Free The Frankenstein Candidate by Vinay Kolhatkar Page B

plenty on his mind. He had to win Iowa. Katrina’s idea was scary but, hey, maybe worth it. He couldn’t wait for the morning. Larry was always up till midnight. He decided to call Larry and gauge his reaction. Larry, as usual, was reflective and calm. He said he would think about it.
    Still restless, Colin switched the television on and surfed the channels. Then he saw it. The loony candidate. Colin hadn’t even known what he looked like. Frank Stein had a calm, handsome face and a professorial demeanor. Colin had expected a belligerent, in-your-face personality. Stein was being interviewed by ABC. The interviewer asked, “Surely, Mr. Stein, you don’t mean not having any fiscal or monetary policy, do you?”
    “That’s exactly what I mean.”
    “But…but…but that would be completely irresponsible, would it not?”
    “On the contrary, it is irresponsible and arrogant on the part of government to even think that it can correct the economy. And it is destructive.”
    “But then who will save us? Who will save the people?”
    “It is tinkering from which the people need to be saved—”
    Why do they even let such extremists run for office? Colin switched the channel. The 49ers were playing the Seahawks. The football put him to sleep.

 

10
The Monster Begins to Bubble
    On the morning of January 11, 2020, the results from Iowa began pouring in.
    At first, Ganon was in the lead, but only marginally. Larry calmed Colin down.
    “Those precincts they counted…they were always Ganon’s,” he said.
    By late morning, Spain had caught up, but it was still neck and neck.
    “West Iowa,” Larry said. “Wait for the west. They are all yours.”
    He offered to go out for lunch, but Colin could not move. Everything depended on this. Larry and Katrina went out and agreed to bring a sandwich back for him.
    CNN called just as they left. It was Dawn Massey, one of their main political correspondents.
    “Hello, Mr. Spain.”
    “Hello. We are still on at three?”
    “No, that’s what I am calling about. We have to reschedule.”
    “You think I am going to lose?” Colin asked. He got a sinking feeling. He turned the TV off.
    “No, we think you will be winning Iowa,” she said.
    “Then why?”
    “I can’t explain, sir. Just need to—”
    “Need to what? Get me Harper.”
    Harper was the head of programming.
    “Harper is the one who told me,” Dawn said.
    “Then why can’t he call me himself? Get me Harper!”
    “He is in a meeting right now, but I will tell him.”
    Colin banged the phone down, then called Larry on his cell.
    “Fuckin’ CNN. They cancelled. What’s going on?”
    “Did you see the latest?” Larry replied.
    “No, what?”
    “You are winning. By a lot. West Iowa just started streaming in.”
    By afternoon, it was clear that Spain was at least a ten-point winner over Ganon. Rogers was a distant third. It wasn’t even close.
    Colin Spain should have been thrilled, but it was more than mildly upsetting to him that CNN had indefinitely postponed his interview.
    Katrina tried to explain after lunch. “A number of switchboards around the country have been inundated with callers. A number of media outlets decided to conduct their own vox populi .”
    “About what?”
    “Stein. This first commandment thing—”
    “Dammit, damn that Stein. Stein? For God’s sake, I am going to be the next president of the United States, and they want to interview him instead? I want a list of all the editors and the programming heads who want to talk to this lunatic ahead of me. They will pay.”
    Katrina was carrying his sandwich in a bag. She gave it to him. He threw it out the window.
    It didn’t matter to Spain that the media was critical of Frank Stein or that his ideas offered them just the sensationalism they wanted.

    Presented with a multiple choice survey, over 95 percent of respondents indicated that government should have some moderating role in the economy rather than “none” or “complete