“Mr. President, over time this entitlement shut-off will become a problem. It’s not having the effect we intended. I believe we will feel the brunt of public pressure on this issue before the governor does,” said Radford.
“Well, let’s revisit this. Pull everyone together for another strategy session. My patience is over. It’s time to end this thing.”
“Goddamn right, Mr. President. I’ve been saying this for weeks now,” agreed Tibbs.
“I’ll pull everyone together right away, sir,” said Radford.
Chapter 10
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
~ Thomas Paine
Author and American Revolution Hero
Published “Common Sense,”
Sparking the American Revolution
Two days after the Texarkana incident, Tea Party activist Mitch Lansford arranged a meeting with Chuck Dixon and the sheriffs of three local counties. These sheriffs had taken a newly popular pledge not to follow any unconstitutional orders, especially those related to the Second Amendment.
The three sheriffs were excited to get the opportunity to meet Chuck and to get some inside information on what was going on in Austin and the governor’s office.
After the normal pleasantries, the small group of five sat down in the back room of a local hamburger joint in Old Town Spring. Spring, a suburb of Houston, was a small railroad stop twenty miles north of Houston that had a small hotel that included a brothel, saloon and café in the late 1800s. The area had grown over the years to include small antique shops, boutiques, eateries, crafts and festivals.
“I’m glad all of us could make it. First, what is everyone thinking on the events of the last two days?” asked Lansford.
“I’m not sure the Army had a choice. Those trucks were headed for them at high speeds with guns. You wouldn’t let them get right on top of you,” said Sheriff Alvarez.
“I can tell you this; President Johnson is the vindictive type. The beating he’s taking in the press is going to be vented on Texas somehow, some way,” added Sheriff Preston.
They all looked at Chuck, realizing nobody had heard his opinion, and his was the one they wanted to hear.
“My sense is the governor is not going to give in. I believe he is the kind of man who would go ahead and turn himself over to federal authorities if he was convinced this would solve our issues with the federal government.”
“That’s good to hear,” remarked Sheriff Alvarez.
“That being said, this administration continues to get embarrassed over events like the other day. For the life of me, I have to ask: how is it that Congress and the people in the rest of the country aren’t pressing for impeachment? I mean, the Sally investigation, the Spilner deaths? What does it take?” asked Lansford.
“Gentlemen, I believe we have reached the crossroads. It’s not fixable. The Constitution is not relevant anymore to the federal government. Heck, how many times have we heard that it was written by old, rich white men who had slaves and that it’s not relevant anymore?” answered Chuck.
“Well, the country is divided; that’s for sure. I think many are sitting on the sidelines, especially in the South, who are waiting to see how this plays out with us,” said Sheriff Reeves, meaning how Texans would handle the crisis.
“Are you men getting any orders from administration officials?” asked Chuck.
“We get daily communiques from the Justice and Treasury Departments, FBI, ATF and DHS. Even a few from the IRS.”
“What’s contained in those orders?” asked Chuck
“Well, I get daily reminders that the background check system is disabled for gun purchase approvals in Texas,” answered Sheriff Preston. Sheriffs Alvarez and Reeves answered affirmatively that they were receiving the same.
“And that any gun purchases during this cooling-off period would be prosecuted under federal laws,” affirmed Alvarez.
For the next hour, the five discussed the next steps each sheriff was taking locally to protect his citizens from federal overreach, especially from DHS, the IRS, and the effects of the NDAA, which the administration used to detain Chuck and attack local Tea Party organizations.
While the waitress was refilling their pitcher of iced tea, a tall gentleman walked through the door. Lansford had told the group there might be one more joining them, but he was en route from Beaumont. Apparently recognizing Lansford, the man walked right up to the table.
“Mitch, how ya doin’?”
“Gentlemen, this is Zach Turner, president of Free Texas Now,” introduced Lansford.
Everyone at the table knew who Zach Turner was. For years, Turner led a small but fast-growing organization that promoted and campaigned for Texas independence peacefully. Turner was a Texas history expert, self-taught constitutionalist, small business owner, and had been politically active since he ran for mayor (and lost) of his local community when he was only nineteen years old.
Upon meeting Turner, Chuck stood. “It’s about time we met. For years I didn’t agree with your positions, thinking this federal problem was fixable.” He held out his hand.
Turner grasped Chuck’s hand and shook it. “Well, we all have to come to that realization eventually,” he chuckled. “Some of us just may have come to that conclusion a little sooner than others.”
“As you now probably know and agree, the Tea Party was likely our last hope to save the Constitution,” stated Dixon.
It was obvious these two men had great respect for one another as they continued to stand while their hands remained in a handshake clasp as if they were the only ones in the room.
“I don’t hold that against you, Chuck. You were doing what you thought was right. Many of our leadership and members were once Tea Party patriots, too.”
As they sat down, Turner told the group the history of the organization, its peaceful attempts for years to get an Independence referendum through the state legislature and the many other obstacles Free Texas had endured in its eighteen-year history. Chuck went on to congratulate Turner for the non-binding Independence resolution referendum that was put before state voters immediately following the showdown at the state capital.
“The governor already had a model for this resolution, thanks to Zach,” Chuck said. “Sir, your repeated efforts to get this on the ballot paid off, although you probably never dreamed it would be under these circumstances.”
“No, I sure didn’t, but I am definitely not surprised by these events.”
“I really didn’t know much about your group until after Johnson’s first election,” Sheriff Reeves said.
“Well, let’s just put it this way. This cake has been baking for a long, long time; his election just lit the candles!” stated Turner to a chorus of chuckles from around the table.
Turner continued to bring everyone up to date on the growth of Free Texas. “We have more than a million members, which has spiked since the events of the last several months. Before the feds interrupted Internet services, we were adding a couple of hundred members a day. We’ve re-tooled because of it and we are almost back to that rate. These folks plop down hard-earned money, albeit not a lot of money, but money just the same, just to join.”
“Your group is well organized, if I’m not mistaken, with county coordinators in every one of the two hundred fifty-four Texas counties?” asked Lansford.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Your organization is much larger than my local and regional Tea Party chapters,” Chuck returned.
“Gentlemen, you asked me or, I should say, Mitch asked me to come here today. I assume I don’t need to make the case for Texas independence at this juncture with you fine folks?”
“No, sir, we’re right here with you. Late to the party, but here nonetheless,” admitted Chuck.
For the next two hours, one of the most significant Tea Party organizers in Texas, who had been illegally terrorized and detained, only to be
rescued by the Texas Rangers, laid out detailed plans to merge organizational forces with the longest-standing Texas independence movement since 1836, and three county sheriffs who represented dozens who had taken an oath of office to defend both the U.S. and Texas Constitutions.
Texas and the federal government were two trains speeding toward each other on the same track. The impasse stakes were escalating as unique and different pressures were being applied to both sides.
Would Secy. of State Bartlett and Sen. Simpson be able to intervene in what was sure to be a calamity that could tear the American fabric into pieces?
Chapter 11
“The right of a nation to kill a tyrant in case of necessity can no more be doubted than to hang a robber, or kill a flea.”
~ John Adams
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
2nd U.S. President
Seventy-five miles west of Austin, deep in the heart of the Texas hill country, Gov. Cooper, Lt. Gov. Foster and various members of their staffs and families, along with Texas Rangers’ Cmdr. Pops Younger and Texas Guard Cmdr. Rex Conroy, were being sheltered at the Swingin’ T Ranch.
The officials and their staffs were housed randomly and rotated between four large Texas ranches every several days in case federal authorities made another attempt to arrest them. Very few people were in the inner circle that knew how, where and when the governor was moved.
The ranch, owned by a Midland oil man, spread over eight thousand acres and two counties. It was approximately eighteen miles north of Llano, Texas on a two-lane farm-to-market road. The main house and guest houses were a full two miles from the main gate.
The Swingin’ T was a working ranch in typical Texas fashion. The owner had more than two hundred head of registered Longhorns, and some individual bulls valued in seven figures. To many well-heeled Texas ranchers, raising registered Longhorns was as prestigious as raising thoroughbred racing horses, and this rancher was one of the world’s foremost breeders of the revered breed. He also owned more than twelve hundred head of Black Angus and there were seventeen oil- and gas-producing wells on the property.
Like most Texas ranches of this size, the Swingin’ T was used to entertain clients in high-end whitetail deer and exotics hunts. The lodge was geared for entertainment purposes, adorned with head mounts of trophy deer, exotics and a huge shoulder-mounted Texas Longhorn over an impressive Austin limestone fireplace. The mounted burnt orange and white Longhorn’s rack stretched eighty-two inches across from tip to tip, with the famous up-and-out twist at the end.
The length of a Longhorn’s horns, its mass, and the degree of its famous up-and-out twist had a large impact on its value. Longhorns were no longer prized for traditional cattle breeders, as it is virtually impossible to fatten a longhorn as is done with other cattle to increase their weight for the cattle auction markets. Longhorns are a feisty breed, surviving on little grass, resistant to disease, and able to be driven on one thousand-mile cattle drives. They are a symbol of the Old West and a proud Texas tradition.
The governor dispatched Pops Younger to Texarkana immediately upon learning of the incident at the Texarkana checkpoint. Pops was also scheduled to visit several checkpoint locations under orders from the governor. Maj. Gen. Conroy begged the governor to let him go with Pops, but Cooper wanted him to stay put for planning purposes and to keep a centralized command structure over the Guard, state troopers, Texas Rangers, the air wing and the Texas Militia. Both Pops and Conroy reported directly to the governor, but there was no doubt that Pops had become Cooper’s most trusted advisor since the crisis started.
The governor sat in the expansive rustic lodge at the Swingin’ T on an overstuffed burnt-orange leather-and-cowhide chair. Cooper loved the lodge; he smelled the leather and cigars the second he stepped into the open room. Hanging from the ceiling, which was thirty-two feet high, was a huge elk horn chandelier.
The governor always had a big cigar after supper and tonight was no different. Several of his staff joined him to discuss the day’s events and Pops’ report from Texarkana.
The staff had notepads and laptops opened while in deep discussions when an aide’s cell phone rang. She got up from the group so as not to disturb the conversation and to try to get better wireless reception. Wireless coverage at the ranch was so weak that the owner had to have wireless repeaters installed in three locations on the ranch to improve reception, but the steel roof of the buildings still hampered reception. A few minutes later, the aide returned to the group.
“Excuse me, Governor. That was Sen. Simpson’s chief of staff.” All of them immediately stopped what they were doing.
“Both the senator and Secy. Bartlett can meet you tomorrow. They apparently have a proposal to end the crisis to present to you. They will meet wherever you designate.”
“How do we do that?” asked another staff member, knowing that, if the governor risked leaving Texas, he could be arrested the minute he crossed any state line.
“They will come to us,” the aide added.
“I want a conference call immediately with all of us and Pops,” said the governor, looking directly at Maj. Gen. Conroy.
Ten minutes later, the governor was connected on a conference call with Pops Younger and Maj. Gen. Conroy. In the meantime, the senator’s office called back to inform the governor’s staff that the administration had approved the senator’s travel on a private jet from Washington, D.C. to Austin, meaning there would be no encumbrance at the border or with his air travel.
“Gentlemen, it seems that Sen. Simpson and Secy. Bartlett are coming to visit us.”
“Johnson is allowing Bartlett to come?” asked Pops.
“Excuse me, sir,” interrupted the staff member, “Simpson’s people are saying Bartlett is coming without the administration’s knowledge!”
“On the same aircraft?” asked Cooper.
“The plot thickens,” remarked Foster.
“We are not to give them your location, Governor,” said Conroy.
“Absolutely not!” repeated Pops.
“If they fly into Austin, we can send another aircraft to pick them up to bring them out here, or we can arrange ground transportation. They are not to know where the governor is being housed. Is that clear to everyone?” demanded Conroy.
“So you think we should do this meeting out here?” asked Cooper.
“Absolutely, sir. I agree one hundred percent; however, it will be the end of your stay here as soon as they leave. You will have to be moved ahead of schedule,” said Pops.
“Damn, I like this place! Okay, let’s get it arranged, folks,” agreed Cooper. He turned back to the staff person who’d taken the first call. “Are there any preset conditions?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. They want the meeting to be completely off the record. The administration knows Simpson is coming, and they really don’t care about him, but we are not to leak any information about Bartlett coming. If that gets out, the meeting is off and her camp will categorically deny it.”
“That’s very interesting,” mused Cooper, “but, knowing the political hack Bartlett is, that makes sense. If she wants to be the hero, that’s fine; let’s do it. If it ends the crisis, fine. But, if we cut a deal with them, it essentially guarantees her the Democratic nomination. It’s almost worth it just to see her trump Johnson and Tibbs.”
* * *
* * * Just after dark the next evening, a black SUV pulled into a private charter hangar in Washington, D.C. The large hangar doors closed behind the vehicle. Sen. Simpson was already on the Citation jet with two of his senior staff members. After several cell phone communications between the plane and the vehicle, and once all doors of the hangar were secured, Annabelle Bartlett and two of her staff exited the vehicle and scurried up the steps into the jet. Shortly after 9:00 p.m. EST, the Citation took off from Dulles Airport to Austin, Texas.
The traffic in the skies over Texas had come to a complete halt as the federal government had shut down FAA to
wer operations at all sites in Texas by turning off the FAA’s computer systems to Texas airports. The state had taken over limited air traffic control duties within the state from military bases and volunteers at private airports.
The U.S. military was closely monitoring flights near Texas airspace as no flights had been allowed in or out, except for a few air ambulance emergencies. The military knew about this flight request from the State Department, but had no idea Bartlett was on it. The manifest only listed the senator and his staff and no other names. Johnson’s administration knew nothing of this individual flight. This was the first flight allowed into Texas since the crisis erupted at the state capitol.
During the flight to Austin, Bartlett, Simpson and their staffs fine-tuned their proposal for Gov. Cooper. The entire contingent was confident and almost gleeful. While not admitting it to each other, they both figured they would go down in history as manufacturing the negotiations that led to the end of the most serious crisis in American history since 1860, Pearl Harbor and 9-11.
Meanwhile, Gov. Cooper and his staff worked in the main lodge until 11:00 p.m. to finalize what they would and would not agree to.
The Citation carrying Simpson and Bartlett landed in Austin at 12:10 a.m. Two limousines waited in a hanger at another private jet facility at the Austin airport. The same drill performed at Dulles Airport occurred in reverse; the jet went into the hangar where the limos were waiting. The huge door closed, then the occupants of the jet transferred quickly into the darkened-window vehicles and sped off to different destinations.
At 7:00 a.m., the limos would again pick them up separately by pulling into a private garage facility to remain completely hidden. A state-owned helicopter would be waiting to pick them up at a pre-determined location on a private ranch forty minutes west of Austin. Unbeknown to them, the chopper would then take them on a thirty-minute flight to the Swingin’ T for a 9:00 a.m. meeting, followed by more meetings throughout the day if necessary.
A State of Treason Page 10
