solid-gold SOB? I tried to make Ed see that for half the time we were married.”
“He refused to be enlightened?” Tall Wolf asked.
“Persistently, but I was the one who didn’t believe he could make his cockamamie scheme work. The magic in our relationship had pretty well waned, and it fit with my exit plan to see him as a loser in as many ways as I could. But the truth is he was entirely practical in his means and methods. if not always exactly on the mark.”
McGill said, “Take us through it again, how Edmond Whelan intends to make the United States a country with a permanently conservative governing majority.”
Before she could, their waitress came and asked if they’d like something for dessert.
They settled for another round of ice tea.
Once the waitress brought their drinks and departed, Mira resumed.
“Ed told me if you want to build something, you need a foundation. He said the way to consolidate power at the federal level is by controlling state governments. You worked your tail off to get your people elected to state legislatures and governors’ offices. When census time rolled around and new legislative maps were to be drawn, your side gerrymandered the other guys out of as many seats in the federal House of Representatives as possible.”
“You control half of Congress,” Tall Wolf said, “nobody can ever pass a law you don’t like.”
“Right,” Mira said, “but there are other advantages, too. As I said, Congressional maps are redrawn every ten years. So you get five House elections in a decade. The advantage a one-term House incumbent has over a challenger with no federal government experience is enormous. With each reelection, that advantage continues to grow. Your power becomes entrenched. In the 2014 House elections, forty-one members retired; only nineteen lost their re-election attempts. So the odds are better than two-to-one you’ll get sick of the job rather than get booted out. Also, voters prefer governors to legislators as presidential candidates.”
“So what’s to keep the Democrats from wising up and competing harder at the state level?” McGill asked.
“Nothing, but again, they’d be fighting uphill. There are 31 state legislatures in GOP control,” Mira said. “If turning that around were a betting proposition, where would you put your money?”
Tall Wolf held up a hand. “Wait a minute. What about the demographic shift that’s going on? Isn’t that supposed to work against the right wing?”
Mira said, “On the national level, yeah. But not necessarily in state elections. Especially, in the ones that are trying to tilt things the other way with voter registration laws that discourage Democratic voters: minorities, younger voters, people who are only marginally interested. The big things liberals have going for them are rising resistance to income inequality and a growing sentiment that everybody should get a fair shake, including gays and immigrants.”
McGill sat back and took a sip of his drink, thinking about what he’d heard.
“Tell me how the president’s impeachment fits into Whelan’s plan,” he said.
“Well, electing a president is unlike anything else. It’s the only election, coupled with the election of a vice president, where the whole country gets to vote on the same office. Also, there’s more public interest. People who aren’t totally disengaged think they should vote for who they want to be president.”
“Even if they don’t know anything more about the candidates than what they see in campaign commercials,” Tall Wolf said.
Mira Kersten grinned. “Not everybody reads the New York Times, Mr. Co-director. Not even in the old days when you could get it for free online.”
“Meanwhile, back at the impeachment,” McGill said.
“Yes, back to that. Well, let’s look at what happened to Bill Clinton, after Ross Perot helped him beat Poppy Bush. Clinton got slimed from Day One. Accused of everything up to and including
“He refused to be enlightened?” Tall Wolf asked.
“Persistently, but I was the one who didn’t believe he could make his cockamamie scheme work. The magic in our relationship had pretty well waned, and it fit with my exit plan to see him as a loser in as many ways as I could. But the truth is he was entirely practical in his means and methods. if not always exactly on the mark.”
McGill said, “Take us through it again, how Edmond Whelan intends to make the United States a country with a permanently conservative governing majority.”
Before she could, their waitress came and asked if they’d like something for dessert.
They settled for another round of ice tea.
Once the waitress brought their drinks and departed, Mira resumed.
“Ed told me if you want to build something, you need a foundation. He said the way to consolidate power at the federal level is by controlling state governments. You worked your tail off to get your people elected to state legislatures and governors’ offices. When census time rolled around and new legislative maps were to be drawn, your side gerrymandered the other guys out of as many seats in the federal House of Representatives as possible.”
“You control half of Congress,” Tall Wolf said, “nobody can ever pass a law you don’t like.”
“Right,” Mira said, “but there are other advantages, too. As I said, Congressional maps are redrawn every ten years. So you get five House elections in a decade. The advantage a one-term House incumbent has over a challenger with no federal government experience is enormous. With each reelection, that advantage continues to grow. Your power becomes entrenched. In the 2014 House elections, forty-one members retired; only nineteen lost their re-election attempts. So the odds are better than two-to-one you’ll get sick of the job rather than get booted out. Also, voters prefer governors to legislators as presidential candidates.”
“So what’s to keep the Democrats from wising up and competing harder at the state level?” McGill asked.
“Nothing, but again, they’d be fighting uphill. There are 31 state legislatures in GOP control,” Mira said. “If turning that around were a betting proposition, where would you put your money?”
Tall Wolf held up a hand. “Wait a minute. What about the demographic shift that’s going on? Isn’t that supposed to work against the right wing?”
Mira said, “On the national level, yeah. But not necessarily in state elections. Especially, in the ones that are trying to tilt things the other way with voter registration laws that discourage Democratic voters: minorities, younger voters, people who are only marginally interested. The big things liberals have going for them are rising resistance to income inequality and a growing sentiment that everybody should get a fair shake, including gays and immigrants.”
McGill sat back and took a sip of his drink, thinking about what he’d heard.
“Tell me how the president’s impeachment fits into Whelan’s plan,” he said.
“Well, electing a president is unlike anything else. It’s the only election, coupled with the election of a vice president, where the whole country gets to vote on the same office. Also, there’s more public interest. People who aren’t totally disengaged think they should vote for who they want to be president.”
“Even if they don’t know anything more about the candidates than what they see in campaign commercials,” Tall Wolf said.
Mira Kersten grinned. “Not everybody reads the New York Times, Mr. Co-director. Not even in the old days when you could get it for free online.”
“Meanwhile, back at the impeachment,” McGill said.
“Yes, back to that. Well, let’s look at what happened to Bill Clinton, after Ross Perot helped him beat Poppy Bush. Clinton got slimed from Day One. Accused of everything up to and including
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