Chapter 625
The Attack of the Canines
Chapter 625 The Attack of the Canines
Washington, D.C., early August 1997.
In a private room at George Washington University Hospital, the smell of air disinfectant had not yet dissipated, and the green ripples on the electrocardiogram machine pulsed rhythmically in the dim light.
The ward door was suddenly pushed open.
The president was practically pushed in by his aides.
In the corridor, entourage members were whispering instructions: "Fifteen minutes, at most fifteen minutes, there's more to the schedule."
In his hospital bed, House Speaker Newt Gingrich awoke from a deep sleep, pale and with sunken eyes.
He underwent knee surgery yesterday, but remained in a coma for quite some time.
The moment the door was pushed open, Gingrich opened his eyes, a flash of rainbow light passing through them.
Canine Tooth took a deep breath, unaccustomed to the heavy human body.
“Newt.” Clinton sat down on the edge of the bed, his tone unusually gentle. The two shook hands, without exchanging any further pleasantries.
Clinton briefly inquired about Gingrich's health, then changed the subject to the balanced budget bill that the two parties had reached after months of difficult negotiations.
The bill paved the way for a balanced federal budget in 2002, and included core provisions such as cutting government spending and tax cuts for middle-class families. It was considered Clinton’s most important domestic achievement during his second term.
“All the details have been finalized,” Clinton said. “All that’s left is the final signature.”
The two parties had already discussed most of the details, and Clinton's visit today was just to go through the motions.
Unexpectedly, Gingrich blurted out, "No."
Clinton thought he had misheard: "What did you say?"
“I said no.” Gingrich’s voice was weak, but his tone was firm. “This bill is null and void.”
Clinton jumped up from the bedside, his face ashen: "Newt, we've been talking for six months! Every number, every clause, was agreed upon by your men! And now you..."
“Things have changed,” Gingrich interrupted him, looking directly at Clinton. “I need to rethink some things.”
The air in the ward suddenly froze.
The entourage looked at each other, none of them daring to utter a sound.
"Fuck, did the anesthetic not get into your body, but into your brain?!" Clinton slammed the door and left.
The sound of hurried footsteps and hushed arguments echoed down the corridor.
Secret Service agents had to jog to keep up with the president, and just before the elevator doors closed, they could still hear Clinton yelling at his staff, "He's insane! He must be insane!"
Inside the hospital room, the remaining Republican members looked at each other in bewilderment. No one knew why Gingrich had gone back on his word.
Even if they don't understand, they still show respect.
Because Gingrich's "American Pact" helped the Republicans achieve an overwhelming victory, regaining control of both the House and Senate and ending the Democrats' 40-year rule in the House of Representatives.
Gingrich himself became Speaker of the House of Representatives and enjoyed great prestige within the party.
Charlie, an aide, said softly, "Newt, public opinion isn't on our side right now. Because of the budget disagreements between the two parties, some government functions have come to a standstill, and the public thinks we're more at fault."
Gingrich waved his hand: "That's not important. What's important is our policy towards the East. Clinton is too lenient. He doesn't know that the East will be our biggest enemy. We can't give the East any breathing room!" The others exchanged glances. This could be considered a reason, but it wasn't sufficient.
There are indeed differences between the two parties on policies toward East Korea.
The Clinton administration favored full engagement, pushing for an unconditional extension of East Asia's Most Favored Nation status, and was prepared to reach a consensus with East Asia this year on "jointly committing to building a constructive strategic partnership between the two countries."
However, Republican conservatives were strongly dissatisfied with this, viewing the relationship as a political football to attack the Democratic administration, believing that Clinton gave the US too much leverage and weakened the US's negotiating position.
At the end of the month, Clinton will visit the East, and Gingrich wants to put pressure on Clinton by passing the Balance Act.
does it worth?
Gingrich sat back on the hospital bed, his sickly appearance had faded considerably, replaced by a suppressed excitement.
Sitting around the hospital bed were not doctors and nurses, but several key Republican figures in Congress: House Majority Leader Dick Amey, Whip Tom Drey, and Ben Gilman, chairman of the House International Relations Committee.
Gingrich had the door locked from the inside and the curtains drawn tightly.
“I need you to understand one thing,” Gingrich began, his voice low but clear, “The Balanced Budget Act must be rejected.”
Amélie frowned: "Newt, we've spent too much political capital on this. If we back down now, the Democrats will blame us for everything."
“Let them push,” Gingrich said.
Drey spread his hands: "Then you have to give us a reason. You led the negotiations for this bill, and now you're suddenly turning your back. How are you going to explain this to your brothers in the party?"
Gingrich stated directly, "Our people say that Dongguo Changhong Group is secretly developing room-temperature superconducting materials. It will make our power grid, our military, and everything else obsolete within ten years."
A brief silence fell over the ward.
“So we can’t refuse the budget.” Amei put down the documents. “We still need funds to catch up…”
“You still don’t understand.” Gingrich interrupted him, his tone suddenly becoming stern. “Budget negotiations can be put on hold, technological catch-up can be put on hold, but the policy toward the East must be changed now.”
He straightened up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "The current policy toward East Asia is Clinton's approach of engagement and containment. What is the premise of this policy? It's that we have a technological advantage, that we are a generation ahead, and that we can use our market access to gain their openness. But what if we lose that advantage? What if we not only fail to be ahead, but instead fall behind by a generation?"
Gilman hesitated for a moment: "The current policy toward the East... is, after all, the one that best serves the interests of the United States."
"Whose interests are at stake?" Gingrich retorted coldly. "Boeing and Microsoft's interests? The interests of those big companies doing business in the East? Or the long-term national security interests of the United States?"
No one answered.
Gingrich's voice was even lower, but every word pierced the ears of those present like nails:
“We have fought against them before. If you don’t understand how resilient they are and how tenacious they are, you can ask Assef.”
"They had that kind of fighting power even when they had nothing. If they really managed to create something like that,"
Gingrich said sternly, “From this moment on, the rules of the game have changed. It’s not us containing them, it’s them containing us. It’s not them depending on us, it’s us depending on them. I don’t care about budgets, I don’t care about bipartisan cooperation, our policy toward East Korea must be redefined.”
The ward was deathly silent.
Reason told them that it was impossible for the East to make a breakthrough in such a short period of time.
But their past failures are deeply etched in their minds, making them unwilling to ignore this possibility.
Under the leadership of Canine Tooth (Gingrich), a storm is brewing.