Page 96 of Dead Fall

This also didn’t surprise Wilson. In fact, it was one of the least shocking things he’d heard in a long time. The other side did the same thing with their voters. It all came down to one simple political maxim—the base makes the case.

Districts these days looked like they were drawn by someone having a seizure while holding a broken crayon. They were gerrymandered so that the party in control of that district remained in control. That meant that if your party was in charge, you had to appeal to those people who votedin the primaries, which was the base. If you won your primary, you were all but guaranteed to win the general election. It was, however, a deal with the devil.

Once you were in power, you had to continue to serve that base—no matter what it wanted—if you wanted to be reelected.

It could be unreasonable fiscal policies, outlandish environmental policies, or absolutely insane conspiracy theories—once you bought the ticket, you had no choice but to take the ride.

And if you ran afoul of the base—for example, by trying to demonstrate to them why a policy was better for the country in the long run, even if it meant giving up an opportunity to score points against the opposing political team—you were toast.

The base makes the case. What they want goes. As French politician Ledru-Rollin once said, “There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader.”

It was, of course, corrosive for the body politic and a recipe for unmitigated disaster. If your immune system was constantly at war with itself, there was no way it would ever be able to fight off a hostile foreign invader. Wilson chalked it up as yet another reason he was glad to be getting out.

Steering the conversation to why he had shelled out several thousand dollars for this dinner, he said, “What’s the next session shaping up to look like? Or is that going to depend upon what memes are trending?”

Both men chuckled.

Swirling the cognac in his glass, the Speaker replied, “I refer to it as our three-legged stool. Subpoenas. Investigations. And wall-to-wall media coverage.”

“All circuses and no bread?”

“We’re also working on the bread part, but that’s not why you booked us the hottest table in town. What can we do for you? Or should I say, what can we do for the Paulsen Family Foundation?”

Wilson smiled, as did the Speaker and the Majority Leader. They could talk about small-dollar donations all day long, and they were substantial, but the real power still resided with the wealthy megadonors.

“It’s funny you should mention them,” said Wilson. “I was just up in Maine visiting with Mr. and Mrs. Paulsen this morning.”

“I betthathouse is amazing,” the Majority Leader stated.

“If it’s half as nice as their ranch in Jackson Hole,” the Speaker replied, “it would put all of Georgetown to shame.”

“It’s impressive,” the ex-Senator said. “The views alone are worth the trip. But I’m glad you mentioned the ranch.”

“Yes. They were very kind to let us use it for our retreat. That place is like a world-class resort. Please thank them again for all of us.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Paulsen were glad to make it available. In fact, the Paulsen Family Foundation wants to make it permanently available to you.”

The Speaker’s eyes widened. “What does that mean?”

“They’re setting up a trust with the ranch as its centerpiece. They’re getting older and they want to see their values, theirAmericanvalues, continued. They see the ranch as the perfect place from which to teach and promote those values. They envision leadership conferences, lectures, a thought leaders’ festival, those kinds of things.

“Because you are a member of Congress, Mr. and Mrs. Paulsen understand that you couldn’t be directly involved, but once you retire, they’ve prepared a very handsome offer for you to consider as president and CEO of the organization.

“In the meantime, the ranch is yours to use however and whenever you want—both in your professional and your personal capacities. Mr. and Mrs. Paulsen wanted me to suggest that you bring your family out for Christmas break. You can ski, snowmobile, snowshoe, the works. Just say the word. Their jet is available to you as well and it goes without saying that they’re happy to color this however you want for disclosure purposes.”

Looking at the Majority Leader, Wilson added, “And I know the Paulsens would consider it an honor to have the Majority Leader and his family as guests as well.”

“Well, Mr. and Mrs. Paulsen continue to be extremely generous,” said the Speaker. “Their support is much appreciated. They’re incredible Americans. And, as I expect that you’ll be billing them for this dinner, let me ask again, what’s on their minds?”

The ex-Senator took a sip of cognac and replied, “Ukraine.”

“That’s a subject on a lot of people’s minds.”

“The Paulsens have specific thoughts.”

“Such as?”

“Big picture—we should disengage, fully. No money, no weapons, no training, nothing. The sooner we’re out, the better.”

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