blackguard
Veteran Member
It Begins…
The morning was clear, chilly but with no wind to speak of. The temperature was typical for the time of year, low forties but the absence of the wind and a bright, sunny sky made it feel much warmer than it was. The crowds gathered along the route were much larger than any in a number of years attending previous events of the same. Those gathered were grateful for the weather. It was much nicer than had been forecast a few days earlier. The level of anticipation was growing as the time for the ceremony slowly approached. This exercise in democracy took place every four years and had for well over two centuries without interruption. But the sense of anticipation for this one was larger than anyone could remember. Changes following this process were inevitable but the changes promised this time around were by far the most radical ones in living memory. News and commentary spread by the network talking heads spewed out.
The long motorcade, a mix of armored limousines and security vehicles slowly made its way along the heavily guarded route. The man who would be the next President of the United States was all smiles as he waved at the crowd as they drove by. His wife held his other hand as she waved at the crowd on her side of the road. Presently their car arrived at the designated building and the next part of the event. The man was moved inside and taken to the appropriate location. The time for ceremony had nearly arrived.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States solemnly raised his right hand while holding the bible in his left. The man who would be the next Chief Executive laid his hand on the book and likewise raised his right hand to swear the oath that would make him the leader of the free world.
From a few feet away the very soon to be former President stood watching. She was careful not to display any strong negative emotions. That particular trait had cost her heavily during the elections. The media had been quick to pick up on her anger and broadcast it far and wide. Her opponent made few, if any, slips. The thought of this man…she swallowed hard to regain her composure. That this particular man would now be in charge of the government almost made her ill.
All the dreams she had of what she would accomplish while in office had turned to nightmares. A very hostile Congress slowed down or killed key bills and to her surprise, the population that did not embrace her policies. In fact her popularity never rose to the level that her aides told her repeatedly they felt it should. She had always felt that a large portion of the population was stupid, not ignorant, stupid. It showed how could they not see what she was trying to do? So engrossed in her mental state she completely missed her successor take his oath.
“I, Gary Allen Roberts…
Chapter 1
In the months following President Roberts inauguration the efforts to get his U.S. First foreign policy initiative through Congress took considerable effort. There was substantial opposition to his plans to virtually end foreign aid but he had figured that there would be. Money poured into lobbyist pockets in order to defeat the bill. The highly paid political operatives took meeting after meeting with folks on Capital Hill. Roberts talked, coached, argued and shouted the merits of the plan. Like many of his predecessors Roberts used radio as a medium to reach out. He would use his standard weekly radio message to the public to further push for his policies. Some weeks he would do two programs in an attempt to further sway the masses. In the end as the vote drew near he pulled out his secret weapon, the American public. He called a televised press conference without warning and had his aides make sure it would be picked up by the major networks.
A few well placed calls to various news directors with vague hints of something juicy were enough for them to take the chance. The President had been a good draw so far since taking office. The cut in to regular programming annoyed many viewers but since the networks all wanted to upstage their rivals most of them, including many of the cable channels carried the broadcast just as the President figured they would. This meant that the broadcast was being carried into tens of millions of homes all over the country and around the world. Roberts loved an audience.
At the top of the hour the banner announcing a Special Bulletin was flashed across millions of television screens. The next scene was of the various talking heads that each network used. The President had an important announcement for the American people.
Many viewers tried to change the channel but found it on many of the other channels as well. Some simply turned the set off or left the room, many to get something to eat. Sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office, President Roberts sat erect, his eyes fixed on the camera as if he was trying to look into the eyes of every viewer. He had, to that point in his long political career never given a more important speech than the one he was about to.
“My fellow Americans; good evening, I come before you tonight to ask your help. As you know, the cornerstone of my campaign was to end Foreign Aid and keep your money here at home, where it should be, working for you. I feel it is my duty to inform you that this plan is in jeopardy. It is our intention to see that the US First bill be made into law by Congress but it is meeting with considerable difficulty.”
This speech had been very carefully written to appeal to the broadest spectrum of viewers. Part of the appeal that many had for the works of Hemingway was that is was written at a sixth grade level which allowed for a broader reach to the reader. This speech was modeled on that. This was an all or nothing gamble for the Roberts administration, if it succeeded then they could write their own ticket with Congress, if it failed…they would be a lame duck administration in the their first and likely, only term.
Roberts continued. “The forces of those who would oppose this are many, these enemies intend to keep YOUR money and spend it as they see fit. The government is supposed to work for you, not the other way around, the framers of the Constitution understood this, the words ‘A government of, for and by the people’ weren’t chosen by accident. The sentiment of the men who started us on the path we now humbly tread was clear. The work we do, raising children, educating them, providing for them is hard enough, but wouldn’t it be easier if they had better schools to go to? More teachers, so class sizes were smaller, more computers, buildings that are clean and in good repair?” That part of the speech was a deliberate sop to the various teacher unions all across the nation, they knew it and the administration knew they did. It didn’t stop them from liking what they were hearing, thousands more potential union members giving them an even stronger voice. The appeal hit home with many parents as well.
Roberts continued on for nearly twenty minutes more, outlining his plan, he spoke passionately about the amounts of money that were spilling out of the nation’s pocketbook headed overseas. He asked the viewers why? How was this allowed to happen? He used simple paper charts to illustrate the way that the money was spent overseas. The totals were staggering, billions and billions of dollars poured into the coffers of other countries, most of them in third world nations with no practical gain for the United States out of the investment. Why, the President asked was your money building roads in Angola when our own roads needed work? He touched on helping the homeless many of whom were veterans. Why should we not find and help these people who had once helped to defend us?
Veterans organizations, many of whom who had their outreach programs, all woefully underfunded for homeless vets cheered at the question. Finally, an administration that sounded like it gave a damn about them too. Knowing the public had a limited attention span Roberts finished up by telling the viewers, “So to help us, to help yourself, call your Congressional representative, both in the House and in the Senate. The numbers are located in the front of most phone books. Email them, write then, tell them what you think. We work for you, not the other way around. Thank you, good night and God Bless America.”
Gary Roberts waited till the light atop the camera changed colors. The production director stepped across the room and said, “We’re out” meaning that they were in fact now off the air. A sound person came over to unwire the microphone clipped to the lapel of the Presidents jacket under the watchful eye of the Secret Service agents present in the office as they were whenever someone not on the approved list was in proximity to the President. His aides were clustered off to the side all with wide grins. They had started the pebbles rolling that they hoped would create the avalanche that would bury Congress.
The morning after the speech, Thomas Jacob Alcott, senior political aide to a powerful New England Congressman was on his way in to work. He was seated in the back seat of a large four door sedan, American made of course. As with most mornings he was reading the Wall Street Journal as the powerful vehicle threaded its way through the morning crush. Alcott rarely drove himself anywhere. His family was old money and he had added to it during years as a corporate lawyer until he was drawn into the political arena as senior counsel to a then junior Representative who was both a client and a friend. Now, years later he was a powerful man in Washington circles in his own right.
As he scanned the editorials he found his mind wandering back to the speech that President Roberts had made the night before. He had of course watched it and could hardly believe the gift he and the other members of his party had been given. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he thought about the ridiculous show that the buffoon had put on. Appealing to the masses, how incredibly naïve. Like the sheeple, a term he liked to used when referring to the American public, were going to actually do something political. That would require effort and more importantly, thought. Alcott felt, as did many of those he associated with, that they knew far better what the public needed than the people did. Little did he know what lay in store for he and his associates today.
After arriving at work and making his way into the building his mind was on ways to work the speech to their benefit. He had a few ideas already and was looking forward to sticking it that rube from the mid-west every way he could. How the man got elected in the first place was beyond him. Alcott was sure that next election would place his guy at a new address…1600 Pennsylvania to be exact. As the long time power broker passed through the halls he absently noted the nearly empty halls. The few people he did see all seemed to be in some great hurry or gathered in small groups talking at a frantic pace. What was going on?
He sped his pace up slightly, mostly to take advantage of the lack of traffic in the hallways. It was something that he hated, having to mingle with the junior staffers and worse the building staff, security personnel and the damned cleaning crew. Essentially peons, occasionally useful peons, but hardly in his league. More of the plan regarding the Congressman’s rebuttal of that ridiculous speech was forming.
He opened the door to the offices and stepped inside. He was so deep in thought that it wasn’t till he closed the door that he realized the office was bedlam. Junior staffers, aides and interns were rushing about, every phone in the office was in use, the level of energy, no…what was it, anxiety, yes, that was it. Anxiety was nearly palpable. What the hell was going on? Some national security thing? No, they would have called him. Besides that was why they were junior staffers and aides…to do the scut work.
He saw the slender figure of Julie Deveers, the office manager across the room. He felt the familiar stirring he got whenever she was around. Tall, brunette with a killer set of…ahhemm, yes. So far she had resisted his charms but he felt it was just a matter of time. It always was. The attractive woman was gathered with three of the staff and was spitting our orders at a machine gun pace. One by one the three were dispatched to carry out her wishes. Turning, she noticed Alcott making his way across the room toward her.
She casually hated the man but for now he was her boss. Grabbing up a handful of faxes that had just come in she walked over to meet him. Phones continued to ring throughout the offices. “What is going on Julie? We have work to do…this circus is going to slow us down.”
Unprepared for this level of bombastic display so early in the day it took Julie a few seconds to realize that the idiot really didn’t know what was happening. Julie had intended to call him but she hadn’t been able to break away from the needs of the staff. She grabbed him by the sleeve of his tailored suit pulling him toward his office. The move was so uncharacteristic of Julie it startled Alcott that he went with her without protest. Once at the door to his office she released his arm and thrust the handful of faxes she was carrying at him.
“Don’t you know what’s happened? Haven’t you heard? This has been going on since we opened the office this morning! It hasn’t stopped and I’m not sure it will!”
Now slightly exasperated he moved to regain the momentum of the conversation. Thomas asked her what she was talking about. Nearby, the fax machine was whirring constantly as page after page rolled out of the printer. A female aide rushed over carrying three packages of paper intending to replenish the dwindling supply trays. Pointing at the woman Julie told him. “That, this is exactly what I am talking about! We have had to refill that thing three times already in the last, oh I don’t know…forty-five minutes…they won’t stop coming!” She had put up with his subtle attempts to bed her but knowing that she was way smarter than him had kept her sane. There were already a few feelers coming her way about moving back into the private sector, nice money to go with it…but for now, Alcott.
“The calls, faxes keep coming; there is incredible support for the President’s plan. You don’t even want to see the e-mail account.” Not that the idiot could use a computer she thought to herself. The offices computers were getting slammed with literally thousands of electronic pieces of mail. Julie had been told that it might take days to get to each one and print it out which is what the standard practice was. “The response has been, in a word, staggering.” Alcott couldn’t believe his ears; he reached out and took the faxes she was holding.
He began to read through them faster and faster. Phrases like, “You better support this” or “Hell yes on US FIRST”…”No more foreign aide”. Alcott noticed the misspelling of the word but quickly moved past it. Page after page all with some variation of the same message, support for President Roberts plan. Alcott was stunned; he slowly lifted his eyes from the page to look over the office. Phones were still ringing, aides were frantically writing down names, phone numbers and messages. The fax machine, now restocked with paper was continuing to produce document after document.
“This is all about these?” Holding up the faxes he asked. Julie nodded and then was called away by a staffer who having a difficult time with a caller. For the first time in a very long time Thomas Alcott was completely speechless. Little did he realize that this scene was being repeated in dozens of Congressional offices all over the building. The people had found their voice and with they were shouting.
The US First bill, a massive piece of Foreign Policy sailed through Congress to land on the Presidents desk where he happily signed it during a well televised ceremony from the Rose Garden. He called it a landmark of government responsibility, using the money of the people for the people. It called for an immediate end to nearly all of foreign aid. The billions that formerly were handed out often with little oversight or regard for how it was spent would now be staying at home. The first beneficiary of this new money tree was Social Security. The fund, a huge concern for many who were worried that it would be out of money by the time they needed received a quick infusion of over two billion dollars with more to come.
The nations schools, many of them in blighted urban areas lacked proper heating, security equipment, textbooks, computer and much more were not forgotten. The initial monies were a bit slow getting out to the states but the Roberts administration made large amounts of public relations hay out of it wherever and whenever they could. The news was constantly full of images of trucks unloading boxes of textbooks, new desks, school yards no longer trash covered, smiling, happy teachers in their newly remodeled and modern classrooms. The public ate it up, school districts all over the nation reported that parent participation in school activities was at an all time high. Polls showed Roberts popularity rating at an astounding 73%, a fact not lost on his advisors.
Congressional members had to openly support the plan; it would be outright political suicide for any of them to speak out against improving schools and funding Social Security. In private they talked, loudly and often, about how to make the White House pay for its arrogance.
Additional requirement of the bill was the removal of U.S. peacekeeping forces in places like Bosnia. What few remaining American units stationed in Germany were removed and reassigned. A massive new base was being built on the Mediterranean coast west of the Gaza strip. This facility, which was heavily guarded would eventually be home to an armored division, a mechanized infantry division as well as several helicopter and fixed wing aircraft squadrons. This level of integration wasn’t new but the scale of it was. The base would be the new center point of American military might in the entire region. U.S. ships would be close by as well by having already been home based in two Israeli ports. The new base was only three hours drive by tank from the vital Suez Canal and aircraft from the base could be there or over the vital Saudi oilfields in minutes, a fact lost on no one. The location of the base gave the United States a very large stick to wield in the region.
Ample training ground was available in the nearby Negev Desert which coincidentally was home to the Israeli Defense Force’s tank school. In addition the vast expanse of the Sinai Peninsula was at their doorstep. The Israeli government, forced by the former administration in Washington to sign over control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian people loved having a massive and well armed friendly force in place on the other side of their often unruly neighbors. The Palestinian Authority was outraged at the turn of events. President Roberts who refused to meet with their representative said privately, “Well it must suck to be them.” A few local Arab hotheads intent on stirring up trouble found out quickly that the Americans were serious about being left alone. The first two members of a group attempting to sneak onto the base were killed by mines and the rest shot up by a helicopter gunship when they opened fire on the reaction force as they tried to breach the perimeter. Similar attempts at sabotage met with equally disastrous results for the attackers. The news was well received in both Israel and at home.
The affects of the policy were felt almost immediately in a few areas. Anti-American demonstrations were held in a variety of national capitals directed at the embassies and consulates. For the most part aside from minor episodes of violence these demonstrations were peaceful, loud but peaceful, at least at first. Mothers held aloft small children wailing that the United States was responsible if their children went hungry. Some countries responded by expelling the entire U.S. diplomatic entourage but the Roberts administration simply chalked that up to further cost cutting. The State Department took it in stride, staff members were reassigned to other posts and the money once used to keep those embassies and consulates open was spent on other things such as security for offices still operating. The empty buildings were often knocked down by explosives just prior to the last personnel leaving. No sense leaving perfectly good buildings for the host country to use. The administration didn’t care if some countries were angry at them. They had a doctrine and they were riding it for all it was worth. Little did they know how catastrophic that ride would be.
The morning was clear, chilly but with no wind to speak of. The temperature was typical for the time of year, low forties but the absence of the wind and a bright, sunny sky made it feel much warmer than it was. The crowds gathered along the route were much larger than any in a number of years attending previous events of the same. Those gathered were grateful for the weather. It was much nicer than had been forecast a few days earlier. The level of anticipation was growing as the time for the ceremony slowly approached. This exercise in democracy took place every four years and had for well over two centuries without interruption. But the sense of anticipation for this one was larger than anyone could remember. Changes following this process were inevitable but the changes promised this time around were by far the most radical ones in living memory. News and commentary spread by the network talking heads spewed out.
The long motorcade, a mix of armored limousines and security vehicles slowly made its way along the heavily guarded route. The man who would be the next President of the United States was all smiles as he waved at the crowd as they drove by. His wife held his other hand as she waved at the crowd on her side of the road. Presently their car arrived at the designated building and the next part of the event. The man was moved inside and taken to the appropriate location. The time for ceremony had nearly arrived.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States solemnly raised his right hand while holding the bible in his left. The man who would be the next Chief Executive laid his hand on the book and likewise raised his right hand to swear the oath that would make him the leader of the free world.
From a few feet away the very soon to be former President stood watching. She was careful not to display any strong negative emotions. That particular trait had cost her heavily during the elections. The media had been quick to pick up on her anger and broadcast it far and wide. Her opponent made few, if any, slips. The thought of this man…she swallowed hard to regain her composure. That this particular man would now be in charge of the government almost made her ill.
All the dreams she had of what she would accomplish while in office had turned to nightmares. A very hostile Congress slowed down or killed key bills and to her surprise, the population that did not embrace her policies. In fact her popularity never rose to the level that her aides told her repeatedly they felt it should. She had always felt that a large portion of the population was stupid, not ignorant, stupid. It showed how could they not see what she was trying to do? So engrossed in her mental state she completely missed her successor take his oath.
“I, Gary Allen Roberts…
Chapter 1
In the months following President Roberts inauguration the efforts to get his U.S. First foreign policy initiative through Congress took considerable effort. There was substantial opposition to his plans to virtually end foreign aid but he had figured that there would be. Money poured into lobbyist pockets in order to defeat the bill. The highly paid political operatives took meeting after meeting with folks on Capital Hill. Roberts talked, coached, argued and shouted the merits of the plan. Like many of his predecessors Roberts used radio as a medium to reach out. He would use his standard weekly radio message to the public to further push for his policies. Some weeks he would do two programs in an attempt to further sway the masses. In the end as the vote drew near he pulled out his secret weapon, the American public. He called a televised press conference without warning and had his aides make sure it would be picked up by the major networks.
A few well placed calls to various news directors with vague hints of something juicy were enough for them to take the chance. The President had been a good draw so far since taking office. The cut in to regular programming annoyed many viewers but since the networks all wanted to upstage their rivals most of them, including many of the cable channels carried the broadcast just as the President figured they would. This meant that the broadcast was being carried into tens of millions of homes all over the country and around the world. Roberts loved an audience.
At the top of the hour the banner announcing a Special Bulletin was flashed across millions of television screens. The next scene was of the various talking heads that each network used. The President had an important announcement for the American people.
Many viewers tried to change the channel but found it on many of the other channels as well. Some simply turned the set off or left the room, many to get something to eat. Sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office, President Roberts sat erect, his eyes fixed on the camera as if he was trying to look into the eyes of every viewer. He had, to that point in his long political career never given a more important speech than the one he was about to.
“My fellow Americans; good evening, I come before you tonight to ask your help. As you know, the cornerstone of my campaign was to end Foreign Aid and keep your money here at home, where it should be, working for you. I feel it is my duty to inform you that this plan is in jeopardy. It is our intention to see that the US First bill be made into law by Congress but it is meeting with considerable difficulty.”
This speech had been very carefully written to appeal to the broadest spectrum of viewers. Part of the appeal that many had for the works of Hemingway was that is was written at a sixth grade level which allowed for a broader reach to the reader. This speech was modeled on that. This was an all or nothing gamble for the Roberts administration, if it succeeded then they could write their own ticket with Congress, if it failed…they would be a lame duck administration in the their first and likely, only term.
Roberts continued. “The forces of those who would oppose this are many, these enemies intend to keep YOUR money and spend it as they see fit. The government is supposed to work for you, not the other way around, the framers of the Constitution understood this, the words ‘A government of, for and by the people’ weren’t chosen by accident. The sentiment of the men who started us on the path we now humbly tread was clear. The work we do, raising children, educating them, providing for them is hard enough, but wouldn’t it be easier if they had better schools to go to? More teachers, so class sizes were smaller, more computers, buildings that are clean and in good repair?” That part of the speech was a deliberate sop to the various teacher unions all across the nation, they knew it and the administration knew they did. It didn’t stop them from liking what they were hearing, thousands more potential union members giving them an even stronger voice. The appeal hit home with many parents as well.
Roberts continued on for nearly twenty minutes more, outlining his plan, he spoke passionately about the amounts of money that were spilling out of the nation’s pocketbook headed overseas. He asked the viewers why? How was this allowed to happen? He used simple paper charts to illustrate the way that the money was spent overseas. The totals were staggering, billions and billions of dollars poured into the coffers of other countries, most of them in third world nations with no practical gain for the United States out of the investment. Why, the President asked was your money building roads in Angola when our own roads needed work? He touched on helping the homeless many of whom were veterans. Why should we not find and help these people who had once helped to defend us?
Veterans organizations, many of whom who had their outreach programs, all woefully underfunded for homeless vets cheered at the question. Finally, an administration that sounded like it gave a damn about them too. Knowing the public had a limited attention span Roberts finished up by telling the viewers, “So to help us, to help yourself, call your Congressional representative, both in the House and in the Senate. The numbers are located in the front of most phone books. Email them, write then, tell them what you think. We work for you, not the other way around. Thank you, good night and God Bless America.”
Gary Roberts waited till the light atop the camera changed colors. The production director stepped across the room and said, “We’re out” meaning that they were in fact now off the air. A sound person came over to unwire the microphone clipped to the lapel of the Presidents jacket under the watchful eye of the Secret Service agents present in the office as they were whenever someone not on the approved list was in proximity to the President. His aides were clustered off to the side all with wide grins. They had started the pebbles rolling that they hoped would create the avalanche that would bury Congress.
The morning after the speech, Thomas Jacob Alcott, senior political aide to a powerful New England Congressman was on his way in to work. He was seated in the back seat of a large four door sedan, American made of course. As with most mornings he was reading the Wall Street Journal as the powerful vehicle threaded its way through the morning crush. Alcott rarely drove himself anywhere. His family was old money and he had added to it during years as a corporate lawyer until he was drawn into the political arena as senior counsel to a then junior Representative who was both a client and a friend. Now, years later he was a powerful man in Washington circles in his own right.
As he scanned the editorials he found his mind wandering back to the speech that President Roberts had made the night before. He had of course watched it and could hardly believe the gift he and the other members of his party had been given. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he thought about the ridiculous show that the buffoon had put on. Appealing to the masses, how incredibly naïve. Like the sheeple, a term he liked to used when referring to the American public, were going to actually do something political. That would require effort and more importantly, thought. Alcott felt, as did many of those he associated with, that they knew far better what the public needed than the people did. Little did he know what lay in store for he and his associates today.
After arriving at work and making his way into the building his mind was on ways to work the speech to their benefit. He had a few ideas already and was looking forward to sticking it that rube from the mid-west every way he could. How the man got elected in the first place was beyond him. Alcott was sure that next election would place his guy at a new address…1600 Pennsylvania to be exact. As the long time power broker passed through the halls he absently noted the nearly empty halls. The few people he did see all seemed to be in some great hurry or gathered in small groups talking at a frantic pace. What was going on?
He sped his pace up slightly, mostly to take advantage of the lack of traffic in the hallways. It was something that he hated, having to mingle with the junior staffers and worse the building staff, security personnel and the damned cleaning crew. Essentially peons, occasionally useful peons, but hardly in his league. More of the plan regarding the Congressman’s rebuttal of that ridiculous speech was forming.
He opened the door to the offices and stepped inside. He was so deep in thought that it wasn’t till he closed the door that he realized the office was bedlam. Junior staffers, aides and interns were rushing about, every phone in the office was in use, the level of energy, no…what was it, anxiety, yes, that was it. Anxiety was nearly palpable. What the hell was going on? Some national security thing? No, they would have called him. Besides that was why they were junior staffers and aides…to do the scut work.
He saw the slender figure of Julie Deveers, the office manager across the room. He felt the familiar stirring he got whenever she was around. Tall, brunette with a killer set of…ahhemm, yes. So far she had resisted his charms but he felt it was just a matter of time. It always was. The attractive woman was gathered with three of the staff and was spitting our orders at a machine gun pace. One by one the three were dispatched to carry out her wishes. Turning, she noticed Alcott making his way across the room toward her.
She casually hated the man but for now he was her boss. Grabbing up a handful of faxes that had just come in she walked over to meet him. Phones continued to ring throughout the offices. “What is going on Julie? We have work to do…this circus is going to slow us down.”
Unprepared for this level of bombastic display so early in the day it took Julie a few seconds to realize that the idiot really didn’t know what was happening. Julie had intended to call him but she hadn’t been able to break away from the needs of the staff. She grabbed him by the sleeve of his tailored suit pulling him toward his office. The move was so uncharacteristic of Julie it startled Alcott that he went with her without protest. Once at the door to his office she released his arm and thrust the handful of faxes she was carrying at him.
“Don’t you know what’s happened? Haven’t you heard? This has been going on since we opened the office this morning! It hasn’t stopped and I’m not sure it will!”
Now slightly exasperated he moved to regain the momentum of the conversation. Thomas asked her what she was talking about. Nearby, the fax machine was whirring constantly as page after page rolled out of the printer. A female aide rushed over carrying three packages of paper intending to replenish the dwindling supply trays. Pointing at the woman Julie told him. “That, this is exactly what I am talking about! We have had to refill that thing three times already in the last, oh I don’t know…forty-five minutes…they won’t stop coming!” She had put up with his subtle attempts to bed her but knowing that she was way smarter than him had kept her sane. There were already a few feelers coming her way about moving back into the private sector, nice money to go with it…but for now, Alcott.
“The calls, faxes keep coming; there is incredible support for the President’s plan. You don’t even want to see the e-mail account.” Not that the idiot could use a computer she thought to herself. The offices computers were getting slammed with literally thousands of electronic pieces of mail. Julie had been told that it might take days to get to each one and print it out which is what the standard practice was. “The response has been, in a word, staggering.” Alcott couldn’t believe his ears; he reached out and took the faxes she was holding.
He began to read through them faster and faster. Phrases like, “You better support this” or “Hell yes on US FIRST”…”No more foreign aide”. Alcott noticed the misspelling of the word but quickly moved past it. Page after page all with some variation of the same message, support for President Roberts plan. Alcott was stunned; he slowly lifted his eyes from the page to look over the office. Phones were still ringing, aides were frantically writing down names, phone numbers and messages. The fax machine, now restocked with paper was continuing to produce document after document.
“This is all about these?” Holding up the faxes he asked. Julie nodded and then was called away by a staffer who having a difficult time with a caller. For the first time in a very long time Thomas Alcott was completely speechless. Little did he realize that this scene was being repeated in dozens of Congressional offices all over the building. The people had found their voice and with they were shouting.
The US First bill, a massive piece of Foreign Policy sailed through Congress to land on the Presidents desk where he happily signed it during a well televised ceremony from the Rose Garden. He called it a landmark of government responsibility, using the money of the people for the people. It called for an immediate end to nearly all of foreign aid. The billions that formerly were handed out often with little oversight or regard for how it was spent would now be staying at home. The first beneficiary of this new money tree was Social Security. The fund, a huge concern for many who were worried that it would be out of money by the time they needed received a quick infusion of over two billion dollars with more to come.
The nations schools, many of them in blighted urban areas lacked proper heating, security equipment, textbooks, computer and much more were not forgotten. The initial monies were a bit slow getting out to the states but the Roberts administration made large amounts of public relations hay out of it wherever and whenever they could. The news was constantly full of images of trucks unloading boxes of textbooks, new desks, school yards no longer trash covered, smiling, happy teachers in their newly remodeled and modern classrooms. The public ate it up, school districts all over the nation reported that parent participation in school activities was at an all time high. Polls showed Roberts popularity rating at an astounding 73%, a fact not lost on his advisors.
Congressional members had to openly support the plan; it would be outright political suicide for any of them to speak out against improving schools and funding Social Security. In private they talked, loudly and often, about how to make the White House pay for its arrogance.
Additional requirement of the bill was the removal of U.S. peacekeeping forces in places like Bosnia. What few remaining American units stationed in Germany were removed and reassigned. A massive new base was being built on the Mediterranean coast west of the Gaza strip. This facility, which was heavily guarded would eventually be home to an armored division, a mechanized infantry division as well as several helicopter and fixed wing aircraft squadrons. This level of integration wasn’t new but the scale of it was. The base would be the new center point of American military might in the entire region. U.S. ships would be close by as well by having already been home based in two Israeli ports. The new base was only three hours drive by tank from the vital Suez Canal and aircraft from the base could be there or over the vital Saudi oilfields in minutes, a fact lost on no one. The location of the base gave the United States a very large stick to wield in the region.
Ample training ground was available in the nearby Negev Desert which coincidentally was home to the Israeli Defense Force’s tank school. In addition the vast expanse of the Sinai Peninsula was at their doorstep. The Israeli government, forced by the former administration in Washington to sign over control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian people loved having a massive and well armed friendly force in place on the other side of their often unruly neighbors. The Palestinian Authority was outraged at the turn of events. President Roberts who refused to meet with their representative said privately, “Well it must suck to be them.” A few local Arab hotheads intent on stirring up trouble found out quickly that the Americans were serious about being left alone. The first two members of a group attempting to sneak onto the base were killed by mines and the rest shot up by a helicopter gunship when they opened fire on the reaction force as they tried to breach the perimeter. Similar attempts at sabotage met with equally disastrous results for the attackers. The news was well received in both Israel and at home.
The affects of the policy were felt almost immediately in a few areas. Anti-American demonstrations were held in a variety of national capitals directed at the embassies and consulates. For the most part aside from minor episodes of violence these demonstrations were peaceful, loud but peaceful, at least at first. Mothers held aloft small children wailing that the United States was responsible if their children went hungry. Some countries responded by expelling the entire U.S. diplomatic entourage but the Roberts administration simply chalked that up to further cost cutting. The State Department took it in stride, staff members were reassigned to other posts and the money once used to keep those embassies and consulates open was spent on other things such as security for offices still operating. The empty buildings were often knocked down by explosives just prior to the last personnel leaving. No sense leaving perfectly good buildings for the host country to use. The administration didn’t care if some countries were angry at them. They had a doctrine and they were riding it for all it was worth. Little did they know how catastrophic that ride would be.