Chapter 528 - 245: Seeing Through
"I’m going to turn Harrisburg into a circus."
"Isn’t that exactly what you want to see?"
Leo was exploiting the Republican Party’s thirst for chaos.
He told Taylor that keeping a moderate Republican speaker would only maintain the status quo. But installing a foolish Democratic speaker could create a disaster—one that would help the Republican Party seize power.
This was "accelerationism."
Make things worse so that order can be rebuilt from the ruins.
"Interesting."
Taylor stopped laughing, his tone turning serious.
"Your logic is crazy, but I like it."
Leo knew the fish had taken the bait.
"I need one more person."
"Who?" Taylor sounded a little annoyed. "Can’t you just say everything at once?"
Leo said, "The Pennsylvania Attorney General, Richard Kirk."
"He’s one of you Republicans."
"In the coming months, I might have a matter that’s legally... controversial. It will require a flexible decision at the State Government level."
"What is it, specifically?" Taylor pressed.
"You’ll know when the time comes." Leo didn’t reveal his hand. "I don’t need Attorney General Kirk to support me publicly."
"I just need him to stay silent, or maybe just happen to get a stomach ache that day and call in sick."
"In short, I don’t want him to be an obstacle."
Taylor was tapping on his desk on the other end of the line.
"Leo." Taylor’s voice changed. "You’ve got a lot of nerve."
"You dare to use that tone to negotiate with the Republican National Committee. You even dare to threaten to turn Harrisburg into a circus."
"I admire that kind of guts."
Taylor paused.
"But, young man, you’ve got one thing wrong."
"Even if you’re holding so-called public opinion in your hands, holding the votes from those Unions."
"But right now, you’re the one asking me for a favor, not the other way around."
Leo frowned slightly. He sensed something was wrong.
"Mr. Taylor, I believe I’ve laid my cards on the table," Leo said, trying to maintain his firm tone. "If you’re not interested..."
"Cut the act, Leo."
Taylor cut him off.
"Let’s be frank."
"The reason you’re in such a hurry to replace that speaker, the reason you’re trying to force our Attorney General Kirk to keep his mouth shut at a critical moment..."
"...has nothing to do with some bullshit accelerationism, and it’s not to help us sow chaos in the Democratic Party."
"You’re doing it to save that murderer, Luigi Randall, aren’t you?"
The air seemed to freeze.
Leo didn’t speak. His breath caught for a second, and his heart pounded violently against his ribs.
’He saw right through me.’
"Don’t be surprised, Leo." Taylor’s voice was full of ridicule. "Did you really think we wouldn’t do our homework before deciding to make a deal with you?"
"Of course, William Saint Cloud was a genuine exception," Taylor noted, motioning toward his phone.
"Let’s get back to the point, Taylor."
"Don’t be in such a hurry."
Taylor smiled. He felt he was now in control of the conversation.
"Luigi Randall, the madman who assassinated the insurance company CEO. He was arrested in Pittsburgh, your people handed him over to the state police, and now he’s locked up in Philadelphia."
"You’ve calculated this very carefully."
Taylor began to peel back the layers of Leo’s plan, like an onion.
"You want to create chaos in the State Government to force Bob Campbell to step down."
"Then, you want to push your ally, Aston Monroe, into the Governor’s seat."
"Once Monroe is in power, the Vice Governor’s position will be vacant. And the one to fill it would be the man we want to push, William Saint Cloud."
"The Vice Governor is the chairman of the pardons committee."
"As long as you control those two positions, plus you have Attorney General Kirk’s tacit approval..."
"...you can get that pardon."
"You can pull that kid who should be heading for the electric chair right out of prison."
Taylor let out a cold laugh.
"Am I right, Mr. Mayor?"
Leo tried to further explain his logic.
"The pardon will be signed by a Democratic Vice Governor."
"All the blame will fall on the Democratic Party."
"Richard Kirk just needs to feign helplessness or claim his hands are tied by procedure."
"You can even use this to attack the Democratic Party for being soft on crime."
"As soon as Luigi is pardoned, the Democratic Party will lose the support of moderate voters, because people will think the Democrats have undermined the rule of law."
"This is exactly what you want, isn’t it?"
"To paint the Democratic Party as a party of radicals, violence, and lawlessness."
"The moment Luigi walks out of prison will be the best campaign ad you Republicans could ask for."
While selling his own plan, Leo was also helping the Republican Party formulate a winning election strategy.
"Let’s not talk about ’us,’ Leo."
"You’re in a bind now."
Taylor’s voice grew cold.
"You’re in a dangerous position, Leo."
"Your Medicine Benefits Transparency and Fairness Bill has already been withdrawn by Campbell. Meanwhile, in Washington, a bill to protect insurance executives is moving forward, and it’s guaranteed to pass."
"You’re waiting for the verdict in Luigi’s trial. Then you plan to use it to throw the whole of Pennsylvania into chaos, creating widespread disorder. You want to use this chaos to force a coup and reshape the power structure."
Taylor’s perception was sharp.
"But, Leo, once you start a fire, it’s hard to control."
"You need a way to hit the brakes."
"Otherwise, that fire will burn all of you, including yourself."
"Pardoning Luigi... that’s your way to hit the brakes."
"The reason you want to replace the Governor, replace the speaker, control the pardons committee, and even go so far as to ask us for Kirk’s tacit approval..."