Priebus Lost: Book 8

THE Eighth at length arriv’d, the Nation worn
And weary flock’d at last to Polling-place
And Voting-booth, their Ballots fin’ly cast,
And home retir’d, expecting in the morn
The long-awaited loss, relief at least
From the protracted Saga they’d endur’d,
Though Clintonite win could not pacify
Their long-held apoplexy, which four years
From now would surely surface fresh,
And some more palatable Candidate
Than Trump had prov’d perhaps support,
And make of th’Incumbent far easier work:
Yet to the shock of all Americans
Save those deluded, or so presuppos’d
By any who the word of Gallup took
As gospel still, that gelid Tuesday night
Saw not th’expected loss for Trump and co.
Transpire, but devastation saw by twist
And error stopped: for th’F.B.I.’s renege
Of their investigation of Hillary,
Though broadcast publicly, arriv’d two eves
Before the crucial Day, while since th’O.G.
Announcement nine had pass’d, and each of those
The News, both print and not, e’en CNN,
Had spent hysterical with postulates,
Hypotheses of huge significance
And shattering effect upon the Race
By th’otherwise unint’resting events
Available for cov’rage magnfi’d,
Which th’undecided Voters, numb’ring still
Surprising legion e’en with everything,
At this late hour, that in two days could not
The Bureau’s countermand reverse in full:
Thus fin’ly did the Clintonite Regime,
Bad Engine of apocalyptic bent,
Its slender lead saw by th’Electors turn’d
Into unprecedented fall, the will
Of Working-Class Americans supreme
To any machination, and th’Elite
At last rebuff’d, at least the lib’ral kind,
Foul Variant allow’d too long in charge:
Not only White House reattain’d, but far
And wide across the ballot fear’d rebukes
To Trump avoided; thus the G.O.P.
Both House and Senate held: the Branches three
Of Pow’r elected, as they not in years
Had managed, under th’Elephantine Sign
Consolidated; and th’undoing, which seem’d
Mere days ago the stuff of reveries,
Denying wish of those who four years more
Of Status Quo could not accept, of th’Age
Of ruin th’incompetent and treacherous
Obama, loath’d Apostate, had conceiv’d,
From desp’rate wish to imminent had leapt
In mere hours’ passage, leaving all the Right
United in their haste to drown in praise
And reify the wisdom absolute
Of Priebus, Chair prophetic, whose support
Of Trump unwavering had broad victory
To all the Grand Old Party’s ranks conferr’d.

All expectations rendered null, and words
Before considered wise now proven naught
But th’Excrement of beeves, or any Stock
In feedlots bred as num’rous as the Stalks
Of amber Grain whose waving Panoply
Bedecks the middle West, whose ample waste
In nidorous Lagoons, as the great Lakes
Which gird the Union’s northern edge in size,
But of mephitic content, is contain’d;
Again in disbelief the Party rowl’d,
As back in May at Trump’s initial coup
They had, though now scant horror realized.
For that leviathanic Victory
In Wednesday’s early sunlight no less a shock,
No less incredible, appear’d to those
By aspiration or agenda link’d
To Trump, who had their hopes of pow’r
To #TrumpTrain coupl’d, and last night
Such ecstasy had thought forever gone.
Amongst this scene resplendent Priebus stood,
In unexpected conquest celebrant,
Exulting with his underlings their great
And unforeseen victory, soon to earn
Greater reward by far: his staunch support
And trusty counsel had decisive prov’d
In toppling Hillary, and recompense
Elicited: as White House Chief of Staff
Was Priebus fast appointed, to th’Elect
And imminent instated President
A trusted Hand, yet to th’Elites whose Will
He had for years enacted loyal still,
His presence crucial counterweight would serve,
Reaganic check on Trumpian savagery:
The Businessman’s barbaric impulses
He would contain, and in his ear instead
Conservative ambitions interject.
Alongside him a noisome crew was join’d,
Of scheming characters compos’d, each pois’d
To jockey for the President’s esteem,
One such spry Sessions, legal Commandant
Whose visage closest match’d hedonic Gray’s,
Upon whose gorgeous Portrait a vain wish
Of endless Youth invoked, but soon laments:
For soon his Image twists disfigured, stain’d
By th’evil of its source, and no remorse
Sufficient to annul its record stark
Of vile humanity exists, that death
Alone remains sufficient to repair
That damning Mirror; thus his elfin Air
Though as a child’s, can scarce disguise a heart
Could not his installation as a Judge
Secure, though now confirm’d without great fight.
Alongside him i’th’ Cabinet a host
Diverse was gather’d, equal parts compos’d
Of cautious parts and wild: for every Zinke
Or Pruitt, rabid fans of Enterprise
Convinc’d that no impediment should stand
By Government install’d ‘gainst the success
Of Businesses, and thus devote themselves
To undermine all Regulation plac’d
Within their purview, and unlock the Lands
Heretofore cordon’d for posterity
And preservation, pleasure offering
No monetary gain or benefit,
No value for th’Economy, and thus
By Priebus and the Party since the days
Of Reag’n condemn’d, there was a Perry, Head
Of a Department whose existence he
Had once forgotten, furthermore had vow’d
Dismantle; Carson, though of Surgery
Best vers’d, and other topics ignorant,
For loyalty to Trump in the campaign
Awarded rank within the Cabinet,
Housing and Urban D his prize
Though ne’er before his field; or else DeVos,
A billionaire by heritage, and to
A billionaire wed, who no background had
To merit any role i’th’ Cabinet,
But had her fortune spent to help the Right,
Four decades of donations, plus a trove
Substantial from others coax’d, which thus seal’d
A spot for her amongst the Donald’s staff,
And ultimate authority o’er all
The Nation’s learning. Yet the Cabinet
Contain’d not all the complication fraught
Throughout th’Administration, all of which
A narrow tightrope form’d for Reince to walk:
He had to keep in mind wild Spicer too,
Surpassing zealous Mouthpiece to the Chief,
Loyal defender of his President
Against all questioners: the lib’ral Press,
On constant inquisition of suppos’d
Transgressions by th’Administration fix’d
Instead of admiration for the good
Done by the President and his Regime,
His foremost Enemy, to which he turn’d
His ample rage with regularity,
And apopleptic tirades numberless
Directed ‘gainst their unceasing disputes
Of th’efficacy of the President;
No evidence, though indisputable,
Confirm’d beyond debate, would he accept
Against his claims or Trump’s, so feal was he:
By any means devoted to defend
His President ador’d. Contesting too
For th’ear of Trump was Kushner, favor’d Son
Above the Don’s own blood; for he had wed
Ivanka fair, most cherish’d Progeny
Of the demanding Magnate, th’only one
Whose beauty and accomplishment suffic’d
To please their Sire; any Associate
Of hers thus easy access had to th’ear
Of her Progenitor, and manifest
With ease whatever reveries of pow’r
Or gallantry, what genius they felt
Above th’expertise of specialists rais’d them,
As could Ivanka: thus the couple sought
To leverage their Position fortunate
To serve their own ambitions for great Works,
Though of experience bereft, their dreams
Though grand of Middle Eastern Armistice
And compensated time away from work
For Parents o’th’ new-born could not but fail.
Such access too was licens’d for the Sons
By blood direct descended from the Don
Though lov’d far less, and to their Father’s side
They join’d up fast, and in his Shadow each
Pursu’d their own attempts t’assist and aid
Their Sire: Eric the newer, pasty Youth
Scarce from his twenties graduated, still
Novitiate to the wider world, and thus
Preferr’d reserve himself from public view,
Instead to helm his dad’s Conglomerate,
Control by law forbidden t’eldest Trump
Upon receiving the White House, though keen
To leach fresh Riches from the Government
Into its coffers; and too th’older Son,
Senior of all Trump’s Brood, who therefore bears
His Father’s name, Donald Junior, obsess’d
With recognition from his Namesake, who
To curry favor deepest plung’d of all
The Trump descendants, and emerg’d a Shill
Unquestioning for all things Trumpian,
A MAGA Chud obsess’d with owning Libs
By any means, yet by his own petard
Most often hoist: for in his haste to please
And aid his Parent’s cause he chose consort
With Russian op’ratives propounding Dirt
Against th’opposing Hillary, and in
Besides that they had nothing good to share.
To navigate such chaos pragmatic Reince
Unlikely allies sought, and quickly made
Disheveled Bannon, shabby Avatar
Of th’upstart Right, high-tech Alternative
To th’aging Reaganites in Washington,
Whose youthful following prov’d critical
To Trump’s surprise victory, a Friend
Of deep and genuine regard, in spite
Of Bannon’s rank conceptions long uncheck’d.
Their public show of amity conspir’d
Too t’ingrate each in th’other’s company:
A tinge of moderance to Bannon giv’n
By this association with the straight
And mainstream G.O.P Establishment,
And Priebus with the Breitbart Crowd align’d,
To earn th’approval of that savage Mob
Whose slavering rebuke of lib’rals far
And wide had Trump’s election underpinn’d.
This all without the need to pay regard
To th’exponents e’en further out to lunch
Of that fanatic Creed: the bearded Hun,
Sebastian Gorka, birth’d on foreign Soil,
To Nazis rumor’d feal, yet quickly made
Immediate to Trump, and swift forgot
‘Midst the perpetual Strife which roils ‘round
A President like him; and too the young
Though balding Stephen Miller, friendless child
Whose lib’ral schooling a disdain instill’d
For all Diversity, and drove to seek
A State apart for th’alabaster skinned,
A Stance the Party durst not take, though wish’d
In secret, and in slogans embedded oft
Since th’antecedent days of Reaganite
And e’en Nixonian might. Thus Priebus built
Within th’Administration his Redoubt,
Ingrated with Mainstream and Alt- alike,
And settled in for four years at the ear
O’th’ maverick President, and then the task
Of landing him by guile still four years more.