by Adam Yoshida
“No,” said the President, stopping and turning to face the Secretary, who had been summoned to the White House, “I don’t want to hear anything else about any of this. They’re trying to intimidate and threaten Federal employees into refusing to serve the people and I won’t have it. Is that clear?”
“Sir,” said Jamal Anderson, “I think that...”
“No, no, no,” repeated the President, “this isn’t something that’s open to compromise or general debate.”
“I think,” interjected the White House Counsel, “that the words of the Speaker – and their plain intent – clearly fall astray of the Insurrection Act. The act clearly empowers the President to use force against any conspiracy that opposes or obstructs the execution of laws of the United States.”
“Mr. President,” said Secretary Ransom, “attempting to use force at this moment might have unthinkable, even unspeakable consequences...”
“Speak them,” said the President coldly.
“What if they resist?” said the Secretary of Defense.
“It’s an insurrection, Mr. Secretary: I expect them resist,” replied Bryan.
“Yes, sir,” said Ransom, “but what if they resist on a large scale? Or what if the resistance isn’t confined to just a few members of the Congress and the hangers-on that they have gathered around them?”
“Elaborate,” said the President.
“Sir, you know as well as I do that soldiers – especially officers – lean towards the Republicans. The country as a whole is leaning against us by at least sixty to forty percent right now; the military is certainly weighted more heavily than that. If we attempt to order the military or Federal law enforcement to go and arrest members of the Congress, they might not do it.”
“The military doesn’t like plenty of missions. They didn’t like it when we made them include gay people. They didn’t like it when Harry Truman made them integrate black people, for that matter. They’ll grumble but they’ll listen,” predicted the President with confidence.
“Sir...”
“Issue the fucking orders, Mr. Secretary.”
The Pentagon, Arlington, VA
General Richard Hall sat quietly at his desk, with his hands folded in front of him as he read the e-mail he had been copied on.
Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Regiment – the unit responsible for rendering honors during funerals at Arlington National Cemetery and for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – had been ordered to prepare themselves for a mission that was tersely described by the office of the Secretary as, “in aid of the civil power.”
Given the situation going on in Washington – one that was blaring from every single television and computer in the building – it was simple enough for General Hall to figure out why the unit was being called upon. What was harder to figure out was why he had not been consulted. The General picked up his phone.
“General,” said Secretary Ransom, “let me explain. You’re not going to like this at all.”
“The President ordered you to send soldiers in to break up these crowds in front of the Capitol. I understand that. But I don’t know if the Old Guard is really enough on its own. If we’re going to do that, I think that we’ll need to bring in larger regular forces. Perhaps a Brigade of the 101st Airborne. There’s one at Fort Campbell...”
“No General,” replied the Secretary, “you’re right about where they’re going, but you don’t have what they’re going to do there.”
“What’s he going to do,” said General Hall, “march in there and arrest the Congress?”
Silence hung over the line.
“Wow,” said Hall quietly.
“I know,” said the Secretary, “I hope that I can have your full support on this. I know that the President is counting upon you.”
“Mr. Secretary... Has the President seriously considered the effect that this will have upon the armed forces?”
“The President, General – as I do – expects that the armed forces will obey any and all legal orders, as distasteful as some might find them.”
“All legal orders, Mr. Secretary. That’s the operative phrase. I think that more than a few officers – including myself – might question the constitutional propriety of being ordered to arrest the Congress of the United States.”
“Orders are orders, General,” said the Secretary.
“Mr. Secretary,” said Hall, “if you cannot successfully communicate the gravity of the situation here to the President, than I need to speak to the President himself. This cannot go forward as planned. It could cause the whole of the military to fly apart at the seams. Some people will believe that they are obligated to obey any order issued by the President. A handful will be eager to do it. Others, however, will feel themselves to be duty-bound to resist.”
“That would be mutiny, General.”
Silence hung over the line once again.
“I really must insist that I be permitted to speak to the President, Mr. Secretary,” said General Hall.
“General,” said the Secretary, his tone softening, “if you must... Let me see what I can do.”
Russell Senate Office Building
“I don’t like those guys,” said Melanie McCullough as her and Senator Dawson walked down the hall and past two uniformed members of the Congressional Provisional Battalion.
“Well,” said Dawson, “at least they’ve managed to allow food delivery trucks to get back onto the Capitol Grounds.
“Congress isn’t supposed to have its own army,” insisted the Deputy Press Secretary.
“To be fair,” replied the Senator, “the police aren’t supposed to stand aside and let a mob storm the House of Representatives either.”
“People have a right to protest!”
“Oh, don’t be naive Melanie. That was simple and raw political intimidation. A bold move, to be sure – but also a pretty damned thuggish one.”
“What’s the mood of the caucus?” asked the aide, switching topics.
“Pretty damned bleak. They don’t like the poll numbers at all. Some of them think that the President will be able to swing people in his favor if the economy comes apart, but I think that idea is pure foolishness. This isn’t the Clinton years. If this continues to be a catastrophe, the President will be blamed. They think that the House will move to impeach the President... And some of them aren’t so adverse in many ways, except that they’ll never vote to make Terrance Rickover the President of the United States. That’s why the President hasn’t appointed a new Vice President yet – even the people in that room who hate his guts and think he’s ruined the party for a generation don’t want fucking Rickover sitting in the White House.”
Rayburn House Office Building
It didn’t take long before rumors of the mobilization of troops from the nearby Third Infantry Regiment made their way to Terrance Rickover and the rest of his inner council.
“Soldiers?” asked the Speaker incredulously. “He’s going to send fucking soldiers to march into the Capitol to arrest us? Who the fuck does he think that he is, Charles I?”
“People in the White House are getting kind of nervous,” noted Michael Nelson, “hence the tip.”
“Would they even do it?” asked the Speaker.
“Well,” replied Nelson, “that is the question now. Some would, I’m sure. Some wouldn’t.”
“We have five-hundred armed people now,” said Jacob Henry softly, “a mix of police officers, members of Congress, and staffers.”
“But armed with what? Personal weapons and stuff from the Capitol Police stocks?” asked Nelson.
“Pretty much,” said Henry.
“And could they fight tanks, or even simple armored vehicles?” asked the Majority Whip.
“No,” conceded the mercenary officer.
“We have thousands of reservists sitting outside,” said the Speaker grimly.
“So do they,” noted the Whip.
“If it came to an all-out fight, I’d be
t on our guys over theirs.”
Fort Myer, VA
“Prepare to deploy?” asked Lieutenant Colonel Michael Gregory incredulously as soon as the voice of the NORTCOM Deputy Commander stopped.
The commander of the 4th Battalion, Third Infantry Regiment was used to his unit being called forth for ceremonial occasions and disaster relief. Never had he, in all of his years of training and military service, expected to be ordered to march his men into the centre of Washington, DC.
“You heard me, Colonel,” said the Lieutenant General who was the deputy Commander of the Northern Command, “the 4th Battalion is ordered to draw live ammunition and fuel up all vehicles as well as to begin making operational plans for a pacification mission that will take place in its area of operations.”
“Yes General,” said Colonel Gregory after a pause.
“Do not begin any further operations until you receive further orders to proceed,” added the General.
“Yes sir,” said the Colonel robotically. The General then hung up the phone and the Colonel set the handset back down upon the receiver.
“It’s what we were afraid of,” he said, turning to face Sam Wilkinson, the Captain in command of Alpha Company and his favorite junior officer, “exactly what the rumor mill said was coming down the line.”
“The men won’t like it,” said Wilkinson. “Fuck: I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” said Gregory sadly.
“What do we do?” asked Wilkinson.
“Do? We do our fucking jobs. That’s what we do,” shot back the Colonel. He could see that Wilkinson was taken aback by that, so he softened his tone.
“Sam,” he said, “this might be a hard week. For you. For me too. Not only for the men and women in the battalion, but for the country. They can’t see you waver, or they’ll waver too. We need to stay strong and trust that this will all work out in the end.”
“Jesus, Colonel,” said Wilkinson, “they’re going to order us to march into Washington to arrest members of the Congress. This is fucking crazy.”
“We just have to trust in the ability of the system to correct itself. We have our duty.”
“And if the system can’t correct itself: what then?”
The Oval Office, The White House
“Mr. President,” said General Hall as soon as he was admitted to the Oval Office, “I must tell you that I have the gravest possible reservations about this process. I am not a lawyer or a politician, so I won’t pretend that I’m in a position to judge either the legal or the political aspects of this. But – from a military point of view – this is a potential disaster.”
“General,” said the President, rising from his seat, “I understand your concerns and I have considered them already. But we must do what we must do. The law must be executed.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” replied Hall, “we have all taken oaths to the Constitution and to the law... But on a practical level, Mr. President...”
“Yes?” asked Bryan.
“Mr. President, I cannot predict what the effect of issuing this order would be. I know that there are some officers and men under my command who would refuse to obey it. How many, however... I just don’t know.”
The President walked over to one of the chairs set up around a table fifteen feet in front of the Resolution desk and dropped into a chair.
“But you know that they exist?”
He patted one of the other chairs, beckoning the General to take a seat. Hall walked over and did.
“Yes, Mr. President,” replied the Army Chief of Staff.
“Then why are they still in the service!” hollered the President, jumping up from his chair and standing to hover over the General.
“You’re telling me that there are traitors in the Army and that they’re still there?” screamed the President at the top of his lungs. “Why the fuck are they still there?”
The General stopped for a moment to think about his next words.
“Mr. President... I am telling you that there are officers who would feel duty-bound to refuse orders that they consider to be in violation of their Constitutional duties. That is not the same thing.”
“I am the Commander-in-Chief. That’s in the Constitution. You are telling me that soldiers would disobey their Commander-in-Chief. How is that anything but treason?”
“Mr. President, I’m a soldier. I will obey my orders. I will obey all lawful orders and remain within my correct realm. I believe firmly that that is my duty and the duty of all soldiers and officers of the United States. But I am telling you, sir, that you may only push men so far and so hard before you provoke a reaction. And you are dangerously close to that point now, Mr. President.”
“General,” said the President, “you are relieved.”
“If that is your wish, Mr. President,” said Hall evenly.
“You are dismissed, General,” said the President, backing away slowly.
The General stood, saluted, and exited the room.
Fort Stewart, GA
“He ordered what?” asked Major General Gregory Starnes, setting his cup of tea down on the counter.
“I’ve got it straight from a friend at the Pentagon,” said Colonel Duncan Robinette, the Third Infantry Division’s Chief of Staff. “The President ordered the Old Guard to go in and arrest the members of the Congress who’ve participated in raising this private security force and retaking the Capitol. They haven’t been given the go order yet, but General Hall went directly to the White House and was relieved as Chief of Staff over it.”
“The fuck?” said Starnes.
“I never liked the man,” said Colonel Robinette. “I thought that he was a fruitcake when he ran for President. But I didn’t think that he was totally fucking crazy. At least not before.”
“Will the Third Regiment do it?” asked General Starnes.
“It’s absolute fucking chaos in the Pentagon and around Washington right now, General,” said Robinette, “but I think that most people are conditioned to obey orders. I just don’t know. Some will, some won’t.”
“Are they going to fight the security forces controlling the Capitol?”
“That’s apparently the intention,” answered Robinette.
“Fuck,” said Starnes, walking over towards a window and looking out at the Georgia rain.
“I swore... I swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic,” said the Division commander.
“We all did, General,” said the Chief of Staff.
“If the President of the United States orders the armed forces to disrupt the operations of the Congress – of the people’s representatives – does he not become an enemy of the Constitution? One of those domestic enemies that you and I and all of us here swore to defend the country against?”
“Assemble the senior officers that you trust, Colonel,” said Starnes, “we have a decision to make.”
The Capitol, Washington, DC
Members of the Congressional Provisional Battalion had done their best to clear a path for the Speaker to address the crowd from the West Front of the Capitol. There had been some fighting between protestors and the security forces as well as between contending groups of protestors, but finally equipment had been able to be set up and the crowd sufficiently quieted to allow Rickover to be heard. Some within the Speaker’s entourage had opposed him leaving the semi-security that the Capitol complex offered, but Rickover had insisted. This was something that he had to do.
“I never thought that I would live to see a day like today,” began the Speaker, his words echoing over the crowd.
“Reports have reached us, from sources that we trust, that the President intends to turn the military and law enforcement apparatus of the Federal Government against the Congress. He claims that our actions, in opposing his attempts to run this government by executive fiat, constitute an insurrection and he reportedly intends to use elements of the armed forces to restore order.<
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“As you all know, we have assembled a security force here to prevent a repeat of the events of the other day: the seizure of the Capitol by armed thugs was an intolerable outrage, especially in that it occurred with the clear collusion of elements of the Federal Government extending all the way up to the President.
“But the forces that we have here are not enough. I must tell you now: if we wish to continue to have a government of the people, than that government must be defended by the people. This is the people’s house. We would not surrender it to a foreign dictator. Nor will I surrender it to a domestic one.
“Yet, in spite of the repeated violations of his Constitutional duties by this President, we still face an insurmountable legal obstacle in our quest to end this dictatorship: the President still, somehow, maintains more than thirty-four Democratic votes in the Senate that refuse to remove him from office. Short of an extra-Constitutional coup, we have no means by which we might immediately secure our freedoms. And if the President is allowed to take the Congress by armed force than, truly, all hope will be lost.
“I therefore ask you now – those of you standing here in front of me and those anywhere who can hear the sound of my voice – to stand with me in defense of free government.
“I will not lie to you. We do not have enough weapons here to equip all of you. Nor do we have the time to train you to defend this place against the sort of attack that might be mounted by the President should he be able to gather all of his forces. It is our hope that the presence of an armed force in defense of the Capitol will, however, deter all but the most serious of blows and force the President to think about what he would be inaugurating by making such a move. We will not assail the President. He can have no conflict without himself being the aggressor. By this action we hope that we might remind President Bryan – and all who support him – of the repeated lines that they have crossed in pursuit of their own dreams and of the ultimate consequences should they trespass further.
