(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Plot [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-22 I've been toying with a screenplay idea. It's a political thriller, along the lines of a Mission Impossible narrative, and admittedly rather far-fetched, especially the over the top caricature of the main protagonist. But... it's fiction. Here's the pitch in a nutshell: A narcissistic former TV game show host and lifelong con man (we'll call him "T"), makes his way to the US Presidency by tapping into the enormous wellspring of hatred, bigotry, and religious zealotry in the country. He's also assisted by a hostile foreign government, and the financial backing/support of a faction of billionaires, who see in "T" their opportunity to finally achieve what they've been working on for 40+ years... to seize control of government and transform it into a fascist system, run by them. Again, just go with me here, it's the movies. As it turns out, a narcissistic con man and game show host doesn't make for a good President (he actually gets impeached twice), and 4 years later, despite an even greater effort from those who got him across the line the first time, "T" loses the election, rather handily. "T", being the type of guy he is, refuses to accept the results, and tries everything to nullify the votes and remain in power. This culminates in a violent insurrection at the Capitol Building, in which he attempts to get his mob of followers to murder the Vice President or Speaker of the House, in order to declare martial law and prevent the transfer of power. Fiction, folks. This too fails, and he's finally forced to leave the White House and return to private life. No longer shielded from prosecution, his criminal activities begin to catch up with him. One of his more egregious crimes was the stealing of a trove of classified documents on his way out the door, and refusing to give them back. This results in an FBI raid on his residence to retrieve them (though as becomes apparent, many appear to be missing). Still in command of that radical wing of the party - and to protect himself from potential criminal indictment - "T" decides to run for President again, and easily secures the party's nomination. Now here's where it gets interesting. Six months before the general election, he is indicted on espionage charges. Turns out he had sold some of those missing and highly classified documents to that hostile foreign power, or so he thought. They were actually sold to an undercover agent posing as the transporter. This information is sealed in the indictment, but it is leaked to a member of the billionaire cabal. Realizing that this charge, when revealed, will doom any chance they have at completing their 'coup', they decide the only option is to take him out of the picture before it's too late. They reason that if they do it right, and right before the election, they can use their considerable media assets to float the idea that it was the opposing party - believing they couldn't beat him at the ballot box - who killed him. They would depict him as the grand martyr, taking one for team USA, and his running mate (hand chosen by them) would easily win the election. It's the perfect plan, and a plot to pull it off is developed. And now the twist. The opposing party gets wind of the plot, and is forced to develop one of their own... to thwart the assassination attempt and keep "T" on the ballot. Here's where the Mission Impossible scenario comes in, with a crack team headed up by a Tom Cruise type, and they save "T" from the assassin's bullet at the last moment, with no one being the wiser. The indictment comes down, the "T" party is splintered by the charges, and the current President ("B") is reelected in a landslide. "T" is eventually found guilty on all charges, and sentenced to Federal prison. The controversial ending. One year into serving his time in prison, President "B" pardons him... for the "good of the country", further enhancing both his and his party's prestige. Final scene: Outside the walls of a federal prison, a short distance away, a man in aviator sunglasses stands next to his limousine and watches as a broken shell of a man emerges from the gate. Their eyes meet, and after a long moment, "B" raises his hand in salute. "T" slowly raises his in return, and forces a feeble smile. The End. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/22/2165388/-The-Plot Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/