regardless of size, gets one vote? We'd be wiped out. The inland states will far out vote our states. We'd be toast."
They shudder thinking of the bullet they just dodged.
Tuesday, November 29, 2021
Time: 10:00 AM
A rather dumpy and disheveled lawyer, seemingly more comfortable greeting arriving ambulances at local emergency rooms than where he finds himself today, hikes past the great white formal marble staircase of the Supreme Court building towards a much smaller and more modest entrance on the southwest side. Entering through the small door, he heads for the office of the Clerk of the Court.
Once inside the office he walks up to the counter and says to the clerk in a polite Midwestern accented voice, "My name is Robert Johanson and I'm the Attorney General of Nebraska. I have an emergency petition for a Writ of Mandamus which I'm authorized to file in the name of the States of Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota."
The clerk looks a little startled as Johanson opens his brief case and places a stack of neatly stapled copies of the petition on her desk. The clerk knows her job and begins robotically stamping each with the date and time. Then she initials each copy.
She looks at the first page of the top copy and reads the title:
In the
Supreme Court of the United States
State of Nebraska, State of Kansas, State of South Dakota
Petitioners,
v.
The United States Senate
Respondent.
EMERGENCY PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS
To the Court of Original Jurisdiction,
Pursuant to
Article III, Section 2, Clause 3
of the
United States Constitution,
the States of Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota
Petition this Honorable Court to
Command, Order and Require the United States Senate,
Pursuant to Article V
of the
United States Constitution,
Two Thirds of the Several States Having Applied Thereunder,
to Call a Constitutional Convention.
The clerk gives a little smile and says, "That will be $300 for the filing fee. Cash or charge?"
"Cash," says the attorney as he hand over a $500 bill.
She hands him his change and a receipt and says, "Justice McGowan is receiving emergency petitions today. I'll take this right to her."
He thanks her and leaves.
The clerk piles the copies onto a cart with a wire basket and, grinning, pushes it down the silent marble floored hall to an elevator then up to the office area. Knocking quietly on Justice McGowan's door, she enters and says, "Got an emergency petition for mandamus here, Madame Justice."
"Oh, and the plaintiffs are?" as she picks up the first copy from the basket.
"Oh, yes, I guess we were expecting something like this. Will you please take the other copies to each of the justice's offices. I think we'll be acting on this today."
"Yes ma'am," says the clerk as she pushes the cart out of the office and down the hall stopping at each justice's office and placing the remaining extra copies in the large conference room where the justices meet.
Justice McGowan picks up her phone and calls one of her clerks and says, "Please contact all the other justices and tell them we have an emergency original jurisdiction petition from the States of Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota and I'm calling an en banc meeting for 4 PM. Let me know if there are any problems. A copy of the petition is being delivered to each justice's office."
Time: 4:00 PM
The full Supreme Court convenes. A few justices are still going over the petition but most just sit in their chairs, hands folded and waiting. The Chief Justice enters, the others rise respectfully then take their seats again.
A few pleasantries are exchanged and then the Chief Justice says, "Well, here we are. This is not a surprise. I think we've all known something like this would be coming and I think we know what we must do? Am I right?"
The others nod and murmur agreement.
"Fine, I've had a draft order prepared," he says as he passes out the one page order.
They study it and, one by one, when done, they lay it down on the table.
"Any discussion?"
"Well, not the order itself, but the consequences. We may need to be more careful about security. The powers that be will not be very happy," says one justice.
"True, I've asked the court police to add extra security details. We might just not want to appear in too many public places for a while and leave quickly after we're done tonight. Any other discussion? Hearing none, it's time to vote."
One by one around the table the justices cast their votes.
Finally the Chief Justice announces, "Then it's unanimous. The Writ of Mandamus is granted."
He pushes a button and a law clerk enters. He signs the order, hands it to the clerk and says, "Publish this and deliver copies to the petitioning attorney, the President of the Senate and the Clerk of the Senate."
Time: 5:45 PM
"This is a special news bulletin from Inter Continental Network News," the breathless announcer blurts as television programs nationwide are interrupted.
"The Supreme Court has just issued a Writ of Mandamus ordering our patriotic and heroic Senate to submit to the social treason of the racist partisan contitutionalist faction in the House of Representatives. Civic leaders and common sense elected officials everywhere are condemning this decision and demanding the Senate ignore it. Standing by right now at the Supreme Court is our legal correspondent Biff Torkington. So, Biff, how are people taking this bad news?"
"Well, David, most are treating the Writ as a ploy to distract attention from the real needs of the country. Many applaud the courage of our Senate leaders in resisting these demands and see this as nothing but yet another example of racism and social treason. My sources on Capitol Hill tell me that the Senate will ignore the Writ and continue to protect our country from what is nothing but an obvious tea bagger plot to grab power."
Time 6:00 PM
Bader rushes into the Oval Office where DeWitt and several others are watching the cable news networks which are all babbling about the Writ.
She turns to him and says, "How the fuck did this happen?"
"Well, it was bound to, eventually."
"How did they get to the Supreme Court so fast? I Thought they had to go through all the lower courts that we've packed with our own people first?"
"Unfortunately, no. This is an original jurisdiction case."
Pulling out a piece of paper he continues, "I looked it up. The Constitution says In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the Supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. So, SCOTUS is the place to file and they did."
"Will it have any effect?"
"The Senate will ignore it. If SCOTUS issues any contempt citations, we, or rather you, won't enforce them. Stalemate."
"Media?"
'Well, as you can see, total lap dogs. Not a complaint. They'll just keep saying it's all social treason, racism, the usual. Hey, I just saw the line up for the morning women's shows. All our people! No, we'll do fine."
"So, basically we do have the means to thwart the convention at the federal level? All we need to do is nothing?"
"Yep, that's it in a nutshell."
"Ok, sounds good. Call the steward and order a round of drinks. I nearly had a heart attack."
All week the media are abuzz about the Writ but manage to stay on message that it is all tea bagger social treason and racism or worse.
In the Senate, one pompous ass after another rises to condemn the overreach of the court and the treasonous call for a convention. There is no movement to authorize a convention and likely to be none.
But suddenly, from some obscure, backwater district in South Dakota, the newly elected governor rises to the occasion. He challen
ges the Washington progressive oligarchy head on. In a series of brilliant speeches, distributed virally by the Internet, he turns the tide.
Overnight, he becomes the voice of the movement. His name is Robert Jefferson Munson.
The thrones and powers in Washington go ballistic and, through their supine state controlled media, launch a full scale campaign to destroy, defame and discredit this new leader. They fail. People are no longer listening. They've heard the character assassination routine far too many times before.
Sunday, December 5, 2021
Time: 2:00 PM (CST)
A special joint session of the South Dakota Legislature has been called. While the government controlled networks and cable channels are nowhere to be found, it is broadcast live by one brave cable news network and, despite many efforts by NSA to the contrary, by many Internet streaming video services and a large ad hoc network of radio stations nationwide. A national audience, numbering more than one hundred million, huddles around radios, computers and TVs.
At the front of the hall, facing the audience, are seated the governors of Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri.
To a round of sustained and determined applause, Robert Munson mounts the podium and begins.
"When will that out of control federal government in Washington cease to abuse our patience? How long will this madness of theirs mock us? When will there to be an end to their unbridled audacity? Swaggering about, they that call themselves our masters and rulers? You all know what the Senate has done, or, rather not done. You all know what the Supreme Court has done. You all know what the House of Representatives has done. Now it is time for us to act. I say the time has come to end this and end it now! Because of their