Speaker Press, at the ornately decorated podium in the House Chamber, wasting little time and began the proceedings quickly. He stated loudly, “Come to order. Today, we are in this hallowed chamber to make a most regrettable decision. Mr. Copeland, would you please read the agreed upon overview of the charges.”
Congressman Copeland was a man who appeared to be in his early 50’s. He spoke in a deep voice of Midwestern origin.
Mr. Copeland took out his notes with as much grandeur as the plump balding man could muster, “Mr. Speaker. Distinguished fellow members of Congress, the charges are as follows: The President of the United States is charged under The Articles of Impeachment for violating his sworn duties set forth in the Constitution of the United States.”
The Congressman then paused to take a drink of water. Frank knew it was cheap theatrics intended to keep the camera on him longer. Sad to say, but some politicians always crave the spotlight and would do anything to get whatever attention they could get and to have it last as long as possible.
The Congressman continued, “On six different occasions, the Chief Executive has performed tasks through the use of ‘Executive Orders’ taking actions which are granted to the Congress under the Constitution of these United States. These tasks, among other things, consisted of taking funds from one department within the Federal Government and reallocating them to another department for unrelated tasks. Most recently he ordered, and executed, a fifty billion dollar transfer from the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of Energy for further research on solar energy technology. It should also be noted that one of the research companies who received the before mentioned moneys has already filed for bankruptcy, less than eighteen months after receipt of federal funds.
“Agree or disagree with the action, intent, or even the results, it is clear that under the Constitution that budgetary functions of this nature require an act of Congress. The power of the purse is granted to this branch, and this branch only.”
The Congressman paused again and looked around the room in what the man, no doubt, thought would be dramatic fashion. Frank could not help but roll his eyes. Politicians came in a variety of types and some of them appreciated the spotlight more than anything else. He never could find a good use for those men or women in these positions whose desire for attention surpassed their desire to lead. He often joked that these people weren’t even politicians. He had even come up with a new word for this type of elected official, celebretician, or a politician who wanted to be a celebrity more than they wanted to be a representative of the people.
The plump man continued, “Mr. Speaker, there are many more examples of these types of violations of his sworn duties. A comprehensive list of these has been distributed to each and every member of both Houses of Congress for their review, as well as previously having been read into the official record. Sufficient time for review and debate of these charges has now passed.”
“Thank you, Mr. Copeland,” responded Speaker Press, “We will now proceed with an oral roll call and vote.”
The news broadcast split into three sections. The largest portion of the screens showed a wide shot of the House Chamber, while another, slightly smaller portion, showed the required “talking heads,” who were attempting to interpret what had just happened, as well as what was currently happening, and then the annoying part, telling people what to think about it all. Along the bottom of the screen was a running tally of the guilty/not guilty votes.
Telling people what to think had become an ever-increasing portion of most of the modern news broadcasts. Frank believed it was why the ratings on most of the 24/7 news channels were horrible. The news, once upon a time, was meant to inform the people, not persuade them to think in some particular way. A well-educated populace, such as that in the United States, did not need to be told what their opinion should be. They were capable of drawing conclusions all on their own. They were growing to resent not being treated as though they could, and as a result tuning out and ignoring anything that resembled news.
The bartender turned the volume down and replaced it with the typical music mix during the boring oral vote counting process. This would allow the opinion jockeys to be ignored with ease.
Master Sergeant Peter Fisher, the combat medic who had stopped Captain Banner from bleeding to death, was also a full-fledged political junkie. As such, he started his own running commentary, “This must be a very close vote. There were no long speeches, no grandstanding. They got right to it. I doubt the Speaker has been that brief in his entire career. He must suspect that the vote count is close and wants to get it done before someone who is sitting on the fence falls off on the wrong side.”
Frank waved off the comment as, after all, he had to defend his bet, “No way, this one won’t be close. They have been holding debates and investigations for months. They have the polling data, they know the public opinion, and other than campaign contributions, most of these people don’t care about much besides public opinion. At this point the camera is guaranteed to be on him for at least the next hour while they call the vote. Look at him, he knows it,” he motioned to the television where the Speaker could be seen trying to look poised and dignified. The man appeared to be stifling a yawn, as he listened to the House of Representatives vote, one member at a time.
Everyone on the team had agreed with the logic but had bet against him. That meant there was no way they could let Frank know how they really felt. He did start to feel some pressure as they piled on one sarcastic comment after another about the uselessness of Congress, how they were too chicken to do it for fear of making someone with more power than they held mad if the vote failed. They then proceeded to tell him what drinks they were going to buy with his money.
The vote tally on the screen slowly changed. It very quickly was becoming obvious that there were only a few House Members still supporting the President. Not even some of the most extreme members of the man’s own party had the intestinal fortitude to defend their party’s leader this time. The paper trail on these charges, and the public opinion were not in the President’s favor. Frank found it sad how easily politicians were to predict. If they didn’t bend to public opinion of their districts, it meant that their next campaign could be in jeopardy, and they would never let that happen if they could help it.
Frank was relieved, as well as slightly disturbed, that he had been so correct. This vote wouldn’t be close at all. There would be a new President of the United States well ahead of the next election.
Warrant Officer Peter Choi was the first to say it out loud, “Well gents, looks like we have a new boss.”
With a grand gesture, Frank picked up his newly acquired pile of cash and declared, “The drinks are on me.”
AP NEWS FLASH: Today the House of Representatives voted to impeach the President of the United States. The Senate will now decide the sentence resulting from this action. The Senate plans to hold hearings intended to remove him from office and will send this issue to the floor for immediate debate, promising a vote in the next forty eight hours. This measure is expected to pass the Senate by an overwhelming margin.
AP ECONOMIC NEWS: Stocks were mostly flat today during light trading. Most traders were waiting for the impeachment proceedings to end. Monday promises to be a rocky trading day due to the results of the vote in the House of Representatives and the anticipated change in leadership in the Executive Branch. Most market insiders tend to prefer stability in leadership in Washington D.C., as it gives predictable economic policies. The financial markets always favor predictability as much as growth. The Vice President is known to have stated his desire for a much different fiscal policy than the President. It is hoped that whatever changes he will enact will be released quickly so that the market jitters can be calmed.