god Has A Plan (alternate Battlestar Galactica (RDM))

[lordroel]

Jan 30, 2020 10:47:52 GMT Brky2020 said:

See below.

That answer my question, thanks Brky2020.

[Brky2020]

The latter, plus Clyburn was tainted politically by his loyalty to Lamar Alexander.

[Brky2020]

THE 2008 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL RACE

INTRODUCTION

The 2008 United States Presidential election was at the time considered to be a turning point of sorts for both parties and for the United States.

For the Republicans, it represented a chance to turn the corner from the ‘unpleasantness’ of the Lamar Alexander impeachment and show the world that the Grand Old Party wasn’t the bastion of fundamentalist religious intolerance most of the world thought it to be, but a party that represented the fusion of traditional values with modern life looking forward to the future. Republican shrills on the cable news networks looked to Silicon Valley (particularly American corporations like Apple) and NASA's plans for a lunar base, a Mars landing and exploration of the asteroid belt by 2030.

For the Democrats, it also was an opportunity to show the world it wasn’t the token, merely conservative, pseudo-progressive Christian opposition party. The Democrats could show they represented American ideas of upholding the golden rule and caring for one's neighbor using the government as a means by which to do so. The Democrats also wanted to sell America on a heavily modified version of Alexander's vision -- America did need to halt its retreat into isolationaism, and open up to the world albeit in a limited way, one that protected traditional American values, and, incidentially, satisfied the overly conservative, practicing or at least professing Christian voter that they had to win over in order to regain the White House in '08 and, maybe by 2012, the House.

Of course, the men who were involved in that unpleasantness from 1981 that had all but been whitewashed away had their own vision in mind, and they were the ones who would have a say in America's direction going forward.

There were third parties, most notably the Libertarians (all Christians, by the way); Howard Phillips' Constitution Party; the John Birch Party; regional groups (usually made up of a half-dozen or so diehards) like the Nebraska Farmers Party and the Southron Confederate Party; and the Nature Party, dreamed up by students and professors at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as the conservative Christian answer to the very liberal Green Parties in Europe and the Colonies. There also was the fellow in Virginia who tried to single-handedly bring back the Whig Party, the so-called "worshippers" from a Foursquare church in Kentucky who formed the Worship Party, and another fellow in New York City who got media attention for his The Rent Is Too Darn High Party and its singular platform.

Outside the United States, there were many among the American diaspora who felt strongly that the present government was illegitimate, and decided to have their say on who should really be in charge.

[Brky2020]

THE 2008 U.S, PRESIDENTIAL RACE

I. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Several potential candidates for the vacant Vice-Presidential seat in 2007 declined the opportunity to be one heartbeat away from the Oval Office, and their reasons boiled down to politics.

With Alexander having been effectively exiled from political life and shamed in the eyes of the public, the Democratic Party went to work immediately on salvaging its image. That meant throwing the President -- one of their own, and a member of a group of people the Democrats desperately needed the support of -- under the bus. Clyburn stood by Alexander from his winning the Iowa caucuses in 2004 to the impeachment vote on the House floor, and was as a result Clyburn was tainted by his loyalty to Alexander. Politically the Democrats could simply not afford standing by Clyburn. They sent their political hacks and shills to tell the media the Democrats still supported the poor, the working class, labor, and the African-American community, but Clyburn just wasn't the man for the job. They did so knowing it would anger many African-Americans, with their rationalization that African-American voters who could jump ship to the GOP had already done so and the more moderate to liberal voters had nowhere else to go.

Throughout 2007, candidates announced their intentions to win the Democratic nomination. Among them:

* Senate Minority Leader Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia
* Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin
* Former Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota
* Businessman Michael Bloomberg of New York, CEO of Bloomberg Media
* Businessman Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks
* Representative Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
* Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas
* Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
* Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska
* Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico
* Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana
* Representative Dennis Kuchinich of Ohio
* Actress Meryl Streep of California

Among those who explored a Democratic run and decided against were Senator Mark Warner of Virginia; Virginia Governor Tim Kaine; Kansas Senator Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas; Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania; former Governor of Minnesota and current World Wrestling Entertainment commentator Jesse Ventura; and actor Martin Sheen.

By the time the Iowa caucus was held in early February 2008, five contenders had distinguished themselves from the rest of the pack -- John Edwards, Michael Bloomberg, Jay Rockefeller, Tom Daschle and Meryl Streep. Daschle fell back due to a lack of funding compared to his four well-supported competitors, and the pundits proclaimed that money would buy the Democratic nomination. Going into Super Tuesday, Rockefeller had a narrow lead over Streep in the polls, with Bloomberg a close third and Edwards far enough behind them to be counted out of the running.

However, John Edwards did the one thing his competitors had completely dismissed: speaking to the conservative Christians who now comprised the majority of the nation's population, and to its African-American community as well as to America's working class. Bloomberg had received the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, but the other major labor organizations and the most influential black political groups had withheld their endorsements until Super Tuesday, waiting to see who the voters endorsed.

Twenty-one states held their Democratic primaries on Super Tuesday, which was the same day as the Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl parade through Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas and when the Bethel church of Redding, California tried to disrupt Mardi Gras with a "worship celebration" in the middle of the parade.

TO BE CONTINUED

[Brky2020]

Super Tuesday saw Streep win California and Rockefeller win New York by pluralities, as they, Edwards, Bloomberg and Daschle split the vote in most of the states. By the end of the night, Rockefeller led Streep by just one in total delegates pledged, with Edwards -- thanks to decisive wins in the south and in Utah -- a close third. Bloomberg was well behind in fourth, and Daschle a distant fifth. Edwards' wins in Louisiana, Nebraska, Virginia and Wisconsin offset Streep's decisive win in Hawaii and Rockefeller's narrow win over Streep in Maryland.

Daschle dropped out on February 26, and only Edwards, Streep, Rockefeller, Bloomberg, and Mike Gravel were still in the race going into March. Bloomberg dropped out March 15, narrowing the race to three people with Edwards having a steadily growing lead over Streep and Rockefeller quickly falling further behind. 

Rockefeller dropped out April 30, leaving the nomination an effective two-way race between the senator and the actress, with both in a dead heat both in the polls and number of delegates, but Edwards had two advantages: his greater popularity among rural and suburban Democrats, and one of the May primaries being in his home state of North Carolina, and Edwards won it decisively, as well as Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky. Streep won Oregon, but Edwards picked up enough delegates there and by winning South Dakota to edge out Streep in total delegates needed for the nomination. In August at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Edwards formally won the nomination, and then picked Rockefeller as his running mate. Four polls -- The New York Times/CNN; Sinclair; CBN/Barna; and The Associated Press -- showed Edwards as a narrow favorite over the probable GOP candidate heading into September.

II. THE THIRD PARTIES

The third party that ended up getting the most media attention was a new party formed in just six months: the Founders Party, started by a group of college students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. that wanted to bring America 'back to Jeffersonian principles'. They selected Jesse Ventura as its candidate. The former professional wrestler and politician, and current commentator for the World Wrestling Federation's Smackdown! program (Thursday nights on Fox Sports 1), accepted during a Smackdown program in August and stepped away from the commentator's table to run his campaign (in the WWF's storyline, he was fired by WWF owner Vince McMahon for 'betraying myself and the WWF Universe'). He ended up with 2.7 percent of the overall vote. The following April, Ventura returned to the ring to face, and defeat, Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania.

The Libertarian Party selected rocker Ted Nugent as its candidate; Nugent, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, campaigned between dates on his tour supporting his worship album. Howard Phillips ran as the candidate for the Constitution Party. The John Birch Party ran businessman Donald J. Trump; the Southern Baptist-backed Nature Party ran Richard Land, who used his campaign as an evangelistic tool for the Southern Baptist Convention (and ran ecologically-minded members to John Edwards' campaign). Other third parties, previously noted, were officially in the running but only got mentioned on their websites or as oddities by the mainstream media.

[Brky2020]

III. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

The GOP was determined to regain the White House and there were no shortage of candidates who wanted to lead the way.

Heading into the Iowa caucus, 23 candidates had announced their intention to run and were hard at work in every city, town and farm throughout the state, looking for votes.

The leading candidates as of New Years Day were considered to be:

* Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, considered the early favorite by Fox News
* New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, considered the early favorite by The New York Times, CNN and USA Today
* House Speaker Dennis Hastert, considered an early favorite by NBC, The Washington Post and Time Magazine
* Former Vice-President Sam Brownback, considered one of the early favorites by SInclair along with Santorum and Giuliani
* Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, considered the early favorite by CBN

Also considered to be in the mix were:

* Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who quickly became one of the darlings of the evangelical media:
* Texas Congressman Ron Paul
* Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore
* Maryland Senator Alan Keyes
* Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
* Former Congressman and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge
* Florida Governor Charlie Crist
* Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
* Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
* Businessman and former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer
* Businesswoman Carly Fiorina

In January, two notable non-politicians jumped into the race.

* Actor Clint Eastwood decided to run as a Republican, partly as an answer to actress Meryl Streep's Democratic run, and partly on the potential to steal the GOP candidacy.

* Former stock car driver Richard Petty announced his candidacy in January by driving a Pontiac Grand Prix -- painted to resemble the #43 STP car he drove in his final Winston Cup race in 1992 -- from his birthplace of Level Cross, North Carolina to Des Moines, where he rested for the night upon arrival and began campaigning the next morning.

Five more people announced their candidacy in January:

* Christian talk show host Marlin Maddoux
* Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan
* President of Texas A&M University Robert Gates
* Heritage Foundation Distinguished Fellow Elaine Chao (the wife of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell)
* Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who immediately picked up the endorsements of the Moral Majority, the Family Research Council and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

TO BE CONTINUED

[stevep]

   Brky2020 ,

  Well that's some interesting events.  A bit surprised that Streep got so close or ran at all as I never knew she had that much interest in politics.  Edwards, as a conservative southerner with a prominent Christian background is probably a better option in such conservative times.

  The Republicans have as big a stampede as the Democrats in 2020 but suspect its not going to be as chaotic as OTL.

  Steve

[lordroel]

Feb 8, 2020 2:30:07 GMT Brky2020 said:

III. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

The GOP was determined to regain the White House and there were no shortage of candidates who wanted to lead the way.

Heading into the Iowa caucus, 23 candidates had announced their intention to run and were hard at work in every city, town and farm throughout the state, looking for votes.

The leading candidates as of New Years Day were considered to be:

* Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, considered the early favorite by Fox News
* New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, considered the early favorite by The New York Times, CNN and USA Today
* House Speaker Dennis Hastert, considered an early favorite by NBC, The Washington Post and Time Magazine
* Former Vice-President Sam Brownback, considered one of the early favorites by SInclair along with Santorum and Giuliani
* Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, considered the early favorite by CBN

Also considered to be in the mix were:

* Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who quickly became one of the darlings of the evangelical media:
* Texas Congressman Ron Paul
* Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore
* Maryland Senator Alan Keyes
* Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
* Former Congressman and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge
* Florida Governor Charlie Crist
* Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
* Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
* Businessman and former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer
* Businesswoman Carly Fiorina

In January, two notable non-politicians jumped into the race.

* Actor Clint Eastwood decided to run as a Republican, partly as an answer to actress Meryl Streep's Democratic run, and partly on the potential to steal the GOP candidacy.

* Former stock car driver Richard Petty announced his candidacy in January by driving a Pontiac Grand Prix -- painted to resemble the #43 STP car he drove in his final Winston Cup race in 1992 -- from his birthplace of Level Cross, North Carolina to Des Moines, where he rested for the night upon arrival and began campaigning the next morning.

Five more people announced their candidacy in January:

* Christian talk show host Marlin Maddoux
* Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan
* President of Texas A&M University Robert Gates
* Heritage Foundation Distinguished Fellow Elaine Chao (the wife of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell)
* Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who immediately picked up the endorsements of the Moral Majority, the Family Research Council and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

TO BE CONTINUED

Intersting Brky2020.

[Brky2020]

Feb 8, 2020 10:16:26 GMT stevep said:

   Brky2020 ,

  Well that's some interesting events.  A bit surprised that Streep got so close or ran at all as I never knew she had that much interest in politics.  Edwards, as a conservative southerner with a prominent Christian background is probably a better option in such conservative times.

  The Republicans have as big a stampede as the Democrats in 2020 but suspect its not going to be as chaotic as OTL.

  Steve

Her celebrity got her a long way. In the end she failed to connect with the devout majority, and with the labor unions which still have some power ITTL.

The GOP field will narrow significantly by Super Tuesday.

[Brky2020]

Feb 8, 2020 10:56:44 GMT lordroel said:

Feb 8, 2020 2:30:07 GMT Brky2020 said:

III. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

The GOP was determined to regain the White House and there were no shortage of candidates who wanted to lead the way.

Heading into the Iowa caucus, 23 candidates had announced their intention to run and were hard at work in every city, town and farm throughout the state, looking for votes.

The leading candidates as of New Years Day were considered to be:

* Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, considered the early favorite by Fox News
* New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, considered the early favorite by The New York Times, CNN and USA Today
* House Speaker Dennis Hastert, considered an early favorite by NBC, The Washington Post and Time Magazine
* Former Vice-President Sam Brownback, considered one of the early favorites by SInclair along with Santorum and Giuliani
* Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, considered the early favorite by CBN

Also considered to be in the mix were:

* Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who quickly became one of the darlings of the evangelical media:
* Texas Congressman Ron Paul
* Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore
* Maryland Senator Alan Keyes
* Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour
* Former Congressman and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge
* Florida Governor Charlie Crist
* Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
* Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
* Businessman and former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer
* Businesswoman Carly Fiorina

In January, two notable non-politicians jumped into the race.

* Actor Clint Eastwood decided to run as a Republican, partly as an answer to actress Meryl Streep's Democratic run, and partly on the potential to steal the GOP candidacy.

* Former stock car driver Richard Petty announced his candidacy in January by driving a Pontiac Grand Prix -- painted to resemble the #43 STP car he drove in his final Winston Cup race in 1992 -- from his birthplace of Level Cross, North Carolina to Des Moines, where he rested for the night upon arrival and began campaigning the next morning.

Five more people announced their candidacy in January:

* Christian talk show host Marlin Maddoux
* Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan
* President of Texas A&M University Robert Gates
* Heritage Foundation Distinguished Fellow Elaine Chao (the wife of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell)
* Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who immediately picked up the endorsements of the Moral Majority, the Family Research Council and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

TO BE CONTINUED

Intersting Brky2020 .

They all see a gap which they each think they can fill.

One of them has the backing of the right people in high places, which can make all the difference in the world.

[Brky2020]

A. THE STARTING GATE

Iowa had never seen so many Presidential candidates canvass its state looking for voters’ support for their respective party nominations as they did in January 2008. For the Republicans and the Democrats, that meant near non-stop campaigning in the state from New Years Day on. Santorum, Huckabee, Eastwood and Fiorina were the first GOP candidates to enter the state, going house-to-house in Des Moines on January 1 while the Iowa Hawkeyes were playing in the Rose Bowl against UCLA.

As January rolled on, several favorites began to emerge. Santorum, Huckabee and Eastwood led the pack, followed by Giuliani; Thompson; Fiorina; the populist Ron Paul; and the early dark horse candidate Bobby Jindal. They would be joined days before the caucuses by the little-known-nationally Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Palin in particular began to pick up more endorsements, ranging from former Super Bowl winning quarterback Mark Brunell to Grammy-winning rock band Skillet to Christian radio talk show host Janet Parshall.

The caucus didn’t establish an early dominant leader but it did establish a pecking order of sorts. Giuliani was first with 22 percent of the vote, followed by Eastwood (21 percent), Huckabee (14), Paul (13), and Santorum (12). Palin had 10 percent, and everyone else the remaining 8 percent.

Iowa was a fatal blow to Hastert’s campaign, as the House Speaker picked up only 1 percent of the vote, and he dropped out immediately. Surprisingly, he was the only early dropout, as the remaining also-rans put all their money on New Hampshire.

Eastwood poured more money into the Granite State, and that paid off, as the actor won with 22 percent — only 1 in 5 votes, but the rest of the field was split several ways: Giuliani had 20 percent, Palin 16, Huckabee 14, Paul 11, Santorum 7, Jindal 4 percent, Richard Petty 4 percent (owing to his celebrity as a former NASCAR driver and owner), and everyone else the remaining 2.1 percent.

After New Hampshire, all of the also-rans dropped out, except for Buddy Roemer, Elaine Chao and Alan Keyes. Nevada, Michigan and South Carolina did little to determine a clear leader, but they did establish Palin as a confender. She picked up more endorsements along the way, including two who dropped out of the race: Haley Barbour and Tom Ridge.

Going into Super Tuesday, the favorites were Eastwood; Giuliani; and Thompson, with Palin now a solid fourth ahead of Ron Paul and Bobby Jindal. Santorum’s campaign was hanging on the hope of a string of Super Tuesday wins. It was assumed Chao (and her husband, Senator Mitch McConnell) and Jindal were angling for some kind of Cabinet position, and Petty was eventually expected to throw his support behind either Eastwood or Thompson.

[Brky2020]

B. SUPER TUESDAY

The remaining viable candidates went all-in on Super Tuesday with the expectation that a sweep or near-sweep would put them firmly ahead of the pack in winning the nomination. Eastwood moved ahead in most of the polls based on money coming into his campaign, but Giuliani and Thompson were right behind in the polls and even in funding. A few pundits began to talk about a brokered convention.

Sarah Palin's campaign began to pick up steam, though, in the final days leading into Super Tuesday. She picked up several more endorsements, mainly from the Christian far right and evangelical right: Franklin Graham, actor Kirk Cameron, activist Anita Bryant and CBN President Pat Robertson made their cases for why America should elect its first female Christian President. Members of her campaign team began to make appearances on the major news networks, most notably Fox/Fox News Channel. Elaine Chao dropped out of the race, and encouraged her (few) supporters to join Palin's campaign. Palin's campaign flooded Super Tuesday states with commercial after commercial stating her case, with specific appeals to women, and some negative campaigning against the "men" in the race.

Stilll, the morning of Super Tuesday, the "men" -- Eastwood, followed by Thompson and Giuliani -- were considered the favorites to win the states: the only question is which ones would win which states, and how much of a spoiler role Ron Paul would play.

Early the next morning, Palin had won Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia, Alabama, Utah, Colorado, Delaware and West Virginia and finished second in Massachusetts, Tennessee, Minnesota and California, putting her narrowly ahead of Eastwood (who won California, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey and was second in the other states except for his third-place finish in Tennessee). Giuliani won a four-way race in New York, while Thompson won a three-way race in Tennessee. All of a sudden, Palin had established herself as a serious contender, albeit one with a hair-width lead over the better-known Eastwood, and Thompson was still hanging in. Giuliani had lost his momentum and his campaign was "reviewing all of our options", including dropping out: Richard Petty and Bobby Jindal did just that, throwing their support behind Thompson and Eastwood, respectively. Ron Paul was hanging in, although speculation was that he was doing so either to gain a Cabinet seat or join forces with Eastwood's more established, and much better funded, populist campaign.

C. DOWN THE STRETCH

February saw Ron Paul drop out and throw his support behind Eastwood, although the actor would not commit to giving him the Vice-Presidential spot (Eastwood reportedly had a list of more influential politicians, including Tom DeLay). Giuliani's poor showing in a debate in Tuscon, Arizona, and in the subsequent primaries caused him to drop out on February 27. That narrowed the field to three.

Palin picked up more endorsements, from the likes of Focus on the Family president James Dobson; pastors John Hagee, Chuck Smith and Joel Osteen, musician Amy Grant; and actor Stephen Baldwin and, more importantly, from a majority of GOP Congressmen, Senators and Governors (including Huckabee). Eastwood picked up endorsements from the likes of DeLay, Hastert, Giuliani and non-politicians like pastors Mark Driscoll and Greg Laurie and actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and John Travolta. As they did with the first Super Tuesday, the three remaining candidates threw their money into the final group of primaries on March 4.

Thompson, having no chance of winning, began negotiating with both the Eastwood and Palin camps, with the intention of siding with whomever was ahead at the end of the night of March 4. Palin won Texas and Ohio solidly, and was a narrow second to Eastwood in Rhode Island and Vermont. That gave her the lead in the number of delegates pledged to each candidate, but she was just short of the majority needed to clinch the nomination, with dozens of delegates still pledged to Thompson and other candidates who had already dropped out.

A brokered convention in August at Denver, Colorado was expected by everyone. So, Eastwood's announcement on April 5 that he would concede the nomination "for the good of the party and the country" was a shock to almost everyone. Enough of his pledged delegates would go over to Palin's camp to give her the nomination. In August, she rewarded him by naming Huckabee as her running mate, and offering him the Secretary of the Interior slot on her cabinet. 

[Brky2020]

September 4, 2008
Denver, Colorado
8:57 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time


The Patriarch stayed at McNichols Arena long enough to see Sarah Palin be pushed over the top during the roll call of states: the delegate from her home state of Alaska announced all of its delegates would vote for their Governor, giving the nominee the majority needed to secure the Republican nomination. The Patriarch then left the arena and went back to his hotel room, obstensibly to rest: he would meet the now-candidate the next morning, over breakfast.

The Patriarch, named because he was one of the last operatives left over in the Fellowship from the Coup, placed a call, to one of the candidate's closest advisors.

"This line is secure," he said, hearing crowd noise in the background. "Are you secure?"

"Very," she replied: there was no one with 20 feet of her position backstage. "Dirty Harry is pissed."

"Frak him," he said. "We need her in the White House. She will play ball with us. She has to. She owes too much to the Fellowship. Do not let her forget that. Ever."

"After all this time, do you think that less of me, John--"

"Watch your mouth. Do not use that human name in front of the humans--"

"Please. How many Johns do you think are on this planet? Nobody's around me, anyway."

"The Agency and the Bureau have bugs everywhere, Shelly."

"So do we...John. We have scramblers, too."

Frak it, he thought. Frak her. I should've put another model in there. "Make sure you debrief her tonight. That's what I need from you. Then keep her on message."

"And you make sure you keep her on message--"

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!?", he yelled. Frak! Someone can hear me in the hallway. Frak me. Can't lose my cool. "Ms. Helton, do you--"

"I know you need me, John, and the others. And, that you can't do it alone. Remember that. She'll be there, bright and early, in the morning. Until then? Get some rest, or whatever it is that you do."

She disconnected, and the Patriarch fumed for a moment, then forced himself to calm down. Logical strategy, not pettiness, was what he needed right now. He needed as much time as he could get to figure out how to get the candidate into the Oval Office, then how to use her to get this country back into the world community, if such a thing was still possible in a nation full of fundamentalists and theocrats.

[Brky2020]

I'll get back to Day One eventually, with a brief look at Day Minus-Two and -One aboard the Galactica and with our USAF pilots. I want to establish the importance of the 2008 Presidential campaign, and get us to Lindsey Graham's election and his term, first.

[lordroel]

Feb 15, 2020 3:04:44 GMT Brky2020 said:

September 4, 2008
Denver, Colorado
8:57 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time


The Patriarch stayed at McNichols Arena long enough to see Sarah Palin be pushed over the top during the roll call of states: the delegate from her home state of Alaska announced all of its delegates would vote for their Governor, giving the nominee the majority needed to secure the Republican nomination. The Patriarch then left the arena and went back to his hotel room, obstensibly to rest: he would meet the now-candidate the next morning, over breakfast.

The Patriarch, named because he was one of the last operatives left over in the Fellowship from the Coup, placed a call, to one of the candidate's closest advisors.

"This line is secure," he said, hearing crowd noise in the background. "Are you secure?"

"Very," she replied: there was no one with 20 feet of her position backstage. "Dirty Harry is pissed."

"Frak him," he said. "We need her in the White House. She will play ball with us. She has to. She owes too much to the Fellowship. Do not let her forget that. Ever."

"After all this time, do you think that less of me, John--"

"Watch your mouth. Do not use that human name in front of the humans--"

"Please. How many Johns do you think are on this planet? Nobody's around me, anyway."

"The Agency and the Bureau have bugs everywhere, Shelly."

"So do we...John. We have scramblers, too."

Frak it, he thought. Frak her. I should've put another model in there. "Make sure you debrief her tonight. That's what I need from you. Then keep her on message."

"And you make sure you keep her on message--"

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!?", he yelled. Frak! Someone can hear me in the hallway. Frak me. Can't lose my cool. "Ms. Helton, do you--"

"I know you need me, John, and the others. And, that you can't do it alone. Remember that. She'll be there, bright and early, in the morning. Until then? Get some rest, or whatever it is that you do."

She disconnected, and the Patriarch fumed for a moment, then forced himself to calm down. Logical strategy, not pettiness, was what he needed right now. He needed as much time as he could get to figure out how to get the candidate into the Oval Office, then how to use her to get this country back into the world community, if such a thing was still possible in a nation full of fundamentalists and theocrats.

Sarah Palin the pawn.