been right about Toshiko. He hadn't initially considered her as his Vice President, but the arguments she made when he'd approached her about heading up a program to resolve this thorny issue, she'd made the point that her ability to influence decisions would be far greater in that position. The fact she was smart, a woman, and a minority hadn't hurt him in the elections either.

  It hadn't gone well the first couple of years. The Democrats had retained possession of the House, and as such could oppose any legislation that Pilcher and his team wished to put forth. Unhappy with the outcome of the election and the loss of Medicare for All that they had supported, they were wary and unwilling to listen to another Republican pushing any form of health care. That made any meaningful progress difficult, although undeterred, Toshiko had pressed onward, assembling a meaningful team and working on the initial core basis for what would become her proposed program.

  Other programs showed more promise. The economy continued strong, and despite many claims it was faltering, the public could see the improvement in their personal income and the variety and number of jobs that were coming available. With a Trump-like surrogate having captured the White House, the tariff war came to an abrupt halt with the US the clear winner, China no longer willing to wait another four years for a different set of pol
icies from its adversary, which was also a boost to the country. By the time the midterms approached, everything was looking surprisingly prosperous.

  Then there was the wall that the previous President had promised and the continued check on illegal immigration. The conservative slant that the Republicans had managed with the courts during the previous President's years in control had finally given the president the ability to proceed with some of the projects and policies that the Democrats had fought for years. The wall was nearly forty-percent completed, and along with stricter and more limiting rules for those attempting to enter the country illegally, the flood of illegals had been reduced to a trickle compared to the overwhelming flood a few years before. The Democrats could complain about what they perceived as an immoral approach, but their complaints about crowded facilities and harsh treatment were no longer feasible with facilities that were filled to less than half of design capacity.

  Other changes had worked favorably for the Republicans. The Speaker of the House was eighty-two years old as the midterms approached, and the stress of her position, with in-fighting within her party added to the conflicts with the Republicans was more than she wished to deal with any longer. She withdrew from the House, deciding not to run in 2022, leaving her position and seat open to a new challenger. The small band of militant junior progressives, still as vocal and active as always, considered it a win when one of their more progressive counterparts won the seat in the election, despite the fact the Republicans gained control of the house, albeit with a small margin.

  Changes had also occurred in the Senate, which the Republicans had held with a small margin after the last election. Several of the older Senators withdrew for reasons of health and age, and a certain disillusionment. The Senate Majority Leader left politics after so many years, despite having served only two years of his most recent term. The shoulder injury he'd received from a fall in 2019 hadn't healed as expected, and was the source of considerable pain that his perplexed doctors continued to study. Too many pain pills were required to control the injury, making him less than effective in his leadership position, but he'd held on long enough to seat one more conservative judge after the loss of one of the most revered liberal judges after a sudden flare up of cancer. His position was filled by a long term ultra-conservative after some intense maneuvering by several key members who sought the position. Despite the loss of their leader, the Senate remained in Republican hands after the midterms, giving Pilcher's party control of both houses to support his agenda for the second half of his first term in the White House.