by Kurt Winans
Roughly an hour before that joint House of Representatives and Senate session would be called to order by number five, Samuel Tillman strolled into the Capitol complex. He had walked over from the hotel where he would be staying for however long was necessary, and was quite pleased to see along the way that the only flag being flown atop the Capitol dome was that of Texas. Much in the same way that President Harwell had mandated a change of flags at the appropriate hour when Texas was longer a part of the United States, the senior leadership of the republic had ordered that all American flags be removed from facilities within Texas.
Upon reaching and entering the outer office of number five, Samuel said “Good morning all. Isn’t this a fantastic day to establish a new system of government?”
The staff members on hand rose in unison, and one of them replied, “Yes sir it is.”
“Indeed. Now then, shall I just go on in, or is the speaker occupied?”
Then the most recently hired staff member for the speaker stepped into Samuels’s path and proclaimed, “I’m sorry sir, but I must ask you to wait in this office until I clear you to enter the speaker’s office.”
Although not accustomed to hearing words that forbid him from doing as he pleased in nearly any forum, let alone from such a youthful source, Samuel respected the young man for standing up to a stranger while in the course of protecting his boss. Intrigued by what could become an interesting exchange via opposing tests of will, with a slight grin on his face Samuel said, “Alright young man. You appear to be the one in charge of the moment, so let’s do this your way.”
“Thank you for understanding sir. Now may I please have your name so that I may check the Madam Speaker’s schedule?”
“Certainly you can have my name, but you won’t find it on her schedule because there has never been a need to do so. Just let her know that Samuel is here, and that our meeting should only take a few minutes of her time.”
“I’m sorry sir, but you may not be aware that the Madam Speaker is very busy this morning with the upcoming joint session. If you aren’t currently on her schedule, then it is highly doubtful that she will have time to see you. Would you like me to set up a future appointment for you to speak with her?”
“Your professionalism is admirable young man, but please don’t test me any further on this matter. You must believe me when I tell you that she will want to speak with me before she heads off to the house chamber.”
Looking over to see that his fellow staff members were nodding in agreement, the young man gulped again and said, “Yes sir, right away sir.”
With an approving nod Samuel replied, “Thank you.”
Mere seconds’ later number five came through the door to her private office and greeted Samuel with a firm handshake and a hug. Then she said, “It’s great to see you again Samuel, please express my thanks to Victoria for the other evening. She, as always, knows how to host a magnificent party Texas style.”
“Thank you Madam Speaker, she will be pleased to hear that you had such a good time. Now shall we venture into your office for a moment, I have something of great importance to discuss with you.”
“Of course, and may one of my staff members get you a cup of coffee?”
Turning his steely gaze toward the young man whom had attempted to run interference, Samuel replied, “No thank you. I’m sure that your staff has more important matters to occupy their time.”
“Suit yourself Samuel, but if you change your mind just let one of them know. Now then, let’s step into my office and discuss what’s on your mind.”
After the door closed behind them, the young staffer looked at his counterparts and quietly whispered, “Who the hell is that man?”
In whispered reply he heard, “That is Samuel Tillman. He and his family are trusted old friends of the speaker who have a tremendous amount of wealth and power. He commands a high level of respect, and will test those who test him. Try not to take his bark too seriously though, as he really is a sweet man at heart.”
“He is?”
“Yes he is, but you need to understand this. Don’t be foolish enough to believe that you can disrespect Mr. Tillman in the future. Remember his face, and don’t ever ask him who he is again. Is that clear?”
Nodding in conjunction with the reply, he said, “Yes, that’s very clear.”
When Samuel then emerged a short time later from the office of number five, the young man stood out of respect. Much to his amazement, Samuel Tillman reached out his hand and said, “It was nice to meet you young man. You did well while protecting your boss during our interaction, and I informed the Madam Speaker of that dutiful stance. In demonstrating such bravado, there may be a future for you within my organization.”
Although surprised by the comment and not having any idea what that organization might be, he grasped the outstretched hand and steadily replied, “Thank you Mr. Tillman, I appreciate that sir.”
Thirty minutes later, the Madam Speaker moved into the house chamber from a nearby conference room and took her seat above the podium. Before calling the session to order, she glanced in the direction of Samuel who was seated in the special visitors section which had been established for non-elected dignitaries. With a subtle smile that could barely be detected, she then rose and swung her gavel of authority sharply down upon the thick oak desk several times. Speaking quite plainly and eloquently into the microphone, she uttered the words that many among the masses had waited years to hear. “I now hereby call for this first session of the Legislature for the Independent Republic of Texas to come to order.”
After a moment of applause by Samuel Tillman and those within the assembled body, the first item on the long list of session objectives could be addressed. Marcus Stoddard, the man who had just two months prior been re-elected to his third six year term as Governor would be sworn into office as the first President of Texas by the Madam Speaker, while the former Democratic United States Senator Denise Walker would become the Vice President moments later. The tandem would then serve, as would those who were destined to follow in their footsteps, for a single six year term in office. Those decisions which were secretly voted upon by the Texas Legislature throughout the previous two weeks had placed the organizations number three and number thirteen into the two most highly elected offices within the new republic, and Samuel smiled at number five after she had sworn both of them in.
Although the basic framework of a democratic government such as that of the United States would provide a template for Texas to follow, several somewhat minor alterations would also come into being. The action of creating a one-time only six year term in office would establish the first example of such a break in the traditional form of Presidential and Vice Presidential term limits, but it was believed that such a change would be beneficial. No longer would there be the wasted time, resources, and energy of the elected Chief Executive upon the efforts of either re-election to another term in office, or endorsing another from the same party to succeed him or her. Therefore the blatant distraction which such actions of waste undoubtedly caused would also be eliminated. Throughout the previous several decades, with an ever increasing length of calendar time in doing so, it was felt by many within the United States that elected officials of multiple levels, be they local, state, or federal, had abused the system. Multitudes of men and women within those positions had repeatedly placed more emphasis on using their time in office to be re-elected than actually doing the legislative work which they had been elected to do in the first place. Using that disturbing pattern as something to avoid, Texas intended to have those within her elected government structure adhere to a different standard by minimizing when they could campaign. With modern technology readily available for nearly every citizen of the republic to become informed about a candidates perceived level of character and stance on various issues, it had been determined that the onset of any marketing push for an office could not begin until October first of that particular election year. After all, ten or
eleven weeks before what would in the future be a mid-December election day was sure to provide more than enough time for a particular candidates message to be delivered to and received by the citizens of Texas. Such a thought process was a bold step forward to streamline what had become a completely bloated and outdated system of campaigning at all levels of United States government, which sadly included those who had previously attained or sought even the highest of offices in the land.
That meaningful and adult action taken by the Texas Legislature to regulate itself led to another set of breaks from those traditions of the United States, and such changes would be implemented during the next Presidential and Vice Presidential election to replace those who had now been sworn into office. With the 2032 election already slated for its mid-December date of Tuesday the fourteenth as opposed to an early November date, the lengthy transitional period that the United States endured from one elected leader to the next would be shortened. A similar action would occur on the opposite end of that period as well. Instead of a set in stone January twentieth date for an American Presidential inauguration, Texas would commence with the transition of power on the first Monday to follow January first. For those elected in 2032 that would mean a transition period of only twenty days, as they would be sworn into their positions on the third of January in 2033.
As the final alteration to the ingrained system of their former nation, and certainly the one of greatest significance, was that of how the election itself would be handled. The most current census to begin the previous year had revealed that Texas had a population of just over thirty million. Although it was true that not all of those citizens were of legal voting age, a large enough pool did exist to attempt an alternative system of selecting those in the highest leadership roles. Texas would employ a four nominee system regardless of party affiliation which would allow the winner of the election to receive less than one-third of the popular vote, while the runner-up of the four, once again regardless of party affiliation, would become the Vice President. In simple terms a nominee could attain office with as little as twenty-six percent of the tallied votes if each of the other three candidates received no more than twenty-four or twenty-five respectively. Additionally, all four nominees would have an understanding and acceptance before campaigning that they were both willing and compelled to assume either of the top two executive positions if that was how the people of Texas voted.
With all of those determinations officially peened into the new Independent Republic of Texas constitution, the assembled mass moved onto their next order of business with lightning quick efficiency. The order of further succession became official when the positions of Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor who acted as leader of the Senate were tabbed as numbers three and four behind the Vice President. In response, Samuel smiled outwardly because his longtime friend the Madam Speaker had achieved such an honor. Aside from the fact that it would make both Victoria and Ms. Holloway extremely happy to learn that two women held the positions of the republics second and third in command, it was also beneficial that the organizations number five completed the trifecta of operatives positioned at the very top of the Texas political structure.
The Legislature then enacted no change to the structure of the Texas Supreme Court, so there would continue to be nine judges elected to six year terms with three of them up for re-election every two years. Although Samuel and the organization had no numbered or otherwise operative within the Supreme Court at the present time, a plan could be put in motion to rectify that situation. Samuel felt that if none of the current judges were open to the approach of the organization, then he could have someone worthy of the position recruited and ready to assume such a role within the next two years. If that type of action were necessary, he would begin the search for qualified individuals within the coming weeks. Perhaps either number seventeen or nineteen could fit the bill, as they no longer occupied positions for Texas in Washington D.C. as members of the United States House of Representatives.
To further entrench the organizations reach and positions of power and influence, former Republican United States Senator Nathan Pearson was then formally appointed to the position of Ambassador to the United States by President Marcus Stoddard. That action had been arranged previously by Samuel Tillman, and as the former Senator possessed extensive experience in and around the political beltway of Washington D.C., the appointment raised no eyebrows. As the first ambassador from Texas to his former country, number eleven would theoretically be treated with a level of respect and diplomatic immunity while serving. Because of that he could continue his previous work for Texas in the capitol city of the United States by coordinating his efforts with those of number twenty-nine in the Pentagon. In short order the pair, and each of their respective networks of underlings, would become a most formidable asset with respect to the desires of the organization.
Conversation was lively and jovial during lunch break within both the House and Senate dining areas, as progress on developing and ratifying various aspects of the new Texas constitution were, as had been hoped, moving along with smooth expediency. While enjoying lunch in the House dining area with his good friend number five, Samuel leaned toward her and whispered, “All is going according to the organizations plan Madam Speaker, but there is still much work to be done during the afternoon session and beyond. You have the agenda which needs to be followed, but perhaps I can be of some assistance before you call the Legislature back to order.”
Turning slightly in order to return his whisper, the Madam Speaker replied, “How so number two?”
“Well we have a little time before the lunch break is over, so why don’t I work the room by talking to a few of my friends and other well respected members of the house. I should be able to have them support our objectives without too much effort, and in turn they can each gather support from other members who typically follow their lead.”
“That sounds like a good idea. You go work your magic, and I will do the same with some of those who already support me.”
With that Samuel excused himself from those seated at the table, and began to move about the room while others finished their meals. In the same classic fashion that he had employed during countless business meetings, Samuel initiated a course of action which would play into both his own personal advantage and that of the organization. There were additional members within the structure of the organization which could be placed into positions of authority, and by smooth talking members of the Legislature, that goal could be more easily obtained. The same could be said for Samuel’s trucking, rail, and shipping interests, so by laying the foundation of their support for prospective lucrative contracts, he would ensure additional wealth and security for future generations of the Tillman family. What would be of tremendous help to him as he began the two pronged endeavor was his familiarity to those within the dining area. Nearly everyone remembered who Samuel was based on the riveting speech that he had delivered to the House of Representatives on December seventh about the need to act swiftly and decisively toward separation. Those poignant words applied then, and he would urge the elected body to take quick action again in the present climate.
Samuel began by seeking out the alpha personality located at each table, and then during the ensuing dialog played into their vanity. He stated that nothing within the morning session, or what was to come in the afternoon or future sessions, could have been or would be accomplished without their bold commitment to the challenge at hand. In essence he was out politicking the politicians, while at the same time steering his target individuals towards a belief that they were somehow in command of each brief conversation. Although his time to work with was short, Samuel did manage within that thirty minute span before the lunch break concluded to gain support from several representatives on a few issues which would be addressed throughout the afternoon.
Once again the Madam Speaker stood proudly in front of the assembled mass and swung her gavel several times onto the
thick oak desk before her. Then she said, “If everyone will please take their seats, I hereby call for the afternoon session of the Legislature to come to order.”
A voice below her assisted by loudly repeating, “Everyone please take their seats.”
Then after a moment which enabled the elected officials to shuffle about and get settled, the Madam Speaker continued with, “At this time I would like to propose that our next order of business be that of addressing how Texas shall defend itself. We need to make decisions this afternoon with regard to the strength of our military, and how to develop future leaders within that area. Should a foreign entity ever wish to pursue hostile actions against us, Texas will need to be prepared.”
Much deliberation about that encompassing question then ensued, and involved, as one would expect, differing points of view. On one hand, some felt that members of the United States armed forces who hailed from Texas should automatically switch allegiance to their place of birth and form the backbone of her own military much in the same way that many officers and enlisted men from the Confederate states had done during the Civil War. Others believed that to be a completely impractical approach within the modern era. To blindly expect those career men and women in each branch of the service to surrender their years of service, along with the current benefits and future pensions that accompanied those commitments, would be unfair unless they could somehow be enticed by a sweeter deal. Such an enticement would need to match aspects of the aforementioned to which they already possessed, while probably also providing an advance in rank and pay.
