2012

Chapter 3: Les Feuilles Mortes 
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Karl Rove looked out the window as his taxi drove along Bedford Street. Trees along the river were losing their autumn leaves and they raced along the street in a whirlwind of color, but Rove wasn’t paying attention to what was going on outside. He was thinking about the 2012 election.

Rove was concerned about how Republican candidates were faring on the debates. If it was up to him, there’d be no debates. It just gave the snarky media a chance to criticize the candidates, to say nothing of the candidates themselves making one gaffe after another. As far as Rove was concerned, it didn’t much matter who got the GOP nomination, but Rove was hoping it wouldn't be Perry. Perry was pliable, and if he could keep the dunce from stepping on his dick, he might swing two terms with him, just as he’d done with Bush. But he'd had a falling out with Perry in the Nineties, when Bush was governor, and the relationship, although superficially cordial, was still fraught with simmering hurt and distrust. Still, Karl felt sure he could support a Perry candidacy and end up back in the position of chief Architect for Perry's election. That's what he did -- get people elected.

A freezing wind was blowing off the Merrimack River as Rove exited his Taxi and clutching his briefcase to his chest to keep his coat from blowing open rushed into the SEE Science Center. Why the hell Roemer wanted to meet here instead of the country club that he had suggested was a puzzle to Rove, but then Buddy was eccentric, which was exactly why Rove was approaching him.

Rove’s meeting with the ‘Bush Pioneers’ at the Armstrong Ranch had been encouraging. He had money in hand from several donors and contingent pledges from others that would help fund a third party candidate start up. Once supporters saw the handwriting on the wall, more money would come rolling in, and with transparency of Super PACs being what it was, no one had to know that his PAC was supporting a spoiler candidate.

Rove moved through the Science Center looking for something called the ‘Seasons of Change’ exhibit where Roemer wanted to meet. Rove’s mind was racing as he went over his pitch to Roemer. Buddy was a bit off the wall, but he was no dummy. The occasion called for some subtlety.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.