The Blackfire Protocol by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 59

The new president's cabinet was assembled quickly, most having been chosen before Frank had taken the oath of office. All of them were, of course, men and shared the President’s views but were sworn to secrecy about them. At this point, there was no need to let the political cat out of the bag. The country’s exposure to the president's agenda would be revealed so slowly that no one would notice until it was too late.

The first order of business was the signing of executive orders. Frank wanted the country to see him as the right choice -- that they had made the right decision. He gave social security recipients a one hundred dollar raise. The country celebrated as Republicans looked on with confusion. Next, he created a set of policies that gave protections to minorities, the gay community, as well as those socially classified as ‘trans’. This was done to defend their rights and protect them from discrimination in the workplace. Again, Senate Republicans were not only confused, but many were beginning to believe that the President was operating from some hidden agenda and what he was doing might be the frosting on a distasteful cake. He went a step further by writing a bill that, if passed, would establish a

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nation-wide cap on prescription drug costs. He knew the Republican-led Congress would never pass it, but when it reached the media, the American people applauded his efforts, cementing his concern for the people in stone. Behind his political generosity lay the right-wing nightmare he had planned since his tenure in the Senate. And while the country was distracted by their president’s display of good will, he was privately reviewing the book he had hidden in storage since college. While ignoring the bulk of it, Frank had once again begun reading the last chapter of Mein Kampf—the chapter titled ‘The Final Solution’. History would soon repeat itself from within the walls of the White House in what some considered the greatest country in the world. To be sure that he and his vice president were in complete agreement, he mentioned the book in passing. He was surprised to hear his colleague agree that there are times when dead wood should be stripped off to save the tree. Frank knew exactly what she meant. From a utilitarian perspective, both found it true that to benefit the many, the few needed to be culled out. The question was, who would go? Who should be sacrificed for the good of the country? In his mind, the question had already been answered, and after conferring with his cabinet, the idea was agreed upon. The only obstacle to their plan was Congress. Traditionally, Congress holds the purse strings for budgetary issues and expenditures. Managing programs also fell to them, and in order for the president to pull off his plan, he would need to find a way to circumvent what would certainly be an uncooperative senate. This would have to be accomplished in one of two ways: executive order or

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strong-arm tactics. There had to be a way to influence the senate and house majority leaders in order to gain bipartisanship without causing a media frenzy. While pondering this dilemma, Frank vaguely remembered the idea that the jury of public opinion carries far more power than the ruling of any court.