Chapter 599 - 279: Creating a Fait Accompli

"That’s the logic of legislation."

"You can’t just rely on brute force. You need to know how to use the rules, use the procedures, and exploit human weakness."

"Do you know who the true master of legislation is?" Roosevelt suddenly asked.

"Who?" Leo asked, attempting a bit of flattery. "Isn’t it you?"

"I wish it were me, but Lyndon Johnson was clearly a better fit for Congress," Roosevelt said with a laugh.

"That big fellow from Texas—he was crude, but he understood how every single gear in the machine of Congress turned."

"He knew every Senator’s weak spot. He knew who wanted a dam, who wanted a judicial nomination, and who was afraid of losing the next election."

"He could weave all these seemingly unrelated needs into a giant web of quid pro quo, and then make everyone vote according to his will."

"He was the king of Congress."

"In the more than two hundred years since the founding of the United States, there has only been one Lyndon Johnson."

"Making this massive, bloated, veto-riddled legislative machine run efficiently is next to impossible."

"So, Leo, don’t underestimate legislation."

"Don’t think that just because you have William as a rubber stamp, everything will be fine."

"William can sign the papers for you, but he can’t help you handle the old foxes in the committees, nor can he help you withstand the silver-bullet assault from the lobbying groups."

"You need to learn to think like Lyndon Johnson."

"You need to learn to use the rules, to use tactics."

"You need to learn to disguise your will as their interests."

Roosevelt paused for a moment.

"Leo, you’re making the most common mistake a young reformer can make. You’re trying to establish the rules first, then push for change."

"But in this kind of hostile environment, going by the book won’t get you anywhere."

"Now, let’s try a different approach."

"Don’t write the menu first. Sear the steak first."

Leo paused, stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine you’ve opened a new restaurant. You stand at the door, holding a menu full of dishes, and tell passersby: ’My steak is delicious. It’s A5 Wagyu, made with the finest spices.’"

"Will they believe you?"

"They’ll just be suspicious. They’ll question your price, and they might even suspect your beef is synthetic."

Roosevelt’s voice grew seductive.

"But what if you set up a grill right at the entrance?"

"You toss that piece of steak into a pan of sizzling hot butter."

SIZZLE—

"The aroma fills the entire street—the smell of caramelizing fat, the sight of juices bursting from the meat."

"At that point, you don’t need to say a word."

"The starving people will line up on their own and shove money into your hands."

"They don’t care what’s on the menu. They just want that piece of meat."

Leo looked at the draft bill in his hands.

He understood.

’This bill is the menu. No matter how perfectly it’s written, it’s just a promise on paper. To voters who are sick of politicians’ lies, promises are the cheapest things in the world. To shrewd legislators, promises are just bargaining chips.’

"Don’t ask them to judge your plan."

Roosevelt gave the order.

"Build it first."

"Right here. In Pittsburgh."

"Within your zone of absolute control, on this land where you hold law enforcement, executive, and financial power."

"Launch this Mutual Aid Alliance directly."

"Get it up and running first."

"Have the pharmacies post new price tags. Let insulin go from three hundred US Dollars to thirty. Let the people who can’t afford treatment actually get their medicine."

"Let everyone see."

"When the people outside the walls are still bankrupting themselves over a few dollars for medicine, the people inside the walls will already be eating steak."

"At that time, envy will break down the doors of the legislature for you."

"Those legislators whose districts are outside Pittsburgh will be driven mad by their constituents. The voters will ask: ’Why can people in Pittsburgh buy their medicine for thirty bucks while we can’t?’"

"By then, it won’t be you begging the legislature to pass the bill."

"It will be the legislature begging you to expand the model statewide."

"That is the power of a fait accompli."

"And that is the greatest advantage an executive has over a legislator—the power to act."

Leo looked at Ethan. The young chief of staff was still lost in the grand vision of legislation.

"Ethan."

Leo spoke.

"Take this document away for now."

Ethan was stunned. "Take it away? To send the fax?"

"No. Lock it in the safe first."

Ethan’s jaw dropped, his face a mask of disbelief.

"Leo, what are you talking about? This is the bill we’ve spent a month preparing! It’s the cornerstone of our reforms! If we don’t pass this, we’ll be legally exposed!"

"We don’t need those clothes."

Leo stood up and walked to the window.

"Ethan, we’re not going to Harrisburg."

Leo turned, leaning his back against the window with his hands in his pockets.

"We’re not pushing for statewide legislation first."

"That approach is too slow, too weak, and too easily manipulated."

"We’re going to do something more direct."

Leo’s gaze swept over the map in his office—an administrative map of Pittsburgh.

"Notify Sarah."

"Tomorrow at nine in the morning, I’m giving a special address at the Steelworker Movement Hall."

"Notify all the media—local, statewide, even the ones in Washington."

"Tell them Leo Wallace is going to announce something big."

Ethan was still in a state of shock. "What are you going to announce?"

Leo walked to the map and picked up a red marker.