299 Days: The Preparation

Chapter 40 We Have a Fight on Our Hands

Rebel Radio was going strong. There was so much to talk about, like the fact that massive government budget cuts were suddenly needed, for one. How did this situation get so out of control that these huge cuts, like letting criminals out of prison, were necessary in the first place? For the first time, people were actually asking this question. Rebel Radio had the answers.

The podcast was growing by leaps and bounds. Over 5,000 people regularly downloaded the weekly broadcast. Bloggers were talking about Rebel Radio. Conservative and libertarian bloggers loved it, and progressive bloggers demonized it. Progressives in Washington State made Rebel Radio public enemy number one. There was speculation about the identity of the “Rebels” as Grant and the other podcasters were called. People in government were figuring out it was the WAB guys.

One of the government people most concerned by Rebel Radio was Rick Menlow. He hated the fact that one of his former employees was thought to be one of the Rebels. He also hated the fact that the podcast seemed to have inside information about the lack of reform coming from the State Auditor’s Office.

This pissed him off because his campaign for Governor was in full swing. He was running as a “moderate Republican” and really needed the establishment to like him. His trusted campaign adviser was Jeanie.

Grant kept in regular contact with her. He wanted to gather intelligence on what the state agencies were doing. She wouldn’t tell him anything too specific, just the general situation in the Auditor’s Office. She didn’t want to get in trouble because she needed her job, just like everyone else did. She also hated what Menlow was doing. He was betraying people like her and it was sweet revenge to whisper gossip to Rebel Radio.

One day, Grant was talking to Jeanie about Menlow’s run for Governor. “How in the world does a Republican think he could win in this state?” Grant asked.

“He’s counting on the budget disaster to get him into office,” Jeanie said. “The worse things get, the better for him so he can run on ‘‘change.’”

“But the worse things get, like all the government employee layoffs, the more of a government ‘safety net’ people will want,” Grant said. “So they won’t vote for a government-cutting Republican.”

Jeanie laughed. “Who said anything about Menlow being a ‘government-cutting Republican?’ He will be a ‘new’ Republican who will run government more efficiently, saving money that can be spent to help people.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, but she was serious.

“So he’ll spend just as much money, but be the ‘change’ people want?” Grant asked.

“Yep,” Jeanie said. “It just might work. Especially if we get a tape of the current Governor running over a little kid in an intersection.” It was important to remember that Menlow got into office by accident.

Menlow’s campaign strategy was the topic of the next Rebel Radio. Menlow was furious. He didn’t suspect Jeanie as the source because he had been bragging to so many Republican legislators and others about his brilliant strategy.

WAB started to pay a price for Rebel Radio. WAB was a tax- exempt trade association, but the IRS selected WAB for a “random” audit. They started coming up with “interpretations” of the tax regulations, and hinting that WAB might owe millions in taxes for its “for-profit” work. What “for-profit” work? They were a typical trade association; they didn’t make a “profit.”

The state Department of Revenue decided to do a “random” audit, too. The state unemployment insurance agency piled on, too, looking for past unpaid unemployment insurance premiums that should have been paid. Even with their creative “interpretations,” DOR and the unemployment agency did not find any violations. When they reported that to the Governor, it just made her angrier. They had to find a way to shut down WAB.

Nancy Ringman’s phone rang; it was the Governor.

“Yes, Governor,” Nancy said. She listened to the Governor’s short description of the WAB problem.

“I share your concerns about WAB, Governor,” Nancy said. “I will personally look into whether they might be committing any campaign finance violations. A hate group like WAB must be violating some campaign law. I will keep you updated on my progress.”

Nancy put down the phone and felt warm all over. “OK, Grant Matson,” she said to herself. “Payback time.”

Nancy Ringman was a bully. She wore business attire and had a peace sticker on her Subaru, but she was a bully. Grant had been fighting bullies like her his whole life. He would fight them even more in the near future.

A few days later, a process server came to WAB. The Campaign Finance Commission, headed by Nancy Ringman, filed a suit asking for a $10 million fine and scheduled a court hearing for later that same day to get a court order to seize WAB’s bank account. That was necessary, the court papers said, because WAB was a “continuing criminal enterprise” violating the campaign finance laws and using the money in its bank account to do so. CFC needed to have control of WAB’s bank account to “prevent further violations.” After going home to change into a suit, Grant ran off to court and tried to reason with the judge.

The judges in the county where the state capitol was located were friendly toward government. The judge who received the request to seize WAB’s bank account was, like Nancy Ringman, a good friend of the Governor. The judge signed the court order allowing the seizure of the bank account. CFC was ordered to continue paying the salaries of WAB staff unless it found a reason not to. The financial lives of WAB staff were held in the hands of a hostile Nancy Ringman. It happened so quickly.

Ted Foster, the head of WAB, was unfazed. “Well, gentlemen, looks like we have a fight on our hands.” He had halfway expected something like this, given how hard WAB was hitting the government. He was surprised that the bank accounts had been seized, however. “Rebel Radio stays on the air. We fight on.” Ben, Brian, and Grant were relieved.

It felt like a war had begun. Grant had never been in a war, but assumed this was what it felt like. He rallied around his guys. There was a huge and evil threat. Things looked bleak. But Grant knew who would win in the end. Just not how.